new owner of a 5 year old beardie

[beardeboy]

Hello, I just recently bought my 11 year old son a 5 year old bearded dragon for his birthday. And unfortunately, I didn't get him/her from a pet store or a reputable breeder. Where we live, it is only pet stores and they are expensive. So I found one that was being sold privately from a family whose kids grew up and weren't interested in their beardie anymore I also bought this fella without seeing him in person, just a photo. And in the photo he/she looked really good and healthy. After he arrived (the previous owner delivered the beardie to our door), we noticed that he wasn't looking so happy. So my teenage daughter who owns two babies...took the new addition to our family and bathed him (he had poo stuck in his scales) and he had a poo in the tub...and my son and I cleaned his tank. And what we discovered was that his tank must of been ignored for a good while as it was rank....we scrubbed it and we put in new lizard sand that the previous owner bought and gave to my son and we scrubbed his water dish as it was looking green and washed his food dish and his log. After reading this site we removed the heat rock and won't bother using it. We have had him/her with us for afew days now.

My question is this....I understand that he/she is needing time to adjust. But she /he is eating crickets, just not her greens. When I picked the beardie up, he/she feels frail. The baby beardies have a firmer feeling underside, and the big beardies skin feels looser..like I can feel ribs. I am wondering if this is from maybe not being fed well. Or if we should have the beardie checked for parasites? She/he hasn't pood in the tank yet....but I am going to see if my daughter will help my son with giving his beardie a bath again. And maybe she will poo in her/his bath. Maybe it is too soon to tell. The poor thing just seems sad. When we give it some crickets, it missed getting it several times and he/she seems slow. It doesn't move around much at all. I am worried. I should of been more careful before purchasing to make sure the lizard was healthy....but my son had such a miserable school year and I just wanted to cheer him up. I will be devastated if this fella is sick.

Thank you...
the beardeboy's mom

 

[Max18]

I'd take out the sand it's not good cause they can eat it and it causes impaction

 

[mischa]

What are your temps?(Basking, Cool side, Ambient).
What is the humidity?
What are you using to measure the temps(digital,dial)
Do you have a UVB/UVA bulb? What brand?
Don't use sand as stated above switch to reptile carpet or slate tile.
Are you using a calcium and vitamin supplement? How often?

 

[beardeboy]

The first questions, I can't answer. I was assuming that we purchased the beardie that she was actually coming with everything that was needed. So there is no measurements of humidity and temps. But I will be taking care of that asap. As for the light bulbs, I will check and see what brands they are.
And yes, we will be getting rid of the sand. Thank you

Since we cleaned and disinfected her tank and cleaned the dishes and her log....and feed her quite regularly...and yes her crickets are dusted with her vitamins....she is starting to sit up and bask under her lights. She eats her crickets but not her greens. And she hasn't pood yet. But my son gave her a bath the other day...no poo....but she is seems to be relaxed and not so rigid anymore. I think she knows that she is much loved by a sweet young boy I just wished that I had known more - though this is going to be corrected as I have ordered books on bearded dragons from the library and will be picking them up today.

Thank you again

 

[mischa]

Sounds like everything will be ok, you may wanna have a vet check up just to make sure all is well. =)

 

[bayoupig5]

My question is this....I understand that he/she is needing time to adjust. But she /he is eating crickets, just not her greens.

Even a dragon that has been exposed to greens very early on, may not always want to eat them. My dragon is 3.5 years and still refuses to eat veggies enough to sustain her. She may have a few bites a week and that's it. I have resorted to giving her a slurry mixture, which is basically finely blended/pureed veggies/fruit fed to her by dropping the mixture by syringe on her nose until she laps it up. She gets anywhere from 1 ml to 6 ml per sitting and that depends on how much she wants that day. You can also feed baby food this way. I always buy the kind that has the fruit/veg listed and water as the ingredients without added sugar or salt. They are quite easy to find. The beardie may also be adjusting to the environment, so give him/her time, and keep offering a variety of veg/fruit. You might find something that he/she particularly loves. Strangely I also find that feeding my dragon in her outdoor enclosure makes her eat stuff she would never touch in the house. Crazy I know, but true.
This link is great guide for feeding fruit and vegetables http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

When I picked the beardie up, he/she feels frail. The baby beardies have a firmer feeling underside, and the big beardies skin feels looser..like I can feel ribs. I am wondering if this is from maybe not being fed well. Or if we should have the beardie checked for parasites?

