Iroh!

Today I rescued Iroh from a friend of mine. Iroh is very unhealthy and I am sure would have died in the next couple of weeks. He has shrunk by 2/3's his normal size in the last 2 months and had a terrible setup. I will be buying a new UV light for him this week.

My friend has near 17 fish tanks at his house and several reptiles/bird setups. While he is fanatical about his fish and bird breeding, the reptiles are sadly very mistreated. Since I have known him 3 frogs, a water dragon, and my snake have died in his care while the expensive fish flourish.

 

[Esther19]

How fortunate Iroh is that you took him home!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What a cutie he is! I am so sorry that he was so neglected.
He has a chance now with you. Keep us posted on his progress. He has such a sweet face.

Tracie

 

[tonygz88]

Thanks!

Well Iroh is crazy, I have decided. He does the head bob thing at me ALL day. And runs around his tank then hits his face on the glass, runs back onto his big log and head bobs more until its time for bed. He is now sleeping standing on his back legs flat against the glass for the last 3 hours lol.

Over the past 3 days he has eat 1 worm. Chewed up and threw up another . So I mixed up some expensive beardy dry food/moistened with orange juice and he ate that a little bit, he really seemed to like it.

 

[Menolly]

Hello,
I agree with the others, you are doing an awesome thing by rescuing this beardie. Baby food is very good to help them to start eating again. It's not surprising that he isn't eating. Do you have any idea what is diet was like before you got him? His stomach might now be used to worms and it could also be due to relocation stress. Sometimes it takes them a little bit of time to get adjusted. Baby food such as chicken or turkey, mixed with squash or sweet potato baby food help. The chicken and the turkey help with the protein. Beautiful dragons.com has a great nutritional breakdown about what is good for bearded dragons to eat.
Your set up looks pretty good. I'm just curious, what kind of bulb are you using and what are your temps?

 

[tonygz88]

Thanks for all the great information and responses. Today Iroh ate 5 butter worms and 3 superworms so he has a appetite again. He still wont eat roaches though.

My temp gun I ordered got sent to Afghanistan because I forgot to change my default mailing address on Amazon from when I was deployed lol. But I got my new one today and checked/adjusted temps and bulbs.

For Iroh on the large log he has, the temp seems to average around 107 but there is one tiny spot that jumps to 120. I don't know if its my gun, I got a nice one, or if the half inch spot really is a 13 degree difference.

For Ducky her temps range from 98 to 116 if I sweep the temp gun across the basking area. Once again there is a tiny spot that says 120 for some reason.

Should I be checking the temps of the dragons with it as well as the surface area around them?

 

[Toad]

Little Iroh has certainly been blessed with a wonderful new home. I wouldn't worry about checking your beardie's temperature, unless you want to. (It should be around 95 F.) My Apollo likes to try to eat the probe of the temp gun when it comes near him, so I just monitor his tank's temperature. Being cold-blooded means that they will adjust to their environment. Congratulations on the new little-un!

 

[Menolly]

Oh geez, I bet that was a hassle to get it back! Those 98-102 is typically a good basking spot temperature. 107 might be a little hot for the bearded dragon, but if yours seems to enjoy it I wouldn't be to worried. I would just make sure to keep them hydrated with plenty of baths
If you want to you can, it might give you an idea of how hot it feels to them.
If you don't mind me asking, how is he doing eating veggies? My has always struggled with that, if I didn't take the time to hand feed him, I swear he wouldn't eat them at all he would just pig out on the worms.

 

[tonygz88]

Being cold-blooded means that they will adjust to their environment. Congratulations on the new little-un!

Thanks Toad

Oh geez, I bet that was a hassle to get it back! Those 98-102 is typically a good basking spot temperature. 107 might be a little hot for the bearded dragon, but if yours seems to enjoy it I wouldn't be to worried. I would just make sure to keep them hydrated with plenty of baths
If you want to you can, it might give you an idea of how hot it feels to them.
If you don't mind me asking, how is he doing eating veggies? My has always struggled with that, if I didn't take the time to hand feed him, I swear he wouldn't eat them at all he would just pig out on the worms.

Iroh is around 1 year old now if my information is correct, and has never eaten veggies. I will be working very diligently to encourage him to enjoy a better diet. Ducky on the other hand will sometimes eat only veggies for 2 weeks then eat only superworms.

After buying several different bulbs and modifying the lamps I got both of their temps in a range of 90-102. I do like to bath them regularly, never seen Iroh drink from his bowl yet.

I did an experiment where I covered the front of Iroh's residence with a blanket. When I spied on him his color looked great, no black anywhere. When I removed the blanket he instantly turned pure black beard and underbelly, and head bobbed/slapped his claws on the ground. He really wants to be dominate I guess.

Ducky has gotten really fat the last few months. Probably just from growing up. Leo, the cat, is scared of her. He runs away if she gets to close.

 

[tonygz88]

Do you think the UVB is a good distance from the basking spot? Its 11" away since I attached it inside the tank last night.

Also I guess my name is getting around, I was asked if I was interested in adopting a 4 year old female beardy this weekend for free. So exciting!

 

[Menolly]

Hello,
That really is exciting? Did you get the 4 year old bearded dragon? The blub seems to be a good distance away as long as that if that's what is recommended. Just curious how did you mount the bulb like that? I have a 75 gallon tank and have always used mercury vapor bulbs, but have switched to using both. I'm having a bit of trouble thinking of how to properly attach it without being afraid that its going to fall. ( I do this for my bearded because he has had some serious health problems, so I've been trying to help out in whatever little ways I can. Two lights are not necessary for a regular beardie mines just overly spoiled)