Worried about my new dragons

[Aralvin]

Hi, I recently bought two new baby dragons, both about one month old. Neither have names yet since I'm not sure of their gender. Since I've gotten them, both seem rather lethargic and unactive, and one seems to have trouble holding its upper body up. One of them seems kind of skinny and has been breathing more rapidly than my other one. This is also the same dragon that seems more lethargic and has trouble holding his head up. Both of them seem to lack much of an appetite and most of the time they won't go after the crickets I feed them when I put them in their cage, and will eat them sporadically throughout the day. I am also offering them leafy greens, which they have been eating.

Both of my dragons are housed in the same enclosure right now, a 20 gallon aquarium. Their substrate is a felt-like reptile liner I bought at the pet store.The ambient temperature in the cage is about 85-90 degrees, and their basking spot is around 105 degrees. They spend the majority of the day on their basking rock sleeping, one with his upper body held up and the other lies down (the skinny one). They don't spend much time in the cooler part of their cage, and spend around 90% of their day on their rock. I do have a UVB lamp on top of their cage and it, along with their heating lamps are on about 12 hours a day.

So what I'm worried about is the fact that both seem to be generally lethargic, and one is much skinnier than the other (I can't see the outlines of any bones, so it's not extremely skinny) and seems to have trouble keeping its upper body upright for extended periods of time. Both have a lack of an appetite, but are eating small amounts. They are both defecating, so I don't think impaction is an issue. Neither of them seem as alert as they should be, as when I handle them they'll just close their eyes on my hand and not look around.

What also worries me is that when I went to buy crickets at the pet store yesterday, I noticed there was a dead or severely dehydrated beardie in their enclosure, which is the same one I got mine from, so I'm concerned if they were taken well care of at the store.

I'm going to be making an appointment for a visit to the vet tomorrow, but I just wanted to see if anyone here could try and help me figure out what's going on with my beardies! Thanks for any help!

 

[Lennifer]

Hello,

When I was reading your post...u said "heat lamps"...so does that mean that u have more then one heat lamp? U only need one heat lamp, especially for a smaller enclosure so that they don't over heat.

What kind of UVB are u using? Please tell us the make & brand. Is it a coil or a long tube? Improper UVB lighting can def cause the lethargy issue you are explaining.

When u say u are offeing leafy greens, which kind of greens? They should be offered a daily salad which should consist of Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Collard Greens, Dandelion Greens, Acorn Squash & Butternut Squash. There are other that can be fed as well. Go to Beautiful Dragon.com for a list of good & bad nutrition.

For dehydration, u can give them warm soaks in the tub, sink or large container. Make sure the water is luke warm & that the water only comes up to their arm pits so that thay can't drown. As long as their behind is in the water...this will help hydrate them. Try giving them warm soaks daily for 15-20 mins a day.

~Sandy