Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i keep reading about the fat deposits on the head being a good health indicator, but thorn is my first beardy so i dont really have a comparison to use this to judge Liela and Thorns health and im not really sure what part to look at, is it the area just before the first set of spikes on the head or after these spikes at the start of the neck? can you tell from this pic?
thanks again in advance for your replies
Tony

its above the line of spikes. both thorn and leila look ok.
just behind the eyeballs.

Yea that is considered the "fat pad". It can be used in considering "good health" I guess, but for the most part I think its only really to tell if they are dehydrated if I remember correctly. My adult male "Turbo" has HUGE very defined pads on the top of his head. I have also seen some very sad looking neglected beardies that the pad was almost shrunken into their head so I guess you can define health by looking at them. I know when I'm rubbing Turbo's head and I go over that "pad" it makes his eye bulge out a little bit lol

A;though called fat pads, they are mostly fluids. Besides just anindicator of hydration, there are also controled by hormone levels. Females will decrease slight just prior to laying and quite a bit after laying due to the hormone levels in them.

A female with sunken pads may not be a sign of neglect at all, but low hormone levels following being gravid. Unless she is treated with hormones, the pads may not recover for several months. yet she is otherwise healthy
-----
www.reptilerooms.com