Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased a MHD from a breeder at a reptile show a couple of weeks ago and was told that he used a standing-water dish to drink from and would only eat approx. two or three superworms every three days. He said that sometimes he would eat them, and sometimes he would not, but he seemed very healthy when I purchased him. He did not eat for a few days after I purchased him, but I thought that it was because of the stress of being introduced to a new home. He soon began to show signs of dehydration. He was bathing in his dish regularly but I never saw him drink, so I began to give him water to drink from a medicine dropper. He accepts water very well this way and drinks quite a lot, I just have to get the first drip between his lips so he tasts what it is. I have purchased an aquarium air stone to put in his dish so he will drink. My main concern is his eating. He refuses to eat anything on his own including mealworms, giant mealworms, superworms, wax worms, and earthworms. I have to either expose the "guts" of the superworms and giant mealworms and put them into his mouth, or cut a nightcrawler into pieces and put them into his mouth using tweezers.I have been doing this every other day and once I put the first piece into his mouth, he will usually accept the other pieces readily, but I hate to have to do this to him. If I do not, I am quite sure that he will starve. His favorite food items are the nightcrawlers, and I will continue to provide these, but he needs some variety.He usually eats one nightcrawler or three or four giant mealworms at one time. How can I entice him to eat on his own? Any help will be gretly appreciated!

Aubrey

Hi there.... I'm not sure about the eating problem, but your MHD needs moving water to bathe in and drink from. A really inexpensive way to do this is to go to your local pet store and buy a small litter pan, an aquarium air pump, and some airline tubing. Cut a small hole in the side of the pan. Attach the tubing to the pump, then slip the other end of the tubing into the hole and in the water. It worked for me, anyway. My MHD wouldn't drink from the water until it was bubbling. Good luck!

Kali

Hi, and welcome
Please ask any ?? you may have

For me, Erowne does not drink very often at all, sometimes she will lick a drop off a plant or her stick, and every Once i a while she will dunk her head under and swirl it around (as if she were chasing the fish, but her mouth has water in the back of it when she raises her head)
and Erowne was difficult to feed by hand, she would, but it worked easier if I put the worms on the towel and they moved for her (and give her time to see them)
and since I put a feed dish in her tank, she eats a lot more frequently
I vary the diet by providing hamstrung crickets (missing part of back legs so they cannot jump) or meal worms with a bit of their feed stuff, or nightcrawlers in some dirt in the bottom of a dish in her tank
I have a string with a link to my Pics called (does this link work) or something like that, and there is a pic of the food dish
otherwise, have U had her checked or treated for Parasites?
Just a thoguht
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Elizabeth (ecb)

Make this world a better and more beautiful place that You have been in it
*Edward W Bok*

You say you bought it from a breeder. Is this to say that this is a captive bred MHD? Could you let us know who the breeder was is this is the case? There aren't many out there and I would be interested in knowing who else has captive bred as I have more requests than I am able to satisfy!

As for the eating, I agree with what has already been offered as advice. And whether or not he is in fact captive bred he should be checked for parasites. I would make a fecal exam the first order of business for any newly aquired reptile, captive hatched or wild caught.

Good luck, welcome to the forum, and I hope we hear much more from you.

Marcia

You say you bought it from a breeder. Is this to say that this is a captive bred MHD? Could you let us know who the breeder was is this is the case? There aren't many out there and I would be interested in knowing who else has captive bred as I have more requests than I am able to satisfy!

As for the eating, I agree with what has already been offered as advice. And whether or not he is in fact captive bred he should be checked for parasites. I would make a fecal exam the first order of business for any newly aquired reptile, captive hatched or wild caught.

Good luck, welcome to the forum, and I hope we hear much more from you.

Marcia

Thank you to everyone who has helped me with my dragon! I will try putting some nightcrawlers in a dish or on a towel for him again and see if he will eat them. He actually snapped his Giant mealworms (5 of them) out of the tweezers last night instead of me having to put them into his mouth! Even though the guts were exposed via the heads being removed, I still feel that it was some progress. He seems to be settling in to his new home quite well. On the subject of the breeder whom I purchased him from, he is a breeder/keeper of snakes and some lizards, but he does not breed MHDs. He supposedly purchased the dragon from someone who told him that it was captive bred, but I do not know the name of the original breeder. I am well aware that he may have been falsely informed about my dragon's origin, but I am quite sure that he is telling the truth as he knows it. I may be able to find the name of the original breeder when I go to the next show, but untill then, I will just have to go by what I am told. He seems quite hand tame for being WC, so it is easy to believe that he was captive bred. As for the fecal exam, he had supposedly been vet-checked and dewormed before he was sold to me because the animals at these shows are supposed to be guaranteed healthy. I will take him to the reptile vet with my Blue-tongued Skink soon for a health assessment, since I take my BTS in annually for a check-up. Again, thank you for the help!

Aubrey

I know how that goes, you can only hope what you are told is the truth! I am glad to hear you plan to schedule a checkup regardless of his origin. As I am sure you know since you have your bts checked annually this is just a real good practice.

Marcia