Worried

[Smitty]

Hi all
I have just recently adopted/rescued a beardie. He is approximately 3 years old.
I am worried about his health.
He wakes up every morning with "sticky eyes", I am working on this with tobramycin eye drops, its helping so far.
My biggest concern is his energy level and his lack of appetite.
The previous owners only fed him superworms. they said he was eating Kale but from this pictures she sent me, all it was was a bowl of dried up Kale that didn't seem to be touched.
I am managing to get him to eat 3 maybe 4 superworms in the evening but that is it. No kale, no veggies, no fruits.
I have been syringing some mashed up raspberry mixed with water on the top of his nose and he will drink the juice as it falls, he will get some into him before he is done and moves away (better than nothing I supposed)
and another concern I have is that he is lethargic or maybe lazy? He doesn't move much. He will lift up his head, climb up on his log, walk around the bed that sort of thing but not much energy.
I am a first time beardie owner, I have previously owned an Iguana and an newt, and currently own a leopard gecko
Anyone can help me, advice? tips?

 

[baldegale14]

Hi all
I have just recently adopted/rescued a beardie. He is approximately 3 years old.
I am worried about his health.
He wakes up every morning with "sticky eyes", I am working on this with tobramycin eye drops, its helping so far.
My biggest concern is his energy level and his lack of appetite.
The previous owners only fed him superworms. they said he was eating Kale but from this pictures she sent me, all it was was a bowl of dried up Kale that didn't seem to be touched.
I am managing to get him to eat 3 maybe 4 superworms in the evening but that is it. No kale, no veggies, no fruits.
I have been syringing some mashed up raspberry mixed with water on the top of his nose and he will drink the juice as it falls, he will get some into him before he is done and moves away (better than nothing I supposed)
and another concern I have is that he is lethargic or maybe lazy? He doesn't move much. He will lift up his head, climb up on his log, walk around the bed that sort of thing but not much energy.
I am a first time beardie owner, I have previously owned an Iguana and an newt, and currently own a leopard gecko
Anyone can help me, advice? tips?

based on previous reptiles owned im assuming the husbandry (UVB/heat) is proper. first things first is id try and get a fecal if possible. try some bee pollen on greens too to see if he takes it and switch up the greens maybe


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[Smitty]

Well, I can't say it would be perfect as again, Beardies are certainly much different to care for.
So right now I am using just a mercury vapor bulb which leaves the warm side of the tank at about 93-95 and the cool side is around 80-85---daytime
I use a ceramic heater in the nighttime and tank sits at around 70-75 throughout the night
the previous owner used this as well as a uvb bulb, problem is, she left that uvb bulb on ALL the time, night and day, poor thing didn't have a hide and was in the light 24 hrs a day, which is why we think his eyes are bad but they are slowing getting better.
Please note, we have only had him rescued since last Saturday MArch 9th so this is a work in progress.
I just want to get him healthy again. I have been reading as much as I can on this but thought chatting with some of you all would help

 

[Smitty]

what is another good green to try? Keeping in mind, I live in a remote area and have limited access for the short term but will get what I need to get for him

 

[baldegale14]

what is another good green to try? Keeping in mind, I live in a remote area and have limited access for the short term but will get what I need to get for him

a different uvb is needed, you need a tube t5ho UVB. temps are okay but the basking spot needs to be 100-110°f. try collard greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens, spaghetti squash (cut up)


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[Smitty]

so I should have another uvb light on along with the mercury vapor bulb?

 

[baldegale14]

so I should have another uvb light on along with the mercury vapor bulb?

MVB isn’t really necessary when you have /proper/ UVB


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[baldegale14]

youll want dedicated basking and UVB


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[mamaof2dragons]

you dont need additional uvb bulb if your using a mvb bulb. what is your wattage on the mvb? you may need to use the ceramic heat emitter during the day as well to get your temps up a bit more. ideally you want your hot/basking area at 100 to 105 with the cooler side at about 85 and night temps at about 70 to 75. I've used the mvb bulbs and find they are a great choice and it's nice not having to replace bulbs every 6 months...cost effective as well and provides the right kind of uvb and uva lighting.
as for greens look for collard greens as a good staple and add mustard greens and shredded carrots, chopped green beans ,shredded turnips are good too. try blueberries from your hand as they roll around it fools the beardie into thinking it's a round bug! also try butter worms, hornworms, silk worms, dubias roaches ( if you can get them where you live, some states won't allow them like florida) try to stay away fro meal worms and super worms as a rule because the hard exoskeleton is hard to digest and causes impaction. black soldier fly larvae is also good. be sure to dust with calcium and add a multivitamin at least twice a week. and definitely get him checked for parasites this is important to do at least once a year but preferably twice.
good luck and keep us posted. I hope all goes well for you, I know how challenging a rescued dragon can be especially when they didn't have proper care previously, my spike was a rescue and he had problems with his health because of this, like gout and low grade bacterial infections that often required medication but he was worth it to me. I had him for 4 years before we lost him to an infection that he just couldn't beat this time.
So thank you for rescuing your beardie.

 

[Smitty]

Thanks so much for your reply.
I have been doing SO much reading and research as I just want him to get better.
So good news, last night he ate 10 superworms and 3 pieces of dandelion greens ! This is HUGE for him. I know there are other staple worms he should be fed but unfortunately he has only ever been fed superworms as those are the only kind we can get besides mealworms here.
I am, however, raising some mealworms for our gecko and have been told that Beardies can eat the beetle form of mealworms so that is my next try !
Regarding his eyes.........
So I have been reading up on the heat/light/uvb etc. and have come to find out that the compact/coil uvb lights are very harmful to them. I don't use that light (I use a MVB and ceramic heat) but everything I read tells me that this is probably what has caused his bad eyes. the unfortunate part of this is.....the previous owner had the compact/coil light on him 24 HOURS A DAY !! never shut it off and on top of that, he didn't have a HIDE big enough to fit in, nor did he have a basking spot ! Oh my heart.
Well he now has a hide, no coil light, eye drops twice a day and a nice basking box with reptile carpet on top to make him quite comfy (I hope)
My biggest fear is that he has permanent eye damage, but they do seem to be getting better. He was "wide eyed and bushy tailed" after his drops this morning. (keep in mind its only been day 2 of drops)

 

[Smitty]

youll want dedicated basking and UVB


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ok so the basking would be the MVB and I should get a tube uvb as well?

 

[Jacob melanistic]

heat pads work great.

 

[mamaof2dragons]

when using an mvb bulb you dont have to use the tube uvb as they get it from the mvb. but I don't see that it would cause any problems though.