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Bearded dragon bulking diet?

Nagini

Nagini

Imperial Ball Pythons
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Well I got this beardie off CL. I'm not new to lizards, and I know what they eat. She was misrepresented in the pic horribly, but them living down in Sana cruz(almost 2 hours away on a good day) and the price I got the pair for(the male was fine) I didnt return her. I had a friend pick them up for me. She's very thin, though gaining some weight since I got her. my friend told me the guy I got her from was actually a breeder and she just laid a clutch of eggs. Yes females do look a bit deflated after that, but not THIS bad. Can anyone suggest a good diet to bulk her up, with lots of calcium of course.

Pic I got in an e-mail:
corys_cam_1482.jpg


Pic of her today(she looked so much worse..which is sad)
S6300498.jpg

S6300501.jpg

S6300499.jpg
 
In the pic you got she does look super flat. You can tell by the position of how she laying.

Ummm you need to give her some fatty foods. I would message Drache613 I believe her name on these boards are... she has helped me many times on another site. All I can say is feed. The beardie is almost a piece of paper
 
You want feeders that are higher in overall calories, and being the fat has the highest calorie content per gram of food(9 cal). You want a feeder like either a wax worm, or a lot of super worms(Pinkies are acceptable, but wax worms are basically the same calorie context, and are easier to digest)... Super worms can be feed as a staple, but they must be portion controlled, but in your case I would feed as many super worms/wax worms as you female would eat in one sitting everyday... And within 2-3 months you should see a very large weight gain, I went through this over 3 months ago when I received a female that was at least 100 grams under weight. After 2 months she had gained 75 grams, and now after 3 months of owning her she has now gain almost 100 grams...

My regular feeding schedule for adults are Salad in the morning, and when I get home, I offer feeders(super worms), and after the feeders, I offer a large salad... I've never had a problem with any of my dragons eating the large salad after the feeders...

So I would find a feeding schedule that works for you, but just offer more feeders per feeding, and offering a variety does help! And in case you don't want to order online, Petsmart does carry both super worms and wax worms, but I order from www.premiumcrickets.com , ordering in bulk is much cheaper...

You will have to be patient, and it's hard to be I know i've been in your shoes... But she will gain weight steadily, and if she doesn't seem to gain weight in the first month, she may have parasites...

A vet visit might be needed from the beginning, but I didn't go to the vet, I just handled this problem my self, but that was because she was very alert!

Let me know if this helps,

Anthony
 
Hmm what about Parazap? Or does anyone know any good parasite expellers that are 'over the couter"? itd be a good thing to have on hand
 
I have not tried parazap, but I've only heard good things about it! I would highly suggest it based on the number to good experiences/responses I've seen! I wouldn't think twice about giving it to my dragons if one of them become ill...

Anthony
 
Hello

Hello,

How long have you had them now? Are they both housed separately & stablized in their tanks, along with good UVB & lighting?
How do her stools look? At the moment, until you get her hydrated more, I would not use the parazap quite yet. It is safe, but, you need to get her more hydrated first because the parazap causes things to pass through more quickly. Also, give her a couple of weeks downtime to readjust to a new surrounding before doing a fecal, too. Her coccidia levels are probably a bit elevated just from being relocated.
What types of foods are you feeding right now? High fat is not always the best route, especially in rescued animals. If she is malnourished, her body wont be able to handle high fat foods very well. Dragons' metabolisms are not designed to handle or metabolize high fat foods on a regular basis.
It is best to stick with things that are easy to process & digest right now, such as silkworms, hornworms, crickets, roaches, or phoenix worms. If she is digesting those well, then, you can throw in some superworms.
IF she is not eating on her own, you will need to make her slurries out of the feeders, & some greens. You can get some jumpstart appetite stimulant to help her out. That can be found from www.reptilesupply.com
It is very helpful in getting them to eat. She looks like she has had some calcium issues as her jaw is slightly jutted forward, not bad.
What type of calcium supplementation are you providing, & what type of UVB are you using?
I would really stress the hydration status right now. Try getting 3-6 ml's of fluid & slurry mix into her, daily, broken up into several increments of feedings. You can mix the calcium up with that too, once daily. Use either a plastic spoon to see if she will lick it out of there on her own, or you will need to get a syringe but be careful that she doesn't bite the end off.
I hope this helps.
Let me know if you need more assistance.

