Oh this is just awful *Exciting pic page 7!*

[jeritta]

Sorry if this sounds bad but since they did not even tell you about him they obviously don't care about him. You said they are gone for a month
right? Then nurse him for a few days at your house then when they call about the snake tell them the dragon died. I know it sounds bad but
at least he would be away from them and you could find him a new home. You have been spending a lot on taking care of him anyway. You have
posted before about taking things over there to help him.
Sorry if cruel but it is just a suggestion.

 

[Livey]

It is cruel i agree, just look at him
Why not try printing out some Pictures of big healthy beardies of his age?
Print the one out you posted, and its Not hard to see...
Or take notes on what some people have said, ( not all of them obviously)
As it would be very upsetting for them,
But its best to just tell them straight rather than pussyfooting around

 

[drgnfly2265]

OMG, that poor beardie! Just a water bowl in the tank? And he looks horrible I wish I could give you some advice. Please keep us updated on how things go. I hope that his owners will wake up and see what is happening in there home!

What is the living condition of the snake?

 

[gizmo17]

thats so messed up!! how do you buy something without knowing anything about it??

 

[diamc]

Oh, the poor thing. Do you suppose they asked you to feed their snake just knowing that you'd find the beardie and care for that too? Kudos to you, you have gone above and beyond already, thanks for that. Moving the beardie to your house while they are gone would be much less stressful for him being in one spot and that way you can keep a close eye on him.

Frequent baths and oral fluids are a good idea. If you use Pedialyte, be sure to dilute it with 3 parts warm water to one part Pedialyte. The baby food is also a good idea but as was mentioned, go very easy on any protein you feed, wouldn't want it to cause liver or kidney problems, have to go very slow. Squash, green bean, peas, mixed vegetables, any of those baby foods would be good with a little bit of chicken or turkey baby food mixed it too as well as a small pinch of calcium or vitamins.

Getting some Critical Care formula would also be helpful and should help give him a boost.

Good luck, we are here to help you along the way, thanks again for helping him. :wink:

 

[ChinelleKitten]

Awww i am so sad for this beardie, thank goodness you noticed it. It is probably good that you take it to your house to watch over it. He's probably happier already with the blanket and heat lamp. I agree with some of the other posters that i wouldn't let the people have him back, he's been badly negelcted . It's good of you to try to make him better.

 

[alenke]

That guy looks exactly like the one i just saved but longer, ive been doing the babyfood with vit and cal and some wax worms like 1 actually. I had never seen anythings stomach get sucked up like that till i got tinny. its so sad, i do feel your pain. its hard when they are like that.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am so sorry that you found him in that manner. Honestly, the owners should be ashamed of themselves. I mean, come on, this is ridiculous. They purposely left him to die in that tank, without a single thought of him, & that is sad & neglectful. If they can afford to feed their ball python then they can afford to care for him, they just don't want to. Sorry, but they don't deserve him because you have tried to help educate them but they aren't listening & are ignoring everything you have told them to do. That is blatant disregard for this dragon.
If you take a close look at his mouth/jaw area, he is developing metabolic bone disease also. He will need UVB lighting too. You mentioned the Reptisun 10, is that the one they are using?
As suggested, do not feed much if any protein for several days, only baby food, or a greens slurry. He is very dehydrated so getting his fluid levels back up is priority. Slowly add vitamins & calcium to his food daily. Once his system starts to pick up & he is going to the bathroom regularly along with a good amount of urates, then you can add some chicken or turkey baby food, slowly.

Please let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[Paperdaisies]

Thank you so much everyone for your suggestions. I will definitely start slow with the protein and also, thanks for the advice on how to properly dilute the pedialyte! What would I do without the memebers and mods here?!

We are bringing him over today and I'm going to revamp his little viv as much as I can. There isn't much space. He's in a 20 long . I spoke to the neighbors last night and just told her he needs a LOT of work. I told her that beardies are not hard to care for necessarily but that I thought they were sort of high maintenance. I also told her he needs to see a vet.

