Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i went to the hamburg herp show on december 4 and i got a pair of young beardies from amizing reptiles. i kept them together in a 3ft. long 1.5 ft. wide breeder tank(i was told it was ok). they both ate and drank, it was fine. soon, my male started getting huge and taking food right out from under her. long story short, she stopped eating. i put a divider in the tank and seperated them. i offer her greens (collard, kale etc), juvi beardie food(i think its exo-terra), crickets, and mealworms. i also gave her a water dish with an air pump so it bubbles. i never see her eat and her stomach is nearly concave! no matter what i do she wont eat. there arent any herp vets in my area so that is not an option. also, i know she cant see him and the temps are about 100 degrees F in the basking spot. i would hve posted this sooner but i dont have a computer so i have to use library ones. please post back soon, i probably will be able to check it tomorrow but i am not guaranteed access to the net. thank you every1 i really need some ideas.
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What is happening to you is common when you place 2 beardies together...one almost always dominates the other.

Your female is most likely sick due to the stress. When they get stressed they are more likely to get parasites and coccidia. I just took in a rescue female who was in very bad shape. It took some work but she is looking good now.

If you want your female to survive this you will need to act fast. Soak her in warm (just barely warm to touch) bath for a few minutes each day to keep her hydrated. Try offering her chicken baby food (the 'first step' kind with no added ingredients). Keep the tank VERY clean...newspaper or papertowels are the easiest to change out a couple of times a day. Get rid of the 'bubbler'. It can add too much extra humidity. Beardies get their moisture from their veggies or from being misted and soaked...some but few that I have seen will drink from a water bowl...if I provide a water bowl it soon becomes a toilet!

The next step is to get her to a vet--or if she gives you a poo then just take that to ANY vet. Finding out her parasite load and getting the correct medication is VERY important.

The other thing to consider is that a 40 gallon breeder is very small for ONE adult. It is best to keep beardies in seperate tanks--especially if they are male and female.

How are you measuring the temps? There are several types of thermometers that are NOT effective/accurate in measuring basking temps. It would be pretty difficult to get proper temps in a divided 40 gallon.

PLEASE reconsider a trip to ANY vet.

DM

First of all, seperate your beardies completely. I mean, different tanks, different rooms...etc. I agree that the sress of having two together probably means your female is now suffering from parasites, making it even more important you keep her away from that male. Wash your hands thouragly between handling either of them. Even without the parasite problem you should seperate them completely, if they are in a seperated 40Breeder, and the female has a hot side of 100degrees, and you are heating the males side as well then their entire tank is probably way too hot, with neither of them having anywhere to get away from the heat. This can be just as harmful as being to cold.

Set up the female in a completely sterile environment, use paper towels or newspaper as a substrate. Provide her with a small water dish, appropriate sized basking branches, and appropriate basking temps. Change the paper towels everyday. As soon as you get a fecal sample from your girl scoop it up and bring it to the vet, even a non-exotics vet can analyze a fecal sample. It might be worth bringing a sample of the males too, just in case. If parasites are the problem the vet should be able to deworm them, advise your vet to work with the assistance of a herp vet, via telephone. Or even better, make the drive to find a herp vet, because it really could save your dragons life.

Please do not delay in finding vetrinary assistance for your little guy.

Good luck.
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