Rehabbing a dragon

[andyroof1979]

i am fairly well expierenced with dragons and reptiles in general, i did expos for a living for a couple years and recently restarted my collection and breeding hobby...long....... long......... long...... story for another day., I am restarting from scratch hoping i have eggs in a couple weeks!

I have worked with more than a few dragons in my day but this one happens to be my girlfriends sons.
I have had Spike for 3 weeks now. When i took him on temporarilyto rehab he hadnt eaten anything for a couple weeks, never really ate his greens, and would only eat bugs if you put them in his mouth with tongs though he'd go get the occasional roach or hornworm . He is probably 4 and a half years old. Typically if an animal wont eat i would generally not try to rehab them. I have been doing baby food (squash, applesauce, and mangos and apples) for 2 and a half weeks and we finally have formed terds, albeit baby food colored....understandably. He looks a thousand times better but still has miles to go. I wanted to see if he'd live before i go taking him to the vet and dumping a couple few hundred on him.

I will get him to the vet next week to check for respertory issues and parasites and calcium/ bone density levels. Spike is uber friendly and i have even gotten a couple head bobs out of him the past few days. His husbandry was not up to par before. She told me he just stopped eating and moving one day, and that he used to eat some salad and his supers on his own.

Anyway, how do i get this lizard off the syringe and baby food? I am going to get some turkey for him tomorrow...i am sure it will be a while i am pumping babyfood into him. Ive managed to sneak a few greens in but i dont have time right now (very busy roofing) to play that game all day. So.. am i gonna be bottlefeeding this dude forever?

[jclaiborne]

Has he had UVB, what was his husbandry set up prior to you taking him and what is it like now? It really depends on how far gone he is. Could you post up some pictures.

[Pyrate81]

I'd say first step is get husbandry right. I don't have much experience with beards but have seen a couple lose their appetites and energy when temps are low and UVB is not proper. When she perks up from husbandry, you may find the dragon eating and such on its own.

[andyroof1979]

Spike is under a 160watt powersun. MVB, has a basking temp of 107, warm side runs 85-90, and cool side runs 75-80.

Prior to me he had poor uvb...(old bulbs) and inconsistent temps that I'm sure were to low. I've got my work cut out for me with him for sure. He is MUCH MUCH more active now, but still quite lethargic most of the time...i have been getting head bobs out of him after feeding the past week....that is honestly what keeps me working with him.

[andyroof1979]

[andyroof1979]

The last pic is him wanting more baby food....he does this in his cage when he wants bugs.

[ritche]

The last pic is him wanting more baby food....he does this in his cage when he wants bugs.

I don't know how your dragon is coming along, but you might also try ornacycline its for birds. I was told by someone it is good for reptiles. I gave some to mine and it seemed in a few days she was doing great. ....mix In with water...or baby food ...he may have been fed outside of his terrarium ....also petco sales a vitamin mix I think which helps stimulate eating habits..
god luck hope he gets better

[andyroof1979]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Unfortunately i had to put him down Friday night. He was no longer holding down his food.

I'm sure i could fix him but it would take months of work ...a few hours a day and loads of medicine.