Rescueded a bearded dragon

[shootthebunnies]

Our family rescued a bearded dragon last night. The previous owner did not have the time nor the money to care for him properly. Thanks for the forums and all the useful information on here!

Willis

 

[ShannyBeard]

Hi and welcome! They really do take a lot of time...and money. :lol: We try not to think about the money part of it. My husband and I have 6 bearded dragons and it's hard to make time for them all. :shock:

I hope your new dragon is adjusting to his home and doing great.

 

[Nuka042]

Pictures! I always love looking at the before and after pictures of rescues, the way they turn out amazes me and the care put in is always evident.

Welcome to the boards, hope all is well with you and your new addition and update us when you can on how everything is going.

 

[shootthebunnies]

The kids named the dragon Spike. He is 11 inches head to tail and about a year old. He is very aggressive but I have been given a lot of ideas as to how to adjust him to his new life.

He has been on a pellet only diet with no lights for the last 6-8 months. We have been feeding him crickets, and providing him with Kale. We can't tell for sure but don't think he is touching the greens. We are going to try something else this week.

Even if he never warms up to us he is better off than he was before.

Willis

 

[ShannyBeard]

Even if he never warms up to us he is better off than he was before.

My anoles have never warmed up to me, but I still love them. :mrgreen: I hope he does warm up to you, though.

 

[Nuka042]

Keep it up with the greens, it might take awhile for your dragon to warm up to real food instead of pellet food.

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

This site has great information of all the different types of food to try to feed your dragon.

 

[shootthebunnies]

Thank you! That is a very informative list.

 

[shootthebunnies]

Spike is doing very well. He still has not warmed up as much as I would like, but I can get him out and hold him without getting chewed on.

He is eating very well, his color has came back and he is very happy.

 

[shootthebunnies]

Here is an update and some pictures of Spike.

He is up to 15 1/2" and actually has really good color. He has grown 4 1/2" in the last 4 months and when we got him he was basically a dull grey. He was not going into shed either. Just lack of color I am assuming because of poor diet and improper heat and lighting.

He lets me take him out and hold him, but is not real fond of the kids yet. I think they irritate him when the play with the cat in the same room because he can see the toy and will bond from end to end of his cage trying to get it too!

Can anyone tell me what kind of Bearded dragon he is by the pictures?

Thanks
Willis

 

[Esther19]

He is a very handsome dragon, that's for sure! You have done wonders with him! Without knowing the bloodlines, he would be considered a "normal" dragon. others more experiences than I will be able to give you their guesses, though. Congratulations on a job well done!

 

[Zeusmybeardie]

Noyone can tell u the exact morph without the breeder telling u but he looks like an orange or yellow/orange

 

[ShannyBeard]

WOW he looks really good. He does look like a 'normal' to me, too. Does he have clear nails? If all of his nails are clear then he is a hypo. If his eyes are solid black then he is a translucent. If he is very smooth on his back and has very few spikes then he would be a leatherback, and if he was very smooth and skin-like he would be a silkback. As far as color, like Sandfire and Citrus, I agree with everyone else that you would need to know what his parents are in order to determine that. Those are bloodline names, not just an approximation of color. There are breeders who came up with those bloodlines, like Fire and Ice made the Citrus.

I can't believe he has grown over 4" in 4 months. That's awesome!

 

[szubelak]

I can't believe he has grown over 4" in 4 months. That's awesome!

I concur!!!

I also wanted to give you a side note - if you think the kids are bothering him when they play with the cat you can cover his enclosure to reduce his stress. (simply tucking a spare sheet under his lid (assuming you have a screen lid) or you could always just buy some simply adhesive backed velcro and a little fabric and make "covers" for the sides) - it might help him acclimate to them better when they do spend supervised 1 on 1 contact with just him and not the cat around - he might actually be afraid of the cat - he might think of it as a predator (one of my dragons tries to attack my dog that is about the size of a cat) - previous owner could have also had a cat that harassed or attacked him etc

Congrats on your new family member!