HELP

[Liam16]

Mistyck, the other beardie I was looking at was for my cousin. Why do you say that I would throw it away. This is not acceptable "PERIOD"

 

[Liam16]

Mistyck, I joined this site looking for quality advice and you gave me just that. My bearded dragon is a rescue from pet smart. He had been returned. I had a kind heart to pick him up and I hope you can respect that

 

[sweetiepie9]

Liam, I'm glad to hear that you're looking into a better way to take care of your dragon. The Reptisun 10.0 tube you have is the right UVB, it's the temperature that your dragon is under that's incorrect. It's great that you rescued this little guy from Pet Smart, but you still need to make sure he has the right temperatures to bask under, as that will affect his digestion which in turn affects his ability to eat. I don't know what your monetary situation is, but dragons cost $, that's a fact. The Accurite thermometer with a probe isn't expensive and you can find it at any hardware store. The probe is put on the basking spot 45 minutes after you put the basking light on & it will accurately tell you what your temperatures are. It's important that your little guy has at least 105F at the spot where he's sitting, so he gets the warmth he needs to digest his food. A 10 minute bath is fine, but at the proper temps he'd need a daily bath, just because he's still little. If the temps aren't high enough, then you need to get a bright white household bulb with a higher wattage and we can help you with that. Not having the right temps (and your dragon is probably too cold at 90F) is essential for good digestion.

So please get the proper thermometer, as it's impossible to guess the right temps. Crickets are ok, mediums would be the right size for him at his age. Mealworms aren't nutritious enough for beardies and their shells are very hard to digest. Supers are for bigger beardies, I didn't get mine any until they were a year old, but 16" long is the minimum recommended length for them. They'll be good for him when he's bigger, it's what my 6 dragons eat, plus dubia roaches. Greens daily, as everyone has said & www.beautifuldragons.com is the best nutrition list around.

I hope all this information helps. And it's important for your beardie that you give him the right temps to start him off right. If you're worried about him being impacted, then when he's in his daily (that would be important) bath, massage his belly from his chest down to his vent (where he poops from) and that will get his digestion working. You can also feed him canned pumpkin, without spices, it also helps with digestion. Having your first dragon is always difficult to figure out what's best for him, but the people who have been answering your questions are long term dragon owners and we've all been where you are, wondering what to do. I have been rescuing dragons for 7 years and have 6 adult males, one that is being treated for Yellow Fungus, so I know all about expenses for a dragon. So to keep him healthy, please follow what we're suggesting.
Take care
Deb

 

[Liam16]

It almost sounds like he is sneezing now. This is probably due to the lighting and I think he has an infection

 

[KristineM]

Deb (and many others who have left helpful comments) is a wealth of knowledge. I understand exactly where you are right now because if it wasn't for Deb and many like her, I would have lost my boy a long time ago.

Have you had a chance to make any corrections? Or grab a thermometer? Sneezing doesn't sound like something that would be due to lighting...at least not visually. Temperatures or humidity levels possibly.

I hope he's ok. With the suggested changes hopefully you will be able to turn this all around quickly.

 

[Liam16]

He is becoming very thin. I purchased all of the correct lighting and he still refuses to eat, is not active and is getting no food at all. He is very dark. I think he is sick. Should I go to a vet?

 

[diamc]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have him checked by a reptile vet. There is a chance that he may have parasites so would be a good idea to take a fecal sample to have checked.

How long has he not eaten anything at all?

Are you bathing him once a day now for 15 to 20 min each time to make sure he is properly hydrated?

Since your thermometer is very inaccurate, your temps are off so you need to purchase either the digital probe thermometer or temperature gun as we explained to you. Without the proper temps, a beardie will not eat, become inactive and can cause him to become very sick. You really need to get a good thermometer ASAP. When do you think you can get one?

 

[Liam16]

My temps are at 105, he is very active outside his habitat, but inactive in it

 

[diamc]

Did you get a new thermometer to get the 105 reading? Where is the thermometer placed to get that reading?

 

[KristineM]

Deleted, Diane has already stated what I was responding with. Sorry!

 

[diamc]

I agree with Kristine, that he needs a good soak in warm bath water.

You had said before that you were using a 100 watt bulb in a 29 gallon tank. I still feel that is a lot of wattage for such a small tank so I hope you didn't add another bulb or using a higher wattage bulb without investing in a good thermometer.

How long has he not eaten anything at all?

Edit: It's ok Kristine, hopefully the more of us that post the same thing will help substantiate the need for proper temps. :wink: We all know what a big difference that makes in their total health & behavior.

 

[Liam16]

I got a temp gun and his basking spot temp is 105. He has not eaten in 5 days and is very thin

 

[KristineM]

If it is in fact an infrared temp gun, are you taking the temp from 2 inches away? That's how you'd get an accurate reading. I agree, the overall temp (ambient temp) is probably too high in that small space. Please soak him. He's probably dehydrated and can't hurt either way.

I'd also suggest offering some stage 1 chicken baby food mixed with squash or sweet potato baby food. The key word is offered. I wouldn't say force anything. You don't want to harm him.

My beardie went 15 days without eating when he had parasites which Diane helped me to figure out. I supplemented and he's still fussy over food. It CAN work out but you will have to work at it too.

I don't know if it's been asked or said but, how long is your beardie from tip of snout to tip of tail?

 

[diamc]

Oh, that's good that you have a temp gun. Any idea what brand it is? What distance are you holding the gun from the area you're checking? The right distance is VERY important.

 

[Liam16]

If it is in fact an infrared temp gun, are you taking the temp from 2 inches away? That's how you'd get an accurate reading. I agree, the overall temp (ambient temp) is probably too high in that small space. Please soak him. He's probably dehydrated and can't hurt either way.

I'd also suggest offering some stage 1 chicken baby food mixed with squash or sweet potato baby food. The key word is offered. I wouldn't say force anything. You don't want to harm him.

My beardie went 15 days without eating when he had parasites which Diane helped me to figure out. I supplemented and he's still fussy over food. It CAN work out but you will have to work at it too.

I don't know if it's been asked or said but, how long is your beardie from tip of snout to tip of tail?

my beardie is 10.5 inches long