Help with feeding our newest kiddo...

[SerenityAppeals]

Hey there,
This is my first post here.
My fiancee and I adopted (most literally) a beardie (she is our 3rd, but the only one in the house now as our others have passed on).
This adoption was harder than our other two... we have almost no idea how old she is or what she likes and doesnt like.

Let me give you what LITTLE background we have...

She was an 8 year olds beardie... we dont know how long he had her until the parents realized that something was "wrong". They turned her in to a vets office, she was 12 inches including tail had no exposure to UVB or heat, was use to eating pinkie mice and lived in a 10 gallon aquarium and thats all we know about owner #1.

She then went home with a vet tech who has a 6 year old beardie (the lady we adopted her from). The lady decided she was about 3 years old and kept her for 6 months (we adopted her 2 days ago), she grew abut 2 inches and now measures 14.25 inches. The lady said she was feeding freeze dried and live crix twice a week and a small salad daily.

We bought her crix yesterday, along with super worms and roaches. We made her a salad - she snubbed it. About 2 hours later we offerred some other food... she ate 4 crix, 16 worms, and 4 roaches. Pretty good I thought considering her size... today we offerred a salad which she snubbed... again.... so we called the previous owner and she informed us the only way she will eat salad is if you don't give her any insects for 1 to 3 weeks (Does that sound extreme to anyone but me??).

Anyway we bought her a 160w UVB/UVA light brand "Solar Glo Exo Terra" in a "Porcelain Clamp Lamp + Glow Reflector" Exo Terra Brand. THe guy who owns the shop that we frequent said we'd see almost an automatic difference compared to what she had (A heat bulb in a dome that only took her cage basking spot to about 80 degrees and a uvb (only uvb) strp light (which I thought was fine until we got the new light home!)

Anyway we have seen a big difference, especially after soaking her this afternoon. Her colors have come out.... she has orange yellow and red tinting!!

Anyway.... since we have no idea how old she is and we were told about 2 years (Estimated) but my buddies at the shop said she is the size of a 8 month old o,O how much do I feed her and how often?

I just want her to be as healthy and happy (and big!) as she can possibly be. She had a rough start in life and our goal is to make her super comfortable (Aka spoiled rotten) for the rest of her life!

Thanks for reading yall,
Jess

 

[li]

Hi Jess and congrats on your adoption.

I am going to list a few question for you to answer. Answer them thinking about now...what you are doing, not what has been done in the past.

1. Age
2. Length
3. Weight
4. Basking temps
5. Are they measures with a digital thermometer
6. What % and age uvb
7. What is the substrate
8. What size tank
9. How many/big are the crix you are feeding
10. What greens
11. Are you dusting w/ a multi vitamin and calcium
12. Last poop
13. Last soak
14. How long has he/she been in your home


These question will help by putting all the information into one spot.
As for some of the other things you have already hit on....the light you bought. Unfortunately the combined heat uvbs don't normally put off enough uvb to help long term. I would return if it you can. In the place of that get a dome hood and put in a regular house hold bulb for heat. Use whatever watt you need to get the temperature up to 100-105*. The uvb should be a tube style. The best one on the market to date is the Reptisun 10.0%. You can get the holder for that at a DIY store like lowes if you need to.

For a "normal" beardie who has been cared for properly at this time in her life she should have only been eating about 30-50 crix a week total and the rest just greens. But, until you get her healthy I would feed her crix on a daily basis. Feed her once a day as many crix as she can eat in 10 minutes. Also offer greens daily. Change it up...put different kinds in, put some fruit on top, put some carrot shred on top, put some squash on top...anything that will help entice her to eat them.

Soaking is a good way to hydrate a beardie. 2-3x a week in a tub with water about 90*. Just put a little water in the first time until she adjust. Each time you can add a little more. Never more than above her shoulders.

So...answer those questions and we can start to figure out a good way to get her back to a nice healthy bearded. Realize, she might never hit the "normal size" of a beardie. That is okay as long as she is healthy.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Hi and welcome ! Li covered all the bases, so I'll add a request for pictures !

 

[SerenityAppeals]

Thanks lots, she went to the vet this morning and she has no parasites (We did a fecal and all) and I basically answered all these questions there (so they will be easier to answer here!)
Anyway he said she was just really under weight and he thought she was MAYBE1 year old at most... so someone lied about a length of time they had her - just unsure who.

1. Age
Unsure, maybe a year?

2. Length
14.25 inches

3. Weight
I can't remember what they said this morning.

4. Basking temps
100 to 105, 12 hours a day.

5. Are they measures with a digital thermometer
Yes.

6. What % and age uvb
24 hours old, all the info on the box, in the manual and on the website (currently trying to get ahold of customer support but will have to wait until tomorrow since they are closed) says only "...is designed to to simulate natural sunlight, emitting optimal levels of UV rays, visual light and infrared (heat). The especially high amounts of UVA and UVB rays are smong the many beneficial aspects of this new generation herpetoculture lamp." -off of box

7. What is the substrate
Nothing - we are changing to tile once we get the 40 long out of storage this weekend.

8. What size tank
40 gallon tall

9. How many/big are the crix you are feeding
I offer 2 at a time, he has only ate 4 total. They are 4 weekers.

10. What greens
Collard greens, mustard greens, and Romania greens. Also have kiwi and carrots.

11. Are you dusting w/ a multi vitamin and calcium
Both

12. Last poop
This morning.

13. Last soak
This afternoon.

14. How long has he/she been in your home
2 days as of 10pm tonight (in 5 hours).

 

[SerenityAppeals]

Photos

We didn't take any photos before we switched lights but she was a dull gray and now, well now she is beautiful and it has only been 24 hours!

