Obsessed with Franklin... Too obsessed?

[franklinsbiggestfan]

Hello!
I adopted a bearded dragon a few weeks ago. She was given to PetSmart because the previous owner was unable to take care of her. They had her in the back room in a 20 gallon tank next to a cage of birds. When she was given to them, she had a case of mouth rot. She went through two rounds of antibiotics, but it seems like after I adopted her it was not completely healed. She has the habit of bumping against the glass when she is stressed, I imagine that is why her mouth infection didn't fully heal. I wish I would have been more prepared when I took her home, but I couldn't have imagined leaving her in that tiny tank where no one was going to take care of her the way she should have been.
Now that she is with me, I have become an insane lizard person. I am already very in love with my little lady. But with that comes extreme obsession over her. Every time she moves I'm googling if it means she's sick or scared or whatever you might have it. I wasn't sure if it was normal to go to such extremes? I understand that bearded dragons are quite resilient, but I never want to put her in a position where she will be neglected like she was previously. Hoping for a little bit of reassurance that I am not losing my mind... I have a vet appointment scheduled this week which will hopefully provide her with more antibiotics and tell me if there is anything else I should look out for. Her mouth has improved since I've had her, but there is still a bit of scarring around the mouth.
Anyways, I'm sure I will be asking plenty of questions on this forum. I attached a picture of her, which you will probably be able to see her infection in.
If anyone has some first time bearded dragon owner advice I would love it! I'm also not sure if anyone could give me a better estimate of how old she is. I figured about 5 months, but maybe someone knows better than I do.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hello!
I adopted a bearded dragon a few weeks ago. She was given to PetSmart because the previous owner was unable to take care of her. They had her in the back room in a 20 gallon tank next to a cage of birds. When she was given to them, she had a case of mouth rot. She went through two rounds of antibiotics, but it seems like after I adopted her it was not completely healed. She has the habit of bumping against the glass when she is stressed, I imagine that is why her mouth infection didn't fully heal. I wish I would have been more prepared when I took her home, but I couldn't have imagined leaving her in that tiny tank where no one was going to take care of her the way she should have been.
Now that she is with me, I have become an insane lizard person. I am already very in love with my little lady. But with that comes extreme obsession over her. Every time she moves I'm googling if it means she's sick or scared or whatever you might have it. I wasn't sure if it was normal to go to such extremes? I understand that bearded dragons are quite resilient, but I never want to put her in a position where she will be neglected like she was previously. Hoping for a little bit of reassurance that I am not losing my mind... I have a vet appointment scheduled this week which will hopefully provide her with more antibiotics and tell me if there is anything else I should look out for. Her mouth has improved since I've had her, but there is still a bit of scarring around the mouth.
Anyways, I'm sure I will be asking plenty of questions on this forum. I attached a picture of her, which you will probably be able to see her infection in.
If anyone has some first time bearded dragon owner advice I would love it! I'm also not sure if anyone could give me a better estimate of how old she is. I figured about 5 months, but maybe someone knows better than I do.

Welcome to the forum and for taking her in --- make sure you have surface basking temps 105-110 for a baby or for a 6 month old and up 95-100 --- taken w/ a digital probe thermometer-- a good UVB a long tube fixture NO coils-- I can post links for good ones- this is crucial to the overall health of the dragon-- I am going to have someone pitch on here on the mouth rot issue ---your UVB is going to be very instrumental in healing the mouth they can help better than I one of these people can help you -- all the antibiotics in the world is not going to do any good if you dont have proper UVB -----
@AHBD
@Drache613
@CooperDragon

 

[franklinsbiggestfan]

Welcome to the forum and for taking her in --- make sure you have surface basking temps 105-110 for a baby or for a 6 month old and up 95-100 --- taken w/ a digital probe thermometer-- a good UVB a long tube fixture NO coils-- I can post links for good ones- this is crucial to the overall health of the dragon-- I am going to have someone pitch on here on the mouth rot issue ---your UVB is going to be very instrumental in healing the mouth they can help better than I one of these people can help you -- all the antibiotics in the world is not going to do any good if you dont have proper UVB -----
@AHBD
@Drache613
@CooperDragon

Good to know! Thank you. I ordered her a new UVB light this week, I've been waiting for it to come in. The one she has actually has pretty good range, but I figured if I plan on having her long term I should get a strip. So already in the works. On top of keeping her cage clean and proper lighting, what else should I look out for to help her heal?

