Gail
BD.org Addict
Hello everyone. I didn't expect to ever find myself back here. Its been some time since I had a dragon, I even gave away all my supplies including a custom wooden enclosure. Of course life has a way of throwing you a curve ball every once in awhile.
A few days ago I spotted a free dragon add on craigslist. Normally I can ignore them as they are far away from my rural town but this was close. I always worry about free reptiles going to bad homes where someone only wants them for the "cool" factor so I replied to the ad and a few hours later I found myself with a new little dragon.
She is around 12" long, head is roughly 2" across so she is still young. They had her since Dec when she was given to the young son with no warning. They did ok with her, she isn't in terrible shape but does have some issues.
She seems to be a bit weak in the legs, a little wobbly at times. I don't know if its from simply not getting enough exercise as she was in a 10 gallon tank or if its a calcium/diet issue. She was being fed mealworms, dry pelleted food and kale dipped in calcium, no vitamins. I'm working on vitamins but she hates the taste, I did get her to take a couple bits of vit coated kale today.
I'm feeding her kale and mustard greens, sprinkled with calcium. She only eats a few mouthfuls but its a start. She won't try any other veggies yet but she did eat a piece of grape.
Still feeding her mealies as she doesn't quite understand other bugs yet. She took a few hisser nymphs the first day but none since. Won't touch hornworms, not tried crickets yet. I'm working on getting a dubia colony going and I have quite a few pregnant hissers. Plan to order other feeders once this cold snaps moves on.
She was kept in a bedroom downstairs, no stimulation or light besides her cage lighting. She seems a bit freaked out by being moved to the living area, gives everyone the stink eye. Not a fan of being held but thats to be expected considering the change shes been though, she is also shedding.
I've started giving baths to help with shedding and exercise. She hates it but doesn't panic, just gets grumpy. Any other tips to help strengthen her legs? She is in a 75 gallon with plenty of climbing areas. She does utilize the space, running around a lot and even glass dancing. Some of the bigger sticks are hard for her to climb so I used a saw and made little notches for traction.
She does have a teeny tiny hump at the base of her tail. Not enough to see but it can be felt. I can't tell if its the beginning of MBD or something she was born with. I have no idea what kind of bulbs she had before.
I'm using a repti sun 10 compact as it was the only high output light they had. I don't like it, its not bright enough and I prefer a tube light to cover more area. I will be ordering a new tube before too long. I suppose I will use both UVB bulbs, the compact can be used on the basking spot.
A few days ago I spotted a free dragon add on craigslist. Normally I can ignore them as they are far away from my rural town but this was close. I always worry about free reptiles going to bad homes where someone only wants them for the "cool" factor so I replied to the ad and a few hours later I found myself with a new little dragon.
She is around 12" long, head is roughly 2" across so she is still young. They had her since Dec when she was given to the young son with no warning. They did ok with her, she isn't in terrible shape but does have some issues.
She seems to be a bit weak in the legs, a little wobbly at times. I don't know if its from simply not getting enough exercise as she was in a 10 gallon tank or if its a calcium/diet issue. She was being fed mealworms, dry pelleted food and kale dipped in calcium, no vitamins. I'm working on vitamins but she hates the taste, I did get her to take a couple bits of vit coated kale today.
I'm feeding her kale and mustard greens, sprinkled with calcium. She only eats a few mouthfuls but its a start. She won't try any other veggies yet but she did eat a piece of grape.
Still feeding her mealies as she doesn't quite understand other bugs yet. She took a few hisser nymphs the first day but none since. Won't touch hornworms, not tried crickets yet. I'm working on getting a dubia colony going and I have quite a few pregnant hissers. Plan to order other feeders once this cold snaps moves on.
She was kept in a bedroom downstairs, no stimulation or light besides her cage lighting. She seems a bit freaked out by being moved to the living area, gives everyone the stink eye. Not a fan of being held but thats to be expected considering the change shes been though, she is also shedding.
I've started giving baths to help with shedding and exercise. She hates it but doesn't panic, just gets grumpy. Any other tips to help strengthen her legs? She is in a 75 gallon with plenty of climbing areas. She does utilize the space, running around a lot and even glass dancing. Some of the bigger sticks are hard for her to climb so I used a saw and made little notches for traction.
She does have a teeny tiny hump at the base of her tail. Not enough to see but it can be felt. I can't tell if its the beginning of MBD or something she was born with. I have no idea what kind of bulbs she had before.
I'm using a repti sun 10 compact as it was the only high output light they had. I don't like it, its not bright enough and I prefer a tube light to cover more area. I will be ordering a new tube before too long. I suppose I will use both UVB bulbs, the compact can be used on the basking spot.
You already know most of the info you need to keep her healthy. She's a pretty little thing. lots of yellow going on there. Can you post a pic of her set up + how your lights are situated ? A 75 is a big tall tank so your main problem now [ esp. since she does have symptoms of MBD starting ] is to keep her warm enough and get the uvb close enough. It should be suspended down in the tank so she can get wthin 8-10" of it. Being up on the screen wil be too far away as well as screen will block some. It's pretty important to get a good bulb ASAP because MBD can cause deformities almost overnight. Don't worry to much about vitamins but do try to get her interested in the roaches as quickly as possible since they can easily be gut loaded, crickets can be as well but roaches are best. Hope your hisses drop their babies in the next day or so. Hope to hear good updates on the little bugger. BTW, what's her name ?