When they come back I've agreed to give them a full run down on proper husbandry and I'm going to have to think of a way to really drill it into their heads that there are certain basics that CANNOT be ignored. I don't think I'd feel comfortable lying and saying he died, you know? If they were total jerks that didn't care I might consider it though, lol.

They really are super nice people and if I can teach them how to care for him the right way I'd like to help them in case they ever buy another beardie. I do admit that just leaving him there with nothing but a dirty water dish was definitely neglectful. How do I bring that up tactfully? Part of me just wants to rip into someone and say, "What did you think would happen to an animal left in a small glass tank with nothing over a whole month?!" They aren't stupid, just ignorant.

Oh boy, this whole thing is really stressing me out. I'm going to be looking for a bigger viv for him since I don't think they can afford that right now. Maybe that would help some? I know he's not really mobile right now but at least there'd be more space in there for me to work with as far as making him comfortable.

I will post some pics tonight. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart!

 

[FrancoisBeans]

How do I bring that up tactfully? Part of me just wants to rip into someone and say, "What did you think would happen to an animal left in a small glass tank with nothing over a whole month?!" They aren't stupid, just ignorant.

I don't want to sound hateful because you said they're nice people, but I'm pretty sure leaving any animal alone with nothing for a month is more than just ignorance, and plain ol' stupidity. You'd never do that with a dog, or a cat... Common sense should tell you that that's inappropriate care, even if you don't know the UVB/heat lamp/etc basics. And they left you to provide THEIR animals with food?? That also seems rude. When I get people to watch my babies they're doing me a favor, I would never ask them to go out of their way to help me AND pay for my animals to eat...

Okay, enough with me being angry. I'm really glad you found him and are giving him the care he needs. Everyone has given you good advice and I'm sure he'll just be happy to get the attention and love you'll give him. Definitely keep us posted and when they get back REALLY go over the points that are necessary. He MUST have UVB, he MUST have food (duh...), and I agree that lying about his death or stealing him would be wrong but if you're willing and know they won't give him proper care, maybe you could talk them out of keeping him? If you couldn't keep him, you could just be his temp home if they agreed to that... Again, it's so good that you found him and keep us updated! I hope he perks up and starts looking better!

 

[catUK]

But one of the biggest issues is I don't even think they realize how cruel they're being unintentionally. How do I bring this topic up to them? I've talked to them about proper husbandry, given them a uvb fixture, heat lamp (2 now since that one wouldn't work), a reptisun bulb, etc. I've taken over greens with veggies like squash, peas, beans, etc. and dusted with vitamins and/or calcium in hopes they'd see that those are the things he needs every single day. But they don't seem to be picking up on it?? I'm not sure what else to do except find a tactful way to say, "Look, this animal will die unless he has his basic needs met which are x,y,z. He's not getting that and needs to see a vet. Would you like me to help you so that he can get healthy because I'm sure he's not happy like this."

Your in a very difficult situation here! the best thing probably so you don't offend is to show you understand how difficult it can be to get to grips with looking after a beardie but once they get used to it it'll be second nature. Also help them realise the fun side of keeping a beardie- they've obviously not shared the fun part. Poor thing, even his water dish was scruffy!! You seem like you've done a good thing and hopefully they'll come round, just don't give up. Sorry i couldn't be of more help, I don't know the best approach to this hard situation your in. Hope all turns out well

 

[Paperdaisies]

I don't want to sound hateful because you said they're nice people, but I'm pretty sure leaving any animal alone with nothing for a month is more than just ignorance, and plain ol' stupidity. You'd never do that with a dog, or a cat... Common sense should tell you that that's inappropriate care, even if you don't know the UVB/heat lamp/etc basics. And they left you to provide THEIR animals with food?? That also seems rude. When I get people to watch my babies they're doing me a favor, I would never ask them to go out of their way to help me AND pay for my animals to eat...

