Rescued Dragon, urgent help

[TylerMcNeill]

I rescued a dragon from a mutual friend that didn't want him and when I arrived his living conditions were horrible. Feces everywhere, algae covered water dish, no UVB, and an insufficient basking temp. I've never owned a dragon but I've successfully cared for chameleons, geckos, a ball python, and a few other various reptiles. I did as much research as I could and am abiding by so, however he/she is very lazy, doesn't want to eat anything (unless it's a super worm) and every poop has been runny and absolutely rancid, worst thing I've ever smelled. Here are some pictures, I need help and don't want to lose him/her. I am also concerned about the dark spot on the right side of the abdomen.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum and kuddo's to you for rescuing this dragon!! Poor thing...
What is that substrate? If it's that paper stuff with sand stuck to it I would remove it and use repti carpet, paper towel, ceramic tile...those little bits can come off and cause impaction.
What greens are you offering him/her? What other insects have you tried? Butterworms, hornworms, waxworms, Dubia roaches are really good for fattening them up.
What are your temps Basking, UVB, cool side? He/she should perk up with the correct lighting needs and heating needs..
He is skinny and looks dehydrated, have you done warm soaks? Nice and warm for a good 20 min. I am not really up on alot of the health medical stuff maybe that spot will come off with a shed? Since you said his/her living environment was poor looks like yellow fungus (in later stages it turns black) and needs antibiotics, do you have a reptile vet?
What supplements are you offering?
please keep us posted!!

 

[TylerMcNeill]

Thankyou for answering! He is being offered crickets, kale, carrots, dandelion greens, and the worms. I got him two days ago and money is tight until payday, so I don't know exact basking temps but they are pretty hot, at this moment I'm giving him Repta Aid to get something in his system. I've had him soak every day so far and the first day he dove into the water to drink. And the substrate is the exo terra mat, I figured it looked nice so I washed every lose piece off in the shower, nothing comes off any more so I'm not too worried about impaction. Gosh I'm worried

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thankyou for answering! He is being offered crickets, kale, carrots, dandelion greens, and the worms. I got him two days ago and money is tight until payday, so I don't know exact basking temps but they are pretty hot, at this moment I'm giving him Repta Aid to get something in his system. I've had him soak every day so far and the first day he dove into the water to drink. And the substrate is the exo terra mat, I figured it looked nice so I washed every lose piece off in the shower, nothing comes off any more so I'm not too worried about impaction. Gosh I'm worried

Your welcome that's what we are here for.. Here are some more options these are links for good food items...carrots in excess will cause vit A toxicity.

http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Here is a good lighting link
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Health/Habitats-Care/Reptile-Lighting-Information/
When you are able get yourself a digital probe or a hand held temp gun to get your temps good.. Basking for him/her right now could be 105-110F the UVB area which should be 2/3rds of the enclosure 80-100F then the cool side can go down to the 70F as long as it doesn't dip below 65F no need for any other heat source. The cool side is where they will sleep so no lights at all as it will disturb their sleep their 3rd eye ontop of their head will pick up light.

 

[TylerMcNeill]

Ok, he seems to always sleep right under the basking light until night time he just sprawls in the open area of his enclosure

 

[Hdrydr31]

Ok, he seems to always sleep right under the basking light until night time he just sprawls in the open area of his enclosure

Probably because he/she feels better under the heat as they need the heat to digest. I would imagine once he/she feels better he/she will sleep on the cool side.
what supplements are you giving? Multivitamin, calcium (patsyB correct me if wrong) give him some with D3 and some days without the D3 as we don't know if he/she has had any UVB so he/ she may need it.

 

[PatsyB]

He's settling in to his new home and getting used to all the care that he's getting now! With my rescued girl I dusted all her feeders with calcium with D3 and a couple times a week dusted with a multivitamin. My girl smelled so bad when I got her. I gave her baths every day with coconut oil and a beardie detox soap. If you bathe with coconut oil though you need to make sure you rinse her off real good before you put her under the lights so he doesn't get burned. What finally helped with mine was I got rid of the repti carpet, when she pooped on it even though I cleaned it right away it held the smell and then it got on her. I started using shelf liner and wiping the poop up with a papertowel with a product called Wipe Out sprayed on it. I also realized that she smelled the worst when I fed her crickets so I started feeding her super worms and hornworms and wax worms. The only problem now is she went from pooping 4 times a day to going every 4 days! I know it's just her body adjusting to the super worms so I'm trying not to worry too much about it.

