Skinny Beardie

[crazyworld89]

So we adopted a beardie yesterday from a friend of mine, he couldn't keep it because he moved and already had another one he wanted to keep more. he said the beardie was in hibernation so it was a little under weight. Well we get there and see this poor guy, he is so skinny and dehydrated. You can see his hip bones, his ribs, his spine along his back, the back side areas of his head are indented in, and the skin is just hanging off his legs. And this is a big beardie, my friend said he was a german giant, 4 years old. My friend has had him for 2 years. So we get him home, he is not in hibernation, and even if he was he should not look like that. I think my friend just said that so it didn't seem like he was neglecting it while it was kept at his in laws. So we have some roman lettuce and apple slices available all day, sadly my friend never really gave him fruit except the mixed fruit in the can every now and then, and he said he would only drink the juice from it, so he is not really eating the apples. then we gave him super worms today, he ate 16 and looked like he wanted a few more but we were worried about over feeding him. We also gave him a bath and he looks a lot better and more hydrated now. And he was freezing cold when we got him. I am mad at my friend he knows how to take care of a beardie. And I just got even more mad when I saw his other one who was in perfect shape and had everything that she needed. So if you guys can give me any tips for fattening him up let me know. I feel so bad for him and he is so nice and loves to be handled and petted, he will even sit there and let my 2 year old pet him. I just don't get ppl sometimes.

 

[amazon]

Thank God your "friend" parted with him before it was too late -
and to someone who will love and care for him.
From what I've read on here about similar situations, build him up slowly -
the only thing you don't need to limit is love!

Pictures when you can and lots of updates, please.

 

[crazyworld89]

Yeah I was even more frustrated when he told me how to feed him. Just put some roman lettuce in there every other day and throw a handful of crickets on there once a week. And I am pretty sure he wasn't using any vitamins or calcium supplements. He didn't even have any lights on the cage when we got there and who knows if he did when he was at the guys mother in laws because he said we could borrow the lights if we needed to, since we are borrowing the cage till we can get a big one of our own, but he said they don't have bulbs in them. Needless to say we did not take his feeding advice.