Posted by:
-ryan-
at Sun Apr 23 10:36:27 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by -ryan- ]
just very poor diet. Trust me on this one, I dealt with this with my dragon (and am still dealing with it). If your dragon is still young, try to get him/her eating greens right away. Once they get older they're already pretty set in their ways and sometimes don't even recognize greens as a food source.
Captive husbandry of bearded dragons is really not that great anyway, so with out proper diet the dragon won't have any leg to stand on and it will deteriorate and fall victim to parasites and kidney/liver problems. That's what happened to mine, because I was stupid and believed everything everyone told me. Now I do my own thing, and the dragon that my vet told me was going to die about two years ago, is now healthier than he's ever been. I keep the basking temps between 110 and 130, and I keep him on dirt, which is watered frequently. That's actually the main cause of kidney failure and other renal failure related deathes with bearded dragons (which probably plays a role in the death of every bearded dragon kept in captivity). People figure they're from the desert and have to be kept as dry as possible, but really they need a gradient. they need areas of high and low humidity so they can regulate themselves. Keeping them in highly ventilated, super dry cages keeps them in a constant state of dehydration, and they are not built to handle that. In austalia they spend a lot of their time hiding in areas of higher humidity (underneath debris), to help retain moisture.
But I digress. I'd say make sure your dragon learns to eat his greens. Try witholding crickets/superworms for a week or two. If that doesn't help, get him checked for parasites. Most captive bearded dragons are so stressed out from dehydration, low temperatures, and handling that they become susceptible to parasites that they are built to be able to survive with (like pinworms).
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