I know money is tight but I would get it to the vet to have a fecal done and to have that spot checked. Yellow fungus isn't always yellow and can start out as a black scaby spot.

 

[Canicke]

good for you !! i have a heart for rescues - they can be challenging. TAKE YOUR TIME. It didnt happen overnight and it wont go away overnight. As for pooping regularity - my boy is currently going through a modified brumation - he is up and semi active for a few days, then he is completely asleep for a few days. when he's not brumating he generally poops daily. right now - maybe on the days he's awake. maybe not. My girl WILL NOT poop in her tank. she has been known to go a week or 2 between poops. my last male did this too - scared me at first. this happened just after i got him - he actually didnt poop for 3 weeks !! he got settled in, got his diet adjusted, gave him a home bigger than a breadbox and i was properly rewarded. i agree with Patsy - i think i would make a vet visit for the black spot and to have a fecal done to test for parasites.

 

[TylerMcNeill]

Update: I just got home from my 60 hour a week work schedule, and was welcomed by this. Doesn't seem to be any solid feces, just a Urate and liquid. Sorry for the frantic rude questions but what is this supposed to mean??? And being day 3 I haven't given any supplements yet so what should I be giving for an adult?

 

[TylerMcNeill]

P.s. No smell really (thank god for my nose)

 

[Canicke]

Looks to me like hes gettin hydrated. I would cut his baths down to every 2 - 3 or even 4 days. Not super familiar with repti aid - hold on. I'll be back in a minute. Gonna look it up

 

[Canicke]

Couldn't find anything was standing ingedients but if it's too concentrated it may be could cause watery stools. try diluting it more. And – seriously – it's D3 this transition period – even though you are providing better care for him – could last a couple of weeks. it's a change for him. One of our members called it "moving sickness "

 

[PatsyB]

Looks well hydrated. My rescue did the same thing. She'd go 4 times a day and it was formed but LOTS of water with it. Sometimes it would just be urate and water. Reptaid is good product, I used it when I first got Luci, I got him from Petco and he seemed to have a lot of mucus in his mouth and so the worried mom I was, I bumped up his heat and gave him some Reptaid XL and he was fine after a few days. Just be careful, it does expire.

Monitor that spot and make sure it's not spreading or he's not developing spots elsewhere.

 

[TylerMcNeill]

Quick update, Kai (new name and short for Kaiya) is doing better, colors are much more full, he's basking under his uvb and not right under the heat, and a semi solid poop!!!! He also seems to eat with an alert look

 

[Hdrydr31]

Keep up the good work! it just takes some time

 

[TylerMcNeill]

Hello all, Kai seems to be doing well, fairly alert, eating worms and crickets, basking for some time then moving about for a few, and solid (green) poops! I got him a 40gal tank so he has plenty more room

 

[Hdrydr31]

Be very careful on the substrate the crushed walnut can for sure cause impaction unless Kai stays very hydrated, usually no substrate that can be swallowed is best.. I know the look is more natural but it can cause alot of problems as they lick "taste" their environment. What worms are you giving? superworms or mealworms? Sounds like the poop is much better that's great! looking happier...

 

[TylerMcNeill]

I will for sure keep an eye on the substrate, I do feed him out of tank so I don't worry about him ingesting while hunting. They are superworms, like the ones you can buy in a container

 

[MillieD]

I hope you have found what you are looking for but I just wanted to add that from the photo that looks like a male!
Good luck

 

[TylerMcNeill]

Hey guys, things were smooth sailing since I last updated. Unfortunately things went south very quickly. I got home from work and Kai was laying in the corner of his cage which is unusual enough, then he didn't look up at me so I picked him up to check him out. His beard is is completely black and.... Ok right now he's trying to make a bowel movement while my hands, and so far it's just urine. He seems very weak, eyes sunken in. Can't lift his head and mouth is slightly open. I'm heartbroken right now I don't know what to do. The only change he's had was that I got him to eat vitamin and calcium crickets for the first time 2 days ago. He seems to flinch when I touch him and I just noticed a rather raw looking spot on the left side of his back......
I'm affraid he's living his last days.