Need help-- Rescued a sick Bearded Dragon

[Adriana]

I use the Safety 1st Sleepy Baby Nail Clipper ($4.24 at Amazon.com). It has a built-in LED light that makes makes it easy to see the quick of the nail.

 

[timpug]

opps. didn't realize I had somehow started a second thread and left the pictures there. Here is the thread.

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=190569&p=1531874&hilit=timpug#p1531874

It was mentioned that the best substrate was slate unglazed times. Can anyone explain the benefit of glazed vs unglazed tiles? I've got a friend in the tile business who is willing to give me a bunch of floor tiles but my guess is that they would be glazed as most tiles do have a shiny surface to them.

 

[timpug]

Found a pet shop for the Repti- Sun 10.0 and heading out there now to buy one.

 

[Blinksmama]

You didn't start a new thread Thats page 2 of this thread :lol:

:wink:
Amy

 

[ohmybandit]

The benefit to textured slate tiles is that they can grip easier and aren't sliding around. (Easier for their limbs) and did you mean repti-sun?

 

[timpug]

Yes sorry it was a typo Repti-Sun. Went to the pet shop and found out it was a Repti- Glo. I wasn't impressed especially since I called them twice and specifically asked for a Repti-Sun. However found another pet shop and got a Repti-Sun. All he had in stock at the moment was an 18 inch bulb so I took that for the time being.

Warm regards
Timpug

 

[ohmybandit]

The 18 inch should be perfect. Just make sure it's next to the basking light and that your beautiful little dragon can get 6-8 inches next to it

 

[timpug]

Thought I would update you on the condition of our rescued dragon. Generally she is doing very well as her energy levels have increased dramatically. When we got her she wouldn't budge from her basking rock. Today she is excited whenever we approach the cage, leaping off her rock to greet us. She struts her head and has a new alert look in her eyes. While we are pleased with her progress it doesn't mean we have overcome all her challenges. We still have to feed her by hand-- she makes friends of the crickets and worms in her cage rather than eat them. The first time we put crickets in her cage she got so excited and ran after them, but after several failed attempts has come to accept she can't eat them even though they walk on her head, or directly in front of her. She no longer pays any attention to them. She eats only a bit of leafed vegetables on her own and hardly any fruit--collard greens, dandelion leaves, bok choy, endive lettuce, dark romaine lettuce, spring mix (without spinach), mangos, red grapes, kiwi (without seeds) The pet shop sold us some products they feed their young beardies, which they claim will give her adequate substance. She has shown a dramatic increase awareness and energy. We've tried a couple different products one is a paste (REPASHY SUPERFOODS CRESTED GECKO meal replacement powder) we use an eye dropper to feed her. The other makes a jelly like paste (called REPASHY SUPERFOOD, savoury stew omnivore gel premix) which we drop down her mouth. As her mouth always remains open (probably from metabolic bone disease) getting the food into her isn't a huge problem-- just time consuming. We've have the proper lighting for basking and a Reptisun fluorescent UVB, and a temperature gun so we know exactly how to adjust her lighting/heat. We've removed the sand substrate and replaced it with tiles. She gets Zilla spray vitamins supplement with calcium, baths with calcium added, and mist her. We no longer add powered calcium to her food as the pet shop advised us it may be too much calcium, I want to thank you all again for your kind help-- I don't think we could have done it without your help. Any feedback regarding our current care for our bearded would be welcomed. Is the Repashy superfood a better alternative than grinding chicken and adding vegetables & fruit to it? It was suggested to us that buying baby chicken food(for humans) might not be advisable due to the salt content. We were desperate for information when we took her, having absolutely no knowledge about bearded dragons. In fact we had to research to find out exactly what it was we adopted!!! Her life is so much richer thanks to all you kind beardy lovers. She gives you all a big hug.

Warm regards
Timpug (I luv my pug and his name is Tim)

 

[Blinksmama]

This good news made me smile
It's great to hear how well she is doing. I can't recall, but did you tell us her name? The spring mixes sometimes have beet greens in them, they bind to calcium like spinach, so you may want to check for it. I know nothing about Repashy products, however I do know that not all baby foods are created equal. You just have to check the labels for additives like salt and sugar. Organic stage 1 foods are likely the best choice. Are you in Ontario or Canada?

 

[Esther19]

How lucky she is to have you! Perhaps you could put some greens in the blender and add her supplements to that. My girl likes it very much. Just a thought.

 

[timpug]

Our rescued beardie is thriving now. She has put on a lot of weight. Had a friend come over who has a couple beardies and she informs us her beardies are still 50% fatter than ours. Looking at the pet shop beardies ours still seems pretty skinny. She also noticed that our baby has no teeth. Never noticed that before. I wonder if that is why she won't eat crickets or worms. I guess the metabolic bone disease has affected her in more ways than we noticed. Hopefully one day she will eat on her own. Occasionally she eats raw veggies, but very seldom. Maybe its because we tend to stuff her with the Repashy Savory stew( mixed with a little crested gecko food) to fatten her up. As the Repashy savory stew is a gel we are going to try to put some leafy veggies in it when we mix it. The savory stew gel is a lot easier to feed her as it doesn't require an eye dropper and we can get a lot more food into her. We cut it into long strips and I'm guessing her involuntary reflex action forces her to swallow it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great she is doing so much better now!
If she is missing a lot of teeth that may be affecting her ability to eat properly if she has to chew. The metabolic bone disease could have contributed to weak bones in the jaw area.
I have heard great things about the Repashy foods so if you are seeing success with it I would definitely continue to use that. Does she eat any greens? That is a good idea to mix it in with the food if she isn't getting any on her own.

Keep us posted on her.

Tracie

 

[apollo0769]

Just a thought...I rescued a male bearded dragon in March who has/had MBD. He has come a long way....However his mouth does not shut all the way either..his lower jaw tends to stick out much further also. I had xrays done of Rex and bc of his MBD situation it caused a lot of harm to his body including his jaw! Perhaps that is what has happened with your little girl! Sometimes he even falls asleep with his tongue sticking out slightly! My guy gets re-x-rayed next tuesday to see how he is coming a long! It sounds like you are doing everything you can which is wonderful and so heart touching to hear someone elses story. Keep up the great work...She may not ever be "perfect" but im sure she will be perfect in your eyes and shes already better off with you
BEST OF LUCK Please post a pic of her soon!

 

[timpug]

Thank you very much for your encouraging words-- that we are on the right track. Its great to hear from another beardie owner with the same challenges. You are correct, we will love her no matter how fully she recovers. We did post a couple pics earlier in this post.

Warm regards always
Timpug (I luv my pug and his name is Tim)