Dragon flipping onto back constantly, lethargic

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great news Steve is doing a lot better now. Has he shed yet?
Is his appetite doing good? I hope he continues to improve for you. I really hope you are able to keep him.

Tracie

 

[SilverGravity]

His appetite is pretty good still, he's been eating a lot of greens now. And I finally saw him flip over- he's just clumsy due to weak legs. He tried to climb up onto his basking rock and I guess he missed his footing or something and he fell back, which resulted in him ending up onto his back. Now he's got no high places at all to climb on to, and there's a much shorter rock baking for him to use for basking now.

Also some questions; first, about when should he stop getting reptaboost? And second, does anyone know why the skin around his eyes is so orange? The rest of his skin is grayish or brown, but around his eyes it's like carrot orange skin.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am glad to hear he is doing a little better. Sorry to hear that he flipped himself over again!
Poor guy, his back legs are weak which make it harder for him to right himself.
As far as the Reptaboost, does he like it quite a bit? You can continue to use that for him, as long as you would like. I would think you could try to decrease some gradually to hopefully get him to revive his appetite on his own.
That's good you have readjusted his rocks & basking areas so that he doesn't have to climb very much right now.
Just how orange are his eye areas? Can you post some new pictures of him so we can see that colorization?

Tracie

 

[SilverGravity]

Sometimes it's very vivid orange, sometimes just slightly. It was very vivid when he got his reptaboost. He's kinda messy in the picture since he was getting reptaboost, he's got it on his nose and he's shedding his face. (And the red on his toe is from watermelon, it's not injured)

And I'll try to gradually decrease it, he's not a huge fan but he's alright with getting it. He's starting to get more of an appetite for greens luckily.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Steve has nice coloration around his eyes, that is a great orange color! If his coloring is coming out more then it is due to improved lighting & nutrition.
That's great he is eating more greens now. It sounds like his appetite is improving overall as well.
I can see where he is shedding & that is a good sign!
I am glad to hear he is doing really well for you right now!

Tracie

 

[SilverGravity]

So I looked at him today and the orange was gone? It just flares up every once in a while. Like when I give him reptaboost it's very orange, when I look at him now while he's resting there's no orange in sight. Is it really just his natural coloration coming out? I don't think he's orange, I think he's brown.

Also, he's gaining weight too. He's gained 10 g in the last few weeks. Slow but good.

 

[AHBD]

Their colors can definitely brighten/darken for various reasons, even heading in to a shed. Some dragons brighten up during times of stress, whether from good excitement or bad.

 

[AmberH]

Sucks that many classroom pets are neglected because of misinformation or lack of a heart. So glad he's got you!

 

[AmberH]

I am not sure if someone has suggested this or not since I did not read the thread in its entirety (I got to page 5 and skipped to the most recent posts cause I was so excited to see how he was) but I would suggest giving him a warm shallow bath once or twice a week. This can help with digestion and hydration and is overall just relaxing. Many beardies will poop in the water since apparently warm baths are magic like that :lol:

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Could he be getting ready to shed possibly? Colors will tend to get really dull right before they shed.
Also, as their moods change or their body temperatures fluxuate their colors will change, too.
How is he doing today? I am happy that he is gaining weight, too! Steve sounds like he is doing really well & is happy, too.

Tracie

 

[SilverGravity]

He's been getting baths, he actually got one yesterday to try and get him to go to to the bathroom. Both the dragons, Steve and my own, actually have a vet appointment today! They're going for a fecal test and deworming, as I'm fairly certain they both have some type of worm. As for the coloring around his eyes, it goes down from bright orange to no orange depending what he's doing, so I guess it is something to do with stress or his emotions, it gets very bright while he eats his reptaboost. I'll be sure to update with news on the vet trip!

 

[SilverGravity]

So both dragons went to the vet and got deworming meds, though I'm waiting for results from the fecal tests before giving it to them. The UVB lights also finally came in, which both dragons seemed to enjoy.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I hope they are loving their new UVB lights, finally. Let us know how the fecal exam results turn out, too. Which medication did they give you?
Their colors do change somewhat frequently, depending on their mood & or temperature. It's nice that he has such great colors around his eyes, it's so pretty.
Keep us posted on them both.

Tracie

 

[Shenlong]

so happy to see steves progress had a random thought about how you could keep him too! get in touch with a local news team or newspaper and show them this thread and all the stuff from the vets. A true human interest story about an evil school a girl with a heart and a dragon that needed a real home!

 

[SilverGravity]

He gave me panacur, though I'm not sure what concentration. When we get the test results we need to ask for dosage for each dragon and the concentration.

Thanks for idea, Shenlong ^^ Hopefully I won't have to and it's easy to keep him but we'll see eventually