Albino bearded dragon.

[Xcell]

Hi im from Australia and to my surprise i have just hatched out a albino bearded dragon. Would just like to know if any of you guys have had the chance to look after these guys. From what i have heard they havent made it past 6 month old here. Due to poor eye sight and not being able to be under uv. Im trying to figure out the best way to look after this guy and would like your help if any one has expirence or just some good ideas.

Cheers in advance.
Shane

 

[river-7]

Hi: Shane; and welcome; You have come to the right place for any info you need-the mods will come on later and respond to your questions and i just wanted to welcome you-SOO WELCOME SHANE!!!! bella-aka-river-Beautiful baby by the way. Sorry i don't know anything about albino's but you will get your answers before long.

 

[Chris Baez Jr.]

That is quite an accomplishment, this is the first time I see one.

I can see how the UV might affect the vision. I have no idea...only thing I can think of is, instead of using a UVB bulb, just use a heating bulb and feed Cal with D-3 consistently.

I would like to hear what others would say and/or suggest. Good luck. Please do keep us posted.

 

[gilliesexotics]

Complete envy! I have not had the pleasure to work with an albino yet but wish you the best of luck with the youngin!

Personally, I would have to see the animals reaction to different trials. I would think a safe way to raise this young one for the first month would be to raise the ambient temps of the cage to mid -high 80's. Most reptiles like a mid 80* body temps to properly function. You can do this by raising the temps of the room by adding a heater. You could also try covering the top of the cage with plastic and placing a "uth" on top of the screen (NOT under the tank) and place the plastic over it.. Id also place a uvb 5.0 over the top. If you find this is causing the eyes to close all the time. Only place it over half the cage or even place more screen between the light and cage with normal screen you would use on your screen door at the house. Just something to diffuse the light a little more. Give the youngin around 4 days to start picking up an appetite. I would alternate light dustings with plain phos free calcium and calcium with d3. Be sure to bath the young one daily in warm water up to its arm pits.

 

[Aleena]

Pretty little hatchling .
I have to ask though, because there are so many morphs that look so pale... could you possibly get a pic in with it showing its eyes?
There are scientific studies showing that taking in D3 by means of supplementation and diet alone are not enough for a BD, and they must have UVB as well. I would second gilliesexotics on attempting the 5.0 UVB bulb. Placing the plastic cover over the UVB bulb blocks the UVB rays and they would not be of any benefit in my opinion, however. UVB rays do not go through common clear plastic or glass.
Bathe and mist your lil one as often as you would bathe and mist your other babies.

 

[Xcell]

Atm it is hard to get a good photo of the eyes. But for now you will need to take my word for it Untill i get a good shot as it does have red eyes. I have come in contact with a couple people here in Aus who have had a couple hatch. So far 6 months is the longer one has lived with being assist fed. One guy tryed useing uv and one tryed without with the same results. Im still not completely sure how i am going to go about it yet as i wanna try something different to se if it could work.

Any more ideas would be great. Keep em all coming.

 

[khaleesi]

hey, sorry to butt in but I've been thinking about your little guy and I've been looking on page after page trying to find something to help I'm just gonna copy and paste from this point so you can have a bit of a read and let the experts correct any errors...here goes:

I suggest forgetting UV altogether and using a US vitamin supplement that contains vitD (there are people that keep their beardies without any UV).
Be really super strict on their diet. I would rarely if ever allow them in full sunlight. And I wouldn't have any lighting in their enclosure. I would use a home made heat box for their basking spot. Even your general UV bulbs can emit damaging or irritating UV, I should know I have lupus :| I wouldn't keep them in complete darkness, I would have them in a room with a lot of windows for natural light.
I've thought about this a fair bit. Melanin is what protects us from the harmful UV rays. The more melanin you have the more natural protection you have. Zero melanin equals zero protection. I suggest treating them as you would any albino but also making sure they have the required vitamins. I think its totally possible. Good luck I would love to give raising albinos a go.

BTW he's a little stunner can't wait to see him grow a bit and see some pics of him running round causing trouble, anyway hope this helps there really is nothing much of any help.

EDIT: I also read that soaking them for more than a couple of mins a go irritates their skin

 

[Xcell]

Thanks, this is pretty much how i am going about it. No uv But i have given him a basking light, with plenty of places to get into shade. I got him to eat today. 4 dusted crickets. Not bad for a first feed. So far he is looking good and im hopeing it stays that way.

 

[Chris Baez Jr.]

Great. Good news that he ate; really happy to hear it.

 

[Xcell]

Still going strong so far. He has been eating fairly well (all assisted feeds) and drinking well. Hes getting alot more active now even with his bad eye sight he seems to know how to get to where he needs to be. Heres a new pic with a couple of his clutch mates.

Note.. I am not keeping these guys together, just put them together for a couple shots. Enjoy.

 

[Silkmoth]

How is he doing now?

 

[Xcell]

Yea he he going good. Eating like a pig at the moment. I think he is growing a little as well. Not too sure but hopefully coming up to a shed soon.

 

[Pat B]

It is good to hear your albino dragon is doing well. He looks good....

 

[Jesse omg it's me]

by bad eyes do you mean blind? want to double check because if so as he gets older his eyes might get worse you dont want to change anything in his enclouser because as he ges older he will remember where everything is and if you changed something that will effect him if that makes sense... best of luck keep me updated!

 

[gilliesexotics]

Any updated pictures? Would love to see this dragons progress.

 

[Beardyluv]

Just ran across this... how is the little one doing now a dayz?

 

[Bushmaster11B]

Yeah (BUMP) I would like to know too. Hope this guy gets email alerts...

 

[Xcell]

Hey sorry to inform every one. But as i suspected he passed away a bit ago. One day he refused eating then the next morning he was dead.

 

[Sarah Kwiatkowski]

I am verry sorry to hear that . RIP

 

[Bushmaster11B]

I'm sorry too. May he take his place in the stars by Draco. R.I.P.