Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an older, semi-blind bearded dragon who has to be hand fed crickets/super worms but was good about his salad...up until recently. The other day I sat him down between my legs and took pinches of his salad and opened his mouth and gave it to him, he would chew (do they chew? whatever they do) and then swallowed and was peppy after that. But this weekend when my brother took care of him, he continued not eating his salad on his own.

Can I put everything into a blender and then put it into a syringe to feed him? I got some good bites when I hand fed him the other day.

He looks REALLY dehydrated, even though I soaked him in the bathtub for an hour on friday.

I know that this is no substitute for veterinary advice, just wondering what I can do before I resort to a local herp vet.

It's tough to give a good opinion from the information provided. But, this time of year Beardies can be lethargic or brumate. Especially in cool climates. I would offer water from an eyedropper regularly to prevent dehydration. Otherwise, my best suggestion is to get a weight scale that measures in 1 gram increments. If a Beardie doesn't eat but maintains it's weight than there is likely no problem. If the beardie loses weight then further diagnosis is required.

When necessary, I syringe feed "Critical Care" made by Oxbow. I feed the herbivore formula mixed with 1/2 water and 1/2 vanilla ensure plus. They seem to like the Anise flavor better. You can get it from most herp vets or here:

http://www.calvetsupply.com/product/Critical_Care_Anise_Pouch/Veterinary_Nutritional_Supplements

Thank you so much! My fiance happens to be a machinist so I can weigh him by the scales on his body

Ill buy some of that Oxbow stuff, today I will let him run around the house and eat salad as he goes. He was a house dragon before I got him, so he gets really happy when hes out.

I just wanted to mention that an hour is way too long to soak...10-15 minutes is fine.The dragon can't tell you if he is cold in the water,uncomfortable,etc.It's drinking that will rehydrate,not soaking.They may drink WHILE they soak,but other than that he doesn't need that much time in the water.If you spray him gently on the head [ sometimes it takes up to 30-60 seconds before they realize they should start licking,just spray off on til he starts drinking]That is one way to get them to drink.Hope he does O.K.Animals also sense when they are going "down hill" and may stop eating normal activities until they pass away...if he is very old that might be the start,but you can still try the suggestions mentioned.

Really need more information here.

By 'older dragon' that doesn't tell us much...other than he's not likely less than two years old. Do you have an exact age?

What is his setup like? Basking temps, does he have UVB lights, what is his substrate? What is the ambient temperature in the hot side of the cage, cool end?

How long have you had him? What do you feed him in his salad (ie what kind of greens, vegetables etc). How long exactly since he last ate salad on his own? What is his activity like?

You mentioned he was semi-blind...explain this more. Was he injured in one eye and now can't see in it? Cataracts over his eyes? What caused you to decide he was semi-blind? Did you bring him to a vet to determine this?

Have you brought him to a vet to see how his eye sight is now? If his semi-blindness was caused by a disease or past infection, perhaps it has gotten worse...now he can't see anything..and thus can't find his salad.

I definitely agree getting a current weight on him is a good idea. Also provide us with his total length (head to tail tip) and indicate if he had any tail nips or indications his tail isn't fully intact. (this just eliminates the possibility the length of a dragon is off in proportion to body/tail length ratio's)

If possible posting a picture of your dragon and setup would be an asset. Try to get a picture showing the top of the dragon and side of the head and body. This makes it easier to see proportions and how the fat pads look.

I also agree with not soaking your dragon for more than 20 minutes. Water cools down fairly quickly and too long soaking especially if you tend to have cool room temperatures can be more harmful to your dragon. Best to use a clean eye dropper (one that hasn't been used to dispense medicines in the past..as its not always easy to wash out all traces of the medicine, which could be harmful to your dragon. You can buy eye droppers for pretty cheap too.
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PHLdyPayne

Ill try to answer this as well as I can, without having a camera or any tape measurer tonight, but will tomorrow.

He was an ex coworkers beardie, so the most logical guess is 7-9 years old, he allowed Frank (beardies name) to run around his house...without consistent UVB, heat or proper food. Don't ask me how he is alive, I joke around that he will outlive us with the cockroaches through a nuclear war.

I have been told by customers, one of whom breeds up & coming morphs, that he was a rather large lizard. I always thought he was small, but I only had a friends young one to compare him too. Will get exact size tomorrow.

