Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted here about a week ago regarding a bearded dragon that I was getting as a rescue that had mbd and had broken all of it's wrists. Well, I got the sad news yesterday that he died. Apparently he was worse off than anyone thought. I was VERY upsetting to me. I was really looking forward to giving him a good home. I decided at that point to go ahead and buy a baby from a local breeder, which I don't usually do, since I have such a weak spot for the sad cases. Anyway, the breeder had this one little guy (or gal) that has a kink in his back and has trouble running without tipping over. I fell in love!!! I decided to name him Trip. He is very pretty with orange coloration. He is only about 3-4 inches long, so I will have plenty of questions for everyone. I had him outside today for about 30 minutes. Would about an hour a day be enough for him? I also have a fluorescent uvb bulb on him all day.

Thanks!!
Laura

What kind of kink is it? Is he able to move his head alright or his he continuously staring upwards?

It isn't that bad, really. It looks like a bump in the middle of the spine. I just got him today, and he hasn't fallen yet, but he doesn't seem to have good grip, and he slips easily when he is on your hand. Is that just because he is so little?

Laura

Its really nice that you took in the little BD. He might be sliping because of the kink. But if you has a hard time climbing istead of a steap stick for basking maybe replace it with a large river rock. If he has trouble running after a cricket maybe you should prekill them or disable it from running and place them in a boll. Im sure you already know but feed it some greens(its ok if it doesnt eat them imediatly,,, small ones dont like greens as much). Also make sure to keep him/her well hydrated. Good Luck =)

make sure you offer good uvb lighting and daily calcium with d3, as well as a good weekly multivitamin. im sorry to hear the other lil guy died, its very sad to have happen, i hope this guy lives out a long and happy life with you, these little guys often times do well with deformities, they really have no idea anything is wrong with them and will get used to doing things differently from other dragons. like said make sure you use things that are easy for him to climb and grip, very low slowly slopeing branches would probably be good, he can get a grip on those quite well. look forward to hearing about the little guy and of course, seeing pics might i also suggest something like a no slip shelf liner for a substrate for the little one, mattman turned me onto these and i use them in each enclosure in the area where they eat and poop, it makes for cleaning much easier, but in your case it will make it easy for the little guy to grip, much easier then newspaper or papertowel for the little guy.

>>Its really nice that you took in the little BD. He might be sliping because of the kink. But if you has a hard time climbing istead of a steap stick for basking maybe replace it with a large river rock. If he has trouble running after a cricket maybe you should prekill them or disable it from running and place them in a boll. Im sure you already know but feed it some greens(its ok if it doesnt eat them imediatly,,, small ones dont like greens as much). Also make sure to keep him/her well hydrated. Good Luck =)
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reiko
photos

Thanks for the advice. I'm so nervous about him, I probably won't sleep tonight!! He didn't eat any crickets today, but I have heard that's normal for the first day. I also think they were too big for him. I am going to my local reptile store and getting some real pinheads. The folks at Petco only had 1/4". Some are more like 1/2"! They also told me that the babies only needed 1 a day!!! I wonder what they are feeding the babies they have!!

I intend to feed him all he can eat. If I buy 1,000 pinheads, won't that be more economical? I have other critters that eat crickets, but they are eating adults. Also, I am going to put him out into the sun every day that it is possible to. Should I feed him while he is outside? Will the heat and the sunlight stimulate his appetite?

Laura

Real pinheads I think are too small. I originally bought 1/8th inches and they were really small and fragile. Not only that, the dragons weren't interested in them until the following week and a half when they reached about 1/4th inch.

If you really want small crickets, I'd get no smaller than 1/8th. Right now my two week old's eating 1/4th and I believe they're capable of doing so from the time they hatch.

Maybe he is just stressed out over the move. I'll try earlier tomorrow when I have him out for his sunbath.

Laura