Second beardie, first rescue. (Video!)

[xdoomedsoulx]

I've made various posts here about my new guy here already, but since he's a rescue I'll tell his story here.

I first heard about spike when a friend told me about someone she knew selling a beardie cause they didn't have time for him. When I got to the house, he was huddled in a corner with his eyes closed. In his tank was a red lamp, which they said was his nightlight(!), a coil UVB bulb, and a Reptiglo UVB tube. He was covered in sand, poo and water, and I don't think they'd ever given him a bath. I told them I would take him, but for much less than they wanted, telling them it was a rescue not a sale.

I got him home, and his Reptiglo had blown, so that shows it had not been replaced in much more than 6 months. His thermostat doesn't work, so I'm having to play the part of a pulse stat and switch the heat off when he gapes and moves to the cool end.

His left eye is a little watery, and there is something in it at the top. I'm not sure if this is to do with the coil UVB or a bit of retained shed, but he won't let me get near enough to investigate. I have him booked at the vets tomorrow morning for a checkup, and I'm going to buy him a new thermostat and a digital thermometer, as well as a couple hides.

Eating livefood is no problem for him, he goes for anything that moves like a little T-rex. He totally ignores greens, and i tried a little carrot earlier but no reaction. I'm gonna pick him up some more variation later, but if anyone has any tips on what best to tempt him with, please let me know.

If you actually read all that, i commend you.

 

[MandixLeex]

try some bananas, when my boy doesnt feel like eating his greens, theyre the only thing i can get him to touch. you could even try some baby food. i hear great things about squash baby food getting finicky beardies to eat. maybe if he does try it. you can put some on his greens and see if he'll eat it that way

 

[xdoomedsoulx]

Great ideas, thanks! He just ate a bit of carrot by accident with a waxworm and he looked ashamed.
I'll add squash baby food and banana to the huge list of things to get for him.

 

[MandixLeex]

no problem, my boy an be quite the finicky eater sometimes. he sometines refuses to touch his greens for weeks. i think he knows im going to cave and give him tasty treats. i should warn you ahead of time though, baby food and carrots makes for the most unpleasant poo imaginable. thank goodness my boy usually does his business during his bath, then its not so bad. good luck

 

[xdoomedsoulx]

Haha it makes sense, baby poo is grosstoo and i guess thats why!

Will he stay hydrated enough without eating his greens? He has fresh water available all day, but he rarely ventures to the other side of his viv. I don't want to give him a bath or handle him too much just yet cause he's a little put out from the move still. I'm moving into my own flat soon, and he's staying at my parents house for a few weeks, so I'm really hoping he settles down between moves. I feel bad for doing it, but I can't have him where I am now.

 

[MandixLeex]

the baby food and bananas should help to hydrate him, but if your worried hes not hydrated enough and dont want to bath him just yet, i would sugest misting him in the morning and at about two hours before his bedtime, with lukewarm water. make sure to keep an eye on his humidity though, as the misting can raise it, and they dont look too high of a humidity. i dont even keep a water bowl in guidos viv anymore because he never drank from it, he either gets it from his greens, obsorbs it in his bath. or if he feels like he needs more water, he'll only drink from the bath tub. if your baby does decide to drink when you do bath him, just keep a close eye that he doesnt asperate the water. guido did that once and had a coughing fit that scared me and him half to death

 

[xdoomedsoulx]

He seems happier today, he's moving around because he wants to, rather than running away from me. He did a HUGE stinker in his tank and then hid deep in his towel. At least now I know he's not dehydrated or blocked in any way!

One of my old beardies refused to hold her own head up sometimes, so I'd have to lift her head up and drip water off my finger. They get so lazy!

Thanks for the tips, I'll definately try them out and post an update.

 

[MandixLeex]

good luck, i look forward to hearing about his progress

 

[xdoomedsoulx]

Well I just got back from the store. I got him a digital thermometer and a Habistat dimming thermostat as well as some Exoterra calcium powder which I hope is ok. His thermostat is working well, he's giving me stink eye as I install it and figure out his temps.

If anyone has tips for washing plastic shubbery, it would be great. Can i just wash them in bleach and rinse them with water?

 

[lauraj1055]

Pictures???

 

[xdoomedsoulx]

Pics as requested! The vet visit went very well, he behaved like a gentleman the whole time. The vet said he shows no signs of parasites or infections, and no sign of MBD, which I was especially concerned about. He's certainly not impacted, he's had more poops than I can count now. He seems to have settled more, and he's been glass dancing pretty much all day. He loves climbing, so I'm putting him in a taller glass viv so he can go arboreal.

Pics!

I love the 4th photo, he sits like that all the time 8)

 

[lauraj1055]

Oh what a gorgeous dragon!

 

[xdoomedsoulx]

He is isn't he! I fell in love with his black and white patterns, and he's got a lot of yellow on his head and beard.

It seems he's just shy about being seen eating his veg, I've walked back into the room a few times to find him attacking it with much head shaking :lol: .

 

[Nuka042]

He's gorgeous! So glad to hear to vet visit went well. You can just see how happy he is now that he's with you. I want to see a video of him attacking his veggies, it sounds like it's absolutely adorable!

 

[xdoomedsoulx]

Haha i'll have to try and hide in my room and film him doing it! Should be a challenge, he's managed to outsmart me a couple of times. :lol: