I found a bearded dragon.

[daniellehutto]

My aunt passed away, and she had a bearded dragon. Well, mine now. Anyways, his name is Rango, (short for, My Durango, #95) when I inherited Rango he was in pretty bad shape. Keep in mind now, I've never even heard of a bearded dragon before now. Some of his tale is missing, I found out that he had gotten his tale closed up in a door and then turned to what I was told was "tale rot" and he has a lump on his rib area. I don't believe he was taken care of like he was supposed to be, obviously, he acts very scared of everything as well as everyone. I do believe he has gotten comfortable with me. But I don't know what I am doing here and I can't afford to take him to a vet to get his tale and rib seen about and I don't know if he is pain or comfortable and happy. But I just can't give him away and live with not knowing if he is being mistreated or neglected. I don't know if any of this makes since at all. I just need help. I don't know what I'm doing

 

[RangoRocky]

Black bearding would suggest signs of pain and discomfort. Having the correct setup and temps would help a lot. Can you provide a photo showing his tail and lump?

 

[daniellehutto]

He rarely has a black beard, it's always been a pale yellow and orange. As I said this was not a planned adoption. So as far as an enclosure, I do cannot afford it, I know all this makes me sound like a horrible pet owner, but I do have the uv bulbs and I make sure he has calcium and I take him outside in the sunshine everyday. I make sure he stays warm. Although at night when he sleeps he likes to get under his blanket and hide. So I dim his heat lamps and cover him and he'll turn a circle or two and fall asleep. Now if someone other than me is around him his entire body will turn black. Which I have found that they are stress marks. I've learned a few things on the internet. But every sight has their own opinion so it's hard to believe a lot. If you can't get a good look at him in these pics, I will go take a few more. He gets upset when u take his blanket off and wake him B4 he's ready.

 

[xp29]

Over all he looks ok. You HAVE to get that cedar out of his habitat it IS toxic to him. Any conifer is toxic.
You said money is an issue and boy i understand, but if you can't get him the proper lighting he is going to suffer really bad. He needs a long tube uvb ut needs to be a 10.0 strength and at least 24 inches long. T5 bulbs are vetter and last longer than t8 which ever you get make sure there isnt a plastic cover over the bulb it blocks ALL the uvb. The bulbs need to be replace at 6 months for t8 and about a year for t5. Please don't use the coil type, they aren't good. Depending on the size of the holes in the screen it may need to be inside his habitat. 10 to 15 inches above him. This is critical. He also needs a clear white basking buld. This doesn't have to be fancy. You can get a cheap dome for around 10 bucks at about any hardeare store. You can use any incandescent light it just needs to be clear, no frosted or colored bulbs. His basking needs to be 95 to 100 degrees at surface temp it needs to be taken with a digital probe thermometer (I'll attach a pic) again these are like 10 bucks so they won't break the bank. This setup is SO very important, if you dont get this right he will develop metabolic bone disease, that is a horrible condition and they suffer and die for a long time. Fir food he needs salad every day. No spinach please it is a calcium binder. Feed live bugs 3 to 5 times per week until you know he is all good then 3 to 4 times a week. Do calcium daily for a bit to make sure to stsve off metabolic bone disease. Use a calcium with d3 in it at first then after a while you can use calcium without d3 3 to 4 times per week. He needs multivitamin 2 times per week.
I know this is a lot to throw at you, but it IS necessary for him to thrive. If you can't provide this for him please rehome him. I'm not trying to bust your chops, i just don't want you or him to go through a vad experience.
I hope this help and PLEASE ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. everyone here is here to help.

 

[RangoRocky]

Your during right by taking him out in the sun . Natural uvb is always a great thing. In terms of the heat during the day when he is in his enclosure 95-100 and at night turn off all lights and keep the temp 75-80. For the enclosure you can find those for sale on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist inexpensive at times. Just make you sanitize and clean it well before putting him in.

 

[KarrieRee]

He rarely has a black beard, it's always been a pale yellow and orange. As I said this was not a planned adoption. So as far as an enclosure, I do cannot afford it, I know all this makes me sound like a horrible pet owner, but I do have the uv bulbs and I make sure he has calcium and I take him outside in the sunshine everyday. I make sure he stays warm. Although at night when he sleeps he likes to get under his blanket and hide. So I dim his heat lamps and cover him and he'll turn a circle or two and fall asleep. Now if someone other than me is around him his entire body will turn black. Which I have found that they are stress marks. I've learned a few things on the internet. But every sight has their own opinion so it's hard to believe a lot. If you can't get a good look at him in these pics, I will go take a few more. He gets upset when u take his blanket off and wake him B4 he's ready.

Please no lights on at night -- dragons like cool and dark --- to get him back to healthy and staying healthy is going to be the surface basking temps and a good UVB of which has been mentioned - the best UVB's are Zoo Med fixtures 24" for a 40 + gallon tank that is the smallest tank you want preferably 75-120 gallon - or a 24 watt Arcadia Pro T 5 w/ a 12% desert bulb --- Pet Smart has started carrying those --- please let us know what your doing so we can help you get the tank set up correctly -- diet and lots of your questions can be answered here and we can help you get this guy back in shape --- as stated look for a tank on FB marketplace or Craigslist --- and please sanitize it first before putting him in it -- you can get some Zoo Meds Wipeout or some F10 vet disinfectant that can be found on Ebay or Amazon --

 

[AHBD]

He's in pretty good condition as far as what is seen in the pics, the lump on his side is just the ribcage and/or the little bit of fat growing over it and is perfectly normal. Can you post a few close ups of his tail ?

 

[daniellehutto]

 

[AHBD]

Did a piece fall off ? It looks good and clean but just keep an eye on it.

 

[daniellehutto]

Did a piece fall off ? It looks good and clean but just keep an eye on it.

Yes about an inch of it. I don't know what happened to it. When I found him, it hadn't fell off yet.

 

[AHBD]

You can apply Neosporin [ NOT the pain relief type ] to it but it looks good, not infected.

 

[daniellehutto]

Yes sir, or ma'am, I apologize for not knowing.
I soaked it several times in betadine and warm water and used Neosporin after.

 

[daniellehutto]

Thanks to everyone for all your help. I'm new to all this so please be patient with me if I ask a lot of questions.

 

[AHBD]

Definitely ask any questions you have, someone generally will get back to you soon with helpful advice.

 

[xp29]

The only stupid question is one not asked! Never guess, we are all happy to help you sort out anything you encounter.