Okay, enough with me being angry. I'm really glad you found him and are giving him the care he needs. Everyone has given you good advice and I'm sure he'll just be happy to get the attention and love you'll give him. Definitely keep us posted and when they get back REALLY go over the points that are necessary. He MUST have UVB, he MUST have food (duh...), and I agree that lying about his death or stealing him would be wrong but if you're willing and know they won't give him proper care, maybe you could talk them out of keeping him? If you couldn't keep him, you could just be his temp home if they agreed to that... Again, it's so good that you found him and keep us updated! I hope he perks up and starts looking better!

I have tosay, that IS one thing I was a tiny bit perturbed about (besides the condition of the animal of course). I said to my husband, "Um, are we supposed to feed the animals for the month they're gone? There isn't any food there and no money or note so..." My husband asked if the animals would eat if we didn't buy the food. Obviously I said, "Well, no". He goes, "Well then, yes, I guess we're feeding them".

And I wouldn't mind one bit if they'd asked. Feeders for their ball for a whole month will be under $10. But greens, veggies, crix, roaches, etc. for the dragon kinda adds up you know? I absolutely don't mind, but I would never just assume someone would pay for it themselves.

I also have another question. He reeeeaaaallly wants the crix I'm giving him. Should I limit him on those as well? I only let him have a few and feel bad because he's so desperate for food. I don't want to overdo the protein as warned. Any suggestions? Will he feel full once he has a good syringe feeding of veggies and vitamins?

 

[Phoenix17June2009]

Hi Jamie! Maybe i can help... now i'm not 100% sure on this, but as you know healthy animals will stop eating when full, but i wonder if that poor little guy would eat until he were sick... reason i said that is my rents rescued a dog and he was in bad shape, they put food down and he was starving but mom put more down and he actually made himself sick... so i kinda wonder if the same rules apply here... i mean if he is afraid hes not going to get food again for weeks at a time he i would think would eat and eat and eat...which would cause him to get sick (i think so anyways) someone else may know better than me....

i also wanted to say that you are amazing for everything you are doing for those animals! i really hope your neighbors take what you are willing to teach them and use that information to help that little one... maybe show her one of your beardies... they are all healthy, show her what they should look like, they all have buda bellies, but not that little one... and i agree its a touchy subject to bring up but i think you are doing well so far!

 

[Paperdaisies]

Hi Jamie! Maybe i can help... now i'm not 100% sure on this, but as you know healthy animals will stop eating when full, but i wonder if that poor little guy would eat until he were sick... reason i said that is my rents rescued a dog and he was in bad shape, they put food down and he was starving but mom put more down and he actually made himself sick... so i kinda wonder if the same rules apply here... i mean if he is afraid hes not going to get food again for weeks at a time he i would think would eat and eat and eat...which would cause him to get sick (i think so anyways) someone else may know better than me....

i also wanted to say that you are amazing for everything you are doing for those animals! i really hope your neighbors take what you are willing to teach them and use that information to help that little one... maybe show her one of your beardies... they are all healthy, show her what they should look like, they all have buda bellies, but not that little one... and i agree its a touchy subject to bring up but i think you are doing well so far!

Thank you so much! And I think you are definitely right about him eating himself sick. He just seems to keep going. I'm trying to take it slow with him but it's so stinkin' hard when you see how hungry they are.

 

[Paperdaisies]

Okay folks, so he does really well with the syringe feeding. I mix in vitamins and calcium: all that good stuff and he goes nuts for it. Does anyone know approximately how much and how many feedings I should do? Like Phoenix17June2009 said, I think he would eat himself sick if I let him.

He ate some pureed veggies today and I let him have about 6 crix. I also gave him some diluted pedialyte. Once his little belly was full I burrito'ed him up again and placed him under his heat lamp/uvb so settle in and digest. Here's a few pics and a video. =)

You can see in this video he has terrible aim

All full and cozy. Bless him, poor baby.