Ruby Rescue!

[rubythepunkrockdragon]

I took in a neglected three year old female,Ruby, about a week ago, having never owned a "fancy" reptile before. I've had plenty of reptiles as pets throughout the years, but never a dragon. She came with a 200 gallon tank, under tank heater, UV light, heat lamp, and a log. Her previous owner had never held her, bathed her, or talked to her. She was only fed crickets a few times a month and her enclosure was FILTHY. I've had her but a week, and she's already a completely different dragon. She's quite active now, loves attention, loves her new diet of salads and mealworms lol! I desperately need advice from people who actually care about their dragon as to how often I can feed her grapes or what types of veggies to avoid. I grow several veggies, and flowers, with zero pesticides etc. I've fed her dandelion tops and she was in love! Ruby's scales look dry and a few look as though they are lifted, like they are falling off. She hasn't been aggressive towards myself or my six year old daughter, but I'm a wee nervous to pick her up. I want to let her run about the tub and get a nice soak, any advice on how to go about introducing her to a bath? Having never had vegetables or fruit before, she took right to them, though eating is a bit instinctive. She watches me, comes to the front of the glass when I talk to her, but hasn't "waved" at me yet. Should I wait until I get the wave before I dive into picking her up? She came to me inside a pet taxi, inside a paper bag. That's the only times she was held Ruby is quite sweet and seems to like being petted. I'm in the process of setting her enclosure up a bit better. I've added a large piece of petrified wood for her to climb and bask on. I want to switch out her substrate from newspaper to reptile carpet and maybe sand on one end. She has a lovely wooden hide/climb being built and a hammock on the way. Her previous owner used paper towels. Anyways, any and all advice will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Canicke]

and the adventure begins !! first - check out the links below - there is some super information put together by some of our members - really good stuff! not quite everything you ever wanted to know, but a darn good start ! to pick her up - slide your hand under her belly / chest - don't come down from the top (like birds of prey do) try picking her up inside the viv. see how she does with it. if she's skittish - back off and we'll take a different approach. if she's ok - take her out of the viv. then hold her on your chest. try slowly. I would give her a couple days to get used to being held before you try the water. some beardies love the water, some - not so much. when you try water - again : slowly. some like more confined areas (like a sink) others prefer open areas (like a bathtub) start with shallow water and just put her little feets in it. warm to the touch - like testing a bottle for a baby. please don't use sand - too many problems. carpet, paper towels, tile. it's great that she eats her veggies (please see links below) she will probably need some calcium supplementation. she will probably need some protein - she looks to be a pretty good size so im guessing adult - any idea of how old she is? dubias and super worms are good. there are other bugs too (again - see below) Don't wait for her to wave - my boy never has. excited for you

 

[KrissyLeigh]

Aw poor baby! I'm so glad you found her!!!

Dandelion and collard greens are super easy to grow, and make a great base diet, supplemented with other greens. Turnip greens, mustard greens, riddichio, and yellow squash are fan favorites at my house.

After trying several substrates, nonadhesive shelf liner is my number one choice. Easy to clean, cheap, lightweight, and comes in all patterns / colors. I feel reptile carpet is too difficult to clean - plus harbors bacteria and is more expensive.

Good luck!!!

 

[rubythepunkrockdragon]

Thank you so much for the replies! Ruby is three years old. I gave her turnip greens and she gave me dirty looks right before she pooped on them. Apparently she doesn't like them. However, she absolutely loves broccoli and cauliflower! She's eating about 70 large mealworms at a sitting. Is this too many? Yesterday, she chased and gobbled up eleven large crickets.

 

[PatsyB]

Good for you for rescuing her. Here is a link to great food options. Meal worms are not a great bug to feed because they are high in chitlin. Supers are good, hornworms, silk worms, BSFL, dubia roaches. Also, broccoli and cauliflower aren't good to feed. As far as the bath goes, fill the tub with warm water, like you are bathing a baby, and put her in. Only put water up to her shoulders and watch her closely, don't leave her unattended and make sure she doesn't put her head under the water.

For coming from a bad situation she doesn't look that bad in your photos.