Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi my name is Brandi and I just rescued a BD and he seems to be doing a lot better than when I got him. Hes perked up and is doing good. The only problem is hes really thin which I hope that being with me will help alot. But the previous owner said that his sons friend picked him up by the tail and his tail is hard and stiff and does not move at all. I am not sure if anything at all can be done and if its hurting him. It does make getting around in the cage difficult for him but he seems to manage. I don't really know too much about BD but I called a breeder and he said I'm doing everything right so far. But the tail thing concerns me because its his whole tail that is hard and stiff. So if anyone can help that would be great. thank you!

A hard and stiff tail sounds like spinal injury which healed wrong...but only way to know is to take the dragon to see a vet for x-rays.

As you are new to bearded dragons I also suggest, if you haven't already, is to read as much as you can about their care...including past posts in this forum.

It will be also helpful for you to give a detailed description of the dragon and your setup, this way we can see if things are looking good. If you are able to, also include details about the setup the dragon endured with his previous owner. Details like how old the dragon is now will also help. For the tails issue, a vet visit is definitely in order...nothing we can suggest in the forums will help with the tail without physical examinations and x-rays...

There is also the fact there isn't alot of movement in a dragon's tail normally..though it should curve upward when ever the dragon seems interested in something and alert...it should also easily move to the sides when the dragon turns in a tight area..its definitely not as flexible as say, a cat's tail or iguana's, but it should move freely if you lift it up to about 90 degrees from the ground. Do you have pictures of the tail? The only other thing that comes to mind which may make the tail seem hard and stiff is a build up of unshed skin...

Either way, its my believe that all animals 'rescued' from a bad situation should have at least one vet visit. This ensures any less obvious issues can be found before they end up life threatening, if not already at that point (depending on the condition of the dragon when 'rescued'. Some are so far gone there is no hope..but many do pull through with proper husbandry and medical care). A vet can test for many things, including checking for internal parasites, low blood calcium, kidney or liver function issues etc..with a physical examination, fecal, blood test and x-ray.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

I have read alot of stuff and talked to a a pet shop that deals with reptiles and I also tracked down a breeder and called him and he said I am doing everything right and to contact a vet. But I have a 3ft long 2ft high and 1 foot wide aquarium. I have 3 bowls one for pellet food, water, and fresh food. He also had a log in there. I have one side with a heat lamp and one side with florescent. I keep pellet food in all the time and give him veggies daily (peas carrots collar greens mustard greens), I also gave him a dozen crickets 2 days ago and put calcium vitamin D powder on them.

He is 4 or 5 years old. The previous owner left him in his cage in the basement and only gave him pellet food and some dried crickets every so often. He said when I got him he had not put water in there for a few weeks. He didn't have a heat lamp just a florescent one. He has not touched or held the BD in over a year which is when his son left the Dragon at his house. He was trying to starve him and before I got him he was going to let him go outside to die. Oh and he also never gave him any fruits or veggies or any calcium or vitamin supplements unless its in the pellets which I don't have the box so I have no idea whats in them or anything.

The tail is really ridged and he cant turn very well with the log in there he gets stuck. its black at the end where the tail was broken. His sons friend picket him up by the tail and broke it off and I did not ever find out when this occurred. I don't know about the unshed skin part. When he is alert the tail does nothing at all. But I just have to find a vet that I can take him too here. I don't know how to upload pictures on here there is just a place to put a URL for a picture.

HE was really sluggish and slow when I first got him and that was only about 2 days ago. But now he is really alert and aware of whats going on. He perks up when the dogs go by and stare at him. I just hope he will gain some weight he is really skinny.

With the more detail, I can see many things wrong with your current setup and the need to get this dragon to a vet asap.

Your cage is too narrow...its no wonder the bearded dragon can't turn around in the cage without great difficulty, especially with a broken/healed incorrectly tail. The minimum size tank for a single adult dragon should be 2' wide by 4' long. Height can range between 18-24".

The UVB light (which I am assuming is the florescent light you are using...if you are just using a normal florescent bulb...then you need to get a UVB producing bulb as well) should run the entire length of the cage, not just in the cool section. In fact, having it in the cool section means your dragon is not getting exposed to UVB at all, or very little.

