Rescue Beardie - best, healthy way to get her weight up?

[Kyryah]

Enough to make you cry, isn't it?

Here is what she looks like today...

So, I need more weight on this gal. She is one tough cookie. I can't BELIEVE she survived.

What are some tips/tricks to get her weight up further?

What are the best feeders that won't cause fatty liver or other issues down the road? I have dubias, butterworms, and I am more than willing to purchase anything else. Not a fan of crickets, and I don't usually feed mealies.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gail]

No feeder will cause fatty liver disease if they are fed in proper portions. A adult should be eating 80% greens/veggies. Dubias, silkworms, hornworms and phoenix are some of the best. Super and butters are ok in moderation, waxies are nothing more then a treat.
May I ask what the brown stuff is in her greens? The best thing she can be eating at this point is fresh greens and healthy feeders.

 

[Kyryah]

Soaked Mazuri tortoise chow.

As far as feeding the "proper proportions," that is exactly what I am asking... My healthy adult female eats dark leafy greens and spring mix, summer squash, sweet potato, etc. etc., plus 3-5 roaches every other day. I simply have not dealt with one in this bad of condition. The woman that gave her to me saved her life, but wasn't able to put as much weight on her in 6 months as I feel she should have. I do have some doubts as to the quality of the food that she was given.

 

[Gail]

Do you have any idea how old she is? I would feed her mainly dubia everyday until she puts on more weight, supers or butter worms once to twice a week but only a few. The dubia she can have a bit more of, say 5-7 adults if she can eat ones that big. Silkworms would be really good for her.
Will she eat fruit? Bananas and dates have a lot of calories so including them twice a would be ok. Sweet potatoes are another that would be good to add to her diet. Since she was so thin, it can take a long time to get her bulked back up and she may never be a real plump dragon.

 

[Kyryah]

No clue on age. She came out of a hoarding situation. There were 8 dragons in a 20 gallon tank. They were eating each other alive. She went unnoticed at first, because she was laying under a piece of newspaper and you couldn't see her she was so flat. They didn't even think she was alive.

She is slightly smaller than my 8 month old, but about half the weight.

Right now I am keeping her dish full of greens at all times and letting her eat as much as she wants. What about Gerber baby food chicken? I have used that with Leopard geckos and it works well. I'll order some silkworms, and pick up some bananas and dates Thank you for your help.

 

[Kyryah]

Well, for the record, the bananas and dates and some grated sweet potato went over very well. So far she has eaten everything I have put in front of her. As I said before, the woman that gave her to me did in fact save her life, but I don't think she was feeding her all that well. She was picking fresh clover, dandelions etc., but was also catching insects rather than purchasing proper feeders... It wasn't enough food and the quality was poor. I swear I have seen a difference in her in just the last couple of days. She looks more "full" and the wrinkles in her skin have lessened. I mist her greens with water before feeding them as well, and her hydration seems much better.

I'm going to give her a nice warm soak today and let her out on the leash. I think we are going to do just fine. She is missing a LOT of toes, I guess there was one poor baby in with her that was missing three whole FEET due to the other dragons eating them off. I just don't understand people...

Huge contrast between this girl and my Lee! (LeeZard, lol)

 

[Gail]

Its great she isn't picky about food. Honestly, I wouldn't ever feed baby food to any dragon that is eating on their own. She will get all the protein she needs from live feeders.
How long have you had her? Has she been checked for parasites? It sounds like she is already beginning to add weight, just keep feeding like you are. Do you have a scale? It would be interesting to weight her weekly to see how much she really is gaining.

 

[Kyryah]

I picked her up about 6PM on Saturday, so I have only had her a few days. I do have a scale, definitely going to get a weight on her today. I didn't want to mess with her too much and stress her out with everything else that she has been dealing with, so I haven't fussed with her yet. I did actually get lucky that she voided within a couple of hours of bringing her home, I did a fecal and it was clean. I'm glad about that because I really didn't want to have to give her any meds either.

I'll post her weight and exact length and a few more pictures later today.

 

[Kyryah]

Oh boy oh boy did we get some nasty hard urates during our bath today :/ Uck.

Still eating like a CHAMP though. I'm impressed with her spunk.

She weighs 254 grams, and is 8" SVL and 15" total.

 

[Gail]

Glad to hear she passed that, she should feel much better now. Her size really doesn't sound too bad and with her appetite, I bet she gains really well for you.
Will you be upgrading her tank soon? She does look a bit cramped in her current one.

 

[Kyryah]

I'll be upgrading her tank when I feel that she is in need of more space and exercise. But to be honest, as far as that goes, it isn't my biggest worry at this point. And I also have an outdoor enclosure that she has been and will continue to be in during the day for the next 3 or so months.

 

[Gail]

hats awesome, I'd love to build a outdoor cages for Gideon.

 

[sjcksnmnusa]

I'm so glad to see her gaining weight. I have a 10yr old adopted in May that was 150 grams and it has been a battle to keep gaining weight. He is eating more greens and crickets as he gains strength. I will add bananas and dates to the greens and squash. He loves mango too but it works like prunes with all my dragons so it is a treat only. Thanks for the info and for rescuing her.

 

[Kyryah]

Soaking up the sun

She is already looking better to me. It has been a week to the day since I picked her up. I'm planning on getting a weight on her as well. Daily soaks and good food is doing the trick! I'm just really glad that there appears to be no long term internal damage that is preventing her from bulking up. Feeling very optimistic!