Help!! Turns out Dragon is a girl

[corrine]

I'v heard a heat mat on the side of the tank is ok. True? Also the owner of my local pet store said it's ok to give gatorade to stimulate appetite. Is that true?

 

[crypticdragons]

I dont suggest gatoraid as it is very high in salts and sugars. Pedialyte diluted with water is perfect. I have a "recipe" for a after laying pick me up for females. I will have to dredge it up once i get home for you. It works great. But do not use gatorade. And yes a heat mat or heat tape adhered to the SIDE of the tank is ok. But it must be the side that way it produces ambient heat. Beardies can sense heat from beneath but not well. And normally by the time they notice their bellies are too hot it is too late and they are severly burned.

Also the pedialyte will not stimulate her appetite. it will only get her better hydrated. if you want to stimulate her appetite you need to use something like acidophiliz which you can get at beautifuldragons.com or you can use what i prefer which is reptaid which is a herbal antibiotic/antimicrobial appetite stimulant (pm me for info on ordering).

 

[corrine]

I was just curious. I had never heard the gatoraid thing. Her appetite was good yesterday i think. She ate 33 superworms and 23 crickets. She seems a bit sleepy today tho and she didn't want her breakfast. She did enjoy her bath this morning. She fell asleep. It was cute. That reminds me of another question. Is there a limit on how many baths she can have a week? Right now I'm doing it 3x/week. As for incubators, can I make one or am I better off buying one?

 

[zebraflavencs]

I bath one of my boys daily, as that is the only place he is interested in pooing !
The hovabator is the best one, you just need to get a different thermometer. Most recommend using the one you find at Walmart with the probe, and has humidity readings as well as temp readings.
Janie.

 

[crypticdragons]

Recipe for post clutch reccoperative mixture

Bearded Dragon ‘power-aid’
*This is a great recipe for recuperating Bearded Dragons, Bearded Dragons who need a little extra weight put on, and young picky eaters.
Ingredients:
o 2 bok choy leaves – you can really use any of the acceptable veggies, but I find this works better since it’s less bitter than something like collards. Also, you want to make sure you include the stems in the mixture because that’s where the water is retained.
o 3 tbsp of strawberry banana baby food
o 5 tbsp of bearded dragon pellets – crushed/ground, and whichever brand you prefer
o 2 oz of Pedialyte – the unflavored kind works best, but it really doesn’t make much of a difference
o ½ tsp each of calcium & multi-vitamin supplements
*Blend everything together until you get a somewhat soupy mixture. It’s easiest if fed by syringe, so you don’t want the mixture to be too thick. Take out only what you’re going to be feeding at one time and refrigerate the rest. In my experience, they like it better if it’s slightly warmed up before it’s fed. You will also probably need to add a little bit of water to the mixture each time you feed it since it tends to thicken when it cools or sits too long. This will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

 

[corrine]

have to try it and see if she'll eat it. She's very picky since she was naver fed anything but crickets until i got her. Thanks ;D

 

[crypticdragons]

You have to syringe feed it just so you know. There are a few methods for syringe feeding. One is just using a dropper and putting bits on her nose and letting her lick it off (i have never been able to get this to work out)
Two is to lightly lower the lip by sliding your finger on her beard and then tickling the gum line with the syringe until she opens her mouth then squirt its in lol.
Three is what a vet showed me for if you have to give meds. Its a lil less gently. You hold and lightly pull on the losse skin uner they jaw line until the mouth is slightly open and the same thing squirt and its in

 

[crypticdragons]

oh and you can add some insects to the blend too. That would thicken it up a bit and add some extra nutrients.

 

[corrine]

Thanks i'll have to give it a shot.