Barely breathing, not eating always sleeping baby beardie

[kyleena29]

Wow I can't believe they treat you like that. As for the leg thing, that's what we here call the "sexy leg" look lol. They like to stretch out like that.

 

[EllenD]

That's the problem, no consistency between stores at all...If they give you grief even with the receipt then if you have another Petco within driving distance you can try them. But there is no reason at all why they couldn't just look up your Pals receipt right there in front of you, the manager at my local Petco brought out an IPad and did it for me, lol. I'd tell them that, that other Petco managers actually go online and look up the receipt for their customers on their Pals account when they don't have the receipt...I'd also tell them (after you get your money refunded, lol) that they have no idea what the hell they're talking about with regard to Dragon husbandry, and they need to stop giving horrible advice to customers.

 

[PodunkKhaleesi]

It doesn’t sound like you need to worry about taking your beardie to the vet, as you’re addressing the bad husbandry Petco peddled to you and your baby’s behavior, appetite, and growth are intertwined with having a good UV light, proper temps, and appropriate feeder insects. Many times what seems like a sick beardie is often just a beardie whose temperatures are off or has insufficient UV. They’re hardy little lizards, so as long as we get their environment right and give them a healthy diet they tend to thrive. You just ordered everything you’ll need to get your beardie’s health on track, and he should improve dramatically once these things are all on par. I definitely wouldn’t give up on the Petco return. Your purchase could have easily been found via your PetPals card number or through your credit card, so if that Petco manager refused to acknowledge this then he was making a personal decision to break protocol. I’d either do the return at another Petco or, as someone suggested, call corporate and explain that one store location is refusing to honor the return policy. The fact that they sold you all those inappropriate items and then refused your return on top of that is so aggravating. It’s really saddening to think about how many more people they’ll tell to buy a 10 gallon tank or red lights or that all UV lights are interchangeable. But at least your story will have a happy ending. And it sounds like you guys are bonding nicely.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

So sorry the store was like that to you, it happens to so many people!
That's terrific you got the new UVB light & temp gun ordered. I am sure that is really going
to help him a lot. You are doing great!
Has he eaten anything today? Please keep us posted on him. It sounds like he is going to be
just fine though.

Tracie

 

[EllenD]

By the way, you can use the T8 UVB tube as long as it's a Reptisun brand, and as long as it's the 10.0 UVB ouput and not the 5.0, that's a no-no. But the 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB tube is fine for Dragons, however, YOU MUST STRAP THE ENTIRE FIXTURE TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE MESH LID USING ZIP TIES, WIRE, TWINE, ETC. IMMEDIATELY!!!. This UVB tube is used by a lot of people, and it's perfectly fine if it's not obstructed by the mesh lid, IF YOU HAVE IT SITTING ON TOP OF THE MESH LID, NO ADEQUATE UVB LIGHT IS REACHING YOUR DRAGON. It's very easy to strap the entire fixture to the underside of the mesh, just weave zip ties or wire or twine through the mesh and then around the entire tube fixture, and strap the entire fixture to the underside of the mesh lid, OVER THE HOT SIDE OF THE TANK, so that the UVB tube is right alongside the bright-white colored Basking Bulb, so that both lights are "sharing" the top of the Hot Side of the tank.

After you get the T8 UVB tube strapped to the underside of the mesh on the Hot Side of the tank, and you get the bright-white colored Basking Bulb sitting on the mesh right alongside the UVB tube, then POSITION HIS BASKING SPOT/PLATFORM DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH BOTH LIGHTS SO THAT HE GETS BOTH LIGHTS WHILE BASKING!

****For a weaker T8 strength UVB tube you also must make sure that his Basking Spot/Platform is at least within 6" of the now unobstructed UVb tube, it cannot be any further away than 6" for adequate UVB light to reach your Dragon. ALSO, T8 UVB TUBES MUST BE REPLACED ONCE EVERY 6 MONTHS ON THE DOT, AS THEY STOP EMITTING ANY UVB LIGHT AT 6 MONTHS OLD! The tube will not be burnt out, it will still light up at 6 months old, but it will not be emitting any UVB light at all.

