Example of good organised records

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Making this post to expand upon something I’ve talked about before here in regards to keeping good records for your dragons as it makes things not only easy for you to go and reference their care history but also makes for a great useful resource for any vets your dragon may need to see.
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To contain everything I just use an expanding folder with 7 sleeves. I mark the sleeves as follows:
KNOWN ISSUES - lists every health/medical issue that’s been previously and currently diagnosed.
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CARE INFO - Any information about care instructions provided by vets to treat an issue/post-proceedure care
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VET RECIEPTS - self explanatory. Just a stack of reciepts from the vets to help track vet visits and what’s been done (and tally how much your dragon owes you should they get a job)
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MEDICINE - a list of any medications they have previously had or currently have to keep a record of what they do and don’t have any problems with (such as reactions etc). I also include how the medication was administered (ie oral or intramuscular)
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TEST RESULTS - Printouts of any test results your dragon has had such as Bloodwork, pathology (such as biopsy results) and scan results like CT scan findings)
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MEDICAL HISTORY - a log of the medical history. In this case I have a background form from when he had to see a new vet so this form is a good basic history. I also have a more thorough history I’ve typed out and keep up to date that details everything from when I first got him right up to current goings on so this includes existing issues, methods of treatment, any diagnoses, when problems have resolved, if a problem is ongoing, behavioural changes etc
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LOGBOOK - when he goes to a vet I just slip his logbook into here so that everything’s contained in the one folder for easy transport and access.
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As for the logbook itself that’s just a regular notebook that I clip photos I take of any issues and where relevant their progression - resolution as a visual reference, the first page I draw a basic outline and label parts and note existing issues.
The following page I note down a basic background of what I know about them prior to coming into my care.
The remainder of the logbook is a table in which I detail the date, food given, any medication or supplements given and their dosage (as time where relevant) and whether or not they’ve passed waste. The end of each month I do a quick summary of any concerns (if any) and note down their weight. Just recently I’ve started adding in little red sun symbols to indicate days when they’ve spent some time outside in the natural sunlight.
 

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xp29

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Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
I'm still snickering about them getting a job lol.
Wait they do have a job, it's to be cute and make us worry lol (and they take it very seriously too)
 

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I'm still snickering about them getting a job lol.
Wait they do have a job, it's to be cute and make us worry lol (and they take it very seriously too)
That they do. I’m convinced my boys could be reptile models or something because Spike loves the camera and I swear he poses when he sees someone’s phone pointed his way and Puff my younger dragon has absolutely nailed zoolander’s Blue Steel.
 

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
You put me to shame, I thought I was good LOL
A lot of this stuff I learned to do while taking Herpetology, reptile zoology and zookeeping courses because they really went into how important record keeping is for captive animals particularly when they may be seeing different vets or moving to new locations but even so where I am it seems the extent I go to exceeds what’s usually seen.
I know for a fact that I’m the only one who’s dragons come in at their regular vet who keeps records like this and those vets have commented multiple times how it makes their job so much easier to have all the information to reference right there in one spot.
My oldest dragon had to see a specialist earlier this month and word for word I was told by them that my record keeping was ‘extensive, meticulous and incredibly thorough’.
That said I didn’t start out with all this right from the beginning but as I think of more efficient processes and organisation I’ve changed and added to it all so initially I just had the notebook for a logbook and it’s really only been this year that I’ve added the folder system since my older dragon is to put it simply a real old man now with a mass of medical records, medications and special requirements (he’s got 6 pages of medical history and about 7 different medications he’s had over the years whereas my younger dragon has 1 and a half pages of history and 2 medications he’s previously had)
 

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Another update to this since Spike being an old man now and having had such a tough start to life has accumulated more reference photos than will fit clipped into the cover of his logbook so I now keep those photos in an album and use self adhesive labels to write what the photo is and the date and I just use an elastic band to keep the folder and album together.
Having a hard copy of reference photos and medical notes like this is great as it will mean that in the event of the vet’s systems going down or even just suffering a whole lot of lag the vets will still have a resource to look at and reference.
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xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
Another update to this since Spike being an old man now and having had such a tough start to life has accumulated more reference photos than will fit clipped into the cover of his logbook so I now keep those photos in an album and use self adhesive labels to write what the photo is and the date and I just use an elastic band to keep the folder and album together.
Having a hard copy of reference photos and medical notes like this is great as it will mean that in the event of the vet’s systems going down or even just suffering a whole lot of lag the vets will still have a resource to look at and reference. View attachment 93140 View attachment 93141 View attachment 93142 View attachment 93143 View attachment 93145
It's sad that is needed, but it is very smart and awesome that you are so diligent. I think Spike is a very lucky dragon to have such a good keeper!
 

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
He’s su
It's sad that is needed, but it is very smart and awesome that you are so diligent. I think Spike is a very lucky dragon to have such a good keeper!
Yeah it’s a shame he’s had so many issues but the fact he’s still going and surprising us all with his miracle recoveries goes to show he’s a fighter and definitely has a lot of luck on his side (wondering if he stole a few lives from a cat somewhere 🤔)
I know his vets have definitely mentioned that these records make their jobs a lot easier and saves them a lot of going back and forth and searching up older test results and such and just the daily notations of food, supplements, medication and whether he’s pooped give them a pretty precise picture of his nutrient intake and his usual digestion patterns so any abnormalities are picked up on sooner.
This level of record keeping can take a bit of time to get into the routine of doing but in the long run particularly with rescues it’s well worth it.
I’d also forgotten to mention it in my previous response but I’ve also in his logbook just started using a red pen and drawing a little sun symbol in the date column to indicate days he’s spent time outside in the sunshine so there’s more of a record of how much natural vitamin D and UV exposure he’s getting.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
He’s su

Yeah it’s a shame he’s had so many issues but the fact he’s still going and surprising us all with his miracle recoveries goes to show he’s a fighter and definitely has a lot of luck on his side (wondering if he stole a few lives from a cat somewhere 🤔)
I know his vets have definitely mentioned that these records make their jobs a lot easier and saves them a lot of going back and forth and searching up older test results and such and just the daily notations of food, supplements, medication and whether he’s pooped give them a pretty precise picture of his nutrient intake and his usual digestion patterns so any abnormalities are picked up on sooner.
This level of record keeping can take a bit of time to get into the routine of doing but in the long run particularly with rescues it’s well worth it.
I’d also forgotten to mention it in my previous response but I’ve also in his logbook just started using a red pen and drawing a little sun symbol in the date column to indicate days he’s spent time outside in the sunshine so there’s more of a record of how much natural vitamin D and UV exposure he’s getting.
If we adopt rescues in the future, I'm going to try follow your lead. My biggest issue is simply time. It seems like I'm always pressed for time. But I'm guessing if I leave it on the habitat where it's easily remembered I'd be more likely to keep records.
 

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