Skinny rescue

[Cori]

Got a new beardie a week ago and she's super skinny. Old owner said she regularly stops eating, then will eat and put weight back on. I know these people to be extremely caring pet parents, but I'm thinking in the case of this girl they were just uneducated. But this is also their 4th, so maybe I'm missing something.

First weigh-in was 174g and she's about 3 years old. I haven't seen her eat anything in her tank so I've been force feeding her repti boost and in a week she's gained 20 grams! Today was the first time I put wax worms in her tank and now I don't see them, so I'm assuming they were eaten. Still sleeps a lot and has trouble getting off branches and logs gracefully. So any advice on getting weight back on her would be appreciated. Already gave her a new UVB.

Not letting me post pics on the mobile site. Might have MBD. So tips on sharing pics would help too.

Thanks

 

[Cori]

Finally got pics uploaded!
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[Hdrydr31]

Glad that you've rescued this sweet one.. Few things I would suggest.. Dubia roaches, superworms, butterworms, hornworms, waxworms, phoenix worms... BUT don't feed too many at once you can make her sick. Make sure they are gut loaded well... lots of bath time giving her the opportunity to drink. You can also do slurries of powdered probiotics, powder dandelion, powder alfalfa, pedialite, Gerber naturals squash, sweet potato in a syringe...
Take her to a vet to be checked, fecal done to see about parasites, I would agree on the MBD so calcium is very important, along with the UVB and temps..
I know you want to keep her from hurting herself when she falls but I would take out the reptile dirt as it harbors bacteria, smells, can be ingested....I would use repticarpet and keep things down low so she doesn't fall and hurt herself.

Your doing a good job at getting some weight on her as she's looking better hydrated but has a way to go for sure..

 

[Cori]

Glad that you've rescued this sweet one.. Few things I would suggest.. Dubia roaches, superworms, butterworms, hornworms, waxworms, phoenix worms... BUT don't feed too many at once you can make her sick. Make sure they are gut loaded well... lots of bath time giving her the opportunity to drink. You can also do slurries of powdered probiotics, powder dandelion, powder alfalfa, pedialite, Gerber naturals squash, sweet potato in a syringe...
Take her to a vet to be checked, fecal done to see about parasites, I would agree on the MBD so calcium is very important, along with the UVB and temps..
I know you want to keep her from hurting herself when she falls but I would take out the reptile dirt as it harbors bacteria, smells, can be ingested....I would use repticarpet and keep things down low so she doesn't fall and hurt herself.

Your doing a good job at getting some weight on her as she's looking better hydrated but has a way to go for sure..

She always has superworms and Mazuri pellets (my big girl loves the pellets) but it seems like she only started eating on her own in the last day or so. I've been forcing a wax worm or two in her mouth and she'll eat that unwillingly. She's still so lethargic I don't see her going for roaches yet. Where do I get the powders you mentioned?

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[Hdrydr31]

Most of us get our powders from http://www.beardeddragon.co/ The pellets may not be the best option with her being soo dehydrated I would offer more collard, mustard, dandelion, turnip greens...When my gal wasn't eating (this is gross but....) I would mash up a few dubia in with the powders that way I knew she got some bug protein too..

 

[PatsyB]

Make a slurry of bugs and healthy greens and pedialite or some plain coconut water, with some probiotic, calcium powder, bee pollen. Repashy Grub Pie is good too. Bath so she can drink, dribble water on the front of her mouth slowly and it will go in her mouth. Looks like there is some MBD going on there. I would get a fecal done but wait a few weeks until she settles into your house because stress could make parasites multiply.

 

[Cori]

Still not eating any veggies on her own but I'm pretty sure she's eating wax and super worms. Haven't actually seen her eat them, cause if I'm staring at her she stares at me, not the worms. But I can't find them the next day. So fingers crossed she's actually eating them and I'm not just losing them.

Powders are ordered, so once I get those I'll add them to her repti boost mush. I'm amazed by the effectiveness of the repti boost though, we've already gained over 30 grams in a week!

