Under weight 3 year old

[twinmomdianna]

Got my Bearded Dragon just the other night from a friend of my husbands. He wasn't well taken care of. From a very small handful of people who I know that has them, by seeing pictures they have all said he is really underweight. Not surprising as he got crickets once a week, a pinkie once a month, no greens, no fruit.

What can I do to get him up to the weight he should be? It worries me. He did devour about 20 crickets yesterday. Won't touch greens, has eaten a little bit of apples. Crickets I did dust.

I worry he will get sick and not make it. I don't know how he made it to 3 unless they are really off on how old he is, but they said they had him since he was a baby.

Is there any specific worms or anything to get his weight up? And maybe he is not to small. IDK How long and heavy should a three year old female be?

 

[Beardednoob]

Is the dragon male or female as you said both?
http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/

Pictures can really help with a conclusion if the dragon is under weight or their dragons are hefty in comparison.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=138810

Here is a link of foods and their frequency at which they can be fed.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

The hornworm is a great worm for putting on weight, I would feed hornworms over pinkies any day.
http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/

 

[twinmomdianna]

She is female..typo.
The previous owner did not want her to grow Maybe she is not underweight, but I am worried for her.
Thanks for the links, very much appreciated.

 

[Beardednoob]

The dragon is under weight. Why would someone ever want to restrict the natural growth of a pet? Anyways, you can tell all over the body of the dragon, first indicators to me are the backbone, and wrists. Typically the wrist of a dragon will spread out at the foot. If that makes sense. Here is a photo for you to compare to and understand what I am saying.

Back bone in healthy dragons tend but, not always, will be buried between the muscles which line it like this.

I personally would keep offering greens being eaten or not, at a time when weight is the factor greens do not help that much. I would get some hornworms, and reptiworms/phoenix worms, and keep the diet higher then typical on live feeders, crickets too. Try not to feed large crickets as their shell is often times harder then say a medium cricket (4-5week), the chitin shell can restrict the dragon from absorbing vital nutrition from the feeder. Let the dragon get a good full belly, for example I would feed 2 hornworms and 20 reptiworms in a sitting, the hornworms are not a staple feeder but, for the cases when weight needs to be established 2 every other day may be essential.

Can you give us some details of the enclosure set up, or perhaps a picture of it?

 

[twinmomdianna]

This is what her home look like when she came here.

I have taking out the loose substance that was on the bottom, I cleaned the tank, it was disgusting.
I also unplugged the heat rock since I read in a lot of places online that they could get burned.
We added a light for basking. Right now paper towels are down on the floor. We are either going to use tile or the carpet that can go in there.
The heating pad was on the bottom, moved to the side, as I read that too can burn her.

Her home is too small. We have some feelers out on much bigger tanks.
I am sad for her and really don't know how she has made it. Makes me mad to no end, that they would inhibit her growth. Why have a pet like this and do that???

She is very people friendly and loves to be held.
She got a bath yesterday after I took out the loose substance b/c the poor thing had it all impacted between her toes.
She also needed it for hydration. I don't know how often to do this so she becomes well hydrated.

I want her to have the best but also don't want to do anything to make her worse off.

 

[twinmomdianna]

Would mealworms help any in getting her weight up. Been making calls and that is all I can find in the stores. Going to order some reptiworms, but what kind can I give her till they get here?

 

[twinmomdianna]

She won't have a problem catching up to where she should be will she? Worry her growth will be just to the point where she is.
As you can tell, I am very stressed over this. My husband says not to get so worried that she made it for three years. I have fallen in love with her from the moment I held her and would be devastated if anything happened to her.

 

[Beardednoob]

Great job on removing the loose substrate.
About the worrying factor it kind of just comes with the love for them, welcome to the beginning of your slavehood. As long as her weight is the only factor she should come around to weighing in more healthy. As for her length wise growth, I cannot say for sure she hasn't been stunted. I wouldn't feed mealworms, they are good for geckos but, not particularly so for bearded dragons. Instead you can get superworms. Don't feed too many though as they are higher in vitamin A. Maybe feed 6 every other day. I do not have much experience with adult dragons as of yet but as time goes I will, so that number is just my best guesstimate.

