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  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran Crowfingers's Avatar
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    Need advice about poor condition hatchling

    I have a very small, emaciated, dehydrated beardie that I am attempting to get to survive.
    What I know: he's from a bulk dealer and was sent to a chain pet store with much larger juveniles
    He is 3 grams with a body length of 2 inches and a total length of 5 inches.
    He has not eaten in a week - or at least not since the store received him Monday. They tried crickets, mealworms (live and dry), and wax worms- he has not had any suppliments
    On exam he is weak, emaciated, lethargic, and has at least one broken toe. His fecal was semi-formed and very small but no parasites were seen in it, though there wasn't much to look at (we send swabs to be tested for cripto). Eyes are bright, mouth / nose are clear of discharge. No mites are present and no retained shed.

    So far we have syringe fed recovery care slurry every 4 hours today and done several short soaks to bring up hydration levels. No meds have been prescribed yet. I got him home and set up in quarantine in a 20 gal long with the hot side temp regulated at 97.5*F and the cool side is room temp at 75.5*F. He has a CHE right now for heat and I need to get a UVB light tomorrow -(I only have the 6% shade-dweller lights). We have a supplement schedule of plain calcium carbonate daily, calcium with D3 3-4 days a week, and multivitamin twice a week. I use the zoomed brands of reptical and reptivite.

    My concern is that he's so weak that he doesn't move on his own much. He's on the warm side and has stayed there since I get him home at 8 without even readjusting his limbs. with him so weak would it be better to put him more in the middle of the temperature ranges, I don't want to dehydrate him after getting him back up. Also, any recommendations on food would be great, the recovery diet is a short term solution and isn't meant for long term use. Any tips an one this young in general is appreciated.

    I know his chances are bleak, but I hope that with low stress and TLC maybe he will bounce back. I don't 100% believe it is a failure to thrive case - no reputable breeder would ship such a young lizard and then keeping a hatchling in a "for sale" cage at the pet store probably made shipping stress sooo much worse. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
    No cage is too large - nature is the best template - a snoot can't be booped too much


  2. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Poor little guy...I've only had one experience with a beardie, a 6 mo. old rescue that was horribly constipated & starving after being kept on a diet of large crickets
    only, & that ate some of the wood shavings he was kept on in apparent desperation. His abdomen was swollen & his legs were skinny...he strained at times to defecate
    but nothing came out & he was weak. My vet suggested giving him a daily dose of mineral oil p.o. (which I did) but it was my hunch to soak him in mildly warm water
    in my bathtub, which he seemed to like. The combination finally paid off...the extra hydration helped him defecate- he actually did 3 humongous dumps in the bathtub
    on subsequent days, but during all his treatment I figured he needed a little nutrition also, nothing that would make his blockage worse but just something for energy,
    so I gave him some Gerber's baby food...fruit, veggies, chicken...didn't matter, he liked it & licked it from the spoon. Once his gut was empty he was very skinny, but
    he quickly went on to learn about all the good chow he'd been missing, & he was filled out & growing big in no time. Don't know that baby food is any better than the
    stuff you're giving this dragon, but that's all I can suggest from my limited experience. Maybe even some applesauce or mashed carrots. You want him to like it so
    he'll keep eating, feel better & want more. They do eat lots of veggies, have you offered any? Poor little dragon, I hope he makes it, he was probably bullied. (I'm
    sure you know, but young beardies have a "big mouth" but shouldn't be fed any crickets other than tiny ones- they cannot digest those back legs & get blocked up.)
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  3. #3
    BPnet Veteran Crowfingers's Avatar
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    Re: Need advice about poor condition hatchling

    I have been keeping fresh kale, collard greens, sweet potato in the cage with calcium dust at all time during the day. Just went out this am and got some veggie baby food. I have been able to use a trick I learned from feeding bats and get him to eat the "guts" of two mealworms as well. (I just pinch off the head and squeeze it like toothpaste and he laps it up). I also tried small crickets but he has no interest at all
    No cage is too large - nature is the best template - a snoot can't be booped too much


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    Bogertophis (05-30-2020)

  5. #4
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    I hope you get him eating. Mine liked the baby food so much that later when he had recovered & was snoozing on my shoulder, I was eating a bowl of ice cream that
    when he awoke, apparently looked to him like a bowl of baby food & he nearly jumped into my ice cream! Dragons are very personable & just a bit silly.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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    Can you get really small dubia roaches instead of crickets? The dubia could be put in a shallow smooth-sided bowl and just left in the enclosure, and even if one does escape they don't chew on lizard toes like crickets do.

