need feeding advice. Dragon with MBD.

[damein1234]

This is Nemo

This was the first day I got Nemo. A friend of mine had found him in a dumpster by his apartments. I live in colorado and temperatures are dropping VERY fast. It had snowed the day before Nemo was found. When Nemo was brought to me, I had thought he was dead.
I had made another post about him, but now I need a bit more help.

Nemo has MBD. I have had him for 2 weeks, this is the picture I had gotten of him today.

His back legs aren't paralyzed, which is a relief because I know what MBD can do to beardies, but Nemo still has trouble getting around. We're working on it, but its really just going to take time.

Here is my issue: Nemo needs food, but refuses to eat outside of his cage, or if my hands are around him. I have been trying to get him to eat small crickets, and he has taken a few from some tweezers, but most of the time he refuses.

I have resorted to breaking the crickets back legs off and taking everything out of his tank and tossing them inside, but he still only goes for them if they are moving. And they don't seem to last too long after I break the legs off.

He also refuses greens or veggies. I have a feeling that he has never seen them before.

So, my question is, does anyone have any other solution to feeding him crickets? Maybe a different insect that would be slower/ easier for him to grab?
He is only eating maybe 1 small cricket a day. Maybe.

And does anyone have any advice on a trick to get him to eat greens? My other beardies never had that issue. They are the kind of fatties that will eat whatever is in their dish.

Any help or advice is severely appreciated.

 

[Karatekid976]

Hi Im so sorry that you found this poor creature. He-she is soo cute. As for their MBD I don't know a lot about the disease so I am sorry for that. My beardie loves Bell peppers and blue berries and that is pretty much it. Maybe you could try dusting the crickets if you haven't already. To be honest Nemo could have gone a week without food. I suggest if the condition get severe you should put he/she down just so as not to suffer.

Please answer my question im also in feeding with the username Karatekid976

 

[Karatekid976]

You could try Superworms but they may be large for him.

 

[SoleSky]

Hello,

It's so nice that you took him in. Firstly, what is your setup currently?
What kind of UVB are you using (tube, coil, mercury vapor)?
What kind of substrate are you using (tile, sand, carpet)?
What are you temps at and how do you measure them?

She/he looks very young still, I wouldn't put her down. I think that she can make a good recovery with the proper care.

Now about the food issue:
You can try small reptiworms (a person favorite) which have no legs and squirm a lot so they are very slow moving but make a lot of movement. These are a great product IMO.

http://reptiworms.com/

Is he able to get to his basking spot okay? I would try to keep the basking spot low so that he can access it when necessary, perhaps his appetite isn't up because he isn't warm enough.

Has he had a bowl movement yet for you?

 

[damein1234]

He is currently in a 10g tank, paper towel for the ground. No substrate and I've had issues with carpets stinking no matter how often they are washed.

I am using a Exo Terra Repti Glo bulb, which I know isn't the best, but until I get a few more paychecks, it just can't be changed. That would mean that I need a new hood as well as the bulb and I just REALLY don't have the money. (darn you real life! always sucking away my money)

temps are 105 on the basking side. I use a Zoo med digital thermometer to measure. I had a stick on wall one for my full grown dragon, but I had quickly changed once I found out how inefficient they were.

He currently has a crappy cardboard house I made him to get near the basking light. I had to hand make it with a very long ramp because he couldn't climb anything with a steep incline. It is an absolute eyesore, but he is able to get up and down it very easily.

and he has used the bathroom twice since I got him.

I am open for any advice you have to give, and don't worry. I have no intention to put him down. He is getting better, we both just need a little help!

 

[BrokenGlass420]

hi, sometimes my beardie has trouble with the crickets due to their speed and super worms are too big for 1 his size i think. i would recommend giving him phoenix worms (medium). they are a lot slower and smaller, plus beadies LOVE them. they are also an extremely good source of food for him and they move so he will see them and eat them. as for the greens unfortunately i don't have an answer for that. hope this helps a bit.

 

[SoleSky]

That's good to hear he is getting around okay and going to the bathroom! Papertowels are fine and probably best for the young ones because they do poo a lot and you can just throw away the paper towels, easy! I understand the money issue. Know you can buy a cheap under the cabinet fixture from walmart for about $10 when the time comes. Plus if you go on amazon you can get the reptisun 10.0 tube cheap from there (less and $30). I used to have a really hard time paying too so I know where you're coming from. Plus you rescued the poor little guy! I'm sure he really appreciates it.

 

[damein1234]

thank you guys for the suggestion on the worms. I had ordered some and they finally came in. Of course, the little turd refuses to even glance at them.
but we will keep at it!
I am spending about an hour every day to hydrate and feed him. It takes so much time because I have to break almost all of the crickets legs off, but he has finally gotten use to eating outside of the tank.

I will keep trying to give him the worms! I didn't just spend 10$ to have the squirt ignore them.

on the plus side, my other 2 dragons love the worms. so theres that.

thanks for the help again guys!