I acquired him when no one bought him for over a year, since he was old & needed to be handfed due to his poor eyesight. My boss was going to put him down because he wasn't getting the attention he needed, and my coworkers know I am a sucker for animals that need a home. I knew nothing about them, but was told he was a good beginner one, as he is pretty hardy. He absolutely hates me, but really took to my fiance, guessing since most of his caretakers have been men. I have horses who have preferences due to past owners too, so I am not offended.

His salad was consisting of romaine/argula mixes from the store, with shredded zuchni(sp?), brussel sprouts, bok choy and brocoli(sp?). I mashed up red banana, browned bananas, mango and apple and put a spoonful or two ontop of his salad. I then found the "beardie/tortoise salad" sheet and realized that he needs mustard greens and such, and THEN the lettuces...duh.

His tank is 4' wide, 3' deep, and 4' tall, or somewhere around there, it measured out to be 220 gallons. I use coconut husk bedding, he did have a TRex UVB bulb, but I was gone when it burnt out so my brother got him the 160watt solar glo. Because its so hard to heat, there is a red light on the warm side 24/7, as well with two UTH heaters. Because of the heating issue, I am buying a 55 or 60gal this week, tired of the big terrarium!

As for his eyesight, I was told that, and because of his lack of being able to catch crickets or worms, I would have to agree. He also runs off couches/beds and runs into walls or really any object. If you put his on his salad he kind of gets the concept that its to eat. His eyes don't look cloudy at all.

Thank you for telling me about the soaking! I didn't realize that. And as for the syringes, got it covered, I have to have plenty of sterile ones for my horses medicine, so I am stocked up!

I'm always amazed that there are kind-hearted people like you who are willing to take in an old,special needs animal and try to give it a good home.You are also willing to follow advice and aid the little guy,which is great!! Funny that he does'nt like you...the one who saved him,lol.At any rate,the coconut fiber should be eliminated,can cause impaction....you can actually use newspaper if you don't want to use sand..Also,if your house does'nt go below 65 at night no uth or red light is necessary...the red light is unnatural and we all like to sleep in the dark.He may have too much heat at night.As for roaming the house,not a good idea...no proper light or heat...you are right about that.Well,sounds like he will have a good home with you...hope for the best!!

Definitely get rid of the big tank...at 4' high, its wasted space and that much harder to heat properly. Though dragons like to climb, it is much better to have floor space than height. Two feet of height is enough for dragons.

Coconut husk very very bad for bearded dragons to be on. Too easy to get ingested and it holds moisture. Not to mention when dry its rather dusty. Children's washed and sifted playsand is ok for adult dragons though I prefer paper towel, non stick shelf liner, plastic table cloth, newsprint, tiles etc or for those who like more of a challenge a soil/sand mix.

Definitely need a better diet for your dragon. Fruit should be an occasional treat with high calcium low phosphorous greens his primary food. (ie mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, endive, chicory and others. Avoid grocery store mixes as they often have too much empty lettuces (ie iceberg, red/green Boston lettuce, romaine and spinach). Avoid spinach as it is very high in oxalates with bind with calcium. Kale is also high in a chemical that isn't good to have in high concentration (sorry mind is going blank on what it is right now) It can be used VERY sparingly but you definitely want it included with other healthy greens.

I find the best way the make a healthy salad is have 2-4 staple greens (ie mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, endive, escarole would be your staples) and 1 or two other greens and rotate the staples every month and/or the additional greens. This keeps a variety and helps dragons from getting too fussy about what they eat. I do the same with the insect portion as well. I hate crickets and avoid them as much as possible. I do offer them to my dragon once in awhile as a treat but my adult dragon gets superworms (I usually drop 3-6 ontop of their salad every day. By the time I put the dish into the cage, the worms work they way to the bottom, and their movement causes the greens to move..helps gets the stubborn eaters interested in the greens.) In addition to superworms, I also offer silkworms, hornworns, butterworms and the occasional superworm beetle. (black inch long beetles that smell foul when handled)

I think it would be a good idea to bring your dragons to a vet...get him a complete examination, bring a fresh stool sample, have bloodwork and an x-ray done. Find an experience reptile vet to get this done at. Being fairly old there could be many underlying problems that have been caused with improper care throughout his life...or just old age catching up to him. The poor eye sight may be a symptom of something that could have been corrected in the past.

Let us know your temperatures of the cage (basking spot, ambient and cool end. Digital thermometer with probe is one of better ways to find this out, or a temp gun)and height/weight of your dragon as soon as you are able to.
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PHLdyPayne