First vet visit

[KarenInCA]

Rin had his first vet visit today, and all was good. It was probably the easiest $67 the vet had ever made. He said Rin looks like one of the healthiest BDs he had ever seen.
I had two concerns, one was that he has a very small pinch at the end of his tail that looks like he was bitten as a baby dragon, and the second is that he is spending more time on the cool side lately.
The tip of his tail was definitely bitten or pinched somehow as a baby, but he said the underside still looks white so the blood vessel that travels to it was not severed. So, he said to just watch it, and if the underside ends up ever looking black to bring him back in.
He also said that not wanting to spend time in his basking spot is normal, and as long as he is eating well and being "himself" otherwise, not to worry about it.
He did not do a poop sample because he said his scales look really good, as does his behavior. (Rin was licking and exploring everything while he was being examined.)
He said that seeing Rin makes him want to get a BD for his own daughter. He is not exclusively a herp vet, but he is the only herp vet in our area.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great news Rin had a clean bill of health & impressed the vet, too.
At least his tail is going to be ok then, since the blood vessel was not damaged thankfully.
It can be normal not to want to bask all of the time, but he needs to bask long enough daily to be able to digest his food. It sounds like he is doing well!

Tracie

 

[KarenInCA]

Hi Tracie, he basks in the AM after he's nibbled a bit at his greens (he has to go through the greens to get to his basking spot in the mornings to warm up because I place them strategically in front of the steps up...buahahaha), and then again in the PM when I put him back into his viv after eating his feeders, I put him directly at the basking spot. So, I know that he is basking at those two times. He used to be in the basking spot all the time, and you had mentioned that it's possible his heating is not high enough. I checked it, and made sure the basking light was a little closer, and since then he goes back and forth, so that must have been true.
When I got him (at about 4-5 months old) he always slept in his basking spot and never went down from it, mainly because the branches were fingered out a lot, but also because he had bark for substrate, so my thought was that he did not like the feel of his substrate on his feet. I am not certain of that, but it seemed he never wanted to be on the floor of his viv, until I changed it to tile, so that was my thought.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing today?
So readjusting the lighting helped out for his basking behavior then? I am glad to hear that!
Is he eating his greens more yet, since they are literally in his way? LOL
Does he like his tile as opposed to his other substrate? What did you have before for him?\


Tracie