Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was at a pet store buying crickets and saw a very sick bearded dragon in a tiny enclosure. I mentioned him to one of the employees and she said they know he was sick but were out of ideas on how to help him. Long story short he was dumped at the store because some kids had poked stuff in his eyes. He is only about 8 inches long and you can see every bone in his bady. They were force feeding him Jumpstart but it had an iguana on it so I'm not sure if that was good for him. They were also force feeding him electrolights and vitimin supplements with D3. They were washing his eyes with Turtle wash to try to keep them moist because he can't seem to open his eyes. First off they only had a heat lamp and no where to cool down and no UV. The tank was barely as long as he is. They gave him to me hoping I can save him. So far I've begun giving him gator aid and chicken baby food. He has heat and UV, a cool spot and a warm spot. I also have an undertank heater for when I turn off the lights. I have a towel over it so he can't burn himself. I've only had him 2 days. Yesterday he just layed flat all day but does have the strength to stuggle when I feed him. Today he's been up as much as down and moving about the tank. I haven't tried to do anything with his eyes....I think the turtle wash may have irritated them even more. I know he needs to go to the vet. Someone today just gave me a name of a herp vet in my area....they a nrealy impossible to find!
What else can I do for him? How often does he need to be fed and how much? I am using a tiny syringe....I used to feed baby birds so I'm not afraid of drowning him.

Since you've got to hand feed try this

1 part repcal juvie pellet (powdered in coffee grinder)
1 part veal (or chicken) babyfood
dusts
enough pedialite (better than gatoraid) to make it soupy
nuke it for 30 sec.
add more pedialite if you need to
feed with a needless syringe, a drop on the nose and they'll usually lick it off and then put another drop on

Keep doing what you're doing and get him to a vet as soon as you can.
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Heart Mountain Herps

Thanks for the recipe! I'll get to the store ASAP.

i suggest feeding the mix 2-3 times a day. also, take him to the vet to check the eyes. the turtle wash may have caused problems, but if the kid who owned it before was sticking stuff into the dragon's eyes, they could be punctured or infected, and that would need a vet's care.
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PHLdyPayne

Thankyou, that was the rest of the info I needed. I had planned on taking him to the vet Mon. if he's still around. I don't mean for that to sound uncaring but I had originally given him a day or so to live but he's a fighter. Mon. is my earliest day off. He actually seems to be stronger today. He's moving around quite a bit, in and out of his basking spot. I don't THINK his eyes are puntured because the store employees said they'd seen him open them once or twice and they actually saw relatively normal eyes in there but they could be infected. He has actually spent a good portion of the day today standing up like a young dragon should.

don;t know where you live, but here are some vet resources for you. If you have an ARAV vet in your area (even if a bit of a drive) I would see her/him. I really hope this little fella makes it! If the pet store knows who the kids are I wonder if they can report them to a local humane/herp society. Porbably not much can be done to kids, but this sort of crap really burns me :-[

The Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV)
www.arav.org/
Articles and listings of vets in your area

Vet listings by state
www.anapsid.org/vets/index.html#vetlist

Vet Connection
www.herpvetconnection.com/
Real people experiences - has state listing

lele

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Please be careful of the heat mat. You said you had a towel over it. You also said the dragon was starting to move around. He can very very easily get under the towel and burn.

Just made me nervous to read that.

Thank you for the work you're doing.

Maleea

Thanks for the concern with this guy. I thought about him getting under the towel. The heat mat is actually on the outside of the tank and I've been checking it periodically to make sure the glass isn't hot. (It's not that powerful of a mat either) It's just kinda warm. I know it's too early to tell but he seems to be feeling better....even his skin looks a tiny bit more hydrated and he's spend more of the day up then down flat. I'm encouraged....I may get brave and give him a name.