Meet Duckie and give her your thoughts...

[Dragonmommie]

Well, I met Duckie at our petco last Monday. She was sitting there under the rock thing half covered in sand with her little eyes closed. I had a chat with one of the gals there who told me one of the clutch mates had already died for an unknown reason. I told myself not to freak out (haha) and immediately got the newly vacated 40g cleaned and ready. I have two others, Arthur and Myra who are now both in comfy 48" enclosures.

Duckie came home with me after work late Tuesday night. She pretty much jumped in my hand when I stuck it in at the store. And, now, I'm a jumpy, paranoid baby dragon mamma all over again. Lol. Her set up is the 40g, ReptiSun 10.0 UVB, basking around 100-115 degrees. She has a CHE at night. She's getting baths with pedialite. She is not eating really. Since I've gotten her home, she's had a couple of calci-worms and a coupes of extra small dubias. She did drink this morning when I misted her. She is uninterested in squash baby food. I've taken her to the vet already and her fecal was clean. He said she was a little dehydrated. She is a whopping 4 grams. Which freaks me out a little. Neither of my others were as small. I should have weighed her on my scale the day I look her in. Friday she was 4 grams. I weighed her in two separate containers today. One was 4.4g and one was 4.7g. I'm just gonna use one to get consistentcy.

Any suggestions on getting her to eat? I've got more extra small dubias and extra small Phoenix worms on the way. I want to build my stock up for when her eating takes off.

What other questions can I answer to help and if you've read this far, bless you. Pics because she's so adorable. Sorry they're sideways... ?

At petco... Jumped right on...

First bath...

All clean! She's loves being held... She jump on my hand every chance she gets...

She's king of her hill. She does look a little dehydrated here. I should have gotten a pic today. She's plumped up a little...

 

[HKzForDayz]

I absolutely hate that dragons are sold in stores like items some places this is prime example as to why animals shouldnt be sold in stores, only by breeders who have both the time and resources to provide animals with the right care.

How many times a day are you offering her live feeders? How are you feeding here? is your reptisun 10.0 a tube or a Coil bulb? If it is a tube, is it a t5 or t8? how far of a distance is there between your UVB and his basking spot? What kind of substrate are you using? Any particular reason for using the CHE at night?

 

[Dragonmommie]

I absolutely hate that dragons are sold in stores like items some places this is prime example as to why animals shouldnt be sold in stores, only by breeders who have both the time and resources to provide animals with the right care.

How many times a day are you offering her live feeders? How are you feeding here? is your reptisun 10.0 a tube or a Coil bulb? If it is a tube, is it a t5 or t8? how far of a distance is there between your UVB and his basking spot? What kind of substrate are you using? Any particular reason for using the CHE at night?

Three times a day. Yesterday I left the roaches in their dish because I was away from the house for a while. I do believe she ate a couple. It's a tube T8. It's mounted inside the tank so probably 8-10 in from the basking rock. I can measure when i get home. She's on paper towels. It's been getting cold in our house at night. Hovering around 65 so I thought I should give her a little hear since she's so small.

 

[CooperDragon]

The best thing you can do at this point is provide a clean environment with proper lighting and offer her hydration. I'd try to get that T8 about 6'' above the basking spot for optimal output. Drop some water on her nose a few times a day and see if she'll drink a little bit. From there I'd slowly introduce the bugs. Don't want to overwhelm her system if she's sick. It might be a good idea to pick up some Oxbow Carnivore Care to offer her if her appetite doesn't pick up. That will give her some nutrients to get her energy levels up. I'd only use it if she doesn't start eating on her own though.

 

[Dragonmommie]

The best thing you can do at this point is provide a clean environment with proper lighting and offer her hydration. I'd try to get that T8 about 6'' above the basking spot for optimal output. Drop some water on her nose a few times a day and see if she'll drink a little bit. From there I'd slowly introduce the bugs. Don't want to overwhelm her system if she's sick. It might be a good idea to pick up some Oxbow Carnivore Care to offer her if her appetite doesn't pick up. That will give her some nutrients to get her energy levels up. I'd only use it if she doesn't start eating on her own though.

Thanks Cooper. She is drinking when I mist her. I tried the syringe and she lapped it right up too. I'm going out of town for work for the night but hubby is going to take over syringe duty. Should I leave the roaches in there in case she wants some? Her fecal was clean so I'm hoping she's not sick. She is alert and moving around a lot. I've moved her basking closer to the UVB. I'm hoping the UVB doesn't get too hot. The UVB is closer to the basking this way.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad she's drinking some water. It's a good sign that she's alert too. If the bugs are secure you could leave them. Otherwise I'd return them to their bin so they can gutload a bit more on some fresh veges. I wouldn't worry too much about the UVB. I wouldn't let her get closer than about 6'' because they can be visually intense, but they don't give off much heat.

 

[Dragonmommie]

I'm glad she's drinking some water. It's a good sign that she's alert too. If the bugs are secure you could leave them. Otherwise I'd return them to their bin so they can gutload a bit more on some fresh veges. I wouldn't worry too much about the UVB. I wouldn't let her get closer than about 6'' because they can be visually intense, but they don't give off much heat.

The bugs are secure and perfect to the UVB. She's def not closer than 6 inches I know. I'm optimistic. I figured she didn't have much of a fighting chance there, so hopefully, I'm giving her one. She does have a cute little personality. I'm not having to leave tonight so I've got my eye on her. ?

 

[Dragonmommie]

Oh and I meant the actual UVB fixture getting too hot from being close the basking dome... I've got my eye on that too...

 

[CooperDragon]

Ah. I've found that if you put foil over the plastic pieces that get near the basking dome it shields it and prevents the plastic from melting.

 

[Dragonmommie]

Oh that's a fantastic idea!!!!

 

[Dragonmommie]

Oh and I had another question. I told the vet about how she wasn't eating. He gave me some flagyl and said it was an appetite stimulant. I'm haven't given it to her - #1 she's so tiny and #2 I have never heard of it and can find very little on it. Thoughts?

 

[GizmosGrammie]

Awe she/he is so cute!! Very pretty colors. Glad you were able to offer her a loving home.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there...Duckie is a cutie and it sounds like she's in a great home. Just give her time to settle in + the appetite should pick up. Flagyl is a dewormer + should def. not be given !!

 

[Dragonmommie]

Thank yall so much! I think she's a pretty little cutie too! I'm not giving her the flagyl. I didn't want to give her an antibiotic if she didn't need one! ? There are a couple more roaches gone and since there's no way they can escape, she's got to be snacking...