Sleeping Dragon Question from 1st Time Mom

[Dolomites Mom]

So Dolomite is a little over a year. In the past few weeks he has decided to snuggle up to me & then fall asleep and when I move him back to the enclosure he sleeps for a few days. He is not super hungry when he wakes up but still enjoying his carrot tops and some worms. He gets fed fresh veggies & live foods. He is enjoying his baths when awake too. He hangs out in the windows getting fresh sun light when I do things around the house.

These are few shots of him.

Is this normal? Should I take him to the vet to check him out? Thanks for any advice!

 

[Dolomites Mom]

No he should be basking for at least 4 hrs per day - what kind of lighting do you have in the tank --- can you post pics of his tank and lighting to see what is going on here
kaylyn

Thank you for any advice. This is him currently. Been asleep for two days in his panda. The jungle rope has the UB light & the fake limb has his red & white heat lights. In next weeks he is getting a upgrade to a larger enclosure. No sand and the black specks are from the rope.

 

[The Lizard Lady]

^ I second all of this! Beautiful baby

 

[Dolomites Mom]

Thank you for the advice. I am digesting the info and making the changes. Right now he is in his outside enclosure getting some sun. We don’t use pesticides & I can monitor him so it’s a very safe. He is stretched out & awake. I do live in a area that is one of the top vet school in the world (they have saved so many of my pets including a dog with leukemia) & if he is not feeling better in next few days I will take him in.

Going to do some amazon shopping right now to see how we can meet his needs better.

 

[Dolomites Mom]

Thanks for all the advice...on Sunday I decided to take little man into the vets. They called in the exotic department and all the students were super excited to treat a dragon.

They kept him for the afternoon & took X-rays and did a physical. Nothing showed on X-ray but we decided to do antibiotics & parasite treatments.

48 hours later & he is doing much better! We are still adjusting his enclosure and have some big plans for his space.

Thank you for the advice & education.

 

[Dolomites Mom]

Well I spoke too soon. On a review of the X-ray by the top exotic doctors this morning they decided that fluid was built up in his abdomen. I am taking him back in about a hour to do a ultrasound and see about next steps. Hopefully it’s a treatable situation.

 

[Ashleybell]

Hope he is ok. They make you worry an awful lot. Ive had toothless 2 weeks now and every day i have been stressed about something. I did extensive research before i took on a dragon as i know they need specialist care etc. We have always as a family wanted one but never the right time and toothless a 3 year old male came to us and i love him dearly but god i worry about him. He was from a breeder so thought he will be good but he has not been looked after and he is still adjusting to us. I hope your little dragon is ok and whatever it is is treatable. X

 

[Dolomites Mom]

We have decided to give him a special food called Emeraid IC twice a day...it’s a goo type thing that I coax him to take. Also, he is on a antibiotic & anti inflammatory. Doing this until Friday when we do a recheck.

Hopefully we will have a clear improvement and not declining in weight. He enjoyed a bath this morning but did not actually drink but a good soak.

He looked at his food and watched it wiggle and even tasted it but did not actually eat the food.

Doing one hour at a time.

 

[Ashleybell]

Best of luck poor thing. Hope he recovers well soon. X

 

[Debbie L Magnin]

Get rid of the sand!!!! upgrade to a high intensity basking light 100 watts get rid of the red light.

 

[Debbie L Magnin]

Use terrarium matting

 

[Debbie L Magnin]

I pray your baby gets better

 

[Drogo]

Get rid of the sand!!!!

where are you seeing sand?

 

[Debbie L Magnin]

Sorry i misunderstood. I just reread the post.

 

[Dolomites Mom]

We are still doing one day at a time. He is taking the medication & the food I force feed him in the plunger. He has been eating some vegetables put out...offering lots of different kinds because any food is better than no food.
One bath a day to stay hydrated & keep digestion going.
He has had three bowel movements in past three days so that means he is getting some sort of food.
Unfortunately we leave town next week but I am searching desperately for a person who has experience taking care of Beardie Dragons.

 

[Dolomites Mom]

We are still doing good. Has perked us greatly and has even taken a few live mealworms. He is getting “plumper” and is very alert & curious. I have been fanatical about his care for two weeks and things are looking up thank goodness! Today he showed me his sexy pose but you can see his legs are well hydrated.

 

[Dolomites Mom]

The lights all got changed out. I covered his climbing rock that’s under the basking light in a towel because I think the rock was getting way too hot. He is spending much more time under the light now without gaping. Using the infrared thermal temp gun to make sure temps are good.

I am giving him a wide variety of foods. Sweet potatoes, plums, kale & green apple purée, green beans, broccoli, sweet peas, carrots, carrot tops,kale, corn, strawberry, dates, butter nut, squash, regular squash. All organic and changed out daily on a rotation. Mealworms, crickets, super worms, wax worms.

I know some of that is not good for long term but the wax worms have lots of fat & water and the vet said anything is better than nothing.

I take a picture in the AM so I know later what he ate.

 

[Ashleybell]

Really glad to hear he is doing better thats great news. Xx

 

[Beertruck]

Excellent! Glad to see he is doing well!!

 

[Dolomites Mom]

So we are still doing well. He went and stayed a a veterinarian techs home for 10 days because we had to leave town. He took his meds great but not too much solid food. He really loves baby food turns out being fed in a plunger & did not poop for a week.

He came home last night and I gave him a bath and he proceeds to poop within 5 mins and ate a ton of vegetables. Spoiled boy took advantage of the babysitter.

Working on the nutritional food list that y’all sent me and figuring out a doable permanent schedule for his foods.

He is looking strong & happy & content to be home and I love him although he took advantage of the babysitter big time.