Got a sick beardie

[mindymarie]

I got my bearded dragon today and she's really sick. She's only a baby maybe 2-3 months old. I got her from a family member and I'm so mad at them for neglecting her so badly. She had the wrong lighting, I don't even think she had a UVB bulb, she looks like she hasn't eaten since she was born you can see every bone in her body. She had and outdoor thermometer in her tank which leads me to believe her temperatures were way off. Shes extremely lethargic and dehydrated. So as soon as I got her I ran to the pet store and bought her crickets a UVB bulb and fixture and tried to get home as soon as possible. The man at the pet store doesn't think she will make it. Anyway when I got home I soaked her for atleast 20 minutes. As soon as she hit the water she perked right up and opened her eyes. Yay! While she was soaking I got a 10 gallon tank out for her (she's originally in a 55 but she's so small I'm going to try to nurse her back to health in the little one) and cleaned it and got it set up. I got appropriate lighting, thermometer with probe. The UVB I put inside. I want to keep the UVB on for a few days so it will help her recover. Is this a bad idea? After she was in the appropriate tank she started walking around. Ate around 13 Phoenix worms and was basking. Is there any other suggestions on something I'm missing. I'm trying to do everything I can to help her. I plan on keeping a close eye on her giving her long soaks for the next few days an hoping I can save her. I even got a syringe and baby food incase she wouldn't eat. But that's not a problem so far. I hope I'm doing everything right and any suggestions you have I will definitely try. Thanks in advance and please pray for us. I'm glad I adopted her when I did. Maybe just maybe I will be able to save her life.

 

[Izzythelizzy13]

Poor little Beardie Thanks for stepping in to take of this little baby.. The fact that she is eating and up and moving is awesome! I've not had to deal with a sick Beardie to know what else you can do or what changes to make but I'm sure someone will be along to help.. This board is awesome!

 

[mindymarie]

She has not ate yet today. I'm letting her soak for a while and maybe it will perk her up some. I'll try to post some pictures later of her in her bath

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. What kind of uvb do you have?

 

[mindymarie]

I got a repti glo tube. I know it's not the best but it's better than what she had. I only had $40 to get her a fixture and some sort of UVB it's just temporary. Till I get paid again. I ended up force feeding her some baby food and she's doing good on that so far

 

[AHBD]

Hi Mindy....I just want to give one suggestion. It's good that she has eaten some baby food and some Phoenix worms. Just go easy on the live food at first until she's used to it. Right now her system is not used to many insects at one time, so if you give her 4-5 insects at a time twice a day until she handles it well [ without getting impacted ] then you can increase the amount slowly.

 

[mindymarie]

Thanks a ton. I'm only doing what I've learned from other people on here. She's only my second beardie and my first is healthy so this is all new to me.

 

[mindymarie]

Update from today: she didn't eat any Phoenix worms, or crickets but I force fed her some chicken baby food and she did ok with that. I went to the pet store and they suggested repta boost. My boyfriend bought it and I think it helped her a lot she was moving around. Alert when I opened her tank and I even seen her wave 4 times. She was awake the whole time I was talking to her. She still slept a lot but it's an improvement from last night. No poop today tho . Those repta boost instructions are pretty confusing though lol. I have faith that she will pull threw now . The pet store said I was doing everything right but at this point she still only has a 50/50 shot but I'm hoping she will be ok. Just have to take baby steps. It could take a long time before she fattens up and is healthy again.

 

[Izzythelizzy13]

I'm happy to hear she is showing signs of improvement