Toothless, rescue number 12

Toothless was given me today by the lady who adopted Spike. She is about a year old and has MBD already. Her lower jaw is starting to protrude and her spine is curving near her tail. She's young enough that I think a good diet, a lot of outside time, and some calcium injections/supplements will make a difference for her. 

See how tiny?

Trying to get her basking temp up but she kept sitting on the thermometer

Bath time- making sure she is hydrated

"Help! My beardie is sick"-- a Checklist for sick beardies

I've been to the vet enough times that I know the "drill" for assessing sick beardies. I often get phone calls asking me for advice and I find myself using the same questions. I thought I'd post them here for you.

Any time your beardie is acting strangely or not normal, answer these questions FIRST:

1- What's the heating in his tank? 

     There should be a hot basking area of 95 to 105 degrees. The cool side should be around 80 degrees during the day and no colder than 70 degrees at night. A beardie that is too cold cannot digest his food properly, will not eat, will not poop, and will slowly become sicker and sicker.

2- Does he have a UVB light? 

    EVERY BEARDED DRAGON MUST HAVE A UVB LIGHT!!! If you do not, you are dooming your beardie to a slow, tragic, painful, horrible, miserable death. They will NOT get UVB rays through your windows in your house; your windows filter out the light. The cheapest place to get UVB bulbs is on Amazon.com. You can pick one up for under $10.

3- When did he poop last? 

     A beardie who is not pooping may be impacted in their guts. Give a warm bath daily (or several times a day) to help them poop. The longer their food is inside them, the harder it becomes and the harder it is for them to get rid of it. Some beardies poop daily, others every few days. I have a female who prefers to poop once a week and in her water. More than weekly is not healthy for the beardie. Weekly warm baths will make a difference.

4- What substrate do you use in your tank? 
   
     My vets recommend using astroturf in the tank bottom. You can buy it cheaply at Home Depot (it comes 6 ft wide) and cut two of them for your tank. Keep one in the tank and one as back up. When the beardie poops or makes it dirty, you swap the dirty one out for the clean one. The astroturf is super durable and is perfect to put outside so it can be "sun bleached" to kill germs etc.

     Sand -- even calcium sand-- can become impacted in your beardie's guts (though some beardie owners will debate this). Reptile carpet is very expensive but works fine if you want to spend the money. Another option is to get indoor slate tiles from a home improvement store and cut them to fit your tank (the store will usually cut them for free). Slate is easy to clean and has the bonus of filing down your beardie's nails. It will just make your tank very, very heavy.

5- When was the last time your beardie had anything to drink?

     A dehydrated beardie will be lethargic and shrunken looking. Every adult beardie needs a weekly bath; juvenile beardies should have a bath every other day; baby beardies should only be misted with room temperature water. Give your beardie a warm bath for at least 20 minutes and see if he perks up after.

6- When was the last time your beardie had direct sunlight? 

    Direct sunlight is a great thing for your beardie! It can do more to help build calcium & vitamin D levels than any other supplement or light can. During the summer, beardies can go outside every day. Be sure to give them an area of shade and water. I have a rat/guinea pig cage on my back patio that is partially covered with leftover strips of astroturf that my big boy Max likes to stay in. He adjusts his position to keep himself cooler/warmer and is quite happy being outside even when it reaches 100 degrees here. Remember that beardies are desert animals and like the heat.

     NEVER put them in a glass tank outside. You will KILL them very quickly. Use a wire pen like a rat cage or a bird cage that allows air to pass through.

7- What are you feeding your beardie? 

     Juvenile beardies need 75% protein and 25% greens. You can feed them calcium dusted or gut loaded crickets/mealworms/roaches daily. Once they hit 1 year, you need to transition them to 75% greens and 25 % protein. Most beardies I know do not like making this transition. Eating crickets daily is like feeding your kids mac n cheese & hot dogs every day-- tasty, but not very healthy. Your beardie may do a "hunger strike" for a few days (even a week or two) to protest the new healthy diet. Eventually he will start eating again and he will be healthier for it. Too much protein in an adult beardie will fatten up their livers and shorten their lives.

     In the winter, beardies tend to stop eating and being active. It's called "Brumination" and it helps them to stay healthy. Never fear, after a few weeks, your beardie should perk up again. Other times, a beardie can go a week or so without eating. Sometimes that is a sign that something is wrong and sometimes it's just your beardie taking a break.

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If you can answer "yes" to the questions above and your beardie still isn't acting normally, there may be something more serious going on. Your best bet is to find a reptile vet and take your beardie in.
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My vets like to say that outdoor time is one of the best things you can do for your reptiles. Summer is the perfect time for outdoor time so USE IT to make your beardies healthier.

If you have any other questions, please post them below. I'd be happy to try to answer them. :)

Saying Goodbye to Squiggy

Getting him used to the shipping bag

With his box

One more cute picture

My daughter & I both gave him kisses. I cried. 

In his bag, in the box, ready to ship

After a LLLLOOOONNNNNGGGGGG night of anxiously waiting, Squiggy arrived at his new home this morning at 7:33 am Utah time (9:33 FL time). He was cool from traveling overnight, but was alert and curious about his new home. It will take him some time to settle in, but I have no doubts that he will adjust quickly and grow to love his new beardie momma.

