Stubborn and Dehydrated — The Battle To Make A Thirsty Dragon Drink Water

[amethyst-moon]

Hello Everyone, I’m new to this forum. I’ve owned my beardie, Basil, since he was twelve weeks old and he will be turning four this spring. The past week and a half, he has been showing tell tale signs of dehydration (saggy skin) and I have been giving him two baths a day, coming to about thirty - forty minutes in total. He has a large bowl of water in his enclosure, as well, and I have been putting water on his veggies that I can sometimes trick him into eating a few bites of by mixing his leafy greens with super worms. He has a very stubborn attitude, and has been absolutely refusing to drink. I’ve tried wiggling my finger in his water (which usually does the trick) and dropping it onto his snout, and I’m starting to worry that I’m gonna have to get a small needless syringe to force him to take in fluids — maybe even pedialite. I don’t like doing that, because I get nervous about hurting him when I have to open his mouth. Overall, he is his normal self. Lazy, occasionally explorative, cuddly, and bug motivated. I was able to get him to lap up a few sips of water tonight, but then he was done and that is the most he’s had in the past week and a half. He usually will drink like he’s been water deprived for seven years when he’s thirsty, so I’m not sure what his issue is right now. He had a pinkish tinge to his urate tonight, which is also a sign of dehydration. Any suggestions? Thoughts? Please help

 

[HoomanSlave]

Be careful with the baths, because excessive bathing can dry out his scales. When he does drink, don't let him drink a lot at once because he can aspirate.

One great way to hydrate beardies is to offer hornworms and other squishy worms. They have a high moisture content and most beardies love them. If you continue to mist down his salads daily, bathe him weekly, and provide high moisture insects once or twice a week, you might be able to get away with him refusing to get water in a conventional way.

A common issue among reptile keepers is that their reptiles refuse to drink from standing water. The easiest way to get them to drink is to gently mist them and the plants in the enclosure. You can also try adding a little bit of plain, organic fruit juice to his water. Gradually reduce the amount of juice in the water until he's drinking normally.

Because he has gone without water for so long, he may need to see a vet to get a dose of fluids. Heavy doses of parasites are often linked to dehydration, so a fecal test would be helpful.