Very few bearded dragons will drink water from a bowl, so having a water bowl is unnecessary. Dragons typically get all the moisture they need from fresh greens and insects (hence why pellets shouldn't for the main source of food, but are fine as a 'topping' over their salad.) A healthy salad for dragons should contain 2 or more staple greens (dandelion greens, collard greens, mustard greens) mixed with 2 or more other greens which should be switched around regularly to ensure a wide variety of diet. (see: www.beautifuldragons.com nutrition chart for more info on healthy greens for dragons and how often any given type of green should be fed).

Giving what the previous owner has told you, that he was leaving his dragon to die, animal cruelty charges should be laid...its appalling that somebody who no longer wanted a pet could think just leaving it to die (whether in the basement of the house, or dumped outside) is a proper way to deal with an unwanted pet. Especially when there are many ways to advertise for a new home for these animals without paying any money. Hopefully this guy never owns a pet again...or doesn't have any other pets he may decide he doesn't want anymore (even if the dragon was his sons, still no excuse...as it remained under his care when the son left...)

Back to the dragon...since he is really skinny...feed him as many crickets (dusted with Calcium powder containing Vit. D, no phosphorous, and well gut loaded) as he will eat in 5 minutes once a day, plus have a fresh salad available all day long. Use an eye dropper to drip water at the corner of the dragon's mouth, to encourage it to drink.

TO help find a qualified herp vet in your area, try the sites below:

www.anapsid.org/vets/ (several lists linked here)

www.herpvetconnection.com/

www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/vet-listing.aspx

Posting pictures isn't too difficult. You just have to upload the pictures to a photo hosting site (kingsnake.com has a free one available, just click on 'photos' and follow the directions there). There are many different ones out there, if you find the space available here at Kingsnake insufficient...there is photobucket, flickr, and many others.

Once the image is uploaded to the internet, you can copy the URL to that picture in the field provided below or inserted directly into the post using the img tags, enclosed in square [ ] brackets. Don't forget the backslash ( / ) for the closing img tag. See 'Tools and Toys' link below for more info. In addition, if you uploaded the images to kingsnake.com you can just select up to three, from the dropdown list. Use the Preview option before posting your message to make sure the images are showing.

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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

Darn you beat me by 15 seconds. You must be a faster typer than I.

Maybe, or I started sooner
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

Bearded Dragons can be picked up by the tail without causing any damage generally. Assuming it was picked up by a thicker part of the tail. If it was picked up by the end of the tail and the tail was broken and the tail is black from the break down the the tissue is likely dead and should be removed by a vet.

You don't mention where the "hard part" of the tail starts or ends.

Sometimes in older dragons the end of the tail dries up and becomes inflexible. This is likely caused by low humidity or and improper shed restriction. In these cases the tail seems to just dry out and does not turn black. The tail end should be removed by a vet to good tissue.

Here are some resources to help find a reptile vet in your area.

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/vet-listing.aspx
http://www.arav.org
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

As far as your care my suggestions are as follows.

The enclosure is far too small for an adult dragon. At very minimum you should find a 40 Breeder enclosure. 36"L x 18"W x 18"Tall. The 12" is just too narrow. A 4' x 2' floor space enclosure or larger would be ideal.

The UVB bulb should be less than 1 year old and run the full length of the cage. I understand this would be impossible right now with only a 12" deep cage. The temperatures need to be monitored and sent up in the right range. The basking spot surface temp. should be about 105 and the ambient (air) temp. on the hot side should be in the low 90's. The cool side should be 75-80.

I you want him to gain weight offer as many crickets he will eat at lease once daily. Dust every live meal with Calcium no phosphorus or vitamin A except one a week dust with a multivitamin. Offer salad in between. Forget about the pellets. Gut load the crickets with vegs. or a grain food 24 hours prior to feeding to the dragon. Here is a good site for salad ingredients.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

As far as posing a picture. Go to the "photo's" tab above and upload your pictures to the gallery her. Then when you post on the forums your pictures will be in a box below this message box. Just select the ones you want to add to your message. Hope this helps.

looks like we were writing our answers about the same time BDlvr and provided nearly exact same info LOL.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

You know what they say, "Great minds think alike" lol

BDlvr, I was wondering how big each enclosure in your stack is? I always see the pic, just forget to ask. Thanks

All are 2' tall. The center column are 5' long by 3.5' deep and the 2 outside columns are 4' long by 3.5' deep.

Thanks! What did you construct the columns out of?

The enclosures are constructed with Melamine. The fronts are made from a composite board generally used for soffit face boards on homes. The center post was necessary in the front to prevent sag of the enclosure top under the weight of the cages and sand above. The center post is a 1 1/4" wood dowel.