Rescued sick beardie

[LSUTigris]

Just rescued a sick sad beardie. Not sure of age but looks almost full grown. Very undernourished, no UVB light ever (overall bone structure looks good though), kept in a 10 gallon tank, & probably dehydrated. Gave him a long warm bath (covered in poop) & now have him basking in the sun (it's about 97 outside). He will be getting a proper size tank & lighting setup tomorrow. I have a very healthy juve beardie but not sure nutrition wise what to do for this sick guy. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, can you post pics of the beardie [ fullbody shots ] as well his set up ? Here's how :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload pics

If he's just thin and not truly emaciated you can start him on small amounts of medium insects [ 4-6 ] and some greens. Hydration is important so drip water on his snout to get him to drink in the clean warm bath [ before it gets very dirty ] or just use a dropper/spray bottle on his snout for hydration.

Hopefully you'll turn him into a happy + healthy dragon.

 

[Bear333]

Just rescued a sick sad beardie. Not sure of age but looks almost full grown. Very undernourished, no UVB light ever (overall bone structure looks good though), kept in a 10 gallon tank, & probably dehydrated. Gave him a long warm bath (covered in poop) & now have him basking in the sun (it's about 97 outside). He will be getting a proper size tank & lighting setup tomorrow. I have a very healthy juve beardie but not sure nutrition wise what to do for this sick guy. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Hi there!

So glad you rescued him, and I'm sure a bath was just what he needed It would be helpful if you could provide some pictures of him to see how sick he really is. See if he will eat anything really, try an insect or two (dubia roach, cricket, phoenix worm, etc.) and see how he does. You could also try feeding him a small piece of a vegetable or green (mustard greens, dandelion greens, and collard greens are recommended). If he doesn't seem interested in these options, you could always try applesauce (with no added sugars!) or plain squash baby food. Just put a drip on his nose with a plastic syringe or your finger if you don't have a syringe and he will most likely lap it right up. It would be great if you could answer these questions:

How much does he weigh? (In grams)
How long is he from tip of the nose to the end of the tail?
Are his eyes sunken in?
Can you see the bones sticking out noticeably?

And again, it would be great if you could post some pictures :wink:

 

[LSUTigris]

This is the 4×2×2 enclosure I built for mine. He'll be getting a less fancy (until he gets healthy) one like this tomorrow.

 

[AHBD]

He's thin but doesn't look bad at all. Nice big blocky head on him. You can feed him as I mentioned, he's not emaciated so small feedings of bugs, good greens and hydration will all be great for him right now. He'll be even more handsome when you get through with him.

 

[LSUTigris]

He's thin but doesn't look bad at all. Nice big blocky head on him. You can feed him as I mentioned, he's not emaciated so small feedings of bugs, good greens and hydration will all be great for him right now. He'll be even more handsome when you get through with him.

That makes me feel a lot better hearing that! I was really worried about him. Should I do his calcium & multivitamin regime like I would for a normal adult?

 

[AHBD]

Yeah, he's relatively healthy looking aside from being just a bit thin. You can add the supplements to his food, calcium 3X a week and multivit just 1-2X ......all VERY lightly on his meals.


Looks like he's outside already, giving a friendly wave to the neighbor.

 

[LSUTigris]

Yeah, he's relatively healthy looking aside from being just a bit thin. You can add the supplements to his food, calcium 3X a week and multivit just 1-2X ......all VERY lightly on his meals.


Looks like he's outside already, giving a friendly wave to the neighbor.

One more question... I was inspecting the inside of his mouth when he had it open & most of his teeth appear either worn down or missing. His gums & lips appear healthy though.

 

[AHBD]

Do you know what an adult dragon's teeth look like ? They aren't very big and some may look worn down or missing in the front. Here are a bunch of pics for you to compare so you can determine if your boy's teeth are normal.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bearded+dragon+teeth&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS695US695&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8hoqR_vzUAhUFMyYKHUSBBEAQsAQIJw