I rescued a dragon

[Pokersnake]

Yesterday I picked up this beardie from a coworker. Her kids didn't take care of him and she was tired of the situation. I asked her what kind of things she did to take care of him, and it sounded like he would have been a pretty healthy guy. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

I think he might have MBD or at least a calcium deficiency. His tail is crooked. His upper jaw is shorter than the lower jaw. He's skinny. Thankfully, he is active. And he just pooped something awful.

So now I have him set up in a 20 long (because it's the best I have to offer and he isn't that big) with a UVB strip light, a UVA basking light, water and a good salad. He's been basking and then maniacally trying to escape through the glass. Thankfully, he went to sleep when I turned off the lights last night. He ate about 10 crickets last night, a little of the greens, and some meal worms that he picked out of his salad. I layered calcium with D3 and a multivitamin in the salad, and the crickets were coated in the vitamin.

I know I just dropped a bit of money getting him set up and everything, but I'm not sure if I'm the person to be rehabilitating him. I don't have any experience with beardies, and I think he might be a severe case (despite how cool people at the pet store thought he looked when I was getting the lights). What do you guys think?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Poor guy! At least now he will have a chance for recovery. Good that he's eating! He will need a vet if MBD is suspected. A parasite test is a good idea also since he's so skinny. If your local herp society has a rescue, they may be able to assist. Good luck with him!

 

[Pokersnake]

Well, he was eating frozen veggies at his old home. And crickets. No supplements. His old heat bulb was a mercury vapor bulb, but I have no idea how old it was. I just tossed it.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I understand your frustration. A couple weeks ago, I took in a pair of dragons for rehab. The male is skinny like yours and he doesn't eat very well, but he's making progress. The female is a piggy and in much better condition. Both are being treated for parasites. There's a link in my recent thread about them for a great feeding/nutrition guide.

 

[Pokersnake]

OK. Is there a reason he would be neurotically trying to walk through the walls of his enclosure? He just keeps smearing himself back and forth against the front wall, walking over everything in the process. He'll stop periodicly to bask under the UVA spot light, and then he'll go back to it. Today, all he's eaten is some meal worms. He won't touch the salad or the strawberries I put in there. I gave him a short bath. The first thing he did was drink deep, almost submerging his head. And then he tried to escape the bath, so it only lasted five minutes.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

All I can think of is stress causing his behavior. But I'm not experienced with bearded dragons, so that's just a calculated guess. It took mine a few days to get settled down and start showing any kind of routine. They both had baths in a lidded tub. Then started them on panacur after they had several meals in them. Now that 2 of the 3 dosages have been given, the boy is making much more improvement. But I had to feed him puree with pedialyte to help with his severe dehydration since he wasn't eating daily on his own. The girl is doing great but I also think she bullied him for food before. She is removed from the tank so he an eat his superworms in peace, when he will take them. As skinny as your boy is, it's going to take some time and patience to get him well again.

 

[Pokersnake]

Update: Jack the dragon is gaining lots of weight. He's filling out quite nicely. The lights are now on a timer. He eats his worms very readily, but he avoids the greens. I a few weeks I'm gonna try forcing the greens by offering fewer worms a day. He's been getting wax and super worms covered in calcium with D3 and vitamins.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Fantastic!

 

[Pokersnake]

Updated pics.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

He looks sooooo much better Amazing what proper care and TLC does for dragons. Have you fallen in love with him?

 

[Pokersnake]

my room mate seems to have fallen for him more than I have. I am seeing the financial side of keeping him. I'm going through $10 of pet store worms a week. And then there's the veggies that I never keep in the house. I really need to start a super worm colony now. My mealie factory exceeds the need for my geckos, but apparently, they are no good for the dragon. Just can't win with bottomless pits.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

They do love supers. I'm going try feeding some pinkies and chicken this week. My family owned produce market sells "soup" veggies for .50 a pound, and they always have different squashes in the bin, so I've been lucky. You might be able to find some older veggies that have been marked down at your local supermarket. Some stuff can also be chopped up and frozen for future feedings.

 

[Pokersnake]

I heard that frozen veggies tend to lose their thymine and can affect the health of the beardie.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

I've read that too, in regards to vegetables. But I don't know if that applies to what you freeze fresh at home and would use within a few weeks. Again, I'm not sure, but perhaps the vegetable recommendations refer to buying bags of frozen vegetables. Meats are easier to prepare a larger quantity and freeze, rather than actually cooking for dragons daily. Like boiling up some fresh chicken, or something along those lines.

 

[Darcpixie]

Squash is also great for them, and freezes well.