Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my dragon monday night he was doing fine. last night he ate 20 or so crickets and now to day he was acting weird his arms and legs are shaking but he was walking around earlier is he ok are does any one know?????

please help!!!

thanks brandon

what size crickets for what size dragon?
what are your temps?
what size cage
what is substrate
what kind of calcium are you dusting the crickets with
have you had a fecal exam done?
Mat Price

the crickets were pinheads small
he is about 6 inches
in a 10 gallon for now
dont know the temp

you are kidding me right ?
you don't know the temperature the most vital factor in keeping this animal alive ?

you don't know whether or not it is 85 degrees in the tank or 150 ?

and calcium are you using it ?
does the dragon have a place to bask at least ? so that it can digest its food
whats on the cage floor

this is amazing

the temp in 92
yes he has a place to bask
some where that is shady

no way he can digest his food with that low of a temp is that temp on the basking spot or just ambient cage temp what is the temp on the cool side

THIRD TIME are you using calcium and what is on the cage floor

i have sand on the floor
i am using calcium

get the baskin temp up to 105-110 so the dragon can digest his food i would feed 1/4 inch cricketsor nothign bigger than space between his eyes or longer than the longest finger on his front feet pin heads are two small if they truly are pin heads. he needs a basking spot of 105-110 not the whole side of tank.

get the baskin temp up to 105-110 so the dragon can digest his food i would feed 1/4 inch cricketsor nothign bigger than space between his eyes or longer than the longest finger on his front feet pin heads are two small if they truly are pin heads. he needs a basking spot of 105-110 not the whole side of tank.

Whether calci sand from the pet store of play sand, he is too small to risk ingesting it and becoming impacted. please think about removing this, baby dragons are poor aims and get mouthfuls of sand when diving for crickets. Plain paper towels work best, easy to clean and help keep parasites and bacteria down the first few months when babies are more prone to them.

i know the risk of sand so when i feed him he eats in a diffeant tank.

Well, for starters you HAVE to dust with calcium, and they HAVE to have temps above 105 to digest or use the calcium. You need to get a thermometer and check those temps, can't guess it could be the difference between life and death. Are you using uvb lights for it?
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Mystical Dragons

i am dusting
i have a uv bulb and a heat bulb

the pet shop said that the temp had to between 90 to 100.
what should it be at.

OR if you can not tell, what was the price of it, that will tell us if it is UVB or just UVA

a vital part of it and you will have problems.

the baby must have 95-105 temps (small range above or below) to properly disgest his food, without it, he can not digest them and they will sit in his stomach, rot and cause pressure problems on the spine as gases build up.

Its a balance of proper size prey.... no bigger than the space between his eyes to the tip of his nose, right temps... 95-105 basking area, 80 on the cooler side of the enclosure, Dustings.... with calcium with Vit D3 several days a week when he is growing rapid, then tapered off..... Mineral and vitamin supplements.... Minerall is good.

Additional to get the best balance he needs to be offered fresh green salads of collards, mustard greens, dandelions, and other rich greens, romaine is okay in small amounts. He also needs rich veggies chopped very small, carrots, yellow squashes, green beans, snow pears, sweet potatoes, pumkin... at least two of the above greens and two of the veggies. You can change them around at times.

He also should have a UVB source, I beleive that this is vital to helping them grow, develop and properly absorb the calcium and other nutrients they get from their food.

For now, soak this baby in some slighty warm to you feeling water, not hot, your body temp is almost 99 degrees and if it feels normal or slightly warmer to you is perfect from him. If you have some mineral oil, olive oil or sweet oil, give him a few drops (2-3)to swallow, put it on your finger or an eye dropper and try to get him to taste it on his own. Do not force it into his mouth.

You can resoak him several times during the day and see if he can not get our what is in him and maybe spoiling.

If you can get him clear, do not feed him again without the proper heat so he can digest it. If he is not better, you need to take him to a vet and see what they can do it help him

Several points here:

FIRST to the people responding to this person, you are being very abrupt and even rude to a person who has come here asking for advice and help from you. Yes he his ignorant for the most part, were you an expert when you got your first dragon? Lighten up, the way you are answering these questions is not very helpful at all. Be annoyed with the human but think of the animal when you answer.

TEMP- Bearded dragons have two important mneeds when it comes to temp. No lower than say 70-75 degrees anywhere in the cage or enclosure and a nice hot basking spot where they can sit and digest. The dragon needs a spot of about 100-110 degrees so he can get his gut temp up to 90-100 to digest properly. There should be a range of temps in the cage, a cooler side in the bottom usually and the top with a limb or something they can climb up and down to regulate their temp by moving physically to where they feel comfy.

CALCIUM-Young dragons need a lot of calcium in their diet to grow healthy bones and the captive diet they get does not usually provide enough so dusting the CRICKETS before feeding them to the dragon will supplement their diet so they can grow healthy. They grow at an incredible rate in the first few months so this is very important or they can be deformed or even die.

FEEDING- Little guys need smaller food but LOTS of it. A good guideline is nothing bigger than the space between their eyes. Don't just feed crickets, it's good to get them into the habit of eating greens and veggies too and a lot easier on you than having to care for and provide live prey all the time. They should have fresh greens in the cage all the time to forage on and crickets a couple times a day (not too close to bed time as they will not have time to digest before the cool hours of the night. Keep a shallow water bowl in the cage, if they drink from it great. Many times they won't so you need to mist the dragon with a water spray to keep then hydrated once a day at least and it's also a good idea to spray their greens so they take in water when they eat them.
Over feeding crickets that are too big can result in pressure on nerves resulting in partial paralysis. This can be temporary or permanent depending on how severe.

SUBSTRATES- Also known as what's on the floor of the cage? Little guys are kind of crazy when trying to eat crickets and they can get huge mouthfuls of sand along with the cricket. They are yong and stupid and hungry and the sand can cause them to get blocked up in their guts and die. Put folded paper towels in the bottom and change them daily, it'll make for a cleaner and safer environment for your baby dragon till they grow some sense.

IN GENERAL: Bearded Dragon's are great pets but they have very specific needs as they are kind of wierd exotic and in some ways very primitive animals. There are many great resources online for info on care of them and once you get the really big important needs of the animal taken care of it will just come down to the small stuff.
I am sure the people who have responded to you did not mean to be cruel to you, they have the best interests of the animal at heart. They are super cool and sweet animals and after you've had one a while you will understand why they feel the way they do.

Don't hesistate to ask questions, that is the only way you will learn.

Quickbeam

i thank all of you for the help. i just want out and got a new and better thermometer that well tell me the basking stop temp and the cool side. The cool side is 79.0 that in where he is now sleeping. i do not know the basking because the ligt is off.

thank you.

Brandon

Let us know how he makes out tomorrow