Hey guys, the infamous Rocky (I named him that because of his swollen eyes lol) doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot better and its been a long time since I took him in. I'll try to keep it short...
I took in 2 adult dragons from an older woman who either didnt know or didnt care that they were males. She thought they were playing with each other but as I stood there, I saw one clearly dominating the other. Rocky is missing all of his toes on one of his feet and a good portion of his tail. His eyelids are very very swollen. According to her, they were 3 years old and housed together the whole time.
I immediately separated them when I got them home. He eats fine, I give him plenty of vitamins and supplements and a good mixed diet of greens and crickets/superworms.
Originally when I checked on here about his problem, the concensus seemed to be that it was stress from being bullied by the other one. But it has been months since he was separated and his eyes don't look any better.
He is just a miserable thing, he barely moves and spends most of the day sleeping. I feel really bad for him because it seems like this woman really destroyed his well being by being so naive or careless. What can I do?
I was thinking about maybe taking him outside for a few hours a day to let him get some natural UV. They say the sunlight can help alot of ailments and cheer people up, maybe it will give him something to look forward to?
He may have some kidney problems, because of those swollen eyes. The other one doesn't have swollen eyes, correct?
I would try to get extra oral fluids into him, & focus on the greens & veggies daily. Limit his protein in case his kidneys are having a hard time, so you can give him 25 or so feeders per week with lots of greens & veggies & fluids right now.
Can he support his entire body by lifting himself off of the ground, or by climbing?
Let us know how he is doing.
The other male is fine. He was a little on the aggressive side but I attributed that to being the dominant male for all that time.
In all honesty, I never see Rocky doing anything other than sleeping. His cage is 5 feet long and he has plenty of driftwood and rocks to climb on, even his basking spot. He is usually sleeping on the floor. I don't know how he carries himself, so I can't really answer that question. He doesn't eat in front of me, but he does eat. When I pick him up, he is like a limp noodle, except for a quick burst when he realizes that I just picked him up, even though I will pet him a few times so I dont startle him. His eyes are rarely open, even the little bit that he can open them.
You mention failing kidneys but he doesn't seem to be getting any worse. Is it possible that he just isn't snapping out of his abusive past?
Quick little update. I had him outside for about an hour. He sat on my leg the whole time but he actually seemed to enjoy it. After about 5 minutes, he brightened up tremendously and he was holding his head up high. I put him down in a plastic critter cage with no top so he could soak up a few more rays while I did some things outside. After a little bit he started to try to get out of the cage but he kept sliding but he got a good 5-10 minutes of much needed activity and exercise. Probably the most active he's been in a very long time. He also decided to go to the bathroom in there and something interesting happened. I had to put it in another post so that hopefully more people will chime in. I'm very curious. But I guess I can get him into this routine for as long as we have nice weather up here and hopefully he will be close to 100% in the next few weeks or months. Thank you all for your help.