newbie

[cperret]

Hello all, I'm a novice when it comes to the care of bearded dragons. I received a beardie for free yesterday, and his previous owner was not taking good care of him. He's about a year old, skinny as can be, and much shorter than he should be. I'm about to go shopping and get him a larger tank, new lighting and the essentials, but I was just wondering if there is anything else I should be aware of. I've done a lot of research but this is completely new to me so I just want to make sure I have everything covered. I'm really nervous since he's not in the best shape, I don't know if I'll be able to make it better, but I want to be sure that I'm doing everything I can. So any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. thank you in advance

 

[CooperDragon]

Poor guy. Since he's older and not in the best shape, I suggest offering drops of water on his nose to help hydrate him. If he takes water, keep offering small batches several times per day for the first day or two. Offer him a salad and see if he will dig into that. If not, you may want to try dripping some baby food squash or green beans on his nose and see if he'll take that. Most of his diet should be veges so I suggest 2-3 items from this list each day in a salad for his main diet http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html. A variety of bugs is good too. Dubia roaches, crickets, silk worms, horn worms, and black soldier fly larvae are all good to offer on a rotating basis. He should only have a bug meal every 2-3 days though, especially if he's eating plenty of veges. Hold off on the bugs for a little while though because the protein may harm his system if he's flooded with it all at once.

As far as tank size goes, I suggest at least a 40g breeder tank (this is better than a 55g tank). Pick up a dome fixture for the basking light and a PAR38 halogen flood light. A 75w (not energy efficient) should do the trick. I would also get an inline lamp dimmer or a dimming thermostat so you can adjust the output. An adjustable lamp stand will let you raise/lower the lamp to adjust temps too. I would pick up either an IR temp gun or two digital thermometers w/probes like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017N8W90/ so you can monitor the surface temp in the basking spot and on the cool side of the tank. Shoot for 100-105 in the basking spot and about 75-85 on the cool side.

I suggest getting a nice 22'' T5 UVB tube and fixture for UVB output. Investing in high quality UVB is important. They may not carry it in a local store so it may need to be ordered online. This is a good combination to look for https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26061-Reptisun-Fluorescent/dp/B00AQU8HAO and this fixture https://www.amazon.com/Sunblaster-904296-NanoTech-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B00AKKUBDQ/

Go with a solid substrate for the tank. Ceramic tile or non adhesive shelf liner are good options because they're easy to clean and sanitize. Avoid loose substrate like sand because it's tough to keep clean and sanitary.

That should cover most of the basics. If you have specific questions please let us know. If you'd like to share photos of him, you can upload them here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.

 

[cperret]

Thank you so much for the response I got him a 40g breeder tank, some tiles from home depot for substrate and some other essentials. I bought some mustard greens and collard greens and tried to give him some but he didn't go after them. I fed him about 3 very small dubia roaches because he had not eaten for quite awhile and he wouldn't go after anything else. I'm going to get some baby food as you suggested and try that. I also have been misting water on him a few times a day and each time he starts to lap up the little drops on his nose.

I'm scared though, he just kind of sits in one spot all day with his eyes closed. He seemed energetic when he went after the roaches but other than that he's very lethargic. It also looks as if he has trouble holding himself up on his front legs when he moves, like he doesn't have the strength. Do you think I should take him to a vet and get him checked out? As I mentioned before his previous owner did not take good care of him at all, so I'm hoping that he'll begin to improve with the better living conditions, but I'm worried that there could be something seriously wrong with him

 

[CooperDragon]

That sounds like a good setup. It may take a bit of time for him to start to improve under better conditions but it is a good idea to have a vet do a checkup if you have one in the area who is experienced with bearded dragons. A vet can determine if any medical treatment is needed in addition to the environmental upgrades you've put in place.