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Bearded health?

L

larrylockard

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Ok, so I'm babysitting a bearded dragon and when I picked her up, she was pretty listless looking. For one, she's in a 10G aquarium and about 14" total length(don't know her weight, yet). Also the base of her tail is a bit deformed almost like MBD. So I cleaned out her tank, had some rogue crickets going on there, hand fed her some water from a pipette and put an under-tank heater on the cage(also swapped out the indoor/outdoor carpet for sand). So tomorrow I was going to put her outside for a full day in the natural sun. Tell me what the rest of you think? I'm not too sure about bearded dragons,.. Also some recommendations to give to the owners when they get back as to how to care for her better. Thanks everybody.

-Larry
 
A 20-30 gallon would be a lot more fitting Home if you can get them to move up tank sizes that would be Awsome!
How about a nice Basking Lite?
 
I don't know if your friend just REALLY doesn't know,but a 10 gal. tank is barely large enough for a juvenile that is 6-7". That's a life of torture for a 14"...which also has MBD. It needs a much larger tank. It needs calcium and should be seen by a vet ,esp. if it won't eat on it's own. Shawn mentioned that putting in the sun in a glass tank WILL KILL in about 15 min. !! Good to get it in the sun in a screened cage with an area of shade. Since it is listless,you can probably just sit with it in your lap outside for 20-30 min. Or,get a large plastic toter from Wal-mart or Home Depot [ a clear one will not absorb heat like the colored one which will amplify the heat and be too intense] and put it out in partial shade,but keep an eye on it. Also,it needs a heat source from above,not undertank. This is a sick lizard...try to help your friend to realize that it needs a much different set-up. For an idea about proper care try a website of a reputable breeder like Rainbowbeardeddragon.com or Rockinardragonz.comGood for you for trying to help !!
 
A bigger tank is a must !!! As Angie said, a 10 gal is not big enough even for a 6 or 7" baby. I would recommend a 40 gal breeder or 55 gal (4 ft wide). I bought a 90 on craigslist for $50. It is a little taller, which means you have to adjust your temps for the height, but it was a great deal. I would look at the websites that Angie gave you and also add beautiful dragons to that list. They have a food list on there that is very helpful. The sun is great for them, BUT PLEASE BE CAREFUL !!!! I just lost my dragon from heat exposure. You may have seen my post .......DON'T DO WHAT I DID. Don't ASSUME that because they are desert dwellers, that they can take the heat. With a little research, love and care, you can turn that little guys life around. There are a lot of good people on here, that really care, and always willing to help. Have a question..........don't hesitate to ask, no matter how much you might think it is trivial or not worth asking. Good luck. let us know how things are going.:thumbsup:
 
Thats what I was thinking and they have, what looks like a 29G(24x12x20) that they were thinking of putting it in. I think it is extremely dehydrated. I've been giving it water and today I put it outside(I've got an old screen chameleon enclosure) and put the sprinkler on it gently.
Now this morning it had completely fallen on its back and wouldn't move, after putting it outside in the water and natural sun for about 30 minutes it looks more active, but still not really moving alot.
I know it should see a vet, but as I'm just watching it for the weekend, I don't want to shell out that kind of money.
What should I try as far as feeding it, I'm pretty sure its only ever ate crickets and never been supplemented, so I was going to start with trying to force-feed it dusted crickets or get some mealworms.
Thanks for everybody's help, hopefully we can get this monster back on the healthy track.
 
I use a toter like angie said!!!!!!!
I take mine out on my shoulder for about 10-15 min a day.
Make sure temps are not to cold tho,are you are inviting a RI at your door!
 
thanks for everybody's advise. It looks to be MBD for sure. I saw it have one of those body seizures(I had an iguana once that I lost to that). So my next question is, the only local vet that specializes in reptiles, costs $80 just for the exotic fee. I'm not going to spend that on it, specially since its not mine. lol But what home remedies might work, or at least help regress the onset of the disease? Thanks again.
 
Hi Larry...it's a real touchy situation and I hate to say that finding it on it's back once and then seeing it have a seizure are 2 things that may show it be near the end. Can you post a picture ? It sounds really very sick,I just don't want you to be shocked if it dies on you. Any type of administering of fluids/nutrition will need to be with the utmost care,and for a sick animal could cause choking. It's a hard position to be in. If you could get some liquid calcium in to her and keep getting little amounts of supervised sunlight that might help. She sounds far gone,but at this point it's about all you can try. Has she been drinking? That would be the way to get liquid calcium [ from a drug store or your vet] into her...if you can only get the powdered,mix it with water and use an eyedropper or plastic syringe [ without needle of course,the kind with the dropper at the end] and GENTLY maneuver between her lips,just enough to give a very small amount at a time. That may help. She does need a vet and you are good to try and help her but we know it's not your animal and can't spend that kind of money. Hopefully you can convince the owners to take her.Hope for the best !!
 
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