Sick rescue Beardie.

[Raevyn]

Hello,
I am new to the group. We have had a bearded dragon for about 7 months now and he is doing great.

Today I picked up a beardie from my local animal shelter to foster him back to health.
He now has all the proper lighting, calcium supplements and even some of the rescue stuff for anorexic beardies.

He seems to have a hard time getting his food. He chases the crickets, but misses. It is almost as if he has the instincts, but never figured out how to hunt.
He is the same with his veggies. He tries to get them in his mouth, but can't. We have been feeding him with tweezers. He has a great appetite. Always enthusiastic about eating.
He is active and his eyes are bright. He is in much better shape than he was 2 weeks ago when he was dropped off at the shelter, he was almost dead. He is super skinny and very dull.
I don't know if he has pooped recently, the shelter cleans up so fast, so I have not seen poo from him. He just got to my house today.

I am curious if I am doing all I can to make him better. I wanted to ask people that have more experience with these guys than me.

Thank you!

 

[PatsyB]

Sounds like you are doing a good job! I would maybe do some daily baths for a little while and try to get him to drink some water and get him hydrated. He looks like a sweetheart

 

[Raevyn]

He is a total sweetheart. Such a big personality. I just could not leave him behind. He is awesome.
Thank you for the advice! I was not sure on the baths, but we will start tomorrow.

 

[Canicke]

If he's been deprived of the food for awhile he may need to really gain some strength. My male seems to have depth perception problems – he has to try to or three times to get worms and dubias. Give him some time. PS – good for you!

 

[Mushuandcricket]

I am so happy you adopted this guy. Poor fellow he is in good hands now.

 

[Zilladragon23]

Kudos to you for taking him in and giving him a second chance, poor guy he's luck to have you! The only advice I can offer, being that I am new to the wonderful world of beardies, is to try bathing him with 50 % water 50% pedialyte. This will help him with dehydration, and definitely won't hurt to try. If he's dehydrated he'll most likely be much weaker and might be the cause of him having trouble catching his food. The pedialyte is something that was mentioned to me by a very experienced owner and breeder. I wish you the best of luck with your sweet little guy.

 

[Raevyn]

I have an update. After a few days of hand feeding and baths and the right lighting. I am happy to report that I am already seeing an improvement. He is picking up his feet and standing tall instead of just laying around with his feet in weird positions. He is actively trying to catch his crickets and succeeding sometimes. I have even caught him basking upright with his mouth open. He is more active, but still loves to lay on your shoulder and cuddle. He is even getting some color. Last week I had no idea there would be yellow around his eyes...

I know it takes awhile to see progress in reptiles. But I am amazed at what just a few short days will do with the right care. I think he is going to make it.
And I have a feeling he will not make it back to the shelter for adoption. Oops...

Thank you all for the help and advice!!!

 

[Canicke]

yay !!!!

 

[Nichole1228]

That is great news!! He's looking good!!!!

 

[PatsyB]

That's great news!

 

[Noella]

Kudos.

 

[jarich]

Very good news, he was looking pretty rough before. Im sure he will continue to brighten up for you as he gets better. Imagine what he is going to look like after that first shed!

Thats a good looking salad by the way, great variety and colour variation. My only one suggestion might be to shred the 'thicker' vegetables like the squash for awhile. The cactus fruit is pretty easy to mash up but the denser ones might be a little harder on him for the first little while.

 

[Mushuandcricket]

I am so glad he is doing better! Please keep us posted with the progress.

 

[Raevyn]

Everything has been going well with Korky. Today he is a little slower and he is back to the pale coloring he was at when we first brought him home. (Or she, I can't really tell.)
His poop today was runnier than it has been the last few days. I am taking a fecal into the vet tomorrow and if she does not know what is up I will ask if I can make an appointment for the reptile vet. (Since he is still legally owned by the humane society).

He does seem to be able to catch his own food a lot better than he has been. This might just be a little setback. I am sure things will perk up again soon.

 

[Raevyn]

Thank you Jarich for the advice on the salad. I did not think of that.

 

[Raevyn]

Here is a pic of Korky today. His color came back up after some handling and love. He seems ok now.

And here is a pic of Korky's underside... I can't determine sex like I can on our other one. What do you think?

 

[Zilladragon23]

Looks like a boy from that angle, but you would have to have the tail going straight up from the base to really get a good look.

 

[Zilladragon23]

So happy to see him doing so well, btw! Seems your doing fantastic with him!

 

[Raevyn]

He is doing so amazingly well. We have decided to officially adopt him. There is no way I can give him back to the shelter. But I knew that was going to happen.
He is finally feeding himself from his food dish in his cage. He still prefers to be hand fed.

Last night he was feeling all feisty and wanted to run, so the kids let him run all over their bedroom floor (Blocking the places he didn't need to be) And he did great.
He is getting used to the other animals in the house. He really likes Sampson, our one eyed Persian cat.

Thank you for all the support!

 

[Zilladragon23]

That's fantastic! Great news