Shipping help

[WarDaddy]

no poop today

does not look like he really ate anything, very lethargic. He moves around from place to place, but pretty much just lies.

We gave him a bath. he was head up high for that. then asleep in my son's hand after.

I took the tile out, replaced with paper towels, got all the crickets out.

I may work from home tomorrow and keep an eye on him.

 

[renich]

how's he doing today? did you work from home?

 

[WarDaddy]

Still lethargic. Poops are few and far between.

I have seen him eat a couple crickets, not enough

I am going to catch the crickets in there now, and put them back in a couple hours.

 

[renich]

poor little guy. he's been through so much.

what are your temps? i don't think we covered that. and what are you using to get the temps?

 

[WarDaddy]

Temps are 80 ish in the cool section. 101 - 110 on the basking spot.

I had some phoenix worms I thought were dead, but are living. He has eaten 5 of those in 5 minutes.

I am hoping to use worms (phoenix and meal) to get his energy up, always having some crickets around and salad.

I hope this helps him turn the corner.

 

[renich]

phoenix worms are great for our little beardies. they are high in calcium. you may want to reconsider mealworms. their skins are too tough for a babie to break down. honestly, they are not recommended for adults either.

some beardies just don't like crickets. mine stopped eating them a long time ago.

 

[WarDaddy]

his eating has slowed to almost nothing again.

I am going to buy baby food (chicken and squash) and Repta-Aid today and see if I can get it to eat that... fun stuff!

If I do this, and he starts to get his energy back, how long will I have to keep feeding like this?

 

[renich]

it is hard to say how long it will last. personally, i have never had to resort to baby food for a dragon. i know others have. i believe it would depend on his appetite increasing.

when was the last time he pooped? depending how many mealworms he's eaten, he may be impacted. are you still offering warm baths daily?

you know, i've been meaning to ask. you mentioned that your replacement beardie arrived via usps.

another thought is getting him a vet appointment. do you know of a herp vet in your area? if not, http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ is a good resource to locate one.

 

[WarDaddy]

He had a nice poop on Saturday, smaller one on Sunday, I think that part is working ok.

Meal Worms have not gotten here yet, Wednesday or so. He is eating a couple small phoenix worms a day, maybe a cricket (small).

I forgot to tell you I have one of those infrared laser temp probe things, cool toy!

I am giving baths every day, when I go to pick he scrambles go get secure, then lays down and closes his eyes.

In the bath, he just lays there. I am using a saucer, with a little warm water, I warm the saucer first. Dry him off then put him in his basking spot after. He moves around the tank (I have paper taped to the glass to help keep the movement of the kids in the house from stressing him), but we really never see him move.

I hope the babyfood gets him going again.

What an ordeal!

 

[WarDaddy]

Cautious optimism.

I cam home with Organic Chicken and Sweet Potatoes and Repta-Aid. Mixed up a little bit, filled the dropper.

Rocket, he has been named, was laying limp and did not give much fuss to me grabbing him. Pretty sad site.

I put a little of the food on his mouth and he licked it up. He then licked away for about 5 minutes. He is now in his basking spot, head held high. So nice to see!!!!!

I will feed him again in the morning before I leave from work and when I get home from work. If I can get my wife to, we will mix in a mid day snack too.

Fun stuff!

 

[renich]

what a great dad you are! i'm glad the little guy perked up with the baby food.

hopefully, it is only relocation stress. i've got to be honest, nothing is standing out to me of what his issue could be. usually when they don't eat, it is due to incorrect lighting and temps. but you have that all taken care of. each dragon is different as far as the length of relocation stress. 1-2 weeks is the average, but it could go longer or shorter.

i'm glad he hasn't had any mealworms. i hope you reconsider giving them to rocket.

oh, how old is your dragon? have you considered having him checked out by a herp vet? it's good to find one and develop a relationship.

 

[WarDaddy]

Rocket is about... and this is a guess, 12 weeks. He fits in my hand, tail and all.

The Worm order was canceled by the vendor, they were out. But since I am feeding baby food for now, I guess that is ok. I will order again this week. I will only get the Phoenix worms.

I have not thought about a hep vet, but I did check your link, and there is a vet about 10 minutes from the house, so that is good. Money is tight, and this little guys has set us back way more than I was counting on...like everything else in life, right. Anyway, I am totally hooked, he was so cute lapping up that food.

 

[WarDaddy]

After feeding last night he basked for a while then went down behind his basking spot and looked like he was trying to dig. Weird, but a phoenix worm crawled out from that spot a minute later, but he did not eat it.

then he slept the whole night in that same spot.

I turned the lights on this morning, warmed him up 30 minutes on his basking spot, and then attempted to feed again.

He was much more lively, moving around on the towel I had him sitting on. (he has never moved around when we were holding him before). It took about 3 minutes with me putting baby food on his lips before he opened up. Then he started licking the food off his lips. It was so nice to see him eat, and lifting his head up high, as if asking for more. He ate about 0.5 cc of the baby food/repta-aid mixture. (Chicken and sweet potatoes, with a little repta-aid and water mixed in).

It is nice that I am not having to force it, he is just lapping it up.

My wife will feed him again around noon, and I will feed around 5 tonight. 3 square meals a day until he gets his energy back and is eating the crickets.

 

[WarDaddy]

Question...

When he is feeding on the baby food, a pouch seems to form under his ear (is it and ear) hole. It seems like some of the food he is taking in pools there, then he swallows it later. He picks his head up and kind of gulps if down.

Is that normal, and am I seeing that correctly?

 

[renich]

hey. if i am understanding you correctly, i don't think you have a thing to worry about with the hole. since baby food is so mushy, it doesn't require chewing. so, it would collect until he swallows.

you know, one of the things that we didn't cover. sorry, i'm trying to be there for you, but i have a 12 month old, a 1 month old and a 17 year old dog that is not doing well since yesterday.

anyway, timing of lights and such is very important with beardies. it is recommended for them to have lights on for 14 hours and off for 10. it should be total darkness at night. in other words, no need for a night bulb. and the time of day should be consistant. you can get a timer for a couple of bucks. it will help you out a bunch. it relieved a lot of stress for us when we purchased ours.

for example, our lights come on at 7AM and go off at 9PM.

the other thing that is important is that beardies need to warm up before they eat. so, you should wait to feed him about 30 minutes after the lights come on.

and they should not eat 30 minutes prior to the lights going off. this will allow proper digestion before night.

also, night temps can dip down to 65F. if it is cooler, you can try a heatometer. we use ours in the winter.

these guys are cute and they get to you real quick. it's good you are handling him. they are squeamish as babies. they think everyone is a predator. but he'll bond with you. it's sounds like he is getting comfy in his new home! that is awesome.