Rescued a beardie that hasn’t grown in a year

[Dawn39]

I have a rescued beardie and he does not walk much. Basically drags himself around. He is approximately 3 yrs old. He was in a 20 gal tank the entire time. Was told he had parasites and was given Albon. I haven’t noticed any blood in feces. I did look that up. He now has correct tank size, lighting & tank setup. I have calcium powder for food but he’s only ever eaten meal worms. No fruit or veggies. So sad.
My question is can he be rehabilitated? Will he grow? So much unknown here. My first time having a beardie, but it’s so much better than where I found him. All advice is greatly appreciated

 

[BeardedHippy]

Hi Dawn, welcome to the forum. Its such a shame when I hear about dragons that have been mistreated due to ignorance, my heart bleeds for them. Its a great thing you have done taking him on and giving him a good home. Aside from normal calcium powder ,you will need calcium with D3 and a vitamin suppliment, hopefully ,now he is getting a good balanced diet he will be getting the nutrients he was denied in the past. Its worrying that he cant walk properly, have you taken him to a reptile vet for a checkup ,xray and bloodwork yet? If you can, you will get a good clear picture of any underlying health problems. At 3 years, he is an adult, despite any developmental problems he has had in the past, it is unlikeliy he will be growing any larger. Otherwise though, rehabilitation is very possible. Even if he has MBD (metabolic bone disease) from not getting the correct lighting and suppliments he can still have a good quality of life, you should still get him checked out though. I bet he is glad to get out of that little tank, good on you Dawn.

 

[PatsyB]

With patience I think he can be rehabilitated. Start with a vet check up and full blood work up. Like BeardedHippy said, get some calcium with D3, you also want a multivitamin too and give that a few times a week. Bee Pollen and a probiotic would help too. Since he was on antibiotics and he didn't have the best diet, the probiotic will help get his tummy in good shape for the new foods he's going to be eating. Bee Pollen is just an all around good thing to have in their diet, it's even good for us.