First beardie rescue

[PeekABoo]

I agreed to take a beardie from a friend of a friend home with me. I hadn't seen the beardie but I heard his conditions weren't the best. I was told I was getting his tank and everything but received him in a giant rubbermaid container. I though weird but ok.

Now that I've seen him he looks like he is coated in dust and his bones are prominent in his rear end. I am driving home in a week, and was expecting to have his whole home so for a week he will live in the rubbermaid container, but with some substrate and I'm going to get him the proper bulbs today( I got him this morning before work). He ate veggies and meal worms well but he is very skittish and by the looks of him hasn't been handled in months or more. I am not sure how to approach this but I really need to bath him, should I just get some gloves and pick him up anyway or should I wait. I need to pick him up to add some substrate to his container and maybe a basking rock. I'm stuck though any suggestions on how to do this. He won't be able to get really settled until I get home which is a 30 hour drive at the end of the week.

I'm really concerned please help

PS: he just pooped and it was mostly liquid and a little bit of poop and a lot of urate(i think thats what the white part is called)?

 

[zebraflavencs]

Hi ! That is just wonderful you are taking in this poor boy. The hips sticking out, means he is seriously underfed.
Now first here is a wonderful list to help you choose healthy foods for his diet:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
Green for daily, Black for treats 1-2 times a week. You will notice that the Mealworms are not really a good food. You can try crickets, roaches (Dubia), phoenix worms ( no need to use calcium with these, they come naturally packed !), Silk worms, and if he is over 14"in length , Super or Moria worms.

I would actually start out with giving him a lovely soaking bath. Water to his shoulders, temps baby warm (90-100*F), for around 15 minutes. You may need to hold him in the water, if he has problems keeping his head up. You might also see him dipping his head down into the water and actually drinking. This is fine.

After his bath, take him outside in the warm sun, and allow him to bask for around 15 minutes.

Now, here are some items you will want to make sure he has for his best health.
A UVB. Either a ReptiSun Tube 10.0 or a MVB (Mercury Vapor Bulb). The tube should be within 6-8" of him coupled with a bright white light ( I tend to use house hold bulbs or flood lights) to use as a basking light.
The MVBs need no other heat source as they provide both heat and UVB. These should be a minimum of 12" distance away from the dragon.

A Thermometer. We all highly recommend using a digital with probe therm. You can find them at Walmart for rather cheap. You can set this up with the box on the cool side, and the actual probe sitting directly on the spot that this boy basks on. Allow 45 minutes for a accurate reading. You can also use a temp gun, these are found at automotive parts shops or online. Temp Guns offer immediate accurate temps.
You should be reading basking:100-110 depending on the age of the dragon. If he is younger than 1 year, try to achieve close to the 110*F. Older than that, around 100*F is enough.

As an adult, most don't eat or want to eat protein daily. We can parcel out insects 40-50 over a week, some every day, or every other day. All day salads should be present, refresh when needed.

No over night lights should be used for him, as they can seriously disturb his rest. If you need to use something to maintain an over 65*F temp at night, you can use a Ceramic Heating Element. Looks like a bulb, but only heat, no light.

You also want to lay in some supplements for his diet. If you use the tube Reptisun this is what you need for calcium:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-supplements/105551/rep-cal-ultrafine-powder-calcium-with-vitamin-d3.html

If you choose a MVB this is the cal to use:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-supplements/105556/rep-cal-ultrafine-calcium-without-vitamin-d3.html
This is the vitamins to use with either:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-supplements/105550/rep-cal-herptivite-multivitamin.html

Use the vits 1-2 days a week on salad and on first insect meal.
Cal used 2-5 days a week ( this depends on if the dragon is a juvie or an adult) A pinch on the salad, and on the first insect meal.

That is pretty much the Needed items for the best health for your dragon.
Hope this helped out !
Janie.

 

[AMHaak]

Well zebraflavenc answer all your question, so I guess I will just say good luck to you. Also, I know you will be able to bring him back to full health just keep us posted.

 

[PeekABoo]

Wow thank you. This guy is around three i was told. I ended up giving him a nice bath which he seemed to enjoyed. He swam around and splashed himself with his feet. He was upset when I picked him up(understandable) and bearded at me but he never tried to bite me. I bought him a new clear container just until I get home on sat. He likes to be able to watch me His basking temp is at 95(I'm pretty sure that is good for an adult). I use a bedroom lamp my friend lent me just until Sat. It works. I also went and bought him a UVB bulb repti sun 10.0 tube type. I had to be creative in mounting that. I have put salad in there for him, but today all he ate was superworms. He did let me hand feed him a piece of pepper. Thinks seem to be looking good so far. Unfortunately the pet store out here is sold out of vitamins and calcium so I can't start supplementing him until I get home. He still looks a little dirty, but I didn't want to aggravate him while he was in the bath by trying to clean him. At least he got a soak.

Thanks for the help. This may go better than I thought when I first saw him!

Melissa

 

[AMHaak]

It sounds like you are on the right track! Keep up the good work!

 

[PeekABoo]

Thanks AMHaak,

I had to give him another bath today he was ok when I picked him up to put him in the bath. He just squirmed a little, but he didn't beard. He wasn't so happy when I took him out of the bath. He looked like he was falling asleep his head was down and his eyes were closed in the tub I kept thinking he was going to fall asleep and drown so eventually I took him out and he started to beard at me again. He's still a little grumpy, but he'll cheer up.

Melissa

 

[zebraflavencs]

Melissa, that is great you got the right UVB, and he has taken to his baths. You can order those supplements through the net, at those links I provided. It won't take but a few days for them to be delivered.

Keep us posted on his progress !
Janie

 

[dna14]

Hi Melissa, welcome, sounds like will be a fine beardie slave :wink: Keep us updated, feed feed feed, and pics asap ok?

 

[PeekABoo]

Sorry I haven't updated recently.We've been settling Oscar in(my mom named him) I will post pics sometime this weekend, but right now I'm more concerned about him.

He had been good all week, lively and eating well, but in the past two days he has been sleeping a lot and been really grumpy when handled. I figured he was just having some grumpy days, but today when he pooped it was solid but mucous covered with lots of liquid and some blood.

When I took him to the vet last Monday she said he was fine he had just been dehydrated for a long time so he had been shedding bad. SInce then he's been getting daily baths and vaseline on his tough spots. The thick skin has been coming off, but now I'm worried he has Colitis because his poop is a symptom of that.

I'm just not sure what to do.

Melissa