ok so i got this little guy (his name is harley) from a rescue about 3 months ago. he came with his sister, but she stayed with the rescue. him and his sister were kept in a 10 gallon in the basment the majority of their lives before they came to the rescue. so i just figured he was mistreated. he is about 5 years old and is smaller than my 3 yr old normal male.
i was looking up the leatherbacks online when i came across the terms Mitchells and Dwarf bearded dragons. theres not much in the way of pictures or information on the internet, so i figured i would ask you guys. what do you think he is? mitchells, dwarf, or just mistreated?
Just mistread. A true dwarf would have short legs and disproportional limbs, just like dwarfism in humans. Mitchells, as far as I know aren't in America at all and even then, they look different then yours.
Your guy is pretty thin, you have had him for three months? What and how much are you feeding?
Wow he's about the size of my youngest beardie who is about 3-4 months. He is definitely on the thin side. I just wanted to say the picture of him cuddling his monkey-bear made me swoon, he's a cutie and sure does look like a snuggler.
thanks for the replies. no matter what he is, i still love him.
which guy is looking a little thin? the little boy or my big man? they both have gained weight since i brought them home.
they both get fed daily. they get an occasional pinky as a treat, but mainly dubias, supers, crix, and their greens. they also get the nature zone iguana bites. i know its mostly water, but the rescue was giving that to them both as a staple (omg) and they loved it. so its a treat now.
these two were my first beardies, so any tips are welcomed!
the little guy is in a 40 breeder, the big boy just got a 75 gallon. plently of stuff for them to climb on and hide in. no open spaces. they both have UVB tubes in their cages. temps stay in the mid 90's on the warm side, lower 80s on the coolest side.using repti-carpet for substarte. they both get baths and lots of love.
The little guy is the one who is thinner, I can see his hip bones a tiny little bit. Does he eat his greens well? I would make sure he is getting all he wants and maybe offer bugs twice a day until he has put on more weight.
Your big guy could use a tiny bit more weight but not a bunch, double his greens if he will eat that much. As far as greens go, what kind are you feeding? Have you had fecals done on either of them?
i never realized he was so underweight when i first brought him home...and to think...he came from a reptile rescue that he had been with for a few years. i am no longer friends with this rescue. they wouldnt feed or clean their reptiles unless rob and i came over and did it for them. just got tired of seeing the mistreated babies, and being used.
here is another "rescue" i got from the same rescue i got harley from...
this is my trempered albino leo, temper. she just started eating again after a month of off feed. lol
taken the day after we brought her home, 1/20/2011
taken on may 2nd, 2011.
taken tonight, june 27th 2011
again, tonight.
That Leo is very skinny to. The tail base needs to be double that size. I am sure you know that.
And what kind of rescue is this? This place should be shut down because this is not a rescue.
Valerie
Beautiful Leo, looks like you are taking good care of him and he is getting fatter now.. And the beardie is starting to look really good too! Good job!
Sorry, we have dial up [ we live in the country] I did not wait to see the latest pictures before I chimed in. The leo looks GREAT now.He must be so happy with you, wonderful job.
The BD is looking good now.
But I still say the same, the rescue needs to be shut down.
Valerie
haha your fine valerie, kinda made my heart skip a beat but im good now. they were feeding the leo 5 or 6 mealworms a week...here she gets a few supers as treats and lots of dubias. i breed my own here at home because i have so many babies that love them! when i first got her, she was strickly on supers because they were high in fat. she also got chicken baby food which she loves. she was never handled at the "rescue" so she is very shy. shes only bit once and that was when i first started the baby food. she loves to come out and see rob and i when we walk into the room, but she doesnt like to be held. and remember, that recent picture was taken about a week after she got off feed. shes still bulking up. i honestly didnt think she would ever gain weight like she has. i was told she was overbred before the rescue got her, but now i can chalk it up to neglect.
and i agree with you guys, the place needs to be shut down. only thing is they arent a state recognized rescue. they run it out of their house, and their names are known in the reptile community here in indianapolis. even if i call the board of health on them, they would just issue a citation. rob and i dont go over there anymore, so we cant keep up with if the place is getting better or not.
they used to have another leo (little lilly) who ended up with a bad eye infection (i found her when i cleaned her). they let her moss get so dry and dusty that she had an eye infection along with a cyst between her eye and ear. they got it lanced and put her on eye meds twice daily. when i noticed the rescue wasnt doing the eye meds even once a day, i volunteered to take her. was wiping her eye, medication, and feeding jumpstart to this poor girl twice a day for about a month. they finally took her back (eye infection gone, but severly underweight) and they say shes doing fine, but i dont believe them.
and dont get me started on their snakes! their poor burmese (9 ft) is in a 55gal that never got cleaned unless rob and i were there. they used the cotton like hamster bedding. so the burm would dump her water, and sit in nasty wet bedding for a week. by the time we would get to clean her out, there would be mold growing in the tank. then she ended up with mites, and so did the other snakes. we treated everyone and put them in totes in the garage. a week goes by and rob and i go over to help clean and feed...nothing had been done with the snakes. we pop open the tub their big bur, was in, and there were so many mites, you could have sworn there was black bedding in this tub. same story for the other snakes. so rob and i stayed till around 3 am bathing the snakes and retreating them. a week later the husband and wife went to flordia for a week and rob and i volunteered to take care of the babies...had to retreat them all for mites...and couldnt feed them because we couldnt risk them ingesting the mites further. but long story short, rob and i got the mites taken care of...then these poor snakes sat another 3 1/2 weeks in tubs in the garage without being fed...so a total of a month and a half in storage totes, covered in mites, and no food. they have a 7 ft anaconda that is smaller around than my wrist. the 9ft burm is about the same size. its heart breaking.
but if you guys have any ideas on shutting this place down, please let me know. i will keep everyone updated with pics. also brought home a new baby last weekend. fire and ice citrus leaterback beardie. named him dexter! hes beautiful!
And they call themselves a rescue?!?! What a bunch of douche bags!!
I wonder what would happen if they did this to dogs and cats, there would be authorities everywhere like roaches!! I don't get today's society, they whine about animal rights, but if the animal is reptile or arachnid no one cares.