Rescued Beardie

[Cholla]

Hi all,
I picked up a beardie today when I went to go and get my display case, and she is not in the best of health. When I picked her up the people said that she had run out of food a few days ago, so they were feeding her just veggies cuz they didn't want to have to buy any more. Her basking light was burnt out for I don't know how long and before she ran out of food all they had been feeding her were dragon pellets. She is the same age as our Cholla but only about half the size. I brought her and her cage (which is actually plenty big enough for her) home, got her a new, strong basking light, temp probe, and put some of the same veggies that Cholla eats and two superworms. She is not interested at all. she is on her basking rock flattened out and has stress marks on her belly. What should I do to help her? Any suggestions? She is very dark colored, but has an orange beard and some orange on her feet and a few of her spikes. I was wondering if the dark color could be from stress as well. She is also missing a few toes and has a pretty big tail nip, the previous owners told me that the other beardie they had in with her died a few months ago and that's why she is missing some of her parts. I'm no expert by far, but I just couldn't leave her there! Please help me! I don't want to do anything wrong!
Tera

 

[Cholla]

anyone?

 

[lovemybeardies]

Good for you for rescuing that poor beardie! I rescue beardies, too, and have dealt with many of the same issues you're facing here. Your beardie is probably experiencing relocation stress as well as dehydration/malnutrition/starvation issues. Her dark color is probably due to stress. Does she have a UVB light? It is very important to have the proper lighting and temperatures in her cage. Her basking area should be around 105 degrees, and her cooler end should be around 85 degrees. I use the Reptisun 10.0 flourescent tube UVB lights for most of my beardies and just a normal bright white household bulb for basking. You can experiment with the wattages to get the right temperature, depending on the size of your tank. You can start to help her by giving her a bath in warm water, making sure her vent is submerged in the water, for 10-15 minutes. She may drink water out of the bath. This will help rehydrate her if she is dehydrated. Next, you can buy her some squash and chicken baby food. You can mix these two baby foods together (using more squash than chicken), add some of your powdered calcium (RepCal is what I use), and try putting some on her nose to see if she'll lick it off. Be patient, and keep trying. Most of the beardies I've rescued will eventually accept the baby food mixture. I'm sure some of the forum moderaters will be on soon to give you more advice, but I saw your post and wanted to thank you for giving that poor beardie a home and wanted to lend you some support from a fellow beardie rescuer.

 

[Cholla]

Thanks for replying love! I just got home and gave her a bath (she pooped ALOT) and got her all dried off and back on her rock. I do have UVB in her cage (I have Repti-Suns on order, can't find them here) and she's in front of a window for some natural rays as well, also I just changed her heat light to a 100 watt, I couldn't get the 50 watt up past 98 degrees. She did eat a little bit last night and I have some silkworms on order and I am going to go get some crickets tonight. Also I will get some baby food and try that as well. She doesn't seem to want to move around alot, but she is alert and watching what's going on and seems interested. I think she is just a little stressed still by the move and all the commotion that is my house :wave: :laughhard: :lurk: , LOL. So I am going to give her a few days and see what happens. I wish we had a good herp vet here, but as far as I know the closest one is going to be in Dallas and that's about 3 hours away. :x Thanks so much again!
Tera

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,

Gosh poor baby. Thank you for bringing her home.

Firstly you must understand that rehabilitation can be a long process. You are highly unlikely to see immediate results.
Long term malnutrition can be one of the hardest things to crack. If she is hardly given food she may not recognise prey as food for a little while. Be prepared to try alot of different feeders before you find one she 'understands'.
Remember, these people admitted willingly that they often didnt get her bugs to feed her, can you imagine what they're not admitting?
Keep your spirits up and keep trying every day.
Remember at this stage she will also be very frightened. New sights, new sounds, new heat, new food. It is likely to be rather overwhelming for her for a few days. Considering that she has been brave enough to eat already is a great sign.

I too have had great success with babyfood feeding. A blob of the mixture on the end of the nose will usually get an inquisative lick, and if they lick the taste they will often keep licking and licking as you re-apply it.
My eldest rescue still loves babyfood from a spoon as a treat now he's a big boy. (men never mature do they?)


How is she physically?
Is she slim?
How are her scales? Is she dirty or retained at all?
Id love to see any photos you have of her.

In terms of vet treatment as the herp vet is so far out for you Id recommend getting a standard faecal done to check for paracites. Any vets will be able to screen a faecal sample for you and I believe the price runs from $12-30 depending on the area.
You always want to rule out paracites and worms when you bring home a new beardie.

Its also important to keep her "quarrentened" from your other beardie until she has a clear faecal. No using the same towels or bowls for both of them, and try not to cuddle them whilst wearing the same shirt.

Good luck and I hope you keep us updated.

