Need some help

[Nutzrus]

I have 2 beardies i just brought to the vet today, they both had calcium deficiency and I dont know what i am doing wrong. they dont eat well (for the last week) have separate tanks the desert sun bar light and a heat light, both tanks are one side 90-95 deg other around 70-80 i had the lights on the screen top of the tank but finagled then inside today thinking maybe the screen is blocking out what they need? ive had my male since Dec. and JUST got the female 3 weeks ago, shes been doing poor the whole time. both seem kinda fat to me neither has lost weight visibly how can i make it better for them? bought both from the petstore and have no background on them. male is 23in female is 17in. They havent been together but my girl seems to be getting fatter, like i said i have no clue what they came from.

 

[Nutzrus]

Oh and the vet recommended forced feeding them but im not so sure nor do i know what to give. Vet said baby food in the syringe with the antibiotics (he said they may have URI) looking for advice on whats best to use

 

[bdalton]

Do you dust their food with calcium? And Did the vet give you liquid calcium? They definetly need some, and part of your reason could be the UVB on the screen, so it's good you moved it. I would reccomend getting a reptiSUN UVB, it's the best you can get. Other UVB bulbs can be harmful and not give your beardie enough UVB while some give too much.
As for force feeding, I would try to get them to willingly eat it by dropping it on their nose with a syringe. They should lick it off and a lot love babyfood. You can get plain chicken and squash and mix them together with a little calcium powder. Try to get them to take it before
Force feeding as that can be stressful and you have to be careful that they don't aspirate when your doing it and they can choke easily on it.

 

[Nutzrus]

thank you i will try that with the babyfood and yes i dust with fluker's calcium and i feed hornworms from greatlakes trying so hard to do the best i can for them.The vet gave them a shot of liquid calcium, b12 and gave them a wormer. the lighting we have is a zilla brand with a 50 uvb t8 bulb. we gave them there antibiotics mixed in baby food squash, he hated it she seemed to like it LOL

 

[AtlasStrike]

How are you measuring your temperatures? Low temps will exasperate an appetite already suppressed by improper UVB. I would highly recommend getting the reptiSUN 10.0 TUBE and making sure there is no screen, glass or plastic between your beardies and the light, and also using thermometers with probes to measure the surface temperature of the basking spot. It should be between 100-105F to make sure they are digesting properly.

 

[Nutzrus]

Ill get the new tube as soon as i have some money vets are VERY expensive. I have the stick on type of thermometers one on each side (cool-hot) ill have to look up what a probe thermometer is but ill get one asap as well. I just want them to be healthy and happy as one can be in captivity.

 

[Nutzrus]

update:
Rose is a bit more active and ate (handfed) 4 giant hornworms with out much trouble.she had a stool and it was still a bit watery but didnt smell near as bad as it did. Is that a good thing? does it mean the wormer the vet used worked?
Thorn is still showing stress marks and black to grey bearded blocked off all visual contact between them hoping that will help calm him, not sure what eles to do the temps are good but hes lethargic and dosent seem to happy seems droopy hates being syringe fed hates the baby food (squash and chicken mixed) Hates being held (beard turns SUPER black) is this just mating season blues or the beginning of brumation? What can i do to get him to eat something with out upsetting him more? his hip bones are starting to show but his belly is big im confused and worried going to go order some reptaid in a few hoping it might help, but ant ideas or suggestions would be very helpful.

 

[diamc]

It sounds like the tank temps are off. Any type of stick-on thermometer can be off as much as 20 degrees. I suggest you get a digital thermometer with probe end as soon as you can to find out what the temps really are.

You mentioned that your female ate 4 large hornworms, was that in one day? If so, that is an awful lot of protein at one time. Did she grab them on her own or did you put them in her mouth?

Are your beardies in view of each other?

Are you giving a probiotic along with the antibiotics? Also, antibiotics are very drying, are you giving them both frequent baths to prevent dehydration and/or offering oral fluids?