See the ribs?
We were told by the vet tech that when she took her home a few months ago she was having issues walking (which we assume is from lack of proper lighting, vitamins, and temps) and you could see all her bones especially her hips!

 

[li]

She looks nice. I have seen a lot worse. Not too bad at all.

You are doing everything okay. Your temps are good and you are on your way. The uvb makes me cringe a bit. I would highly recommend the reptiSUN 10.0. Not the reptiglo 10.0.

When you say 40 gallon tall...can you give the dimensions. Normally we refer to a 40 gallon long and a 40 gallon breeder. The breeder is a better size. The long tank really isn't high enough to make all the lighting work properly.

Green....nothing with the word lettuce. It can cause diarrhea, there is no nutritional value. Collard, escarole, bok choy, swiss chard, escarole, are all some good one. Carrots should only be given occasionally. The Kiwi, I will have to check. But, here is a good website to check for food.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

You are doing a great job.

 

[renich]

Ah, poor baby. She is adorable.

Lisa has suggested everything that I can think of. I highly recommend the ReptiSun 10.0 tube too.

Since you just brought her home, give her some time. Between the old owners, the vet tech and now you, she might be a bit stressed. Keep offering the salad. Mix it up. Butternut squash is a known winner. Red peppers are a fan with others. Once she is eating and comfortable with you, you can try putting a worm in the salad to stimulate her.

 

[SerenityAppeals]

Thanks for the advice...I will defintly look at the site - she came with kiwi and we havent given her any yet but we were told she "loves" it. I hadn't checked to see if it was okay yet or not.

We don't have the reptiglo.... we have the solar glo.... she HAD a reptiglo with her last owner - I don't care for those bulbs though.
40 tall is what she came in - it's a chameleon tank. It measures 30 inches in length, 12.5 inches wide, and 24.3/4 inches deep... she is getting our old beardie tank on Sunday when I have a day off and can get it out of storage... it measures 40 inches long, 16 deep, and 18 wide. We will transfer her to a 50 gallon as soon as we can afford it but for now that is more space (Especially on the floor) than she has/had.

-jess

 

[Vesta]

She is really pretty. I'm glad she found a good home.

 

[SerenityAppeals]

Thank you
We love her already and boy does she seem happy with a proper basking area!



-Jess

 

[SerenityAppeals]

To help clear up the confusion about which light she has .... this is it....
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/solar_glo.php



-Jess

 

[beardielover17]

The Solar Glo used to be a decently rated MVB but recently in an article I found it was tested to be nothing more than an overpriced heat light that produced little UV. They changed the makeup of the bulb so it isn't letting enough UV out. You may want to change it to a Reptisun 10.0, MegaRay MVB, or a T-Rex Active UV (MVB) instead.

 

[SerenityAppeals]

:sigh: I can't return it because ive "used" it... I read up more on it and Im not sure what to do - I can't find good or bad reviews, I cant find any answers. We spent 46$ on it so we are kinda stuck as I dont have anymore $ this month that isn't for bills. Blah. I guess I will reassess when more $ comes our way - might be a few months. Either way she seems happier than before ...I will make a pointe to take her outside while I garden in the mornings to help make up for some of the lost uv rays.

 

[ladyknite]

If you can't replace your bulb at the moment, using some natural sunlight on a daily basis will provide her with what she needs till you can. Just don't take her out in glass.

you might consider letting her ride on your shoulder out in the sun for 30 minutes or so.

 

[SerenityAppeals]

Update Just real quick before I head to bed

We decided to name her Zuki... anyway, Zuki is doing great... she ate 3/4ths of her salad yesterday, along with 1 dozen roaches, 1 dozen super worms, and 1 dozen crickets. Today she poo'd (twice!) and it looks great, and ate 1 dozen roaches, 41 crickets (WOW!) and about 1/3rd of her salad!

Now that her temps are right and she is getting proper uv lighting she is a 200% different beardie! She runs around, "dances" and eagerly awaits dinner time and likes to chill on our shoulders!

Thanks for all the advice ...we are very happy with her. Also got her a bigger tank out of stoarge today and we are fixing the lid tomorrow plus tiling it - then I will post pictures in the appropriate place

-Jess

 

[Pogie]

Jess, she looks great, and well on her way to being a spoiled little one LOL

 

[staylor]

Welcome...sorry I am late, been moving. Glad to see he is eating, looks like the relo stress passed quickly. Doesn't it feel great to see them eat after the hunger strike? She looks good, a little skinny but my little guy was much worse and bounced back great just as Zuki will. Zuki is very lucky to have you!!!