neglected dragon

[oscar1]

hi i adopted a 4-6 month old ( i think ) dragon who needs alot of help. i'm fairly new at this my dragon is 7 months old big, strong, and cocky. gus the dragon that needs help was not cared for i think he is impacted. i'm doing everything i know with lighting and baths, i am spoon feeding him. i've had him for 2 weeks . he has eating crickets 3 a day twice . several times i thought he was dead. is there anything more i can do?

 

[mpinsky]

Fortunately, I haven't had any problems with impaction with my beardie, but I can tell you what I know.

First, there's a really good article on impaction here --> http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/impaction/

Until then, keep with your soaking and gently massaging his abdomen down to his vent might help. Dosing him with a few drops of vegetable oil may help, too.

Finally, get your beardie to a liscened reptile vet ASAP. They can probably spot the problem quicker, especially if your dragon is looking dead.

Good luck and keep us informed on his progress!

 

[oscar1]

where is his vent ? and "rub " vegetable oil on his body ?

 

[LJean]

His vent is under his tail where he poops from. The olive oil is to be given orally. Just try to give him a few drops. This may help him poop. Rubbing is done from under the arm pit to that back area. Be gentle. This may also help pass things along.

 

[oscar1]

thanx so much!!! let you know what happens !

 

[LJean]

You are welcome! I hope it helps!

 

[oscar1]

o.k. i bathed him and gave him a few drops of veg oil. how long before i can give him more oil ?

 

[irwin]

Also lubricating his vent GENTLY can help. You can use K-Y jelly or another type of lubrication (even a vegetable oil I would think would be okay). Put it on the tip of a Q-tip and I stress gently insert the tip only into his vent. This alone may allow your beardie to pass stool more easily or it may allow more water to enter his cloaca (the cavity where is stool and urates/urine are stored) which will stimulate your beardie to eliminate. I stress that you should bring your beardie to a qualified vet. They will charge you for a regular visit (usually $60 approximately) and then most likely do an enema. My vet only charges $20 for the enema.

 

[LJean]

I would wait until tomorrow to see if it has helped him. You don't want to give too much.

How long have you had him? What are his basking temps like? I was thinking maybe if you raised the temps a bit it may help, but need to know how high they are now.

 

[oscar1]

a friend gave him to me 2 weeks ago . his daughter wasn't taking care of him. he had no uvb lighting and only regular light bulb basking . he was in sand, which he has staining from. i don't know how often she was feeding him, but i know it was large crickets, he is very small for his size. my basking bulb is 75w

 

[oscar1]

i think my beardie may be brumating. what do i do.