The difference between the 10.0 T8 UVb tube and the 10.0 T5HO tube is that the much stronger T5 UVB tube is strong enough to sit on top of the mesh lid, as long as the Dragon's basking spot/platform is at least within 10" of the tube. Also, T5 tubes only need replaced once every 10-12 months. So you do save money buying a T5 tube and fixture.

*****PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THE BRAND OF T8 UVB TUBE YOU HAVE IS A REPTISUN 10.0!!! If by chance you accidentally bought either a Zilla or All Living Things brand 18" T8 UVB tube, you must not use it, just return it...Zilla is now Petco's house-brand, and All Living Things is PetSmart's house-brand...the other one is ReptileOne...All 3 of these off-brands are well known to emit harmful light rays that are apparently a by-product of the manufacturing process (all 3 of these brands plus 20 or so more are all made in the same factory in China, they are the same tubes, just labeled differently)...They all quickly cause severe eye damage, neurological damage (seizures), and blindness. You can easily search the forum and see the number of baby dragons made ill by all 3 of these UVB tube brands...

The other thing is that some of the tube fixtures come with a clear, plastic cover on their bottoms, that covers the UVB tube inside them. So please check your tube fixture to make sure that it does not have any clear, plastic cover on it that the UVB light must pass through, IF SO IT MUST BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY!!! No UVB light can penetrate any type of glass or clear plastic at all, they both block 100% of the UVB light emitted by the tubes...

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your baby doing today? Please keep us posted on him, I hope that he continues to
improve.

Tracie

 

[Nelly234]

I'm very scared for my dragon! My other worms have no came in yet and today he threw up a mealworm in two pieces, whole so it wasn't digested... I don't want to give him any more meal worms but I don't want him to starve! What should I do?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am sorry he threw up. I would not feed anymore mealworms, they are too hard to digest.
You can get some chicken or turkey baby food, mixed with squash or sweet potatoes. Use
a plastic syringe or dropper to feed him by dripping into his little snout. He should really
like the flavor, too.
Is he basking normally & at optimal temperatures?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Nelly234]

Im waiting for my temp gun to come in the mail before I get a hotter bulb BC I don't want him to over heat BC the stickons aren't accurate. The proper sunlight light reptisun 10.0 and temp gun should come on Monday. Do u think he will be okay until then? The temp says 85 I tried my other bulb and it won't raise on is 100w so I'm not sure what to do. He also loves being held he crawls right onto my finger and when I tried to let my friend hold him he ran up my arm. And when I try to put him back into his cage he tries crawling back up my hand, does this mean he likes me or he's sick?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is good to hear you have a temp gun coming then, it will help you measure the
temperatures much more accurately. If you put the 100 watt one in, how close will
it be to him? You could try that one as long as it's a bit away from him so he doesn't
get too hot until you can measure the temperatures.
It is good he is comfortable with you enough to crawl on you & not want back down.
Part of it could also be that it isn't warm enough in his tank. It does sound like though,
he has bonded with you pretty well already!
Has he become more active at all or eaten anything?

Tracie

 

[Nelly234]

Right now its 90° and the cool side is 80° his light is kind of far from him I need more things to lift him up to be closer. I've been scared to feed him mealworms after he threw them up whole. I tried giving him baby food fruit he ate a little of it, he drank some water and then I ended up giving him 2 little meal worms because I don't want him to starve. He took a really big poop today (bigger than any other I seen him do). He kind of smells but won't let me put him in water he keeps running up my hand. He has been more active, but I still need stuff in his cage do u have any suggestions on what I should put in there like activity and decoration wise. Right now I see him in his water dish for the first time and he's drinking! The right lighting and his worms should be here monday, Tuesday the latest, do u think he will be ok until then?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That's great your light will be there on Monday & your temp gun on Tuesday! He does need it
warmer for basking.
Wow that is a surprise to see him drinking, too that's terrific.
What type of basking platform do you have, they love large logs to climb & bask on. There
are some nice driftwood or grapevine pieces you could look into. You could build a basking
platform out of stepping stone, rocks (secured for safety), bricks, etc.
I'm sure he isn't real hungry since he isn't quite warm enough. Try to keep him hydrated right
now, too. He will be fine until then.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie