Im Angry and stuck with what to do!

[WendyMason]

I decided to get a beardie, so I went and bought the book 'The bearded Dragon manual'. I read it from cover to cover, it says that beardied dragon are social animals that should be kept together. :study:

I went out and bought a viv setup with 2 dragons, the lady who owned them just fed them lettuce. One looked much smaller and sicker than the other. I felt sorry for the beardies so I bought them. I sexed them when I got home and found I had 2 males.

I then looked on the internet and found out that 2 males cant live together, so I went out and bought another setup up with a female dragon who was the same size as my larger male and I now have 2 4ft vivs one with the poorly male beardie in and one with a male and female in.

I have just read on this forum that males and female cant live together. So I am angry, confused and havent got clue on what to do now! I have no money left to buy anymore stuff. I have spend all my money on the second viv setup. I didnt have enough money to get my food shopping today. Help! What on earth do I do? The poorly dragon is not eating and bearly moves at the moment I have been force feeding him with a few wax worms a day. What do I do? How is it fair to publish a book that is so WRONG! GRRRRRRRRRR!

I would be very greatful for your ideas.

Wendy

 

[drakekeeper]

im having the same problem with my female i just paid $350.00 for.
my male is healthy,eating and running around
my female was suppose to be healthy and ready to breed
i think i purchased a sick dragon
she now has a lump on her ,posibly from parisites
today im taking both dragons to the vet
i would suggest you do the same
seems like no-one wants to tell STRAIGHT FORWARD WHAT TO DO and im sick of it,people say do some research and then ill help you.
i thought asking someone on a bearded dragon site was research and that they would be GLAD TO HELP but i was wrong
make sure your temps are right and you have a uvb for their digestion

 

[lilStewie]

I am sorry that you are having trouble. There is a lot of bad information out there, and I assure you this site is the best place to get information. I haven't come accross to many people that are rude on here if you ask a question. I started out with only the help of this site and now I feel Beardie competent. Please ask as many questions as you want and I know people will be grateful to help! We strive to provide the best care for our animals and I think if you find someone being rude on here to just ignore them. They have obviously forgotten the reason they first came to this site and now they are holier than though. Who needs em. You have found the best place on earth to get information so please use all of us and our experiences!!! There is a template that everyone always asks for it has a list of questions that should be answered to help best diagnose possible problems. I will see if I can round it up.

 

[lilStewie]

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

 

[Freeie]

One of her main issues is she has 3 beardies and 2 vivs and now has no money for anything at all not even food for herself and shes having a hard time with the poss sick beardie , it must be a little overwhelming. No beardies can live together they are a solo reptile sorry to say Maybe you can see if someone might want to adopt one of them.

And drakekeeper,

im having the same problem with my female i just paid $350.00 for.
my male is healthy,eating and running around
my female was suppose to be healthy and ready to breed
i think i purchased a sick dragon
she now has a lump on her ,posibly from parisites
today im taking both dragons to the vet
i would suggest you do the same
seems like no-one wants to tell STRAIGHT FORWARD WHAT TO DO and im sick of it,people say do some research and then ill help you.
i thought asking someone on a bearded dragon site was research and that they would be GLAD TO HELP but i was wrong
make sure your temps are right and you have a uvb for their digestion

Seams like your upset because no one who is on the forum knows what to tell you about your issue... Im sure if they did someone would post not all of us are experts and can *wham* give you a answer asap....

 

[Freeie]

hot/basking side 105 to 110 cool side 80 to 85.

 

[fresnowitte]

I feel your frustration. I to had bought that book and listened to the pet store people only to find this awesome site (5 years later) where it's caring members helped me get everything worked out that I was doing incorrectly. That particular book is over 12 years old much more research has been done sense then. Plus you have to keep in mind that Bill Malloux helped write that book and he is a Large breeder so they are going to want to make as many sells as possible not necessarily what is best for the beardies, so of course they are going to tell you that you should house more than one together.

I've found that there are several types of beardie owners.

1. The kind like most of the members here where we look at our beardies as loving pets. (Our scaly puppies)

2. The kind that only buy them so they have something to look at, the beardie is more of a decoration.

3. You have store owners or some breeder's that are basically only in it for the sales and will tell you whatever it takes to make an extra sell. Good breeders care about quality and take pride in providing healthy babies.

4. Or the people that think they are going to make a bunch of money off of breeding beardies only to find out how much money, care, and time it actually takes. That just put out babies not taking into consideration that your beardies must be examined and tested regularly. So they are also putting out there a load of unhealthy babies.
(Then they end-up with these unwanted beardies, that they can't afford to care for that need homes.)