Any opinions or suggestions on appetite stimulators? Obviously I want her to be healthy but I'm thinking at this point I should be giving her anything to make her want to eat on her own. As fun as it is hand feeding her everyday, I'd really like her eating on her own.

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[PatsyB]

Bee Pollen is supposed to be a great appetite stimulator. It hasn't worked for me but I have heard lots of people swear by it.

 

[Cori]

Update on Athena. She's fighting the syringe feeding more so I was thinking she was eating more on her own when I wasn't looking so she just hasn't been hungry. She's obviously getting stronger and is much more alert. We just had a poop that looked like mush though. I don't wanna take her to the vet and stress her out of I don't have to. I was planning on taking her in a few weeks when she was more comfortable. Haven't gotten my powders yet so we're still on just repti boost. Do you guys think this is worth a vet visit? Gone from 174 grams to 215g so weight gain is steady. We've had one small solid poop, so this one was concerning.

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[Hdrydr31]

eekkk diarrhea is not good it can be signs of coccidia, what has she eaten?? If it were me I'd get her in to be safe. It's great that she's gaining weight!!

 

[Cori]

All I've seen her eat is the occasioanl wax worm and a lot of repti boost paste which looks just like the poop. If she hasn't eaten anything solid you can't expect a solid poop. That's the only reason I'm hesitant to rush her in. And PatsyB said to let her settle in too

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[Hdrydr31]

Well that's true kinda stuck between a rock then... keep eye on weights, what she takes in and out so you can judge how she's doing. keep her hydrated if she's got loose poop..

 

[PatsyB]

Is she still pooping like this? If she is I would worry about dehydration and I would take her in to be looked at. You should let her settle in but if she's pooping like this, you should bring her in.

 

[Cori]

It's every couple poops that are liquid. She's perking up a lot and she gaining weight without me force feeding her but I'm scheduling a vet appt later this week

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[Hdrydr31]

I think that is a good idea to have her checked, at least you will know if she's got parasites or some sort of deficiency...keep us posted

 

[Cori]

Look who finally decided to eat her veggies on her own!!! Vet appt is tomorrow so we'll see what he has to say

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[Hdrydr31]

Look who finally decided to eat her veggies on her own!!! Vet appt is tomorrow so we'll see what he has to say

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Yea!! Glad to see she's doing some eating on her own! That's always a good thing, it will be interesting to see what the vet has to say and hope your able to get a fecal sample to be checked.
I would be remiss if I didn't comment on the substrate.. Any kind of loose substrate will get eaten when they eat like in the pic and also ingested when they lick their surroundings...It can cause impaction and digestion issues, can get in their eyes causing problems, harbors bacteria, holds in odors..
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Cori]

Yea!! Glad to see she's doing some eating on her own! That's always a good thing, it will be interesting to see what the vet has to say and hope your able to get a fecal sample to be checked.
I would be remiss if I didn't comment on the substrate.. Any kind of loose substrate will get eaten when they eat like in the pic and also ingested when they lick their surroundings...It can cause impaction and digestion issues, can get in their eyes causing problems, harbors bacteria, holds in odors..
Just my 2 cents.

She's eating out of a bowl you just can't see in the pic. I have repticarpet ordered, just hasn't arrived yet and newspaper scares me with all the ink, so I'm keeping her in what she's used to till then. I know birds that have gotten sick from ink. Tried paper towels aready too but she threw those everywhere. So just gotta wait for carpet

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[mxw0rld]

I totally agree with hdrydr31 it's great that she's eating greens!! Way to go!! But that dirt is not a good substrate for beardies.


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[Hdrydr31]

She's eating out of a bowl you just can't see in the pic. I have repticarpet ordered, just hasn't arrived yet and newspaper scares me with all the ink, so I'm keeping her in what she's used to till then. I know birds that have gotten sick from ink. Tried paper towels aready too but she threw those everywhere. So just gotta wait for carpet

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Understand...make sure you keep her hydrated and pooping ok If it's too long until you get it newspaper is fine short term, better option IMO...