Hi! Meet my rescued Beardie, Salacia!

[Blakeybutt]

Hello to everyone out there. My name is Blake, and the beautiful girl you see below is Salacia.

I just picked her up on Friday. I saw an ad on Craigslist and saw how poor of condition she was in. Turns out, she has never lived with a UVB bulb, and had a poor heat lamp. Her "Hot side" was only hitting about 79 degrees. This was inside of a 20Gallon tank. Yes, a full sized adult Beardie in a 20G tank. When I went and saw her for the first time, she was hardly moving, barley eating, and looked miserable.

Since Friday, I have bought her a new 40G breeder tank, a Retisun 10 UVB light fixture, new heat lamp, got her new Decor for the tank (Last one had 3 rocks in it... That's it.. not even a basking spot) and have been treating her the way she needs to be. Since just Friday, she has already improved phenomenally. She's active, she's eating and chasing her crickets, and she seems extremely happy so far.

Here she is in her new home!

This is my first Reptile, and my first pet since I moved out of my parents house. I know I don't know everything, so anything you can help me with, it would be greatly appreciated. I know her tank is pretty basic.. Any ideas on what I could put in there for her, what I should replace, anything.. Anything at all. I want to make her as happy as possible.


Thank you,

Blake

 

[AHBD]

Hi Blake....she looks pretty good, not too thin, and eating well is always a great sign. A lukewarm bath every other day to every 3 days will help keep her hydrated [ drip water on her nose to see if she'll drink ] and lots of greens and bugs. Be careful of using any loose substrate [ calcium sand is a potential impaction risk if they swallow it, so is crushed walnut ] , so be aware of that. Some good basic greens are turnip, mustard, collard, dandelion, and yellow squash is also good. I hope she lives a long healthy life.

 

[Floof]

Congrats on the rescue!

I would recommend reconsidering the use of sand; non-particle substrate tends to be a better option for beardies. Sand tends to harbor bad bacteria (you never really get all of it when you go to scoop a poop out of sand) and presents an impaction risk if she tends to lick her surroundings or if her greens/feeders tend to wind up in/covered in the sand. As well, the colored reptisand has a habit of staining their skin... As you can see on Salacia's feet and tail in the first picture, where it's already stained red from being housed on red reptisand.

Slate tile, non-stick shelf liner, even paper towels are all good, easy to clean (aka more sanitary) options. At the very least, I would recommend switching to paper towels until you know she is healthy and have thoroughly treated for parasites. Paper towels are great for a dragon with parasites because they can be replaced completely and the tank scrubbed after every poop, reducing the risk of the dragon ingesting more parasite eggs and starting the cycle over again (aka, paper towels are more sanitary; treating for parasites is more effective when you can keep the cage sanitized).

If you wish to try sand or something like that down the road, that's your choice. Just be sure you research the pros and cons thoroughly before you decide, and make sure you choose a lower risk product. In other words, do not use crushed walnut shell (ever, at all!) and steer clear of the repti-sand type products.

Congrats on your new baby, I'm glad she's doing well!

 

[Blakeybutt]

I actually just replaced all the sand with tile 2 days ago! It looks a whole lot better in there!

Thanks for the advice!

She's going very well!

 

[Floof]

Lol, how 'bout that! Glad to hear you already decided to make the switch. It looks great!

 

[mchell43]

Hey blake , You did well with her , great pics she is cute too! like what you did with the Viv . Its great to know you are helping them by giving them a good home ! .. chell