My adopted Rescues

[RockaBillie]

A little over a month ago, I adopted Yayo and Kermit. They are a year - year and a half, male and female. They were rescued from a place that had 20 beardies in ONE 100 gallon tank... no lights, no food. They were severly under weight, I do beleive they said 240 grams (I could be wrong, but it was less then half what they should of been). They were rushed to the vet and both barely made it through the night. They both had metabolic bone disease, Yayo is fully recovered but Kermit has swelled eyes that the vet said will take about a year to go back to normal. Sometimes he can have them fully opened, but most of the time they are closed. They are both the most sweetest beardies, my little dog actually adopted them and lets nobody near them. After hearing some rescue stories, im surprised how nice these 2 are, never seen them get the slightest bit upset. Heres some pics, Yayo is the one with half her tail gone (result of WAY too many beardies in one tank) and Kermit is clearly the one with the big eyes.

Their tank, open for suggestions. I kept everything the same, pretty much. I added the plants and second rock, and got a bigger water dish

 

[Mediabandit]

So you are still keeping them together in one enclosure?

 

[RockaBillie]

yes. they get along perfectly fine and our reptile vet said unless they started to not she would leave them be.

 

[Mediabandit]

They may seem to be getting along fine now, but all it takes is one second and that could change. At that point it is too late and there may be injuries caused. I have never heard/read/saw anything that says having multiple Beardies together is a good thing. But I will leave it at that. Good luck.

 

[Spikey07]

Thankyou for taking them on, they're very lucky to have you and it looks like your doing a great job.

I would watch them closely and be ready to seperate if needs be.

Do you have them under a good UVB?
What type of calcium supplement are you using?
What substrate are you using? I could not tell from the picture? - if it is sand it is best to use washed and sifted childrens play sand.
Are they both eating well?

Have you tried bathing them, it will help to keep them hydrated.

I am not knowledgeable enough to help you with the eye problem. Hopefully someone with more experience can teLl you what you can do to help them heal?

 

[RockaBillie]

I dont know exactly what UVB they have, as everything came with them. But the rescue place I got them from was suggested from our vet.
I use fluckers calcium for all our reptiles.
They still have substrate from the rescues, its just a soil, but this weekend we are moving the tank and putting in some left over tile from when we redid our kitchen.
They both are eating great, kermit doesnt really go crazy when i put crickets in like the others but he just waits for them to come to him.
They LOVE bath time, they get one about 2 times a week. Yayo is quite the swimmer.
Kermit was on a liquid calcium, that had to be given to him daily, but recently came off of it.

 

[Spikey07]

Tile is great, I use it in all my vivariums.

The brand and type of UVB is really important and also does need to be changed every 6 months. The only UVB's recommended for beardies are the Repti-SUN 10.0 and Arcaida D3 12% tube bulbs.

The brand and type of bulb should be written on the bulb. Also coil type UVB bulbs are no good.

uVB is really important scene as they have MBD.

 

[Floof]

Definitely get that substrate changed out for something non-particle--tile works great, just make sure it's not too slippery for them to move around on. And check on that UVB... What brand/model and how old it is (if you can find out the latter).

I would like to note that ReptiSun and Arcadia aren't the only good UVBs for beardies--just the only good fluorescent UVBs (on which note, I would like to reiterate, this is talking about tube-style--there are NO good coil/compact fluorescent UVBs). I use PowerSun Mercury Vapor Bulbs over my bearded dragon and tortoises, and love the things. They double as basking bulbs, which is nice, and my dragon does better under his Powersun than he did under his Reptisun.

There are feeders, too, that have been shown to be helpful with animals suffering MBD. Pheonix worms are the main--extremely high in calcium and overall nutritious, there are reports of this worm being instrumental in relieving, even reversing, MBD. Silworms are overall a fantastic feeder, and are said to contain an enzyme that makes their calcium absorption more efficient, among other benefits.

I would also highly recommend splitting them up. Dragons aren't social and things can go wrong in an instant, points that have already been brought up here. As well, though they may not show it outwardly, forcing them to live together can cause some major stress--which is really bad news for an already sickly beardie. Stress suppresses the immune system. Lowered immune system means illnesses can get a better foothold and wreak even more havoc on your beardie.

Your enclosure looks alright, but it's not big enough for 2 beardies, anyway. If you want to split them up, a good, cheap enclosure option that would work temporarily (or, heck, permanently) is to pick up a Christmas Tree Storage tote by Iris. They're $30 at Walmart, and only available at this time of year. They're a little over 4 feet long and almost 18" width, great floorspace for a beardie, and don't cost a fortune.

Yayo is looking pretty good, that's wonderful. Hopefully Kermit turns around and his eyes get better for you guys soon!