How long is she from nose to tail tip? Are you sure she is a she?

 

[twinmomdianna]

Measured her this morning 15 1/2 inches. She has stolen my heart, that is for sure.

 

[ziggy23]

Wow she is small and definitely underweight. But I don't believe it to be dire situation. If she is otherwise healthy she should be fine with some TLC. I agree with beardednoob, putting on weight is more important right now than greens. Dragons when healthy are stocky and have a good amount of fat stores. Think bulldog with a little extra fat on them. A balanced diet is not best for a body that is not in balance. Deficiencies need to be addressed first. After she has some weight on her, THEN be more picky about the salads.

mealworms are not that great. Mostly fat and shell. They're kinda difficult to digest. Online suppliers are your best bet for feeders.

A little bit of baby food chicken might help. It's too high in fat for long term use, but it can be good for quickly boosting protein and fat for sick and underweight animals. Mix calcium powder in it and dab it on their nose and let them lick off. I'd guess 1-3 times a week for a few weeks would probably do the trick. Some people use a syringe, but since she is eating then you could probably get away with just spoon. It won't take much each feeding and you'll probably throw away more than she'll eat. If she'll eat the chicken, you can mix other baby foods in with it like squash or pumpkin to get her interested in salads.

If you haven't done so yet, a vet check in the near future would be a good idea. A malnourished animal would have a weakened immune system.

And once again, I do see cause for concern, but based on the information we have, I see no reason why she can't recover. She probably won't get much bigger, but she can be healthy and happy, and that's what's most important. I see a little yellow in her. When she gets healthier i wouldn't be surprised if she showed you some more pretty colors.

 

[Beardednoob]

I have just noticed the heat rock in her enclosure has this been taken out too? It should be removed or at least unplugged as they should not receive heat from below, all heat should be provided from an above source. Bearded dragons can detect heat from their feet but their ability to detect and determine heat from other areas of their undersides is inadequate. If you had ever noticed her on her heat rock you would see she curls her toes upwards away from the rock. That is an indication of this fact. In the wild it is witnesses that bearded dragons will stand on 2 opposing feet and switch as their feet get hot on the desert surface (clay/loamy). Also some heat rocks and mats have had quality issues resulting in the heating element to short out causing the heat to increase dramatically, which may cause burns. :wink:

 

[twinmomdianna]

Heat rock is unplugged. My husband is getting the cord off of it tonight as she like to lay on t.
Thanks for the tip about baby food. My husband is being a bit of a pain about buying online saying we need to check all the pet stores here. We do have a small one, that is not a chain(where we got all our fish and supplies for them) He did notice there are crickets there when he was there last and is going to go see what else the guy has when it comes to worms. If he doesn't have any, I am ordering tonight.

Wonder how to you keep worms alive? Do they go in a fridge?

When you say probably won't get bigger, do you mean in length? She should bulk up right once her diet is where it should be?

I have seen in some pictures of VIV's that plants are in there. Do people use real or fake ones? If real ones, what is safe to use, as I am gathering she would chew on them at some point.

I really appreciate all the help here. I don't know a lot about taking care of her, but could not pass up on the opportunity, especially when I heard of how she was being cared for.

 

[twinmomdianna]

Without the heat pad and rock, what is the best way to make sure she is warm enough at night? Read to have the UVA and basking light off at night. I worry she will be too cold. The heat pad isn't very good. Hardly any warmth comes from it.

 

[mostlyharmlessnj]

Personally, since you're dealing with malnutrition, I would go the avenue of anything is better then nothing. As it's been recommended, baby food is good for these situations. Also mixing in some acidophilus into whatever you are going to feed her which will help her get the most out of her food. it should be available at any store that sells vitamins these days. You can get it as a tablet and just crush it or dust whatever you are going to feed her with it.

 

[twinmomdianna]

Thank you. Will look for the acidophilus. Is there anything specific, other than calcium that I should dust food it?