saxondragon
Member
Tuesday night I bought two beardies from a guy who posted on craigslist. When I went I was expecting a 40g tank, instead I found a 20g with two adult beardies. Male and female - the owner never got around to naming them. He had them for a year and got them at about 6 months old. The guy was nice, just not educated on adequate needs of beardies.
Both dragons look to be juvie size to me (compared to some juvie sizes I've seen at a reptile store where I bought my Saxon).
So I bought them and all supplies and etc. He had three lights, a MVB (brand unknown), black light, and Zilla 20watt coil. He fed them every few days with spinach and carrots and dusted it with calcium powder (not sure how often). The tank was a mess, fecal all over and 3-4 climbing logs and two water/food dishes that were full of sand. Calci-sand.
Tuesday night, after class, I got each one out of the tank and put them in small about of water. That alone was a challenge. I don't believe the prev owner ever handled them. The bath time was a scary time for them I believe. I tried to gently pet each one and give them some comfort. To try to associate good ideas with touch or bath, I fed them some baby squash and meal worms while petting them. They gobbled it all up! (and tried to eat the plastic baby spoon).
I eventually put them in a big box lined with paper towels for the night to get them out of such cramped and dirty environment. They both went to sleep.
I have bought two big plastic bins, about an equal of the floor space of the 20g tank. It's not ideal, but it's what I can do for the moment. I can't afford two new 40g tanks, the dragons cost that alone almost - $160.
I'm buying a new MVB bulb tonight to ensure they actually get what they need. I figure one bulb over the two bins will get both areas for basking. I'll put some cardboard between the two so they don't see each other. Get them used to being alone. I bought some cheaper digital therms with probes, the ones I have for Saxon (and pictured regularly on bd.org are $19 here) so I bought the $10. I have some good size rocks in my front yard I can claim and clean/soak them in the tub with some bleach to disinfect anything. I won't have any hides for them unfortantely. Not many tree limbs around my area.
The prev owner has stated the male has bobbed his head and has tried to mount the female, but she never lets him. (Start girl!) hehe But I did notice she is missing a claw and tail has been nipped. (If it is the girl I'm thinking about, I don't know squack about sexing any beardies.) On the male the problem I saw and concerned about the most is the white tip tongue, with a black dot in the center. And of course, both are undersized and look very skinny compared to my Saxon.
I'm unable to afford any vet visits for two new beardies but I'm reading lots of posts on here and trying to follow good advice. And I'm sure they are stressed anyways so any visits would have to wait 2 weeks for fecal tests to give accurate results.
I will post pics tonight and would like any ideas for them.
I have on hand; salad: collard greens, cilantro, mustard greens, butternut squas, winter squash, and raspberries; worms: phoenix worms and mealworms; baby food: squash, chicken, applesauce, apple and raspberries. I also have regular unsweeted apple sauce (for some reason I picked it up...)
I've finally picked names for the two darlings also.
Cerys (female) and Dai (male) - I figure they deserve some names after not having any previously even if the names get changed when I'm able to find some new owners.
I have more supplies coming in I ordered for Saxon. I can't remember what exactly. But I know a probiotic, scale, calcium powder... a few things from reptilesupply.com and beautifuldragons.com. So I have things available for Cerys and Dai.
Sorry for such a long post, I wanted to document all of what I could remember down. I don't want to forget anything of importance when new owner(s) come and can know the history of the two. I'm not sure if they are technically rescues, but I figure inadequate tank, two adults together, and how the tank looked and looking like juvies qualified well enough.
Both dragons look to be juvie size to me (compared to some juvie sizes I've seen at a reptile store where I bought my Saxon).
So I bought them and all supplies and etc. He had three lights, a MVB (brand unknown), black light, and Zilla 20watt coil. He fed them every few days with spinach and carrots and dusted it with calcium powder (not sure how often). The tank was a mess, fecal all over and 3-4 climbing logs and two water/food dishes that were full of sand. Calci-sand.
Tuesday night, after class, I got each one out of the tank and put them in small about of water. That alone was a challenge. I don't believe the prev owner ever handled them. The bath time was a scary time for them I believe. I tried to gently pet each one and give them some comfort. To try to associate good ideas with touch or bath, I fed them some baby squash and meal worms while petting them. They gobbled it all up! (and tried to eat the plastic baby spoon).
I eventually put them in a big box lined with paper towels for the night to get them out of such cramped and dirty environment. They both went to sleep.
I have bought two big plastic bins, about an equal of the floor space of the 20g tank. It's not ideal, but it's what I can do for the moment. I can't afford two new 40g tanks, the dragons cost that alone almost - $160.
I'm buying a new MVB bulb tonight to ensure they actually get what they need. I figure one bulb over the two bins will get both areas for basking. I'll put some cardboard between the two so they don't see each other. Get them used to being alone. I bought some cheaper digital therms with probes, the ones I have for Saxon (and pictured regularly on bd.org are $19 here) so I bought the $10. I have some good size rocks in my front yard I can claim and clean/soak them in the tub with some bleach to disinfect anything. I won't have any hides for them unfortantely. Not many tree limbs around my area.
The prev owner has stated the male has bobbed his head and has tried to mount the female, but she never lets him. (Start girl!) hehe But I did notice she is missing a claw and tail has been nipped. (If it is the girl I'm thinking about, I don't know squack about sexing any beardies.) On the male the problem I saw and concerned about the most is the white tip tongue, with a black dot in the center. And of course, both are undersized and look very skinny compared to my Saxon.
I'm unable to afford any vet visits for two new beardies but I'm reading lots of posts on here and trying to follow good advice. And I'm sure they are stressed anyways so any visits would have to wait 2 weeks for fecal tests to give accurate results.
I will post pics tonight and would like any ideas for them.
I have on hand; salad: collard greens, cilantro, mustard greens, butternut squas, winter squash, and raspberries; worms: phoenix worms and mealworms; baby food: squash, chicken, applesauce, apple and raspberries. I also have regular unsweeted apple sauce (for some reason I picked it up...)
I've finally picked names for the two darlings also.
Cerys (female) and Dai (male) - I figure they deserve some names after not having any previously even if the names get changed when I'm able to find some new owners.
I have more supplies coming in I ordered for Saxon. I can't remember what exactly. But I know a probiotic, scale, calcium powder... a few things from reptilesupply.com and beautifuldragons.com. So I have things available for Cerys and Dai.
Sorry for such a long post, I wanted to document all of what I could remember down. I don't want to forget anything of importance when new owner(s) come and can know the history of the two. I'm not sure if they are technically rescues, but I figure inadequate tank, two adults together, and how the tank looked and looking like juvies qualified well enough.