Advice plz new to beardies

[Leenalou]

Hi I've joined this forum as I'm New too owning a bearded dragon and looking for help advice, so around 3weeks ago I got a bearded dragon from someone who wasn't caring for him properly I've never owned a reptile before but knew the conditions he was kept in wasn't right, estimated age is around 1-1/2 2yrs vet visit showed nothing more than severe dehydration and calcium deficiency. I've manage to get what I think is the correct setup for him he's in a 4ftx2ftx2ft viv he has heat lamp for basking which he does a lot, just purchased a new uvb tube light as I don't think the one he came with was any good and put everything new in his viv as everything in there he came with was as neglected as he was. I've been weighing and measuring him and he currently now weighs 408g and measures 18-1/2 inch. He won't eat greens/veggies of any kind unless he misses his live food and gets a bit instead im dusting everything with calci powder I say everything he will only eat locusts and morio worms he's pooping fine usually every other day and I manage to get water in him through a dropper. My concern is he isn't very active at all he will move his head around and watch us and he will climb his ramp to bask but other than that he barely moves and when he does I can only describe it as commando crawling on his tummy I've yet to see him raise his tummy off the floor. The vet said to address the dehydration and calcium first and the rest should follow, the reason im getting concerned is that my sister took this dragons father from the same person and he was in the same conditions and he's doing brilliantly now really active eating greens roaming in and outside his tank totally different dragon. Sorry for the long post but any help advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Janelle]

Poor thing! Thank you for saving him! What UVB light did you get him? What are his temps, and how are you measuring them? Can you post pics of the beardie and setup?

 

[Leenalou]

UVB is Arcadia t510%
Temps - basking 105-110
Cool side- 80-85
Night time- 65-70
Measuring with a digital heat probe
I've attached what pics I have at moment of frank will take some more of him and his setup when I get home from work thank you

 

[Janelle]

That all sounds good. If he didn’t have a good uvb light, it is likely he is weak from lack of calcium. Hopefully, with proper care, this weakness will reverse. There’s a chance he won’t be able to walk normally again, but he can still live a good life.

It’s good that he misses the insects and eats greens sometimes. Hopefully he’ll realize they’re super yummy and start eating them readily on his own. Keep offering them and having them available all day, every day.

Thanks again for saving this guy!

 

[PatsyB]

Keep up what you are doing and he should come around. Just because his father is doing better doesn't mean anything. Bearded dragons are all different just like people are. Just give him some more time. Is the UVB light inside the tank? Typically we use the 12% bulb for bearded dragons.

 

[BeardedEmber]

My beardie is super lazy... just like her owner was when I first got her, lol. But when she feels the urge, she'll jump off the couch and roam where she wants to. Not as much in the winter tho. She sleeps a ton! My daughter says at least once a month I call her worried because Ember seems lethargic and not eating as much. I, now, can recognize this cycle also. It's just Ember's personality.

 

[Leenalou]

Hi everyone thank you for your replies, I'm sorry I haven't responded sooner it has been a very difficult time we ended up having to have our rescue dragon Frank put to sleep. He wasn't showing any signs of improvement so I found a different reptile vet further away they did xrays and blood work and it revealed multiple fractures all over him they said he was really poorly and had only survived as long as he had due to the care we had given him the last couple of weeks but he was still suffering so the kindest thing was to let him go, as you can imagine we were heartbroken. One positive thing to come from all this is I've discovered a huge love for bearded dragons. We have taken on another one and I will post her introduction in the relevant section, once again thank you x