I need help!

[DragonSenpai]

My wife and I had a question regrading our baby dragon, We thought it would be a good idea to put a small tub of sand in it tank..We put him in it and he started to eat/attack /dig at it but we didn't take him out right away because we were unsure if he was digging or eating but once we saw he was eating we took him out. Three days has pass and his stool has been soft and for two days he has not eaten in two days. We looked a few things up and we came to the thought he could have impacted due to the sand or (hope not) parasite from the mint plant we bought the same day as the sand. Today we baby prune food and pomegranate juice with all the right stuff to see if that helps and hand feed with a syringe(carefully of course). We then gave him(or her) his second 20 mins warm bath and gently rubbing his tummy. My wife saw(felt) weird bumps on the sides of his tummy. We are very worried and unsure what those could be from because that has never been there. Any thoughts??

Here is the pics of the belly:

 

[DragonSenpai]

:?:

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....those little ripply lumps are the ribcage. If he's pooing then he's likelt not having any problem with impaction. Can you post pics of your set up and also list your exact type + brand of lights, also what you're feeding him ?

 

[DragonSenpai]

Hi there....those little ripply lumps are the ribcage. If he's pooing then he's likelt not having any problem with impaction. Can you post pics of your set up and also list your exact type + brand of lights, also what you're feeding him ?

We have a Aquarium Culture 25w blacklight for night, I think Reptisun 75w basking bulb for day. A Reptisun UVB light in 18' in unknkown wattage (we bought it but forgot what it is, was recommended by the people at the petstore).

We feed him
veggies: greens, turnip and collard, broccoli, carrots, peas, snow peas. varying fruits on different occassions. sprayed w/calcium spray before we put them into his cage.
meat: crickets and dubias daily, (sometimes fly larvae or whatever they're called, those worms that are good for them that are better than mealworms) dusted w/calcium powder and fed w/veggies

 

[CooperDragon]

He looks pretty good to me. Your feeding schedule sounds good too. I agree that if he is still pooping regularly then impaction isn't likely at issue. You don't necessarily need to add calcium to the veges, but definitely dust the bugs with a calcium supplement at each meal. The UVB light you have is good but it has optimal output at 6-8'' so please be sure there is a basking area that comes within that distance. He may also enjoy a hide or a shady area to get away from the light if he wants to.

For overnight, I'd stop using the blacklight. The visible light can disturb his sleep. If the temperatures in the tank stay above 65 or so overnight, then you don't need any additional heat. If the temps drop below that (perhaps seasonally) I suggest using a low wattage ceramic heat emitter. Just enough to bump the overnight temps into the low 70s.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....you got good advice from Cooper. One more very important thing to add, get him a basking log that goes up at least 10" off the ground. Even a good branch or log from outside will do, brush it off if it's dirty and pop it in a preheated 250 oven for an hour. Then get rid of the hammock....these are the " in thing " but are not really great for lizards whose body + claws are made for gripping rocks + branches. If you look at your set up, the heat lamp is over the hammock, but the hammock can't hold any heat like a rock or wood and the UVB does not reach there. I raised beardies for over 20 years and would never use or recommend hammocks. Lizards are made for rocks + branches, not for soft mesh + fabric. So please look for a good branch, it's much better all around.

 

[Madzilla101]

I would definitely check out this video! It has definitely helped my beardie i so many ways!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLaAEsNYPdk. Hope he gets better soon

 

[DragonSenpai]

Thanks for sharing that video! What a cute bearded dragon. WE have some prune baby food so thats a start.

Thanks for the help and advice. We have a long stick but we don't exactly have something to cut it up with.
But the good news is we woke up to some poop, not a lot but its a good sign that we are doing the right thing.

8)

We just ordered him a back ground we he can climb all over. It comes with a hide hole for him C:
We will be following all of your advice though. When we can afford that light bulb that is. But We will try the no light at night.


He also pooped last night or early this morning because we woke up with a little poop. So its a start. and he is also now eating