Juvenile Beardie Dehydrated - please help

[vrjrww626]

I bought a juvenile beardie 3 weeks & 2 days ago. He's about 6 inches long and never has been a voracious eater, eating maybe a few small crickets some days and not much of anything other days. For the past two days, I know he has eaten nothing at all. I have been bathing him every few days and misting him at least once a day, but I took him to another person who owns a beardie and she said he looks dehydrated. I think the basking spot might have been too hot (the dial thermometer I currently have seems terrible, so I have an IR temp gun coming in the mail in 2 days), so I lowered the wattage of bulb and the temps seem closer to 100 degrees. When I mist him, he will lap the liquid up off the rock lick a thirsty dog. If the poor fella truly is dehydrated, I'm assuming this will make him not want to eat much. Please, suggestions needed for how to rehydrate him. Do I just bathe him 2-3 times a day? Give him some via a syringe? I am worried about him starving to death, but I'm hoping if hydration is the issue, then he'll start eating better once he's hydrated. My 8 year olds and I are amazingly attaching to this sweet fella and we were all in tears tonight at the thought of what might happen. Thanks in advance for the help

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Its hard to tell from the picture if he's dehydrated. I give my beardies water via syringe. As long as you mist his nose he can drink that way or in the bath. Misting his whole body won't hydrate him. It's good you have a temp gun on the way as those dial thermometers are very inaccurate. What kinds of lights are you using? How many times a day are you feeding him? Dragons get most of their moisture from bugs and salad.

 

[vrjrww626]

So grateful for your reply. I have a ReptiSun 10.0 uv bulb and a 60 watt crystal clear halogen bulb for his basking light. The 75 watt was getting too hot, which I believe may be the catalyst for this whole dehydration issue. I've misted him 1-2 times a day and have been giving him a bowl of Phoenix worms along with chopped squash and kale available in his tank throughout the day when I'm at work. I also put in a few crickets when I get home. The lady at petsmart said she thought the tank could be overwhelming for the little guy so tonight we barricaded it off to make it smaller. I can't figure out how to upload a pic on my phone, or I'd show you his new divided viv.

 

[destiny1998]

Thanks for answering. Is the reptisun a t8 or a t5? If its a t8 then you want to hang it in the cage as the screen filters the uvb. If its a t5 then it should be fine as the t5 is more powerful. I'd get a better basking plat form that is higher as beardies like to climb. Those hammocks aren't very good as beardies get their nails caught in them. My beardies started off with 40 gallon breeder and they adjusted just fine when they were small. They grow so fast!!

 

[vrjrww626]

I do have a T8 above the screen. So many things that I don't know :shock: Who knew there were T8's & T5's. I already bought a hood, so are my options to mount the T8 in the cage or buy a T5 for the hood? The hood I have has a built in reflector. Does that make it okay above the screen?

I'm putting a pic of Drago drinking this morning and of his new setup with a log (like you suggested) and part of his 55 gallon viv blocked off. Can you tell if his skin looks dehydrated? He's definitely skinny, but he's still alert. Do I bathe him in some Pedialyte, offer Pedialyte to drink, try to feed him baby food? I've seen threads where their baby got past the point of help and that is just heartbreaking! Really want to do right by this guy while he's still in decent shape.

 

[destiny1998]

He does look a little skinny. Do you feed him 2x a day for as much as he'll eat in 10 mins? Light situation is good. Babyfood will help hydrate him, but so will live feeders. Also if you have a syringe they can drink from that too. He's a looker by the way

 

[vrjrww626]

Isn't he precious? You can see just how super cute but skinny he is in these pics. So, you think the T8 above the screen with the reflector hood is okay???

He doesn't show any interest in the live crickets or phoenix worms 95% of the time. Do you think it's best to feed him in his habitat or in a separate container? He possibly ate one phoenix worm today (pretty sure there were 5 in the bowl, now there are 4, so either one found a way out or he ate it).

Some things I've read said baths don't actually give them liquid intake and other things say they actually do absorb liquid through their vent. So I'm thinking I'm going to bathe him in Pedialyte daily for a little while, keep offering live feeders, and see if he'll take any baby food or ground up worms from a syringe. I'm going to have to keep trying my best and just leave some of it to the Lord, because I'm worrying myself to death about little Drago.

 

[CooperDragon]

Wow, he's just a little guy =). Keep trying with the bugs. Once he's settled he will be more likely to dig in. He has a lot of growing to do. The baths are a good opportunity for them to take a drink and you can bathe them to clean them off but they don't absorb water through their vents. You can drop some on his nose as mentioned. I don't think a pedialyte bath is needed at this point. Baths in general may actually cause more stress than they're worth at this point. I'd stick with the drops on his nose and make sure the crickets are gutloaded with fresh veges and are well hydrated themselves. He will benefit from that once he starts after them. He looks pretty active and alert which is a good sign. Dropping baby food on his nose might be worth trying but it would be best for him to eat live bugs on his own. I'd keep a log of his weight. If it's remaining stable or increasing I'd just keep offering bugs. If it starts decreasing then I would offer him some Oxbow Carnivore Care or some baby food to try and stabilize his weight. As far as the lights go, the reflector will help the output of the T8 but he will still only get optimal UVB at around 6''. For a tank that size I'd say it's worth investing in a T5 setup so you have a nice UVB output at 12-14'' from on top of the screen. A 22'' setup should be just right for that tank. I can make some suggestions for brands etc if you'd like. If you keep the T8 it would be best to hang it just inside the mesh top so it's sitting 6-8'' above the log and hammock for best results.

 

[vrjrww626]

How would I hang the current light in the tank?

 

[CooperDragon]

If it has holes or hooks you could use wire or strong fishing line wrapped through the screen and around the plastic cross piece to hold it up. Otherwise you could try making several loops that you can slide the fixture through to hang it. If it has holes in the side you could use command hooks to hang it (facing down) on the back wall.

 

[vrjrww626]

I'll have my husband try and rig something up. Would you mind recommending specific brands, etc. in case this doesn't work?

Thanks so much for all the amazing input. I feel like you need a bachelor's degree in reptiles to own one of these things. I did what I considered a good but if research putting this habitat together, but I sure have a lot of learning to do. This forum is such a God-send!

 

[vrjrww626]

My husband rigged it up He tied 50 pound fishing line around both sides of the hood and hung it under the screen. We'll see how it goes! Thanks again!!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He is a little cutie!
Great advice already. He will greatly benefit from your new changes that you just made. I hope he starts eating more soon. It does take them a little while to settle in.
I think those wires will work just fine!
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree. That should work nicely =). If you decide to upgrade to a T5 fixture down the road, these are the setups I usually recommend.
This fixture http://www.amazon.com/Sunblaster-904296-NanoTech-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B00AKKUBDQ
With this bulb http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun-10-0-Lamp/dp/B00AQU8HAO/

Or this combo set http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

They can be mounted on top of the screen and have an optimal output at around 12-14'' above the basking spot.

 

[vrjrww626]

I got my scale and temperature gun in today and the temps look just right, but Drago is 6 inches long and only 5 grams Pitiful. Still not eating anything at all