Reptile & Amphibian Forums

48" Wide X 18" Tall X 24" cage from Critter Condo ( http://www.crittercondoz.com/ )/ One side has a 60 watt Mercury vapor bulb the other is Repti Glo 10.0 Compact 26 watt.
Sand substrate.
One male and two females about 5 months old.

Apparently one of the beardies attacked the females. I don't know who.

There is a bite on the mouth of one. The other has her whole arm messed up.

Been a week both heal very well. But the one with her messed up arm doesn't seem to eat very much.

I'm worried because she seems thin. Sorry for the horrible picture. But if you can see at the base of her tail there are bones sticking out a bit.

Is there a force feeding method? She poops fine. But mostly when in the water.

Been trying to feed crickets, pheonix worms, hornworms and silkworms.
She ate like 5 crickets and that is it. Everything else she is not interested in. But she has been before the incident.

Pictures didn't show sorry.

I dont really see a need for both uvb bulbs, and from what a lot of people said is that these new compact fluorescents can cause damage to the dragons(believe eye damage). What are the temps in the cage? How big are these dragons?

The male is more than likely going to have to go into a seperate enclosure and really shouldnt be housed with the two females. If they have been raised together they may be ok for a little longer, all depending on size and attitude. Some females are a bit shy and might be stressed from just being with other dragons, or especially if they were bitten already.

Have they been treated for worms or coccidia?

Force feeding is extremely stressful and should only be done if all other methods have been exhausted.

The first thing to do here is to separate the dragons. Its best to house dragons, especially young dragons on their own anyway. This allows them to thrive better, eat mor eand overall be more healthy. Young male and female dragons should never be housed together due to risk of breeding at a young age - its possiblke the wounds your dragons have suffered were a result of breeding attempts. There is also a possibiliy that one of your females may be gravid already - i hope this is not the case as this can be an extremely dangerous condition for such a young dragon. Since an attack has already occured there is no question that separation is needed. Ideally, put all three beardies in separate containers, since one of the females is having trouble eating she would have a higher chance of improvement in a separate tank - however, at the very least you should remove the male and house him separataely.

As the above poster mentioned - it you have a MVB that is new (less than 6 months old) ther is no need to have additional UVB. It may or may not be harmful - i would remove it as its not necessary.

What are the temps in the basking spot in your tank? How are these temps measured?

After separating the dragons - make sure everyone has good basking spot of 110-115degrees, good uvb etc.

Since the female hasnt been eating very well, soaking for 10-15minutes a day will help maintain her hydation. Soaking should be done in warm shoulder level water.

Give them a few days to a week in their own tanks with good temps etc. If you dont see an increase in the appetite then i would contact a vet. Its possible there is an underlying infection remaing from the bite wound which is affecting the appetite. A course of antibiotics may be needed.

If there is no infection it may just be a matter of giving them time int heir own tanks to relax. Continue to offer food, soak or mist daily and see how they do. If she will not eat you can make up a slurry using baby food (chicken flavored, squash flavored) some calcium powder, some feeder insects, ensure, and pedialyte mixed in a blender. Dont force this food - but start by dribbling it onto the dragons lips and seeing if she will lick it up herself.

Keep us posted!
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1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

There are a lot of issues here, but I am most concerned about the comment that "there are bones sticking out a bit". This condition needs treatment right away. The skin will not grow over a protruding bone on its own. It will need to be stitched by a vet. If the bone is left exposed it will die and she will only lose her entire tail if she's lucky. If she's unlucky she will get infected with dire consequences.

BDLvr....I could be wrong but i think he meant that they were thin and the bones at the base of the tail are prominent. Not that there was a bone sticking out of the skin.
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1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

Hmmm. maybe your right but he/she definately needs to clarify it. A bite could go to the bone.