 

[KarrieRee]

Good to know! Thank you. I ordered her a new UVB light this week, I've been waiting for it to come in. The one she has actually has pretty good range, but I figured if I plan on having her long term I should get a strip. So already in the works. On top of keeping her cage clean and proper lighting, what else should I look out for to help her heal?

Did you order the long tube fixture? Coils are bad you do not want to use that- your bulb and screen are going to determine the placement and distance of the uvb - her diet - fresh salads everyday and a good staple feeder- - I recommend dubia roaches they are better nutritional wise easier to keep - I can post a nutritional website for you tomorrow -

 

[AHBD]

She looks good, nice weight and her mouth looks really good. I barely see a very slightly raised area on her mouth, if that's where the rot was then it must have improved greatly. All beardies grow at different rates so her age would be just a guess, about the size of a 4-5 month old but some dragons would be smaller, some larger at the same age. Try not to worry, just make sure the lights + heat are good. If you're not positive of her sex we can tell you here . [ Usually ]

 

[xp29]

There are some excellent care guides here, read through them and ask questions on anything that you need more info about, this is a great community that is always willing to help. We all love beardies and want them and their hooman to have the best lives together possible.
Their care isn't hard but it's incredibly specific. Like Karrieree and ADHD have said, lighting is critical, if you don't get that right, you are both in for rough times. Be sure to dust with calcium once per day, and multivitamins 2 to 3 times per week. At her size/age she is still growing, provide her with lots of protein she needs it to grow, the sooner you can get her eating greens the better also, if they don't learn young it's really hard to get them to eat them later. Make sure to keep her hydrated, baths do not do so unless they actually drink. Most won't drink from standing water, you can use an eyedropper to drip it on their nose. If they don't drink that way you can add in a little none citrus fruit juice to give it flavor. Go at their pace, don't try to force it, you could aspirate them. If you use the juice be sure to use a wet paper towel or wet wash cloth to wipe away any that runs down their chin. No need to take a chance on causing bacteria or fungus to start in their scales.
Another important aspect is hygiene, clorox wipes don't kill some parasites like coccidia, you can use f10 (amazon) or chlorhexidine (tractor suppy in the horse section). Both are vet grade disinfectants. Ammonia works but is harder to use because it's toxic, you have to air out 100% of the fumes before the beardie goes back in.
One more thing don't run bath water deeper than their elbows, they use the same muscle group to walk and to breathe,they can't do both at once and can drown very quickly if they can't stand up.
Sorry for the long read, just want you to both get off to a great start

 

[KarrieRee]

Did you order the long tube fixture? Coils are bad you do not want to use that- your bulb and screen are going to determine the placement and distance of the uvb - her diet - fresh salads everyday and a good staple feeder- - I recommend dubia roaches they are better nutritional wise easier to keep - I can post a nutritional website for you tomorrow -

Nutrition Content Ignore the kale info its outdated

 

[Groggyfroggie]

Welcome! She's super cute And you're not alone in the beardie obsession group lol! I fussed over mine so much in the first couple of months. Makes me happy to see her finally have the right care and love

 

[franklinsbiggestfan]

Update on Franklin!
I took her to the vet today and got some good news and bad news. The good news is she does not appear to have a mouth infection. She is generally healthy and at 130g!
The bad news is, she has a bit of jaw malformation, the vet thinks it might be the result of metabolic bone disease from the previous owners. The crusty stuff on her mouth is likely just dried saliva from the underbite. Regardless, she should be able to live a long healthy life as long as I continue to take care of her properly.
It doesn't appear that she has any signs of continued calcium deficit so the UVB bulb and supplementation are working properly. I am still getting the strip UVB bulb just to be safe. But thank you all for your help!
Thankful she is doing alright

 

[KarrieRee]

Update on Franklin!
I took her to the vet today and got some good news and bad news. The good news is she does not appear to have a mouth infection. She is generally healthy and at 130g!
The bad news is, she has a bit of jaw malformation, the vet thinks it might be the result of metabolic bone disease from the previous owners. The crusty stuff on her mouth is likely just dried saliva from the underbite. Regardless, she should be able to live a long healthy life as long as I continue to take care of her properly.
It doesn't appear that she has any signs of continued calcium deficit so the UVB bulb and supplementation are working properly. I am still getting the strip UVB bulb just to be safe. But thank you all for your help!
Thankful she is doing alright

Sounds good - please post back on here when you get the new uvb- your screen will determine where the uvb needs to be placed and distanced

 

[xp29]

That is great news, Franklin is lucky that you have him now. I hope he thrives well for you.