Rescued emanciated beardie today PLEASE HELP !

[SamandSmog]

Today , a friend of a friend was wanting to give away a beardie , I already have two so I figured whats one more ? She bought it on 8/10/12 , and it's still only a little bigger then a juvinile . It's so skinny , it was FILTHY and smelled , and not very responsive , hasn't had a heat lamp in I don't even know how long . I rushed her home , she perked up during the ride , I carried her on my chest , gave her a bath to help hydrate and clean her , and put her under heat and UVB lamp in her cage , which I cleaned out because they were using a sand substrate and I use paper towels . She drank from a baby syringe I use to bathe them with , and even ate about 6 crickets from my hand , Which I know isn't a lot , but I don't want to feed her so much it makes her sick but not enough to make her better . But she was full and refusing to eat anymore . She's since perked up a hell of a lot more then before . I'm gonna put a little bowl of greens in , just I'm case . Is it okay to calcium dust the veggies ? What other things can I do to help her ? Other tricks to help nurse her back to full health ? Sorry for any grammatical errors , I'm on my phone and typing frantically .

 

[Esther19]

Okay, you've done everything right so far. I would back off on live feeders until she makes a poop with good urates to show that she can process the foods. Yes to the calcium. Stick to the greens for a couple days with some baby food squash and turkey twice a day. Then, perhaps soft-bodied worms for a bit before she is ready for crickets. Small meals are best. Keep offering water orally. You are doing a great job!

 

[jingles]

Hallo, thank you for taking over on the little one. My first plan would be to perhaps syringe feed her some baby food, butternut or carrot. Maybe around 1ml at a time. I dust my veggies with both calcium and vitamines when I was nursing Roger back to health. Once she is fattened up a little her appetite should normalise. Did she have decent uv lighting?
Post somek pics for us to see

 

[SamandSmog]

The fact that I'm doing everything right so far is so reassuring ; thank you so much ! There were a bunch of poops in the cage before I cleaned it as we'll as a few left over crickets . I'm headed to the store now to get some baby food . She was in a 20 gallon tank , which the girl gave me , but it was really dirty , an had sand substrate . As far as I know , she didn't have a UVB bulb and I know for sure she didn't have a heat lamp , probably for an extended period of time . Il post pics as soon as I get home !

 

[SamandSmog]

Can I put some calcium and vitamin dust in the baby food to ?

 

[Esther19]

Good thinking! Absolutely, but I'd keep to the 5x calcium, 2x vitamins, one feeding per day schedule.

 

[Esther19]

How is the little girl doing tonight?

 

[YoshisMom1031]

I recently rescued a beardie and posted about her on here- her name is Thor and she was all but dead when I got her. She couldn't even walk and still can't very good, but she's getting better. I too have to help Her eat and also Give her a daily bath or else she can't poop. My point is keep your chin up and have patience, and give your new sweetie lots of love. Thank you for taking him in! Sounds like you're doing everything right!

 

[SamandSmog]

Thank you guys for all the support ! I'm trying my very hardest to help her as much as I can ! Here's some pictures from a few moments ago ! There's her set up , and some pictures of her at different angles , I was trying to get how you can see her little spine and hip bones : (

 

[Gail]

That poor little thing, I can't believe she is nearly a year old. Its disgusting when people don't care for their pets.
Is there anyway you can mount her UVB inside the cage so she doesn't have to climb to be near it? I don't think climbing would be very good for her at this point.
There is a product call critical care that is used for ill reptiles, not sure where you get it but it would be much better for her then baby food. Drache613 could probably tell you where to get it and how to use it.
Once she is ready to start back on insects, look into phoenix worms or small silkies.

 

[Esther19]

Wow! She is much tinier than I anticipated. Gail is right with the critical care. Here is a link for purchasing:
http://www.beardeddragon.co/index.php?route=product/category&path=61 Page 2
I sent the whole supplements section so that you could look it over and choose the flavor. Cheryl has many great things for sale.

 

[Esther19]

How is the little one tonight?

 

[william488]

yes an update please. and yes Cheryl has wonderful products on her site. I am expecting a big order any day now from her. (my third order from her I believe). As for your little one's size, yes that is still sooo tiny, my 1.5 month old looks like its bigger then her. I have a friend who did what you did, rescued a tiny 1 year old about your one's size, and now its only 3 months latter, and its getting big! your little one will do it too. Good luck.

 

[dragonbarbudo]

My last rescue was supposedly around a year old and was extremely small for his age also. He was totally neglected and practically dead when I got him from some shady character off craigslist. I was able to get him healthy, and he is growing like crazy. Based on that I can suggest...

BATHS BATHS BATHS! Hydration is key to survival. I would give at least 2 baths a day and make sure you watch the baby and make sure it's face doesn't go under water especially since it is so weak right now.

I would make sure to provide a nice little beardie salad so that even if it doesn't have the energy to eat yet, it gets used to it being there and will eventually hopefully eat it. You can try mixing a little all natural and sugar free baby food in the greens. Squash and sweet potato flavor is what I have used in the past.

I second the suggestion of critical care. I got it from a reptile vet. You need one pack of Carnivore Care and one pack of Herbivore Care. I was instructed to mix a small amount of half carnivore and half herbivore with water so that it can be fed with a needle-less syringe. You gradually increase the amount so that you don't overload the body with protein and then eventually it will start eating salad and insects on it's own hopefully.

Also try to keep the environment very stress-less such as keeping other animals out of sight and limiting handling of the little guy.

Sorry if that was long....rescue stories get me hyped up. It sounds like you are doing good so far. I am looking forward to hearing updates.

 

[dragonbarbudo]

oh and what is the current temperature in the tank?