Dovakeet
Member
So, I guess I have a beardie...
Sorry for this long post... but it has been a LONG week.
A little history:
I got moved to a new location for work. The first thing I was shown was a little TINY beardie that was eating nothing but Fluker's Repti Boost/Repti Aid. OK... Judging by the size, I assumed that it was a new arrival, but then I noticed on the paperwork that he had been around since April.
The room he was being kept in was COLD. Even with heat lamps/UVB lights (they WERE using a Reptisun 10.0), this guy was not doing much. The cage was super clean, because he wasn't pooping. It made me sad... and angry.
I took him/her to the vet, and after ruling out parasites, etc., I decided to bring him home.
This week:
I've been pouring over all the threads on this site getting a crash course in beardie care. The HUGE plus is most of the stuff I already have (heat lamps of various wattages, UVB light in a terrarium hood and a backup bulb, spare tanks from before the tortoise table, a wide variety of organic veggies, and some brand new digital thermometers), since I have a tortoise who is living outside in the summer. The temperatures have been ideal, the UVB bulb is new... the setup was the easy part.
The vet gave me Science Diet A/D to get this little one something "meaty". We've been soaking/basking/getting tummy rubs all in an attempt to poop. The first poop looked painful, the next few were watery, and tonight we had a solid poop. Progress. We're afraid of crickets and roaches, we have no interest in worms of any kind, pellets are for pooping in... syringes = food. When our little one had his mouth open while basking, I was able to slip a piece of dandelion green into his mouth (which he reluctantly ate) and I was able to get him to eat a little piece of prickly pear pad (cooked). He's eating about 2-4 times a day --> about 6-7 mL of A/D slurry a day + the greens. All of these things are hand or syringe fed.
My concern now is: How do we start eating things that aren't in a syringe? It's almost as if this guy doesn't recognize things that move as food. I don't think, at this point, I should just stop with the syringe and toss some crickets to him... but... he can't live off of dog food forever.
Sorry for this long post... but it has been a LONG week.
A little history:
I got moved to a new location for work. The first thing I was shown was a little TINY beardie that was eating nothing but Fluker's Repti Boost/Repti Aid. OK... Judging by the size, I assumed that it was a new arrival, but then I noticed on the paperwork that he had been around since April.
The room he was being kept in was COLD. Even with heat lamps/UVB lights (they WERE using a Reptisun 10.0), this guy was not doing much. The cage was super clean, because he wasn't pooping. It made me sad... and angry.
I took him/her to the vet, and after ruling out parasites, etc., I decided to bring him home.
This week:
I've been pouring over all the threads on this site getting a crash course in beardie care. The HUGE plus is most of the stuff I already have (heat lamps of various wattages, UVB light in a terrarium hood and a backup bulb, spare tanks from before the tortoise table, a wide variety of organic veggies, and some brand new digital thermometers), since I have a tortoise who is living outside in the summer. The temperatures have been ideal, the UVB bulb is new... the setup was the easy part.
The vet gave me Science Diet A/D to get this little one something "meaty". We've been soaking/basking/getting tummy rubs all in an attempt to poop. The first poop looked painful, the next few were watery, and tonight we had a solid poop. Progress. We're afraid of crickets and roaches, we have no interest in worms of any kind, pellets are for pooping in... syringes = food. When our little one had his mouth open while basking, I was able to slip a piece of dandelion green into his mouth (which he reluctantly ate) and I was able to get him to eat a little piece of prickly pear pad (cooked). He's eating about 2-4 times a day --> about 6-7 mL of A/D slurry a day + the greens. All of these things are hand or syringe fed.
My concern now is: How do we start eating things that aren't in a syringe? It's almost as if this guy doesn't recognize things that move as food. I don't think, at this point, I should just stop with the syringe and toss some crickets to him... but... he can't live off of dog food forever.