Help me help my dragon recover

[ownedbyP]

i absolutely got lucky with my enclosure. it was right at the beginning of the covid pandemic lock down here in the US and I found a little mom and pop place in portland, oregon doing custom enclosures. i had to pick it up from them. they have since gone out of business, which makes me sad! it's a great quality enclosure

Yeah I was thinking of trying to find someone doing customs too. I am in Denmarn though so it might be difficult

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Do try to post some pictures of your boy along with
your tank setup so we can see his physical condition.
Where are you located?
At 15 years of age, he is doing astoundingly well so
what a trooper he is! Not many make it past 10 years
of age.
Go slow & easy with him, as too much stress would
not be good. Since he has had stitches from a
prolapse, only feed soft foods right now.
Looking forward to seeing pictures of him.

Tracie

 

[ChileanTaco]

I might look into pallets. Terrarium tables and terrariums at all of this size are quite difficult to find. The one i have was hard to get as is and its not big enough.. So thats kind of my main issue.

There are companies that sell such - you won't find them in a typical pet store. I have read about companies here in the forum, but cannot recommend them myself as I'm at a different continent.
Look into the "enclosures" section; most people write where they bought their enclosure from.

Here (Chile) it was indeed impossible to get a sufficiently large enclosure first: Pet stores don't sell them (also, pet stores here usually have only things for cats and dogs and reptiles are super unusual here), companies that make them are only in the US and maybe Europe and shipment is ways too expensive, and then dealing with customs... no way.
What worked in this situation was getting one made by a glass company, and I made the lid of the enclosure myself. This way I got a 200 gallon enclosure.
But as you are in Europe, there are companies that sell large enough enclosures. Usually they come packed like a piece of furniture you put together on your own. If this really doesn't work out: Try asking some glass companies. It finally was ways cheaper than I expected it to be. It cost less and is larger than the largest aquarium tank (that's what I also looked into) available.

 

[KarrieRee]

Try these websites
Swell Reptiles - The UK's biggest online reptile specialist

Repti Life Vivarums – Repti-Life vivariums have been developed from a long time interest in keeping and breeding reptiles, manufacture started in 1989 specifically for wholesale and traders and in recent years the Repti-Life label has been used for d

www.repti-life.co.uk

 

[ownedbyP]

Hello,

Do try to post some pictures of your boy along with
your tank setup so we can see his physical condition.
Where are you located?
At 15 years of age, he is doing astoundingly well so
what a trooper he is! Not many make it past 10 years
of age.
Go slow & easy with him, as too much stress would
not be good. Since he has had stitches from a
prolapse, only feed soft foods right now.
Looking forward to seeing pictures of him.

Tracie

Hello. I got some pictures here. Let me know if theres more you need. Thank you. I feed him leafy greens and occasional waxworms (in lieu of dubias for now.)

 

[ownedbyP]

Also - I am in Denmark

 

[KarrieRee]

Also - I am in Denmark

I dont know if they ship to where you are --- please do not feed wax worms regularly - they are very fatty and can cause liver damage-- please feed another staple like silk worms BSFL or crickets - the dubias are a good staple feeder --- you can feed super meal horn worms as treats -- is he going to the bathroom? The basking light is too close distance should be at least 6 inches above the basking decor -- please get a surface basking temp on that rock you dont want to burn him up temp should be 95-100

 

[ownedbyP]

I dont know if they ship to where you are --- please do not feed wax worms regularly - they are very fatty and can cause liver damage-- please feed another staple like silk worms BSFL or crickets - the dubias are a good staple feeder --- you can feed super meal horn worms as treats -- is he going to the bathroom? The basking light is too close distance should be at least 6 inches above the basking decor -- please get a surface basking temp on that rock you dont want to burn him up temp should be 95-100

They are not regular just for his recovery. Usual is dubia, hornworms are hard to get here
He is not defecating on his own. I have to help him by massaging the area of the cloaca.
I was told 40-45c was ideal, but if thats too much i will raise his lamp. Thank you

 

[KarrieRee]

They are not regular just for his recovery. Usual is dubia, hornworms are hard to get here
He is not defecating on his own. I have to help him by massaging the area of the cloaca.
I was told 40-45c was ideal, but if thats too much i will raise his lamp. Thank you

It is too hot please raise the bulb - you want it 95-100 F for him -- older dragons do not like real hot temps -- please feed soft foods so he can easily pass the stool -- silk worms and BSFL are good staples - I would not feed any super worms or meal worms because of the exoskeleton on them - and I would hold back the dubias and the crickets as well --- you dont want him plugged up again-- make sure hes hydrated -- this will help w/ the pooping

 

[ownedbyP]

It is too hot please raise the bulb - you want it 95-100 F for him -- older dragons do not like real hot temps -- please feed soft foods so he can easily pass the stool -- silk worms and BSFL are good staples - I would not feed any super worms or meal worms because of the exoskeleton on them - and I would hold back the dubias and the crickets as well --- you dont want him plugged up again-- make sure hes hydrated -- this will help w/ the pooping

Definitely will, thanks Karrie. Are leafy greens okay for soft food? I will see if i can find soldier fly larvae. I will never feed mealworms again. I bought small baby dubias for an occasional meal, I dont think he will have the sub adults anymore. Can i give him water by syringe? Is that a good idea?

 

[ownedbyP]

Just noticed your link. I will try droplets for him first and if it fails i will give him a little by syringe.

 

[KarrieRee]

Just noticed your link. I will try droplets for him first and if it fails i will give him a little by syringe.

You can use a eye dropper for water -- I would maybe feed some baby food squash - see if he will lick that off of a spoon -- but the BSFL are a good soft worm along w/ silks --

 

[AHBD]

He looks pretty good for his age, you've taken great care of him. You started the thread saying you've made mistakes that you regret but to have a 15 year old dragon it shows that you've actually been a good owner and made mostly good decisions for sure.

You're getting good advice so far, my suggestion about not being aggressive with his treatment was just to be ware that vets aren't using methods that hurt him in his fragile condition.

Hopefully he will live to 16 or ?? years old. So far so good . I think your enclosure is fine and you don't need a larger one, especially since he's old.

 

[ownedbyP]

He looks pretty good for his age, you've taken great care of him. You started the thread saying you've made mistakes that you regret but to have a 15 year old dragon it shows that you've actually been a good owner and made mostly good decisions for sure.

You're getting good advice so far, my suggestion about not being aggressive with his treatment was just to be ware that vets aren't using methods that hurt him in his fragile condition.

Hopefully he will live to 16 or ?? years old. So far so good . I think your enclosure is fine and you don't need a larger one, especially since he's old.

I think he looks pretty good too. I don't see any signs of his age on him.

Yes of course. I appreciate you looking out for him.

It'll do until hes back in top shape but then I will look for something bigger. Thank you so much for the kind words.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Wow, he does look pretty good for his age!
You can blend up the greens into a slurry so it is
easier to digest for him.
Denmark I imagine is hard to source some things.
Do you order most things online?
I agree with AHBD, at his age, I wouldn't worry about
upgrading his tank size. You don't need to make any
big changes for him, so it doesn't cause him any
undue stress. What you have been doing has been
working so just focus on getting his system working
better & helping him heal.

Tracie