Tracie
 
Lets see I've had her for about 2 months now, I'm using reptical. Her food consists of meal worms, roaches, and romane lettice. She has a spot light(not sure brand, got it from a friend) and a UVB strip light. the strip light is on 24/7, the spot only on durring daylight hours.

Her eatting on her own isnt seeming to help her much, she isnt gaining much weight if any, I havent been documenting weight which I'm now doing. I'dl like to try the slurry idea, how would I go about doing that?

I have been trying to hydrate her with water with a bit of the calcium mixed in(due to her jaw, her jaw actually looks better then when I got it, there was a huge bump on the end but its gone down a lot)
 
Nagini said:
the strip light is on 24/7, the spot only on durring daylight hours.
Click to expand...

This is your main problem, all lights should be off at night, not even a red or black light is acceptable in my book! Dragons need total darkness or close to it to maintain good sleeping habits, leaving a light on all night is the main cause of your stressed out dragon! Your dragon is not getting a recupertive sleep, the light needs to be out for at least 6-8 hours a night depending on your "light cycle", I highly recommend 14 hours of light in the spring, summer, and fall, and 10-12 hours of light in the winter(Brumation accures for most, but not all).

I think a lot of your problems are from your Husbandry, this can make a huge difference in your dragons appetite and activity levels!

So to double check your most people agree that a basking spot of 110-115 is considered to be the most acceptable for reaching a body temperature of 93-93 degrees with facilitates in good digestion.

Know the Cool end of the cage should be in the mid-low 80's, this will give your dragon plenty of space to thermoregulate...

A basking spot is needed to get your dragon close enough to the basking light, plus It gives your dragon the ability to move higher/lower depending on the amount of heat they require! Bottom line, healthy dragons gap while on their basking spots, this shows that they are happy, and have the correct basking temps...

A hide is necessary for Adult dragons since they feel more secure this way, and it also adds in thermoregulation, just place a hide on the cool side of the enclosure.

As for Jump Start, I would never use this product unless your dragon as not eaten a single bit of food in more than a week! I've seen/heard of dragons throwing this stuff up, if is very thick and pasty... It does have some good ingredients, but I suggest thining it out if in the future you ever decide to you it!

So if your previous post was correct you need to buy a timer and only have the lights on for 12-14 hours a day and off for 6-8 hours at night, this sounds like your biggest problem and the reason why your dragon is stressed out, and will not eat... Give her 3-5 days after you start the 6-8 hours of lights off, I'm pretty sure she will become her normal self.

Anything else you can add would help...

Anthony
 
Nagini said:
the strip light is on 24/7, the spot only on durring daylight hours.
Click to expand...

This is your main problem, all lights should be off at night, not even a red or black light is acceptable in my book! Dragons need total darkness or close to it to maintain good sleeping habits, leaving a light on all night is the main cause of your stressed out dragon! Your dragon is not getting a recuperative sleep, the light needs to be out for at least 6-8 hours a night depending on your "light cycle", I highly recommend 14 hours of light in the spring, summer, and fall, and 10-12 hours of light in the winter(Brumation occurs for most, but not all).

I think a lot of your problems are from your Husbandry, this can make a huge difference in your dragons appetite and activity levels!

So to double check your most people agree that a basking spot of 110-115 is considered to be the most acceptable for reaching a body temperature of 93-93 degrees with facilitates in good digestion.

Know the Cool end of the cage should be in the mid-low 80's, this will give your dragon plenty of space to thermoregulate...

A basking spot is needed to get your dragon close enough to the basking light, plus It gives your dragon the ability to move higher/lower depending on the amount of heat they require! Bottom line, healthy dragons gap while on their basking spots, this shows that they are happy, and have the correct basking temps...

A hide is necessary for Adult dragons since they feel more secure this way, and it also adds in thermoregulation, just place a hide on the cool side of the enclosure.

