Advice for a sick baby beardie

[Codyman503]

Hello,
i have recently acquired a baby bearded dragon from a friend, she had won him at a pet convention and i think he has been through a ton of stress via traveling and seeing a lot of people. he was being fed the Fluckers brand juvenile diet but hasnt touched it since ive had him. he is very skinny and lethargic but i was able to get him to eat about 6 meal worms his first day home with me. i already own a beardie but he has been fairly healthy thus far and i didnt know if any one had some tips for nursing a baby *5 or 6 weeks old* back to better health? also, im saying he is a boy because he has a blue mark right before his tail that the breeder put there. anyone know if that is correct?

 

[Luthien]

Sounds like this poor baby has been through a lot!

First off stop the meal worms, their not good for any age dragon but especially babies. He/she needs crickets right now to get the nutrition back, make sure their gut loaded.

Really he/she just needs care I think, too much stress and not the right things have caused this. I don't know how much you know about dragons so I'm just going to do the check list, sorry if I repeat things you already know

You need:
- Basking light (temp under it should be 100-110F)
- UVB light (temp under it should be 75-85F)
For the temps as close to the high end as possible
- Hard substrate such as tiles, non adhesive shelf liner, newspaper, paper towel
- The right diet, see this site it's awesome! http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
- Calcium and vitamins
- Baths (2-3 times a week for now, once healthy 1-2 times a week)

Have patience and get his/surroundings right and he/she should become healthy and happy again. Also there is no way if your dragon is 5-6 weeks old that the breeder would know if it's a male or female. You can't tell for sure on dragons till their 5-6 months old.

 

[Codyman503]

Thanks!

i figured as much with the blue dot.

i have another beardie that i have had since last august and he has been very healthy, but since this little one is sick i knew i need to see if there was anything specific. he came with a cage and blubs and everything so i kinda lucked out on that one but i will need to get a bigger cage later on.

any advice is helpful advice so thank you very much! and im sure this little dude will be healthy and active very soon!

 

[pyffersnpaws]

Sounds like this poor baby has been through a lot!

First off stop the meal worms, their not good for any age dragon but especially babies. He/she needs crickets right now to get the nutrition back, make sure their gut loaded. you can also use dubia's they are really good for them also, just make sure they are only the size of the space between your beardies eyes

Really he/she just needs care I think, too much stress and not the right things have caused this. I don't know how much you know about dragons so I'm just going to do the check list, sorry if I repeat things you already know

You need:
- Basking light (temp under it should be 100-110F)
- UVB light (temp under it should be 75-85F)the uvb doesn't really matter what the temp is, you want to double check your bulb.... you should have either a reptisun 10.0 or an arcadia d3 12% linear tube bulb... if you have something other than these brands you could be actually harming your beardie, you should have a cool side for your beardie with the mentioned temps above
For the temps as close to the high end as possible
- Hard substrate such as tiles, non adhesive shelf liner, newspaper, paper towel
- The right diet, see this site it's awesome! http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.htmllove this site
- Calcium and vitaminscalcium should be dusted 1 feeding 5 days a week, and vitamins 1 feeding 2 days a week
- Baths (2-3 times a week for now, once healthy 1-2 times a week)

Have patience and get his/surroundings right and he/she should become healthy and happy again. Also there is no way if your dragon is 5-6 weeks old that the breeder would know if it's a male or female. You can't tell for sure on dragons till their 5-6 months old.

Thought I'd just tack on to your post and add my two cents... good luck

 

[Luthien]

Thanks pyffersnpaws! I was trying to think of everything but of course that's impossible

 

[Codyman503]

thank you both again so much! just a little update, i adjusted some of the things in his cage, and he seems to be warming up to us at home. he is still eating very little but after i gave him a bath this morning he seemed a bit more lively and aware. im hoping he will pull through, im just going to keep using all this helpful advice and making sure he is as comfortable as possible

 

[Luthien]

I'm glad there is a small improvement!

Keep us updated on how your baby is doing!

 

[Irwinshealth]

I'm glad to hear there is some improvement. Make sure you take pictures as you nurse him/her back to health. We enjoy seeing the love people give do wonders. Good luck sounds like someone already has a better home and love

 

[Codyman503]

http://i1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff388/Cdavis1044/shubambam.jpg

here is a picture of my 2 dragons. Buddha is on the left and the new little guy on the right. i'll have more as he gets better along the way!

thank you all again, its nice to see how many people care about the well being of these guys! just in a few months i have really come to love how awesome these dragons can be

 

[pyffersnpaws]

glad to see he's improving