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  1. #1
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    Question on appetite and shedding for leatherbacks

    Ok guys, so my better half decided a bit ago to bring in a bearded dragon. This is a mystery age, not well cared for adult leatherback.
    We got her in the cage she lived in, a 20g long sized wooden enclosure, no cover on the heat lamp (or temp controller) and no uvb. Not sure of anything other than they had her Atleast a year I’d guess. She was very skinny (we have a feeding log and weight log but I’m not close to it until later tonight, but she’s kinda chunky now in comparison lol.

    Anyways, this is maybe relevant because.
    2 weeks ago she dropped a ton of eggs, all looked pretty healthy, but she had no interest in food about 2 weeks before. Now, the next week, she’s shedding. I’m not super familiar with leatherback beardies, but the tip of her tail was missing when we got her, doesn’t seem to be infected. I’m concerned that she will lose more of it, how can we better protect that. I’m also concerned because she is now constantly hungry. I’m hoping its just the eggs and now shedding, but she’s been eating like 6 large roaches a week, and just crushed 4 like she’s never seen food. She’s been eating greens through all of this time, but only just wanted the roaches again. My so is worried about maybe worms, but again I think it’s just she’s had a tough few weeks.

    Should I soak her, with she’d ease or just water? Should we limit roaches or feed her till she refuses more? We’ve done our research but I’m really just wanting to confirm weve done the right research.

    She’s obviously been to the vet since we got her, and the better half works at one so we can go again if needed.


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  2. #2
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    Re: Question on appetite and shedding for leatherbacks

    Quote Originally Posted by Solidsnek View Post
    Ok guys, so my better half decided a bit ago to bring in a bearded dragon. This is a mystery age, not well cared for adult leatherback.
    We got her in the cage she lived in, a 20g long sized wooden enclosure, no cover on the heat lamp (or temp controller) and no uvb. Not sure of anything other than they had her Atleast a year I’d guess. She was very skinny (we have a feeding log and weight log but I’m not close to it until later tonight, but she’s kinda chunky now in comparison lol.

    Anyways, this is maybe relevant because.
    2 weeks ago she dropped a ton of eggs, all looked pretty healthy, but she had no interest in food about 2 weeks before. Now, the next week, she’s shedding. I’m not super familiar with leatherback beardies, but the tip of her tail was missing when we got her, doesn’t seem to be infected. I’m concerned that she will lose more of it, how can we better protect that. I’m also concerned because she is now constantly hungry. I’m hoping its just the eggs and now shedding, but she’s been eating like 6 large roaches a week, and just crushed 4 like she’s never seen food. She’s been eating greens through all of this time, but only just wanted the roaches again. My so is worried about maybe worms, but again I think it’s just she’s had a tough few weeks.

    Should I soak her, with she’d ease or just water? Should we limit roaches or feed her till she refuses more? We’ve done our research but I’m really just wanting to confirm weve done the right research.

    She’s obviously been to the vet since we got her, and the better half works at one so we can go again if needed.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Sorry for the late response. Hopefully you was able to get most if not all of your questions answered by now. But this is what I would suggest:

    It is common to find beardies, especially those who were once housed with other beardies as babies, to have nipped tails. If infected, it come tail rot which spreads from the nail or even nipped toes, to the rest of the body, and it becomes fatal if the dead tissues are not stopped by removal. One way to tell if your beardie has tail rot is to slightly bend its tail. If it springs back into place or responds with movement, it is not tail rot. If it is hard, stiff and shrunken, you may have tail rot and a vet visit is required asap to surgically remove the tail. A dirty tail (very common) or a tail that is darker than the other areas is normal.

    Leatherbacks shedding is not troublesome depending on the degree of its lack of scales. Most shed okay without issues. Humid hides are not recommended for beardies but a weekly soak helps remove any shed that remained and some say it helps keep them hydrated. I only soak biweekly or so but weekly is what most beardie owners recommend.

    Feed as much as your lizard will eat in 15 min (about 50 insect feeders a week) until her weight gain becomes an issue. Some beardies love food, others know when to stop. Too many insects and it may start to refuse salads. You will have to try and see what works for the both of you.

    Lastly, my concern for her is MBD. Was she tested for MBD? She needs confirmation from bloodwork as well as xrays. If she has MBD, no matter how little, she needs to be on a regiment of calcium injections from the vet or need additional calcium supplement doses.

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