Need advice...

[LuckyBunny08]

I'm new here so not sure how fast I will be on replies.

I got a female bearded dragon named Speedy in 2013 from a friend who could no longer care for her. She was active and healthy. She had a large appetite and they fed her kale daily and crickets as a treat.

About a year after I got her I had her on my older sisters bed, and asked her to keep an eye on her while I went to grab something. Speedy ran to the edge of the bed after me and fell off before anyone could grab her. She was in what seemed to be a shock state for about 2-3 hours and I thought she was dead.. After that she seemed sluggish for a bit. She was back to almost normal after about 2 days.

Hee tank came with sand and I never had issues but she suddenly started always digging in her sand, getting it everywhere. I found her one day with sand inside both of her eye lids and was able to rinse all the sand out. She has carpet now.

She does pass eggs sometimes which I think is normal? I've looked it up a couple times and it didn't say it was anything bad.

The past month or so she has been super sluggish, not eating, and barely moves. Her eyes are a bit droopy, and she just lays around. She always has water and I have given her baby food and keep fresh greens in for her (mostly dandelion greens because kale is expensive and goes bad easily and I don't eat it so it goes to waste since she isn't eating it either).

I don't have money for a vet trip and I would like to be able to help her but I'm not exactly sure how. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum! Glad to hear that she recovered from her fall off the bed that had to be a scary thing.. Glad she recovered from that. Super glad to hear you've changed her substrate to carpet! Yea females can lay infertile eggs that's normal and if you wanted to when you know she's gravid you can always provide a egg laying box with soil but to my knowledge that's not necessary if your not breeding her it just more natural.
It's very possible that she is in the process of brumating. Where do you live? Some BD brumate and some do not. This is a normal process that they slow down, sleep alot, don't eat much, they can do this for days to months at a time. You want to have a hide for her on the cool side of her enclosure that she will go sleep in. During this process you still should offer her some food, you should still give her a soak a couple times a week to make sure she is hydrated. Do you have a picture of her? if she is dehydrated you can dribble some water on her nose or while in the bath stir the water around that may get her interest to take a drink..

Hope that helps!

 

[LuckyBunny08]

I live in Vermont so it could be burmation. Everything just started to get cold here.

I think she is a bit dehydrated. I read that giving her a bit of cucumber can help keep her hydrated and I was able to get her to eat some this morning (she was basking on her log and was super warm and perky).

Its odd to me because in my opinion she doesn't look.. Thin? But she isn't at her healthiest weight. I can get a picture of her now. Her eyes and lack of appetite are my biggest worries since she does this every so often.

 

[LuckyBunny08]

She's sleeping on her log under the heat lamp. If you need other angles please let me know.

 

[Hdrydr31]

I live in Vermont so it could be burmation. Everything just started to get cold here.

I think she is a bit dehydrated. I read that giving her a bit of cucumber can help keep her hydrated and I was able to get her to eat some this morning (she was basking on her log and was super warm and perky).

Its odd to me because in my opinion she doesn't look.. Thin? But she isn't at her healthiest weight. I can get a picture of her now. Her eyes and lack of appetite are my biggest worries since she does this every so often.

Just make sure that you take the peel off the cuc.
Does she drink while in the bath? You can dribble water on her nose. Or while basking you can spritz her with a spray bottle. How about a juicy butterworm?
Sounds like she May be in a state of brumation maybe a trip to the vet to make sure she is free of parasites, and is healthy.

 

[Hdrydr31]

She's sleeping on her log under the heat lamp. If you need other angles please let me know.

she looks like she has got some good weight on her...can you get a pic when her eyes are open? Hard to tell if she is dehydrated with her eyes closed.

 

[LuckyBunny08]

I'd have to order some online. She likes superworms and crickets but I heard superworms are addictive and their shell is hard to digest? So I have limited those.

She does drink in the bath. And that's where she usually poos as well.

I'll try to get a pic with her eyes open

 

[LuckyBunny08]

She wasn't too pleased with being woken up and I couldn't get her to keep them open for too long

 

[Hdrydr31]

I'd have to order some online. She likes superworms and crickets but I heard superworms are addictive and their shell is hard to digest? So I have limited those.

She does drink in the bath. And that's where she usually poos as well.

I'll try to get a pic with her eyes open

I get my Butterworms at Walmart.. Superworms shell isn't bad they are easier than the mealworms and should be fine to eat as a regular staple..(I believe)

 

[MetalicPheonix]

What brumation

 

[LuckyBunny08]

My mom and sister both work at WalMart and theres no butterworms there. I don't think the Petsmart carries them either.

Would crickets be better than super worms for her?

 

[MetalicPheonix]

Yes

 

[PatsyB]

Looks like she's got some shed on her head that's either starting or been there for a bit. Try to give her more frequent baths and run some water over her head and back with your hand. You can also rub some reptile shedding aid on those spots at night when her lights go out (you don't want her to sit under her lights with oil on) and that may help loosen things.

Also if it's brumation give her something to hide in. Either buy a hide or make a simple one with a box and maybe a blanket. My boy Luci was acting real tired and I bought him a hide (he never liked them before) and as soon as I put it in he went in and didn't come out for 2 days!

Where these are all signs of brumation they could be signs of something else. Even though she seemed to recover from her fall off the bed it's possible she did hurt herself and just showing signs now. I would error on the side of caution and just have her checked by a vet to make sure she's okay.

 

[Hdrydr31]

What brumation

Here's some reading for you. If your going to be getting a BD you need to know all about them..
http://bearded-dragon.org/understanding-bearded-dragon-brumation/

 

[Hdrydr31]

My mom and sister both work at WalMart and theres no butterworms there. I don't think the Petsmart carries them either.

Would crickets be better than super worms for her?

Here is the breakdown for the crickets: 74% moisture, 1%ash, 18%Protein, 6% fat, 3% carbs, 14 cal and 3% fiber
Here is the breakdown for superworms: 59% Moisture, 1% ash, 20% protein, 16% fat, 6% carbs, 11 cal

Having a variety of insects are important so your dragon gets a good variety of nutrients.

 

[LuckyBunny08]

Thank you all for the help. I'm getting crickets and supers this weekend for her and going to see if we have any other worms nearby. I gave her some squash baby food and she ate that no problem.

She has a log that she hides in and stits on. I just don't want anything too tall for her to climb on in case she falls off on accident. She has full movement of her head, neck, tail and all four legs so I don't know if she hurt herself in any way cause she moves fine, she is just sluggish lately