Dragons being dumped.. just adopted 2... need advice

[Kalidopy]

Lubbock, Tx.

3 dragons have been dropped off at a local pet store chain in town in the past 2 weeks.
The 2 my girl and I adopted today are both missing their tails. Other than that, they appear healthy to
the pet store. The 1st dragon dropped of last week was terribly damaged on all feet. I do not know anything
about these lizards than what I have been learning on habitat, feeding and care instructions.

I am really worried that someone is mistreating these beardies here in town. I know the manager.
He will contact us if anymore come to the door. I can not afford to do large amount of rescue, but do know
others interested in adopting or finding good homes. My questions are:

Does anyone know what/why these reptiles are being dumped in these conditions?

Does anyone have any tips on how to ease the adjustment of rescued dragons?


Any help is sincerely appreciated!

 

[Epic]

Post this in the beardie rescue forum.

 

[diamc]

[Moved from the South West forum so it can get the attention it needs]

 

[lizardgrrl]

Thanks for posting on these poor babies. We have a number of people on the list here who have successfully dealt with nipped, footless or tailless dragons, and the reptile rescue train will help get them to a good home in another part of the country, if necessary. The link for the train is here, viewtopic.php?f=3&t=77604 I hope this helps!

 

[Kalidopy]

Thanks so much! They have been doing well! Both males. One is really friendly and the other likes to pretend he is a bit bigger than he really is. We are really enjoying them! I am so glad we have Dragons in our lives now.

 

[jscott]

just wanted to give my support. you did a good thing bringing them in.

a couple words of advice:

if they arent already seperated, i would get another used tank and seperate them. 99% of the time, two dragons will not tolerate each other. one will lay on the other and block the light from him. sometimes they can even wound each other.

about lighting, try to order from this site if you have a credit card:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/fluorescent/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html
its the best fluorescent light there is for bearded dragons(when used in conjunction with a heat bulb). its completely safe when used properly and all my dragons seemed to love it as soon as i plugged it in.

use a bright white heat bulb. if you buy one at a pet store, look for UV-A on the box. dont use spiral or compact fluorescent bulbs, they irritate the dragons eyes and may cause harm.

check out this site for proper nutrition:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
it tells you which insects, veggies and fruits are good for your dragon like silkworms, mustad greens and squash. it also points out the danderous things like pinkie mice, avocado and rhubarb.

try to steer away from calci-sand or vita-sand. your better off using paper towels for small dragons and tile or repticarpet for larger dragons. partical substrates in general are breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria.

also stay away frm heat rocks or heat pads. they are not appropriate for bearded dragons, and they actually might burn them.

thats all i can think of right now. let us know if you have any more questions :wink: .