Beardie in PA, can anyone take him?

[hermansmama]

I'm leaving soon to go pick this guy up :-( I'm hoping the situation isn't as bad as I've been imagining! I have a tank set up for him with a reptisun 10.0, and a heat light, and the basic paper towels for the bottom...then a hide log and branch. How long should I keep him in quarentine if I don't see anything else wrong with him? How much should I start to feed him?

 

[spot102]

Not sure how long to keep in quarantine and I would bath him as soon a possible just in case he is dehydrated. I would feed him a small amount of greens at first dusted with calcium and vitamins. I f he eats the greens I would start him on a small amount of crickets to see if he can handle them. I should be going to where I take all my reptiles to this weekend and will ask about the quarantine for you and what to look for in signs of parasites...mites etc. Good look and keep me updated I hope the little guy is OK!

 

[Jess]

Keep us updated on him! Im so glad he is getting rescued!!
Some signs of parasites are: Really smelly, nasty runny poo, and not gaining weight even though he is eating.
I think 30-60 days is whats reccomended for quarantine... Not sure though. :|

 

[hermansmama]

We just got home with him, and the poor guy is soooo skinny!! That's the bad news (I hope it's the only bad news!) The good? news is that he doesn't smell (the tank was clean, didn't smell either), but he hasn't pooped yet so I'm still holding out on that one. I think he used to be fat, because he has a lot of extra skin on his body....the way it sounded, the guy went to college, and his mom, who hates lizards, had to take care of him....so I'm thinking he just needs a lot of good meals! I also think it was a case of just not researching the pet either...I mean, he had a heat light, and a uv, but on opposite sides of the tank...was using sand, only fed him a few times a day...and just romaine lettuce, apples, and carrots.

He's shedding right now, but he ate some greens as soon as we got him in his new tank...attacked them really, so that's a good sign, right? I've heard on here people give baby food sometimes, is that just for beardies that won't eat, or to put on weight? The only other strange thing I've noticed is that he kinda scuttles on his belly, but he tries to walk, moving his legs and such, and he's been moving around his viv....is this a sign of anything? Should I be giving him liquid calcium just in case? AHH!!

I also think that we'll rename him Sped.

WAIT!! he just pooped...and as gross as it sounds, I made sure to smell it...and...IT DOESN'T smell horrible! I mean...it smells like poop, but no worse than Herman's does...so that's good, right? The only thing is that is was super liquidy...very runny, but still a recognizable poop, and not all liquid.

Warning....next image is graphic (poop shot)

 

[hermansmama]

Not sure how long to keep in quarantine and I would bath him as soon a possible just in case he is dehydrated. I would feed him a small amount of greens at first dusted with calcium and vitamins. I f he eats the greens I would start him on a small amount of crickets to see if he can handle them. I should be going to where I take all my reptiles to this weekend and will ask about the quarantine for you and what to look for in signs of parasites...mites etc. Good look and keep me updated I hope the little guy is OK!

Thank you! I appreciate it! Let me know what you find out!

 

[Jess]

What a cutie! Thats great that he looks healthy otherwise!
As long as he is eating on his own, I dont think you will need the babyfood.

 

[healthybeardie]

Poor baby! Glad you are able to care for him and we're hoping and praying he will gain some weight and grow. Keep us posted!

 

[Reapix]

handsome dragon!

 

[fez09]

Awwwww, he's adorable!!!! Have you offered him any live feeders yet? Keep offering lots of good greens, his poo may be watery because of the lettuce...Give him a week to settle in, I bet you'll have him plumped up in no time. Have you bathed him, I'm sure he needs a nice long soak!

 

[hermansmama]

We didn't get home until almost 8 last night, so we worked on making sure the temps were right (still working on that *sigh* idk how many more lightbulbs I'll have to get!) I have a 50 watt halogen light, that if you put it down in the tank, it's way too hot, but out of the tank it's too cold...grrr...and then a 100 watt normal bulb isn't hot enough...I had to take the log out of the viv because he can't climb up on to it, so I have a rock there now that he can wiggle up....I'm going to give him some crickets today and see how he likes them, and keep offering the greens, and give him a bath! He definately needs one! If only to get all the sand dust off of him!

 

[MrMatt]

I hope he's doing well! I saw beardie in PA and thought I'm in PA. I also live in Catawissa. What a small internet!

Has he been eating any live feeders lately, has his poop stabilized, has he put on any weight?

 

[hermansmama]

I hope he's doing well! I saw beardie in PA and thought I'm in PA. I also live in Catawissa. What a small internet!

Has he been eating any live feeders lately, has his poop stabilized, has he put on any weight?

He pooped again today, and it wasn't nearly as watery as the first one--he also had a couple crickets after he warmed up this morning--I'm still working on getting the temps right, and I have it around 105 in the basking area now, which I think is a little warm--I'd like it around 100, but I can't figure out how to get my lamp up any higher...(at the moment it's clipped to a book crate on top of a shelf on my plant stand, weighted with bricks...) After his crickets though he hasn't wanted to eat, so I did feed him some squash baby food from a dropper, and he really seemed to like that--he hasn't touched his salad yet either...

I have to get a scale that can weigh him--I'm not sure what he weighed when I brought him home last night, but as soon as I get one I'll post his weight and see how much he's gaining!

I gave him a bath, and I'm pretty sure the guy had no clue what it was! He tried to climb out, but since he cant' really support himself, it was so sad watching him try :-(

It is a small internet! I thought I was the only one on the board in the area, but it's good to know there are others! How much beardie experience do you have? I might need to pick your brain!

 

[MrMatt]

It is a small internet! I thought I was the only one on the board in the area, but it's good to know there are others! How much beardie experience do you have? I might need to pick your brain!

All my beardie experience is relatively new and I'm learning as much as I can as often as I'm able too. This board is a great help I must say and a lot of the people are really helpful. I was at the Hamburg Reptile show last weekend and met a breeder from NJ that said if we had any questions about bearded dragons weather or not we got it from them we could call them and they would be glad to help. It's Dale's Bearded Dragons from Denville, NJ. They answered a bunch of questions and were really informative and I'm looking forward to seeing them at the Reptile Expo on July 31st in Lancaster http://www.northernberksreptileshow.com/

Well it's off to a graduation party for my sister. Enjoy your Saturday and keep us updated!

 

[spot102]

I did stop today at the reptile store and they said 1 month quarantine. Make sure he gets lots of the repitsun bulb...the bulb they were using may have been old. I did ask about parasites and was told that unless they fed Speedy outside stuff the chance is pretty slim that it is parasites. That unfortunatly is something that can only be vet checked but if you know a good herpetoculturist they should be able to check for mites. Hope that helps a little bit and Good Luck! keep me posted

 

[hermansmama]

He...or should I say she? (I'm almost positive Sped is really a girl)...didn't want anything to do with her veggies today, OR the baby food tonight :-( Just wanted crickets, and I didn't want to feed her tooo many of those! Ahh!!!