If you can not afford another viv this is understandable. The set-ups are not cheap an I'll never understand why the pet stores say that beardies make a good beginner reptile. :roll: That gives people the wrong impression I think. I think they get the idea that the cost and daily care is minimal, which we all know isn't true. If I were you I'd try and re-home one of the beardies. You really don't want to keep any of them together it is not fair to them. They thrive so much better when they can live in their own domains. I say this out of my own experiences with separating mine.

Sorry didn't mean to take over your rant.

Also I didn't notice you mentioning how big these guys were. If the 2 smaller ones are only little guys you might be able to put a divider in one of the 4ft viv's and make 2 out of it. That might suffice for a short while.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask. :wink:

 

[fresnowitte]

I'm sorry where are my manners?
Welcome to BD.org!

 

[WendyMason]

Thanks, unfortunally I think the ill one is going to die so i cant rehome that one, and i dont want to rehome one of the others if he is going to die, as i have got 2 vivs now, so I need to find something for the sick one. or maybe I should put that one in with the female instead of the bigger male. I dont want the ill one to die but it would make my life easier. He does look really sick. Should I maybe help him on his way?

 

[BrittanyS]

There's no way to tell that she/he is 100 percent going to die. I would DEFINETLY NOT "help it on its way".
You should take it to the vet and see if they can do anything about it. Where are you located? Maybe someone on her could come pick the sick one up.

 

[WendyMason]

Dont be rude, I have been a Veterinary Tech for 14yrs, I know when it looks grave!

 

[fresnowitte]

I would definitely keep the sick beardie seperate from the others as it might be something that is contageous to the other beardies. Myself I'd try to save the sick beardie as that is just the way I am. An it could be something as minor as parasites that with treatment could uncover an awesome and very grateful beardie that would love you forever.

I think a fecal test is in order.

Do you have a pic of the ill beardie?
Maybe it will help promote some more suggestions as to how you could help this little one.

Also what UVB are you using?
Stay far away from reptiglo bulbs, coils, or compacts. Three of the better choices would be a reptisun 10.0, Mega-ray, or a Mercury vapor bulb.

And what are your temps?
Are you taking the temps with a digital probe thermometer or infrared temp gun?
If not an your using the one the pet store sold you your temps could be wrong.
The dial and tape strip types can be up to 20* off in their readings.

Have you been bathing the beardies to make sure they are staying hydrated?
Your sick little one really needs hydration to have any chance of getting better.

You could also try giving that baby some baby food mixed with the suppliments to try and get something in his belly. Ever little lick will only help. :wink: I fed vegetables and chicken to Zak-n-Wheezie when they were babies inorder to get them some suppliments and protien while they were small and top heavy during which time they were rather weak and couldn't really chase food on their own. (they would not have lived) Now they are nice healthy boys. Sometimes we just need to give a little extra care. :wink:

 

[BrittanyS]

I was not trying to be rude. Im just saying I wouldn't help it along to its grave.

 

[fresnowitte]

Dont be rude, I have been a Veterinary Tech for 14yrs, I know when it looks grave!

I don't think anyone was trying to be rude. :wink: Just that there are many of us on this site that have beardies that were not expected to live. Zak-n-Wheezie are 2 of those beardies and they are now the oldest, largest 2-headed beardie in the world. If it would not have been for special care during the time when they were weak they would not have survived. I was told by vets and reptile specialist all over the world that they wouldn't live to be adult and they are now coming up on 21 months old. You really could be surprise at what a little extra LOVE will bring you. :wink: I think that's what the other poster might be trying to say.

 

[jscott]

hi, sorry to hea about that. you have to find someone who can nurse that sick dragon back to health though. waxworms are poor nutrition even for a staple and you need something thats going to bring him back. if your going to keep him then try to get him some pedialyte and organic babyfood next time you get a couple bucks. i still think you'd be better off handing him over to a shelter that does rehabs. dont hand him over to a shelter who will put him down tho. i definitely dont think you should put him out of him misery; its something that can be fixed if you can figure out whats wrong. maybe hes impacted. what kind of bedding was he on? did he ever get any of the bedding in his mouth while eating?

i would definitely not put him with another dragon either. try to figure out a way to make a homemade viv or something. something to keep him in four walls with proper lighting over head. it doesnt have to be an escape-proof, screened in box for a sick dragon. just walls high enough he cant climb out. make sure he has proper temps on both the hot and cool side and make sure the device your using is a good thermometer, not those stick on ones.

sorry again to hear about the situation your in. i hope things start to look up for that sick dragon.

P.S. take care of all your dragons of course, but take EXTRA SPECIAL care with that sick dragon. dont let him go without a fight. and change his meals to something healthier. maybe not even crickets right now, just organic baby food and maybe some repti-aid.