Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought this guy and he arrived fine. I know that they are supposed to get used to the new environment and not be feed right away. I tried to feed him greens and crickets and he would just ignore them. Finally on the sixth day he ate one cricket and nothing else. I noticed that his tonque was a bit pale and brown and not the normal pink/red other bearded dragons. Does anyone know why or has seen a sort of discoloration of the tongue. He doesnt eat often, maybe one to three crickets all day, no greens, and maybe a wax worm. He's somewhat skinny and you can see his folds of skin.

>>I recently bought this guy and he arrived fine. I know that they are supposed to get used to the new environment and not be feed right away. I tried to feed him greens and crickets and he would just ignore them. Finally on the sixth day he ate one cricket and nothing else. I noticed that his tonque was a bit pale and brown and not the normal pink/red other bearded dragons. Does anyone know why or has seen a sort of discoloration of the tongue. He doesnt eat often, maybe one to three crickets all day, no greens, and maybe a wax worm. He's somewhat skinny and you can see his folds of skin.

but I know folds of skin can be a sign of dehydration.

Sounds like you've got other beardies but I'm not going to assume.

Are the temps high enough? Are you using a digital thermometer?

Is the tank nice and bright?
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Rob

Thanks for the reply. I give him water everyday, either in a warm bath or with a dropper. And he drinks it up. I even give him electrodize to stimulate hunger and behavior. The tank is very bright and warm, 105 F. basking spot and i have UVA bulbs as well.

I do have other beardies. One is housed with him who is the complete opposite from him, and is a month older. And another one who is 19 months old and she is very docile but i dont trust to put them together because of size.

>>Thanks for the reply. I give him water everyday, either in a warm bath or with a dropper. And he drinks it up. I even give him electrodize to stimulate hunger and behavior. The tank is very bright and warm, 105 F. basking spot and i have UVA bulbs as well.
>>
>>I do have other beardies. One is housed with him who is the complete opposite from him, and is a month older. And another one who is 19 months old and she is very docile but i dont trust to put them together because of size.

If everything else is good and the one you have housed with him is a pig he's probably the cause of your problems.

I'd seperate them as soon as you can. If you can't seperate them right away at least feed the new one seperately somehow. Again, that's only if it is impossible to get them in seperate enclosures because that is what you really should probably do.

Also, I don't know if you got them at the same time or not but if you didn't you should make sure to quarantine any new animals you get. If the new one is sick you're subjecting the other one to that illness.

I think you should probably also take the new one to the vet. Bring a fecal sample with you. With the added stress there's no doubt a good chance he's got an overload of parasites.
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Rob

I agree with wideglide. If moving to a new home wasn't stressful enough, being housed together with another beardie this soon sure is. Also, the quarantine-issue is very important here. If this tongue-thing is actually some kind of medical problem, it could have very easily spread to the rest of your beardies by now...

To put it short: Please follow wideglide's advice.

Thanks for the input.
I seperated them last night. Luckily I have another enclosure. I didnt purchase them together. But have housed them together for about 3 weeks. The seem fine together, always on top of each other, sleeping, basking, and arm waving to my older beardie thats across the room. He seems active and healthy to a point of wanting out from the cage. During feeding time, i always seperate them because the older beardie is a PIG!!!! and will eat anything i put in the cage. So i put the older beardie in the tub and try to feed the younger one for about an hour. Usually he'll eat a worm, or a cricket or two and at times he just stares at them.

I hope everything gets better. Just make sure to remember to always quarantine a new animal. It only takes one time to have a sick animal destroy all your loved animals. Believe me you will feel absolutely horrible if it happens and it's just not worth the chance.

Unfortunately there are so many illnesses that pop up unexpectedly even with reputable breeders that can wipe out a collection. If you read the post above about "Strange Beardie Illness" and follow the information given it might be enough to scare you into making sure you always quarantine.

Again, I hope your new arrival gets back on track and don't hesitate to ask more questions!!
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Rob

Their tongue top can go from white, to pink to brown to black..... just give him so water and it will change.
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www.reptilerooms.com

Cheri, Thanks for the reply. I have posted in a couple of places (e.g. reptile room) and people told me various things. I have been hydrating the beardie anywhere from 2 - 4 times a day. I give him out of a dropper and he licks the drops right up as well as 3 drops of Electrodize daily. I also give him two 10 - 20 minute baths and he sticks his head in the water and drinks a bunch and you can see his tummy getting bigger. He doesnt eat often either, maybe a cricket, never seen him eat any greens and if willing a waxworm, but that only happened 3 times in the past 3 weeks. that i had him. So far no change in eating habit or tongue coloration. Please advise.

whatever it is that is leading to that and help him settle in. I would have him in an enclosure himself and quiet, only seeing him to feed and occassional pats til he knows life is not that scary here.

So of them are just so leery of any change and the less stimulants around them the better til they settle and trust you... then things become interesting and not scary.
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www.reptilerooms.com