Meet Bodie <3

[clyde612]

Hi all!

This mostly an introduction but I’d also love any advice from anyone who has rescued a beardie similar to Bodie. She/he is a beautiful little baby…

…but I bet you couldn’t guess her age. She is around 12 months old her body is that of a 3-4 month old beardie.

I found her, underfed and neglected, on an Offer Up post:

I had no plans of getting/rescuing a beardie but when I saw her photo (and that she was nearby!) I knew I had to step in and help her. After some inquiring I learned that this owner had MANY reptiles. I was able to rescue 3 in total (2 beardies and one leopard gecko) that she wanted off her hands. It pains me knowing she likely has more reptiles. I was able to inform her that both beardies had been severely stunted.

Little Bodie has never had a UVB and was allegedly fed twice a week. Not only does she look like a baby, but she acts like one too! I don’t how much or if she will grow, but upon first glance she looks like a slightly skinny yet healthy 3-4 month old. She has minimal deformities (uneven ribcage and a slightly small jaw). I would love any information on stunted beardies who look like babies!

She has loads of energy, surprisingly! She is already eating great, but has not pooped yet. Because of this she is only being offered salad and baby food to make sure she doesn’t overeat. She loves her salads too!

I am currently waiting on some liquid calcium that she will be supplemented with and some beardie buffet so she can have a liquid protein until she starts pooping. It’s only been 2 days I’m sure she’ll go soon.

Okay, time for the fun part, photos!!!

Her bath today, she is still a bit nervous around me hence the stress marks!

Basking today <3

Very full belly after drinking lots of bath water! She was so thirsty.

Peeking out 🫣

Very stoic.

For anyone with experience, my main questions are about wether I should be caring for her like a 12 month old, or like a 4 month old. She looks and acts 4 months old, which makes me feel like I should be adjusting her basking temp and diet to that, but I know in reality that she is 12 months old…

I’ve also noticed some digging and hiding in her hide, but she also eats and basks. Could this be relocation stress? I really don’t want her to go into brumation right now, she should be trying to eat and grow right now.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hi all!

This mostly an introduction but I’d also love any advice from anyone who has rescued a beardie similar to Bodie. She/he is a beautiful little baby…

View attachment 84896

…but I bet you couldn’t guess her age. She is around 12 months old her body is that of a 3-4 month old beardie.

I found her, underfed and neglected, on an Offer Up post:

View attachment 84897

I had no plans of getting/rescuing a beardie but when I saw her photo (and that she was nearby!) I knew I had to step in and help her. After some inquiring I learned that this owner had MANY reptiles. I was able to rescue 3 in total (2 beardies and one leopard gecko) that she wanted off her hands. It pains me knowing she likely has more reptiles. I was able to inform her that both beardies had been severely stunted.

Little Bodie has never had a UVB and was allegedly fed twice a week. Not only does she look like a baby, but she acts like one too! I don’t how much or if she will grow, but upon first glance she looks like a slightly skinny yet healthy 3-4 month old. She has minimal deformities (uneven ribcage and a slightly small jaw). I would love any information on stunted beardies who look like babies!

She has loads of energy, surprisingly! She is already eating great, but has not pooped yet. Because of this she is only being offered salad and baby food to make sure she doesn’t overeat. She loves her salads too!

I am currently waiting on some liquid calcium that she will be supplemented with and some beardie buffet so she can have a liquid protein until she starts pooping. It’s only been 2 days I’m sure she’ll go soon.

Okay, time for the fun part, photos!!!

Her bath today, she is still a bit nervous around me hence the stress marks!
View attachment 84899


Basking today <3
View attachment 84900


Very full belly after drinking lots of bath water! She was so thirsty.
View attachment 84901


Peeking out 🫣
View attachment 84902


Very stoic.
View attachment 84903

For anyone with experience, my main questions are about wether I should be caring for her like a 12 month old, or like a 4 month old. She looks and acts 4 months old, which makes me feel like I should be adjusting her basking temp and diet to that, but I know in reality that she is 12 months old…

I’ve also noticed some digging and hiding in her hide, but she also eats and basks. Could this be relocation stress? I really don’t want her to go into brumation right now, she should be trying to eat and grow right now.

Follow her lead - try different surface basking temps-- start w/ 105-110 if she doesn't bask under that temp or off to the side lower it to the 95-100 - is her uvb 8-10 inches above her-- it's on the screen - your screen is it a wide hole?

 

[clyde612]

Follow her lead - try different surface basking temps-- start w/ 105-110 if she doesn't bask under that temp or off to the side lower it to the 95-100 - is her uvb 8-10 inches above her-- it's on the screen - your screen is it a wide hole?

The UVB is set up well now you and I already went over it on a separate thread. Higher UVB output to compensate for the screen and yes it’s a wider mesh.

 

[KarrieRee]

The UVB is set up well now you and I already went over it on a separate thread. Higher UVB output to compensate for the screen and yes it’s a wider mesh.

