Posted by:
BDlvr
at Sat Jun 23 10:33:02 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by BDlvr ]
Sorry can't help you with the snake.
But the Beardie I can as I have taken rescues myself.
First it would be helpful if you said how old he was since you know from one of yours. Plus his size and the size of yours from the same batch as you say.
As far as the crickets go I'd feed him twice a day at the same times. One I took in, would only eat them every other day at first because that was what she was used to. But, within a week she was eating a good amount of crickets at both feedings. She was only 8" and over six months old. But at the time I also had 2 from a breeder that were 10" and only 2 months old so she was way behind. Just to let you know how it worked out she is now the biggest in length and weight dragon I have.
I would recommend feeding him smaller crickets then you normally would at first if possible. I would also make sure that he is well hydrated. Use an eyedropper to drip water on his nose once or twice a day if he licks it continue until he stops. Also you could consider silkworms. They are soft bodied and the dragons really don't chew them much anyway.
My first concern is always Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD). This may be the cause of the missing teeth and deformed jaw. First I would make sure he has a good supply of UVB. A Zoo Med 10.0 running the length of his enclosure would be best. Second, I would supplement all of his meals with Calcium w/D3 (No Phosphorus or Vitamin A) and one live feeding a week with a multivitamin. I feel RepCal has the best products for this. I would even lightly dust his salad until he starts eating a larger volume of crickets. Keep in mind that MBD affects all of the dragons systems including digestion etc. You might consider taking him to the vet and discussing calcium injections if he does not respond quickly. You should also consider having a vet do a fecal as the stress of a bad environment can cause normal parasite loads to dramatically increase.
Here is some reading on MBD.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/MBD.html
Here is a list of good greens and vegs. I'd stick with the green items for now and maybe a little fruit for the sugar content.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
It would be helpful if you could post a pic.
If he's under a year I'll bet he'll catch up if he aclimates well in the next few weeks to a month. No way to know about life span, time will tell.
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RE: rescued a beardie please help - BDlvr, Sat Jun 23 10:33:02 2007