The dragon should ideally have a bit of a buddah belly, but even though my dragon does, I can see the outline of her ribs when viewed from the top side, and she is a whopping 533 grams at 18 1/4 inches. So seeing ribs may not always indicate a thin dragon. However, given the conditions that you got him/her in, it is likely that this one may be underweight. Best thing to do would be to measure him/her from nose tip to tail tip to get the length and then weight him/her using a digital kitchen scale, which you can buy anywhere. This will give you a more accurate picture, and also help you to keep a close eye on the dragons progress. You should definitely get the poop checked for parasites, and the sample can be taken from the bath without incident/or altering the results.

She/he hasn't pood in the tank yet....but I am going to see if my daughter will help my son with giving his beardie a bath again. And maybe she will poo in her/his bath. Maybe it is too soon to tell. The poor thing just seems sad. When we give it some crickets, it missed getting it several times and he/she seems slow. It doesn't move around much at all. I am worried.

Is the dragon basking? and moving a little around the viv? Some dragons are lazy, mine definitely is, she moves all of 3-4 times throughout her day, also older dragons do not tend to be as active. As long as the dragon is attentive, moving about (somewhat), does not lay flat with his head down all day, does not sleep all day (my Emmalee does rest all day), has a black beard and/or tail, refuses to eat, and is not pooping. You probably do not have to worry, never the less a vet visit will sure alleviate any concerns you may have, especially when you do not know the history. Emmalee is so lazy she often refuses to chase her crickets (if she even eats them), and she is perfectly healthy I have to push them close to her or she will just watch them walk on by, so it may be that you just have a lazy dragon. You can also try feeding slower moving worms, such as horn, butter, wax, phoenix and super, to see if they are more his/her pace.

I should of been more careful before purchasing to make sure the lizard was healthy....but my son had such a miserable school year and I just wanted to cheer him up. I will be devastated if this fella is sick.

Don't beat yourself up, I am sure your dragon will be fine, and also much better off than where he/she was. Just make sure you are providing him/her with a nice place to bask temps 95-105F, what ever the dragon prefers, a UVB bulb (there are many post here on what kind is best), calcium vitamins dusted on the food upto five times per week, a multi vitamin dusted on the food 2 times per week, and regular baths. Some beardies do not like to poop in their vivs, in this case you should make sure that the dragon is getting a 20 minute baths every second or third day to allow him/her to release the bowels. Sometimes a light massage using your index fingers run along the underside of the body to the vent will also help the dragon to go, Emmalee needs these massages at least once per week.


Thank you...
the beardeboy's mom

 

[beardeboy]

I want to say thank you to those who responded We are slowly getting to know our beardie, and from checking her over...she appears to be a female according to what we see compared to information that we have found and her new name is now Athena. My son loves her and is learning to take care of her.

Her lights...I haven't yet checked the name brands, but I was at one of the pet stores here the other day and I saw that they have the same bulbs that we are using, but I will on my next pay cheque switch out the white light and get a new one, as I am not sure how old this one is. Today I decided after the baby was fed lunch, to leave the baby with his big brother (15) lol, and give Athena a nice bath, she perked right up. My daughter (18) kept her for me, and I cleaned her tank and then made her a nice plate of yummies and clean water. After my son helped to put her back in and then she went to her plate and began to EAT!!!!! Yeah!!! My beardeboy was so happy to see that, he has been so worried. So we are going to just relax and enjoy her. Read up on bearded dragons in afew books that I got at the local library....and just chill and enjoy

Take care everyone!! And thanks again for all the great advice and info, we are often coming on to reread it
beardeboys mom