Ok I would lay off the baths- they seem to be stressing her out- I would offer water by either spraying her head see if she will lick or eye dropper - drip on her nose -

 

[xp29]

Calcium and multivitamins are a must. Be careful not to let her gorge, she'll likely throw it back up. I have 2 rescues with mbd. I thought Ruby would be stunted for life. She has actually grown quite a bit. You can still see the mbd but it isn't near as noticeable. Hopefully Bodie can and will recover. She is definitely in a better place now.

 

[hdochow]

i rescued sir henry of scales at 6 months old and he was 8 grams and 9.5 inches, full of parasites, and near death. took him back to petco so they could get him to the vet because it was included in the purchase price paid by his previous owner. they kept him for 2 weeks and he was up to 14 grams when he came home. because of his neglect, i just let him eat and eat. he'd pack down at least 60 small bugs twice a day and he was big into salads. i let that go on until he got some decent weight on him. (i DO NOT RECOMMEND that type of bug feeding unless it is an extreme circumstance like his was. in general it is not good for them.) after a couple months we went down to a much more limited offering of bugs. he always had salads available every day. at a year old he was up to about 365 grams and 19 inches long.

now, at about 3.5 years old, he's just under 600 grams and 22 inches long. he still goes crazy for salad, but is offered 3-5 roaches once a week. (the roaches are only fed his leftover salad. no protein chow.) some weeks he'll eat them, some weeks he's all, "get those outta my face i'm going for my salad!"

so don't give up! just because they are stunted at rescue does NOT mean they can't grow to a full size dragon. just make sure your lights and temps are on point and they are getting adequate supplements for calcium and vitamins while offering a wide variety of veggies in the salad. here's a good link for what you can feed veggie wise just in case you don't know. it needs to be updated though. kale has been studied further and is a great staple green.


Edit to add pic on rescue night. he's so freaking tiny!!!!

 

[xp29]

i rescued sir henry of scales at 6 months old and he was 8 grams and 9.5 inches, full of parasites, and near death. took him back to petco so they could get him to the vet because it was included in the purchase price paid by his previous owner. they kept him for 2 weeks and he was up to 14 grams when he came home. because of his neglect, i just let him eat and eat. he'd pack down at least 60 small bugs twice a day and he was big into salads. i let that go on until he got some decent weight on him. (i DO NOT RECOMMEND that type of bug feeding unless it is an extreme circumstance like his was. in general it is not good for them.) after a couple months we went down to a much more limited offering of bugs. he always had salads available every day. at a year old he was up to about 365 grams and 19 inches long.

now, at about 3.5 years old, he's just under 600 grams and 22 inches long. he still goes crazy for salad, but is offered 3-5 roaches once a week. (the roaches are only fed his leftover salad. no protein chow.) some weeks he'll eat them, some weeks he's all, "get those outta my face i'm going for my salad!"

so don't give up! just because they are stunted at rescue does NOT mean they can't grow to a full size dragon. just make sure your lights and temps are on point and they are getting adequate supplements for calcium and vitamins while offering a wide variety of veggies in the salad. here's a good link for what you can feed veggie wise just in case you don't know. it needs to be updated though. kale has been studied further and is a great staple green.


Edit to add pic on rescue night. he's so freaking tiny!!!!

View attachment 84904

I love his story. It's a miracle he made it. That just proves what love and good husbandry can do

 

[hdochow]

I love his story. It's a miracle he made it. That just proves what love and good husbandry can do

IKR???? that rescue night pic almost makes me cry every time i look at it. i truly believe he would have been gone if i got my hands on him even 2 days later than i did. the day he got taken to the petco vet was my birthday. how awesome of a birthday present he was! here's his chonky butt watching traffic from his favorite window spot a couple weeks ago. hard to believe it is the same dragon!

 

[xp29]

IKR???? that rescue night pic almost makes me cry every time i look at it. i truly believe he would have been gone if i got my hands on him even 2 days later than i did. the day he got taken to the petco vet was my birthday. how awesome of a birthday present he was! here's his chonky butt watching traffic from his favorite window spot a couple weeks ago. hard to believe it is the same dragon!

I agree he sure does look good now! Very stately

 

[Chris.]

@hdochow your story is so amazing and still inspires me every time!
Luis was not that neglected but I can share a little of what I've learned so far.
1. The digging is probably relocation stress. Luis does it ervery time I misplace something in his viv. It lasted for a couple of days when I first got him and we are down to a couple of hours when I changed his substrate last week. (Could also be overheating though if the tank gets too hot and there is no cool spot)
2. They are fully grown between 18 and 24 months, depending on the dragon. Most of that is done in the first 11 to 12 months though.
I feel like if he eats, basks and doesn't trow up I'd feed him/her as much as he/she wants to eat right now and just monitor his/her weight and length closely...