A New Adventure

Tonight is the night that Squiggy is heading to his new home. The box is ready, the weather is perfect, the shipping is arranged-- I can even take him directly to the FedEx building at our airport to save him a ride around town on a FedEx truck. It's all arranged.

And I am SOOO nervous!

I hope he does okay in transit. I have NO fears about where he's going. He'll be great. It's just getting him there that will be nerve-wracking for this beardie momma.

Now I'm going to soak the little guy so he's totally hydrated for the trip.

Sunday Sun Time

The weather was beautiful yesterday so I took 4 of the 6 beardies outside. I also had two tortoises outside and my two dogs. It was great!

A Full House

Spike after a long day of sunning & playing at our house

Between my three beardies (Lizzie, Max, & SweetPea) and my two rescues (Squiggy & Thor) and the beardie we are babysitting, Spike, we have a FULL beardie house! Five of the six are boys so we have lots of interesting head bobbing displays around here. They are all vying to be the top dragon and to impress the lone female. Sadly for them, SweetPea could care less for any of them. They'd be lucky if she even blinks at them.

Hopefully, we'll find Thor a good home in the next few days. Squiggy will be adopted by his biggest fan in Florida. I'm currently arranging for his shipping "chariot" to carry him to his new home near the beach. Then we'll be down to the regular three.

Another Little Rescue-- Lil Foot

Meet Lil Foot, a 2 year old red foot tortoise with lots of problems. He is severely stunted in his growth, has a missing foot, has eye problems, has had shell rot, and was just diagnosed with severe Metabolic Bone Disease. I've had to soak him several times a day because his eyes seal themselves shut. I finally took him to my vets last Tuesday and they diagnosed him with MBD. He got a high dose calcium shot and gets liquid calcium daily. 

He's a cute little guy. I sure hope he pulls through and starts growing. He loves to be outside. 

Way, way too small for a 2 year old

Breakfast time with Hermy

"Mom? Is that you?" 

Outside with Squiggy

He loves the grass

All of his problems were totally preventable with proper care & diet. No reptile should EVER get MBD. It makes me SOOO angry!

Thor, rescue number 11

Finally! A nice, healthy, functional, social beardie to rehome! Phew! After the trauma of the baby beardie, I am relieved to have an easy placement.

Cutie boy hanging out on the back of the couch

Amazing set up here 

I expect this guy to go soon! Which is good because we don't have a lot of room around here any more. Had to move Squiggy into my room for now.

My First Real Failure in Rescue-- Beardie #10

At the end of June, I bought a rare baby beardie at a local PetSmart. He was a translucent leatherback for $60 instead of over $150 from a breeder. It was my first experience with baby beardies-- and probably my last. 

I brought him home, set up his tank, and tried not to stress over how tiny he was. 

About a week after I got him, he stopped eating. And I started force feeding him. Last night, I was positive that he would die on me. It was a terrible feeling. I've done everything right for him-- lights, misting, heat, food, etc. I've charted his weight, his feedings, his force feedings. Nothing is working. Two days ago, he ate three small crickets. Yesterday, he ate nothing and hardly moved. Last night, I gave him a bath to really  hydrate him. He drank a lot and I think that is why he survived the night.

Today, he looks like this (see picture below). He won't hardly move. He won't open his eyes. He looks ill. He locks his elbows to keep his head up and won't lay down flat. Because I missed my 14 day return window by 4 days, I have to take him back to the store after 2 when the manager is in to override the return. PetSmart is GREAT when it comes to sickly pets. They will continue to force feed him and take him to the vet. They will do all they can to get him healthy again.

This has been the most stressful beardie I have ever owned! I don't think I'll do babies again. I can handle the adult ones that are infected or damaged or handicapped or neglected. I can't do babies. They are too hard and it's too sad to watch them slowly die. :(

Update-- ADDED 7/17/13

I called the pet store this morning to see how the baby's vet visit went and was told to call the vet. The vet's office doesn't actually open much on Wednesday so it took several times to get through. They reported the baby was a no-show. So then I called the pet store and talked to a different employee who said the baby was in the tank with the other babies.

WHAT?!?!?

After talking to the manager, the baby was pulled and put in solitary where he can be force fed every hour. There was a colossal communication problem between the vet's office & the pet store. The baby has a 9 am appt tomorrow. We'll see what happens from there.

Final Update-- ADDED 8/14/13

Baby beardie ended up having to be put to sleep two weeks ago. He was too sickly to survive. I think it was some genetic abnormality that was the biggest problem. I'm glad he is out of his misery.

City Parade & the Beardies

Our city parade runs on the road by our house and so we took two of our beardies outside to enjoy the sunshine. Max only lasted about 10 minutes before he was ready to be out of the public eye. 

Squiggy stayed the whole time. He didn't mind the sirens & lights or the little kids who came over to gawk at him & pet him. I was so impressed with him. He loved being in public and in the sun. 

Max with my daughter

Squiggy checking out the parade goers

Our good friends had their own float

Squiggy watching the kids chase after candy

I love taking beardies out in public because they act as great ambassadors for their breed! I answer questions, teach people about beardies, and let kids see how cool they are.