~New Beardie,SPIKE,very small~

[koco46]

Hi Spikes story is over on the rescue forum,I impusively adopted him off CL on Saturday,he is supposed to be 6-7 months old,malnourished and very small,I am hoping with good care he will be ok,here are some pictures:

His tail seems to be paralyzed at the end,it's always stiff and has kinks in it

Any advice would be very much appreciated,he is our first beardie!

 

[spikerocks]

Ok he is SO CUTE!!! You r very kind to give him a loving home. He is extremely skinny. What are u giving him in the way of feeders? I would limit his intake of protein for the first two weeks so as to not throw his system into protein shock.
I adopted a female last year who had been malnourished for 3.5 years. I started her with 5 super worms a day for the first few days and gradually increased them based on her tolerance. By the end of two weeks, she was eating 25 or so at a time. Now I feed her as many as she wants

Also, let him eat as much greens as he wants. Spike is obviously a fighter! So glad u have him!

 

[koco46]

The guy wwe bought him from said he had been feeding him 4-5 mealworms a day and sometimes supers.He gave us a tub with giant mealworms and one with medium superworms to take home along with Spike.
We stopped at a pet store on our way home and bought some ZooMed ReptiCal,new bulbs,CHE and some crickets.
He did eat about 15 crickets along with a few mealworms we fed him with tweezers yesterday,but he refused greens.

This morning I was able to get him to eat a tiny bit of dandelion leaves with the tweezers and only one superworm.

He does seem kind lethargic today and has not wanted to get within the recommended 6-8" of his Reptisun 10.0 bulb today,he has been sitting on top of his half log hidey where is's maybe about 87 deg.

He was basking quite a bit yesterday,though,maybe it's just a personal habit of his not to sit under the UVB until later in the day??

 

[spikerocks]

Personally, I wouldn't recommend feeding him the mealworms. Stick with supers, crix, repti-worms and roaches. Just keep an eye on how he seems to respond to having the protein. In reality, he should be able to eat as much as he wants to but because of the malnourishment you should still take it slow.

Keep an eye out for diarrhea and lethargy. Keep giving him baths. He will get used to it eventually. Out of my 6 dragons, 4 love bath time, 1 tolerates it, and the last hates them but it's essential especially considering his health status at present.

Spike will move around and hang out where he wants. He will stay in the warmest spot for as long as he needs and then move around accordingly. My guys move between their basking spot and the cool side all day.

It's great that he took dandelion greens for you. If u don't want to hand feed him forever, I would get in the habit of giving him a salad each morning and removing it each night. The first year or so they tend to prefer bugs to greens.

At this point, it'll be hard to tell if he's suffering from relocation stress or being ill. Even if he's ill, he'll be feeling better soon. You are doing all you can and he should come around soon. Considering everything he's been through, he looks alert. He'll be thrilled with his new home in no time!

 

[morphmom]

Oh my, what a tiny little tot. Thank goodness you found each other. U'll have to keep updating the pics. There's so much joy here when you see what a good beardie parent can do. Wish u 2 the best.

 

[casper31]

Congrats! What a super cutie!! He is lucky to have you. You'll be amazed how fast he turns around with you loving him. Pretty soon he'll be a whole new boy! CL seems to be the place to rescue some great little treasures. Keep the pics coming!

 

[koco46]

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement,I weighed Spike today and he weighs 25 grams.
He did eat 13 crickets,2 super and 1 mealworm today,which was great!!

He spent the latter part of the afternoon basking and he had another bath today,but won't drink in the water.
He gets totally stiff, and sticks his tail straight up like he's trying not to get his tail wet.I was hoping he would poop,but no such luck!

I did buy a lamp stand so it will be easier to get inside his tank,without having to juggle a hot lamp.Sure didn't get much done today,I find myself in front of his tank so many times of the day watching him and talking to him.
I went to the store and bought some squash,green beans and collard greens ,but he would have none of it,I'll try again in the morning.

He is the cutest thing,we discovered he goes to sleep as soon as the lights are out.So we turned the lights off in the living room and put Spike in a little fleece and flannel "sleeping bag" I had made for our guinea pig when she was little,but she has long outgrown. His head was facing the open side and he fell asleep almost instantly while my son was holding him,he had the biggest happiest smile on his face!

We put the sleeping bag inside his tank and he is still sound asleep in it!

So I think things are going well,it's very encouraging to read the other rescue stories.
I read about Ruby,Spike is the same weight as she was and she grew up to be a beautiful,healthy dragon with no ill effects,it seems.

 

[casper31]

I think our "kids" have food preferences like any other kid. It's neat to read all the different things they all eat. My girl likes live food that crunches and her greens leafy. Lil Miss is all about texture. I cracked up laughing the first time she tried a waxworm...LOL. She will eat them, but she tilts her head and gets a look on her face like something is not quite right. :lol: She loves mustard greens, collard greens we tried this week and she's not really diggin them. I mixed them with some mustard greens and down they went. I figured I try again in a couple months with the solo collard greens when she's a bit older. Any fruit she won't touch. Mixed in or on their own. This weekend we are trying some sweet potato.
I let her pick her staples, but keep the healthy variety going so she doesn't get tired of them. Its like feeding a kid for sure. My kids are complaining I spoil her...lol

 

[koco46]

Haha,that sounds a lot like Spike,I know "the look" pretty well now!
I thought things were going so well,then he wouldn't eat a thing at all yesterday,not even little tiny baby dubias.
Then today he had about 24 crickets,6 tiny dubias and a couple of little slivers of parsley.
Offering bananas,carrots,collard and dandelion leaves got me "the look".

Also,tonight he didn't wait for "lights out",he just crawled into a corner and went to sleep on a tile,he is such a fascinating little guy.

 

[ehinoBD]

Wow he is very small. Good job on rescuing the BD. I'm sure with good care it wi grow nice and healthy