 

[Chris.]

Also she might be small but beautiful btw
Is she a leatherback or is that just the angle of the pics?

 

[clyde612]

Also she might be small but beautiful btw
Is she a leatherback or is that just the angle of the pics?

I don’t think she is a leatherback, her scales are just still small like a baby, she is a beautiful bright orange though!

 

[clyde612]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I’m going to keep feeding salad and beardie buffet until she poops to avoid her gorging too much. After that she will be getting plenty of bugs!!!

Baths are every other day rn to help her poop and digest and drink if she wants to. Yes it’s a little stressful to her but not too bad, she has a way to escape the bath and I always let her run away from me if she needs to <3

She also LOVES her salad. Hopefully it stays that way

 

[xp29]

A couple thoughts.
To many baths are not good for them, can cause skin issues.
The pellets are not really good for them either, they are made with a lot of gmo products that can reek havoc on their health. Tracie @Drache613 is a vet tech drop her a line and ask her about the processed foods for beardies or the insects you feed your beardie. While I'm talking about that, also don't feed your roaches high protein diets. It leads (can) to gout in your beardie (even very young beardies) the roaches convert protein to uric acid and store it the way we do fat. They store it at levels beardies can't manage and it causes gout. Baby roaches need protein to grow, adults need it to mate. The in between that you feed needs to only have vegetation for several weeks before feeding to deplete the uric acid.
Back to baths, lizards use the same muscle group to walk and to breathe, they can't do both at once, they also can't tread water and breathe at the same time, so please be careful with baths. Your beardie needs to be able to reach the bottom at all times. They can aspirate incredibly quickly so just keep an eye out.
As for drinking, if they will drink from standing water or a bath, that's great. Most won't. You can use an eyedropper to drip water on their snout. They should lap it up. If they don't you can add in a little none citrus fruit juice or punch to give it flavor. Also you can add in a little liquid calcium as well.
(Taste the liquid calcium yourself, I've gotten some that taste horrible and my guys refused it) If you use some kind of juice to flavor it, be sure to use a wet cloth to wipe away any that runs down their chin, no need to take a chance on causing bacteria or fungus to start in their scales. I prefer the eyedropper over a syringe because you can control the amount dispensed better. Try to get plastic droppers, they can bite hard enough to break the glass ones.
Not trying to be mean or judgemental or anything like that and I'm sorry if that was a bit matter of fact (I've typed that like 357,664,345,689 times before lol) just trying to get good info out there. I just want to see you and your beardie both thrive.

 

[clyde612]

A couple thoughts.
To many baths are not good for them, can cause skin issues.
The pellets are not really good for them either, they are made with a lot of gmo products that can reek havoc on their health. Tracie @Drache613 is a vet tech drop her a line and ask her about the processed foods for beardies or the insects you feed your beardie. While I'm talking about that, also don't feed your roaches high protein diets. It leads (can) to gout in your beardie (even very young beardies) the roaches convert protein to uric acid and store it the way we do fat. They store it at levels beardies can't manage and it causes gout. Baby roaches need protein to grow, adults need it to mate. The in between that you feed needs to only have vegetation for several weeks before feeding to deplete the uric acid.
Back to baths, lizards use the same muscle group to walk and to breathe, they can't do both at once, they also can't tread water and breathe at the same time, so please be careful with baths. Your beardie needs to be able to reach the bottom at all times. They can aspirate incredibly quickly so just keep an eye out.
As for drinking, if they will drink from standing water or a bath, that's great. Most won't. You can use an eyedropper to drip water on their snout. They should lap it up. If they don't you can add in a little none citrus fruit juice or punch to give it flavor. Also you can add in a little liquid calcium as well.
(Taste the liquid calcium yourself, I've gotten some that taste horrible and my guys refused it) If you use some kind of juice to flavor it, be sure to use a wet cloth to wipe away any that runs down their chin, no need to take a chance on causing bacteria or fungus to start in their scales. I prefer the eyedropper over a syringe because you can control the amount dispensed better. Try to get plastic droppers, they can bite hard enough to break the glass ones.
Not trying to be mean or judgemental or anything like that and I'm sorry if that was a bit matter of fact (I've typed that like 357,664,345,689 times before lol) just trying to get good info out there. I just want to see you and your beardie both thrive.

Thanks for all the info. I would never feed pellets!!! The beardie buffet is a liquid protein mix. I usually feed my roaches similar greens i would give to my beardies to hydrate them. Got it with baths mostly doing baths rn to help her get that poop going, once she poops I won’t bathe as much. Using filtered water for her baths too. I’m hoping she will poop tomorrow, it’s been 5 days. Usually I would be less concerned but she’s pretty little so I feel that she shouldn’t be backed up too long. I’ll try a drop of olive oil if I don’t see a poop soon. Otherwise she seems fine, walking normally and everything, no concerning impaction signs. I’m sure her body is just adjusting.