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  9. #6
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    Can you post pics?

    First, your hot spot is too low. Make it hot at about 100-110F. Babies need these temps.

    Secondly, make sure not to feed insects that are larger than the space between its eyes. You can cause a fatal impaction by feeding too large of an insect. 1/4 size crickets may just be about right. Forget freeze-dried stuff. The prey needs to move and entice him to want to eat. Try hornworms too. Most pet stores would have a size of about a little less of an inch and that is fine. Hornworms are soft bodied so impaction is not an issue, it is very nutrious, high in calcium and lots of moisture. Lots of beardies love hornworms because of the color.

    Another nutrious food item is the fly larvae. I forgot the exact name, but they are sold online and usually not available at pet stores. They are small, black larvae with small sizes that should be okay for him to eat. I buy mine online from Mulberry Farm.

    The leg will need to be inspected by am experienced vet. I don't think surgery is a choice for a lizard this small and weak. But the vet may be able to do something for it that is less invasive and they can check for other issues that is not obvious at first.

    Supplement Calcium D3 every other day. Multi vitamins 3x a week until he starts eating on his own, then 2x.

    Strong UVB is necessary. For mesh lids, get a t5 UVB fluorescent fixture. Zoo Med has one around 24" long for a 20 gallon long. As the lizard gets bigger, you will need to upgrade to a bigger one. Forget the cheap coil bulbs. The bulb that I use is T5 HS Reptisun 10.0. There are other brands too so do some research, but use a T5 for lights on top of a mesh lid, T8 without lid.

    Once the temps and lighting are set up, you should see him a little more energetic. He should respond more to what's going on around him, and appetite should increase. It will take about 3-5 days to see changes. If all that is done and no appetite, he may be too far gone.

    Forget the veggies and salads for now. A typical baby beardie diet is 70% insects. For him, feed him insects for now until he starts eating on his own. Then you can add salads to his diet. He needs to grow and gain weight.

    Absolutely do NOT medicate unless an experienced vet determined so. Even deworming should be done only as necessary because of a high parasite load that is causing or contributing to his current symptoms. Destroying his gut flora may be too much for his body to handle at this time.

    Lastly, soak with Pedialyte. Try to add some Pedialyte in his food too.
    Last edited by Cheesenugget; 05-30-2020 at 08:19 PM.

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    How's your little one doing?
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  12. #8
    BPnet Veteran Crowfingers's Avatar
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    Re: Need advice about poor condition hatchling

    Thanks for all the advice, but he passed sunday (5/31). I think the pet store waited too long or he had something serious from birth.

    He never perked up even with increased temp and light. By Saturday night he wouldn't move at all on his own, and didn't really open his eyes even when touched or hearing noises.
    Last edited by Crowfingers; 06-03-2020 at 04:53 PM.
    No cage is too large - nature is the best template - a snoot can't be booped too much


  13. #9
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: Need advice about poor condition hatchling

    Quote Originally Posted by Crowfingers View Post
    Thanks for all the advice, but he passed sunday (5/31). I think the pet store waited too long or he had something serious from birth.

    He never perked up even with increased temp and light. By Saturday night he wouldn't move at all on his own, and didn't really open his eyes even when touched or hearing noises.
    So sorry he didn't make it- I was afraid of that, but at least you tried.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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  15. #10
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    Re: Need advice about poor condition hatchling

    Quote Originally Posted by Crowfingers View Post
    Thanks for all the advice, but he passed sunday (5/31). I think the pet store waited too long or he had something serious from birth.

    He never perked up even with increased temp and light. By Saturday night he wouldn't move at all on his own, and didn't really open his eyes even when touched or hearing noises.
    At least you tried. A good breeder or pet store would never stock such a small baby for sale. They can't compete with their bigger siblings, who will continue to hog up all the temps and food until the small ones perish. Not only that, some are born not to live that long. It is nature, and not uncommon in beardie babies, especially if the mom was bred constantly and not properly cared for.

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