Just wanted to update...
I called the petshop yesterday morning and told her everything going on. I said I talked to a herp vet and they said the bark wasn't safe, and the lights needed to be hotter, not red, etc. I told her how the lil guy wasn't eating anything and how I've given him baths, baby food, etc. She advised me to come in the evening and talk to the owner's son since he's who I've been dealing with. So I did.
I brought the dragon with me and I honestly didn't even know if he was alive because he was so lethargic. I walked in and the guy said, "So I heard you talked to a bad vet and got some really terrible advice, huh." I was shocked. I'm like noooo, but I got a really sick dragon. He looked at him and said nothing was impacted near the vent. (Duh, he isn't eating a single thing to get impacted!) Then he said his eye was swollen and he looked very ill. He put him in the tank there and said he'd "bake the crap outta him tonight and see if he'll come around." Then he told me I could have the other one free of charge. It's "from the same batch, but with way better colors. 40$ more but I won't charge you." I asked him if I could take the old one back and let him die at my house, but at least give him one last chance and not have him "baked." Just in the matter of 10 minutes talking, we went back to the tank and he was gone.
I was seriously in tears. I just put so much effort into this and everything has been such a negative experience. I can't handle a goldfish dying, let alone a lil lizard with personality! He said I should have called him because I'm getting bad advice. Whatever dude. I also gave him back the infrared bulb and he told me it must just be defected. A regular light bulb isn't hot enough and the "vet" must not know anything. Then I told him I bought a real thermometer with probe, and not his stick on kind, and that it's actually 25 degrees hotter than his red bulb.
So, where I'm at right now is, I don't know what to do about the new one. Right now, we're headed out of town for the weekend. He's supposedly holding it for me til Monday. I'm just not sure what to do. What if he gets sick too? What if it's their dragons and they're sick or something? He told me that every batch has one or two that don't make it and I must have gotten that one. The new one did look like it had nice colors and it was VERY alert! I swear he cocked his head sideways to look at me. He said this one was bigger, and I thought he meant a few inches, but it's like half an inch bigger, so it's still tiny. Do you think it'd be okay to take it? Now that I know what to do and what signs to look for? I don't want to waste all that money either. Do I need to bleach out the entire tank now?
Thank you all soooooo very much for all the help. It's been so difficult, but I'm determined to turn things around and have a positive experience. I hope this will be a thing of the past and that I can move on and raise a happy healthy bearded dragon in the future, just as we intended. Again, thanks much. I really appreciate it.