Holly

 

[Cholla]

Thanks for replying Holly!
I tried her with some small crickets this morning and she had no problem going after them. I am going to go and get some more tomorrow and see how she does then as well. I also have some silkworms on order for both her and Cholla. As for the vet, I'm still calling around. So far everyone I've called said that they will not see reptiles, period. But if need be I'll drive her to Shreveport or something.
How is she physically? She is a little on the small side, but I think she's okay other than that. She does have a considerable tail nip and a bit of some of her fingers missing, but they don't seem to bother her. She also really needs a manicure, but I am trying to wait on that so I don't stress her.
How are her scales? Is she dirty or retained at all? I'm not sure if it's dirt or not on her scales, I gave her a bath last night and the water didn't change color or anything. When I cleaned out her cage today to put down shelf liner I discovered that they had her on DIRT not bark like it looked like, and there was a ton of poop in there. But I cleaned it, vacuumed it, and disinfected EVERYTHING that was in there.
Id love to see any photos you have of her. Here you go, let me know what you think. She is approximately 10.5" from nose to end of tail nip and I'm not sure on weight.

I've got her in front of the window to soak up some natural UVB along with her flourescent.

Thanks so much for ya'lls help, I'm hoping everything is going to be okay with her. I don't think she's as bad off as some I've heard about, I just don't want to do anything to further hurt her due to my inexperience!

 

[denise v]

One thing about the tank in front of the window & uvb rays . Window glass & the tank glass filters out uvb rays and the only way your beardie can receive the uvb is using special glass that permit the uvb rays to come through ,but if the window is open and your dragon is sitting out of it's tank near the window some of the rays will come through the screen. Good luck with your new baby & I'm sure she is in good loving hands

 

[Cholla]

Oh well crud, didn't know that about the glass . Learned something else, LOL. Thanks Denise!

 

[denise v]

I am still learning :study: to. She is one pretty little girl !

 

[Cholla]

Thanks I'm hoping once she gets over some of her stress some more of that pretty orange will come out!

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Hi there,
Nice rescue, With the propper set up and care You are going to look back on these 1st pictures in about 6 months and not recognize your dragon. I have recued a few in the past and recovery is a remarkable thing to watch. Take pictures every week or so and compare them after a month or 2. You will see.

 

[Ethelia]

What a sweet little face she has.
I guess she knows she's hit the big time ^_^
She doesnt look too underweight which is encouraging.

I think perhaps she has some crud ingrained into her scales, a little may come off with a babytoothbrush in the bath, but I htink you'll probably have to wait for a shed.
How did she react to her first bath with you?

She hunted the crickets? Thats great news. The little thing is probably just gaining confidence with you. Im sure she'll be hoovering up her bugs in no time.

Do keep us updated.
Holly

 

[Cholla]

Just a quick update... I fed her approx. 15 crickets yesterday morning and she did really well AFTER I took her off her branch and set her on the cage floor. She doesn't seem to move off the branch by herself. Also she is showing zero interest in her veggies. I am going to pick up some mini mealworms (I think she's still too small for supers) to try to catch her interest in the salad until the silkworms get here. Any other advice on the veggie eating? Should I be worried about her not moving much? Thanks so much to all of you who've replied, I really appreciate it!

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
No I wouldnt be too worried about her not moving too much. She's still scoping you out. Some dragons like to explore everywhere in their news homes, some like to take stock until they feel safe before they start investigating.

Have you seen her move before? Like run across the carpet or in the tub?
Does she seem stable? Can she pull herself up onto her basking area herself?
If she has been malnourished it wouldnt be unusual for her to be a little weak.
Lots of protien and water exercises in the bath will help her in no time.
Her current basking branch does look a little challenging for a possibly weak dragon. Its thin and obviously requires alot of manovering to get down from.
Id say some able-bodied adults might find it a little challenging.
It might be that she is getting herself up there for the heat, then not coming down because of the effort.
Id recommend making her an easy basking spot. Perhaps just a raised platform (a brick, large tile or a shoebox). Maybe remove the branch or put it on the coolside of her viv.

Dont be let down about the veggies.
By the sounds of it she didnt get much TLC and I doubt they gave her anything other than iceberg or similarly unnutritional veg.
Try brightly coloured veg and fragrant ones like bell peppers, watercress and rocket.
Squash is also a great one for fussy eaters. Grated or sliced it seems to go down well.

After you have got her up to a decent weight and she's into a proper eating routine with the bugs you can start to give her a salad in the morning (with worm sprinkles) and leaving her with it until late afternoon. If they get hungry they will eat.
My boy Ruben tries it on all the time trying to get more bugs and less greens.
No dice mr.

Feel free to PM me anytime
Holly

 

[beardie osk]

Congrats on your new baby! I'm so glad that you rescued her and she is beautiful and will even get prettier with your care.
The advice your getting is great, Holly and others are a great help, and many of us have rescued beardies, so we all learn from each other.

In looking at your babies pics, besides her beauty, she has no fat pads on her head or base of her tail, and her thighs are very thin, which is a sign of being undernourished, which you already know. Try to be careful with high protein intake for a while, to make sure she's digesting well and is hydrated, and you may want to try the squash baby food, mixed with repta-aid for fluid/energy support. Her slow moving may be as Holly said, "being very weak" so a new basking spot may be a great help. This will be a slow process, as mentioned, but we're all here for you.

Your doing a great job, and your in the right place for many beardie parents to be at your aid, Kudo's to you,

Bugs and hugs, :love5: