Swedish rescue

[Klaes]

So I got in the car and drove off to buy a viv for a female beardie I was planning to get. Already got a male named Klaes so I wanted to get a female named Klara :lol: .Anyways, I got to the home of this woman that was selling the viv. Walked inside and saw "my viv" and then saw another very dark brown painted viv without any lights standing on the floor in the corner of the room. I looked closer and saw 2 beardies laying on the bark substrate and looked like they were sleeping, in the middle of the day! I said to the woman that I had a beardie of my own and she looked at me and asked if I wanted them too? I was like :shock: ...sure I can take them.

So I got the 2 vivs and 2 beardies for like 20 dollars. When I got home I threw the dark viv out the door since it was really broken. It missed one side so they had fixed it with ducktape...
These 2 beardies were a male and a female, I have a guy coming today to take the male with him since I dont want them housed together and I dont have room for 3 vivs.

The male looks alot better than the female so Im confident to give him away. The female on the other hand....Im not sure if she will make it. Its obvious that the male has eaten all the food that the woman threw in the viv because she is really skinny. But these 2 days that I've had them I've been keeping them apart during feeding and she eats like a pig. I've fed her atleast 40 roaches and some vegetables during these 2 days. And she has pooped twice during her baths

Here are some pics.

 

[Klaes]

Some more pics.
Klaes and Klara. I've had Klaes for 3 years now and Klara and the other male is 3 aswell.


Here you can see the bones sticking out.

 

[Ethelia]

Oh the poor little thing. And people say housnig beardies together is fine if theres no violence? sigh.

Thanks for taking them in.

Try getting her to eat some butternut squash. It really helps build up fat stores quickly. Ive had great results with all my rescues x

 

[Klaes]

Oh the poor little thing. And people say housnig beardies together is fine if theres no violence? sigh.

Thanks for taking them in.

Try getting her to eat some butternut squash. It really helps build up fat stores quickly. Ive had great results with all my rescues x

Yeah some people live in their own little worlds and just wont listen to anybody.

And thanks for the tip, I'll try that.

 

[Ethelia]

If she doesnt fancy the taste of the raw squash id try her on some babyfood butternut squash. Its worth the hassle trying to get it into her.
Also whilst your building her up fattier worms like Pheonix's and butters could help x

 

[lizardgrrl]

Holly is right about the food, butternut squash is very good, or pumpkin, as well, but there is another issue you may have with her. She may be gravid, and as she starts to put on weight, will also start developing the eggs. This happened to me several years ago when I rescued Nefertiti and Diver, mid December, 2007. Their original thread is here, http://www.beardeddragon.org/archives/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=70249
I have learned a LOT more since that early post. A month after she arrived in my home, and added 55 gms, she dropped a single, infertile egg, but In February, 2008, Nef laid 23 eggs, 14 of them fertile. As she had been solitary since arriving in my home, they had to be Diver's, from being allowed to roam together in the previous owner's apartment. I did not raise the eggs, because of my concerns about her age and health, the father's age and health, and the unknown relationship between Nef and Diver. While Diver went on to be a school beardie in 2009, I still have Nef, 4 years old, 18 1/2 inches now and about 400 grams.

You do have time to prepare. In her current condition, I doubt her system will spend any energy on egg production, but as she starts to improve, that priority will shift, and short of getting her spayed, there is no way to prevent it. They do store sperm, and wild beardies can wait until conditions are more favorable to produces their clutches. It is also possible to see as many as seven clutches within a year, so you need to feed her very well, before and after dropping a clutch. You will want to set up a dig box, and she will tell you when she is ready. Guessing from the state of her prior home, you will want to freeze her eggs, as they should be in excellent health before breeding is even considered.

Thank you for caring about these dragons and taking them when they really need a friend! :love5: :love5: :love5: :love5: :love5:

 

[Klaes]

Holly is right about the food, butternut squash is very good, or pumpkin, as well, but there is another issue you may have with her. She may be gravid, and as she starts to put on weight, will also start developing the eggs. This happened to me several years ago when I rescued Nefertiti and Diver, mid December, 2007. Their original thread is here, http://www.beardeddragon.org/archives/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=70249
I have learned a LOT more since that early post. A month after she arrived in my home, and added 55 gms, she dropped a single, infertile egg, but In February, 2008, Nef laid 23 eggs, 14 of them fertile. As she had been solitary since arriving in my home, they had to be Diver's, from being allowed to roam together in the previous owner's apartment. I did not raise the eggs, because of my concerns about her age and health, the father's age and health, and the unknown relationship between Nef and Diver. While Diver went on to be a school beardie in 2009, I still have Nef, 4 years old, 18 1/2 inches now and about 400 grams.

You do have time to prepare. In her current condition, I doubt her system will spend any energy on egg production, but as she starts to improve, that priority will shift, and short of getting her spayed, there is no way to prevent it. They do store sperm, and wild beardies can wait until conditions are more favorable to produces their clutches. It is also possible to see as many as seven clutches within a year, so you need to feed her very well, before and after dropping a clutch. You will want to set up a dig box, and she will tell you when she is ready. Guessing from the state of her prior home, you will want to freeze her eggs, as they should be in excellent health before breeding is even considered.

Thank you for caring about these dragons and taking them when they really need a friend! :love5: :love5: :love5: :love5: :love5:

They store sperm? :shock: Oh man if thats true I really hope she gains alot of weight first :?

I will try to feed her with butternut squash and perhaps a pinkie mouse or two? what are your opinions about that at her state?

Thanks for the tips

 

[lizardgrrl]

I would hold off on the pinkies at this point. You want her eating normally first, and to be certain she is digesting what you give her, as pinkies are very high in fat, and can create other problems if her metabolism isn't ready. She is going to have some relocation stress, and will have some adjusting to the fact that she is no longer being pushed around by the male. Start her with the squash, collards, and crix, and make sure she is digesting them. I know you've been here a while, so i am presuming you have the beautiful dragons nutrition list. if you don't have it, let me know and I will add the link here. As she realizes she is not being bullied for eating, hopefully her appetite will pick up then. I wouldn't use a pinky until she has a week of solid eating, and then only one a week, if you think she is gravid. Otherwise, I wouldn't use them. I hope this helps. Let me know how she does! :love5:

 

[Ethelia]

Hallo,
I agree with everything Ms Lizardgrrl has said, although on a personal level I would not feed her pinkies at all.
I say this because my first rescue was a female who had been starved by her multi-species tankmates. She was fed alot then not at all, then alot etc. Which generally is the way starved lizards go as they will scoff when they finally get the chance. The vet showed me that the periods of starvation had been really tough on her insides and had put alot of stress on her organs aswell as her digestive system. So I think its very risky to go from the odd nibble on a feeder to something so solid and robust. This is personal experience and oppinion though.

She should put on weight at an appropriate rate with plenty of butternut squash and fattier feeder worms. How is her appetite in general? If thats whats concerning you then you could consider something like critical care formula by vetark.

Holly

 

[lizardgrrl]

Hi Klaes and Holly,

:laughing6: Holly, I am quite willing to take your wisdom on this! :notworthy: Multispecies tankmates?!? :-? I have dealt with fussy eaters along the way, but I have only ever used two pinkies, one for a girl after laying eggs, and another for a very skinny (and starved) dragon, very slow eater, who had finally gained about 50 grams. I tried one just to see if she would take it. She did not seem to have problems with it, and I managed to get another 100 gms on her, using more conventional diet. But pinkies are not for me, as a rule, and I know a regular diet of them can be very harmful because of the high fat content. I had two other very poor eaters, and never would have gone near either of them with a pinky, because their systems would not handle the fat. One of them had been on a diet of just fruit and pinkies for a year, and at two, when I got her, her system was a wreck because of it. These girls could not even handle superworms with their issues. At least, veg and a few crix and supplements were no problem for their digestion.

I would like to see regular size pics of this girl if you can get them, (I can't tell much from the little ones that have been posted) and her weight and length as well, as that will give me an idea of how far she needs to go with her weight gain plan. There should be some time before any eggs appear, and you have plenty of time to prepare for the possibility. I hope she is eating well for you, and settling in well. :love5:

MaryAnn

 

[Klaes]

I've had her for a couple of days now and she has the appetite of a pig. She eats everything I put infront of her, which is good I guess. But the first day I got her I fed her like 20 medium sized roaches and next day I found all 20 roaches thrown up all over her viv :/.

So now I learned the lesson and only feed her about 6-8 roaches a day. I will increase the amount of food she gets little at a time so she wont throw up. Its hard to monitor her weight since I dont have a scale that can measure grams yet, Will get one tho

And I will get better pics tomorrow at sunlight