He is just not growing. *Went to the Vet. I have new questio

[dobby293]

I'm not really sure what is going on. Dobby is 10 months old. I have had his since Sept 08. He has not shed in about 4 months. His head has looks like it needs to shed for the last two months. He is 10 inches long and just does not look fat like every other BD on the site. he is in a 40 gal breeder with newspaper on the bottom. My lights are: 24 inch Repti-Sun 10.0 (5 months old) and a 100 watt basking light. He can get to with in 6 inches of the UVB. He eats tons of salad (Cabbage, carrots, squash) and all the calcium dusted crickets that he can eat. I buy crickets in bulk and give him as many as he can eat. I give him a bath 4-5 times a week. His basking temps are 102-106 and cool side 80 or so. I don't know why he has stopped growing. He has been 10 inches for months. If I need to post pics of Viv or anything let me know. Thank you. Brian

 

[Elora]

Do you have a vet around you that will do a fecal check? Go ahead and post some clear pictures of him and the tank set up and time sure we can figure this out!

 

[spyder86]

sounds like he could have parasites, or he may be some kind of smaller dragon like a lawsons or rankins. fecal is a good idea to be safe.

 

[Freeie]

Heres a good website that shows the best foods for them to eat. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html id try things like mustard, colard, dandilion greens. The squash is a real good salad topper. if im not careful they will pick it all out and leave the salad behind. The items marked in green are the best staple for them.

 

[dobby293]

Thank you for the feedback. As soon as he poops I will take a sample in. I have a herp vet lined up. I do not think that he is a lawsons, I saw his mother and father and they were both about 30 inches long and of a very good weight. I measured Dobby again and he is 17 inches with his tail, he just looks skinny compared to the amount that he eats. I will keep the site up to date on what the vet says. Thank you again.

 

[dobby293]

Ok. I got the rest results from the fecal and he has pinworms and coccidia. I do not know the counts. I have a appointment tomorrow.
What questions should I ask? Please let me know.Brian

 

[spurlee01]

Hey Brian-
If your dragon is 17 inches from head to tail, that's not bad. That is exactly what our 10 month old is. His parents were 30 inches? I have never heard of a dragon being 30 inches. Definitely have the vet weigh him; ours is 347 gms which seems to be a good weight.
Sara

 

[dobby293]

He is just skinny. I know that he is of a good length. The dad might not have been 30 inches but he was very large and fat looking. Dobby just looks skinny. I guess I will find out tomorrow.

 

[spurlee01]

The parasites probably are playing a large role in his skinniness. If you don't mind me asking, how many crickets does he eat on average?
Sara

 

[LaShomb]

His parents may have been Germen Gients, bread to be big.

 

[dobby293]

He eats about 20-25 crickets per day. He eats way more vegetables than crickets. It really depends, some days he does not eat any crickets and the next day he will eat 50. He is temperamental. I had to change the Appt. with the vet to Friday. He is really active and eats a ton, I hope that the vet will be helpful.

 

[dobby293]

We went to the vet today. Dobby is 335 grams and in very good condition except for the parasites. They said that is is nice to see a BD that was brought in before it is on deaths door step. They gave me a Flagyl/Albon 1:1 mix. I have to give .4cc once a day for one week. I got him some wax worms for a treat and he ate them with his salad. Before I put him back in his cage I scrubbed everything with a 1 to 30 bleach solution and baked his rock and stick at 300 degrees for 25 minutes.

 

[spurlee01]

I'm glad its nothing serious and you caught it early! 336 gms really isn't bad at all.
Sara

 

[dobby293]

I did not put the worm count in, it was +4 for each.

 

[dobby293]

So he pooped, and it was really gross. After I cleaned him up I took this picture.

It kind of looks like he has MBD, but he does not it is just the way that he is sitting. I also got this stuff called "Repta-aid".

Has anyone used this? Should I use it? The directions are a little confusing. If you have used it, please tell me how you mixed it up. It says for dehydrated and malnourished animals. Dobby is eating really well and I gave him a bath because he pooped on himself. He ate 12 crickets, a bunch of wax worms and a bunch of salad. I know 12 crickets is not a lot but it is something. Thank you.