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I have a baby bearded dragon. I am not sure how old it is. It is small, lethargic and keeps it''s eyes closed most of the time. The pet store we bought him from has not been helpful and don''t seem very knowledgabe. The bearded dragon''s eyes now have a small amount of discharge coming out of them and he is not eating what he should be. He is about 5-6 inches in length from head to tip of tail. We are feeding him 5 small crickets 3 times per day and have offered him finely chopped kale but he will not eat it. We have a 40 gallon tank with the basking area at 100 degrees, hot side around 80 degrees and the cool side around 70. We were told when we got him he was 2-3 months old, I went to another pet store that had babies the same size and I was told they were 2-3 weeks old. We have had him since 12/24/07 and are attached to him. The store has told us we can take him back but want to try and get him healthy. What should we do?? Thank you. Amy

Optional Information:
Age: <1; Breed: bearded dragon

Already Tried:
we have talked with several pet stores & breeders and a lot of different advice. We have read books & searched the internet. We have changed the light & heat sources & offered crickets & kale. We are not handeling him until he is healthier.

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Status: Closed Value: $9

Hi,

We have an expert who knows a lot about bearded dragons. She is not online right now. I'll try to contact her and let her know about your question.
If you'd like, you can check back later for an answer.

Anna

Thank you, I will check back later. Will she send a reply to my email or post on this site?

It will be posted on this site.

Anna

about when should I check back??

I wish I could give you a time, but it will depend on when she checks her messages. She is usually online in the evening, so perhaps you could try after your evening meal. I'm sorry I can't be more exact.

Anna

Hello,

I am sorry I wasn't on earlier, but had some emergencies that had to be taken care of. I need some info on your Beardie.

Are you using a UVB light? That is the artificial sunlight long bulb looks flouresant.

What substrate are you using?

How are you measuring your Temps?

What type of supplements are you using?

I will be checking back for the answers and will try to help you. Pet shops are one of the worst for giving bad info and selling sick Beardies. many that come into my rescue are Petshop Beardies. I will do my best to help you. Joan

The information and suggestions given are basic first aid measures. In an Emergency, Please Consult Your Veterinarian For Further Help. Joan

we orignally had a incandescent/flourescent combo light fixture from R-zilla that the pet store sold us. It was not keeping the temp high enough. We went to a reputable local breeder and they advised us all we needed was a 100 watt repta sun incandescent reptile light. It has kept the temps to 80 in hot side, 65-70 in cool and around 100 on the basking rock. The original light/heat fixture from R-zilla did not fit the tank. Our tank is 36 inches and the fixture was only 30. We did order the 36 inch fixture but was told it would take 4 weeks. We have 3 thermometers on the tank, one on the back of the hot side, one on the back of the cool side and one on the front of the bottom of the tank. They are the round thermometers that stick to the inside of the tank. We orginally had a fine clay substrate that the pet store sold us, the breeder told us that was wrong and they sold us a very fine sand that was labled bearded dragon sand. We originally were using ReptoCal powder from the pet store but switched to sticky tongue farms miner-all sold to us by the local breeder we found that seems to have a good reputaion around here. I am sorry it took so long for me to reply. I will check back for your reply. Thank you for your time and advice. We are so frustrated with this. We regret going to the pet store now, we did not devote the time we should of in looking for a healthy beardie. We were told they were hearty easy lizards and it is our daughter's Christmas present. Thanks again.

Hello,

Sounds like the breeder took advantage of you as well as the Pet shop. On baby beardies we suggest only using a solid substrate like Paper towels or plain paper. The thermometers you are using are worthless. The best type is a temp gun or a digital probe thermometer that can be gotten at Walmart for about $15.00. The repto cal was fine and the miner all does not have enough calcium, as far as a UVB it is imperative to use a UVB bulb to help metabolize the calcium in the body. The Basking temps for a baby beardie should be at 125 the gradient temps should be 90 and the cool side should be 80 the temps can drop at night to 70 and the beardie can be fine. The Pin head crickest are fine to feed and they should be dusted with calcium and the baby should eat as many as they can in 15 mins. This sometimes can be around 50+ three times a day. The greens and salad should be collards, mustards, escarolle, chickory, and butter nut squash. The Kale and spinich bind calium. They are not good staple greens. The heat source can be a house hold bulb and does not have to be a special bulb, but the uvb should be a min of an 8.0 and preferably a 10.0 repti sun. As far as treating the baby you will need to start getting some nutrition into him once you get the proper heat and lighting. For now puree some of the greens I mentioned, mix with Pedialyte, calcium powder and some plain chicken baby food and syringe feed, via putting the mixture on the snout and letting the Beardie lick it off the snout. I would also like you to rehydrate the baby by putting him in a small tupperware container with 1/2 warm water and 1/2 Pedialyte and soak up to the arm pits for about 20 mins. This will help rehydrate the baby. As for the eyes the problem may be form the sand or may be from an Upper respiratory infection. For the eyes please use some plain saline eye drops to wash out the eyes. I am going to give you some links for help and to show you why sand is bad. I will check back later and be here for further help. Joan

http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/impaction/?page=3

http://www.repticzone.com/forums/BeardedDragons-General/index.html

The information and suggestions given are basic first aid measures. In an Emergency, Please Consult Your Veterinarian For Further Help. Joan

Thank you. We are heading out now to buy the stuff you mentioned. Is a reptile mat good?? We were going to buy two so we could clean one and switch them out as needed. Thank you for your help and advice. We also have an under the tank heater to help keep the tank temps up. Is this ok for him?? Can it be used with paper/reptile mat. The pet store gave it to us when they sold us the light/heat fixture that was too small. I will check back later.
Amy

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