As for Jump Start, I would never use this product unless your dragon as not eaten a single bit of food in more than a week! I've seen/heard of dragons throwing this stuff up, if is very thick and pasty... It does have some good ingredients, but I suggest thinning it out if in the future you ever decide to you it!

So if your previous post was correct you need to buy a timer and only have the lights on for 12-14 hours a day and off for 6-8 hours at night, this sounds like your biggest problem and the reason why your dragon is stressed out, and will not eat... Give her 3-5 days after you start the 6-8 hours of lights off, I'm pretty sure she will become her normal self.

Anything else you can add would help...

Anthony
 
Hello

Hello, :D

What type & brand of UVB are you using? Is it reptisun or a reptiglo?
As suggested, it should be on around 12 hours, & then, off for 12 hours. The heating should be on the same schedule. They do much better sleeping in total darkness.
The slurry can consist of alot of different things. The jumpstart is very effective if used properly. It is in a tube & comes in a paste. It is designed to be thinned out & used with water. Alot of people have had great success with it. A big reason that they have thrown it up is because it is so thick & it wasn't thinned out.
You can use that as a base if you desire, & thin it out with water, chicken babyfood & greens. Since you are already using roaches & mealies, just cut the mealies out right now since they are harder to digest. Stick with the roaches, & use maybe a bit of chicken or turkey babyfood, & some jumpstart if you want to try it. Some other ingredients that you can add are royal jelly, & brewer's yeast for immune system boosting. Just blend it all together & get it into a syringe & put some on the tip of her nose & hopefully she will start to lick it off of the end of her nose. If not, then, we will have to talk about other options.
Now, your calcium is it repcal, or reptical? They are different products. I just want to make sure that your calcium does NOT have phosphorus in it.
The basking temp for a dehydrated animal should not exceed 110. Anything higher will expedite dehydration & if an animal is already dehydrated that will make things worse. The first few weeks, should be spent on rehydrating her & making sure that she can handle protein. A dehydrated animal cannot handle protein very well & giving too much prematurely will lead to death because the kidneys cannot assimilate it & break it down.
Please let me know how she is doing. Thanks.

Tracie
 
Its a reptisun light and rep cal. I'll go out and pick up this stuff today, which is good because its my day off. I'll keep you all posted, thanks so much!
 
Hello

Hello,

Great you are going to go get some more stuff today! A reptisun 10 flourescent bulb, right? I am happy to hear that.
Keep me posted, ok?

Tracie
 
I dunno if anyone posted this... I skimmed the posts... but it was probably said... But I will say it anyways

NO COMPACTS. Compact uvb not so good from what I have heard.
 
method said:
I dunno if anyone posted this... I skimmed the posts... but it was probably said... But I will say it anyways

NO COMPACTS. Compact uvb not so good from what I have heard.
Click to expand...

Correct Certain compact UVB bulbs have been shown to be eye irritants! There is a link to the UK UVB researchers, I know Tracie will post up the link...

Anthony
 
Hello

Hello,

You are correct, the types of compacts that were being blamed for photo-kerato-conjunctivitis are the R Zilla 50 series, the R Zilla T8 series, Zoomed 10, & the Big Apple Mystic bulbs are all causing problems right.
Here is the link to read for testing information on them. Please do not buy any compact or coil lights, it will be a waste of your money & they are not safe. Do not buy an ESU or Zilla lights, at all. Only get either the Zoomed reptisun 10 or the Exo Terra reptiglo 8.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm


Let us know how things are going. :D


Tracie
 
Got a bit of an update, I started a slurry today and she absolutely loves it! She downed 2 serynges, one in the am one in the pm and she's already running around instead of just lieing there! I have her on a lights out schedual too when I go to sleep so she does seem less stressed. I just cant wait till I get my Vision cage for her(when I have money XD) and can really get her set up and comfy
 
Hello

Hello,

That is awesome news to hear! So, she loved the slurries then? I am happy to hear that she is moving around now & eating 2 a day. Great! Keep up the good work with her. It sounds like she is improving now.
I am sure she will appreciate her new tank when you get it all done.

Tracie
 
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