Vet visit

[Matt.keith7]

Just got my first dragon almost a week ago and taking him today for a vet check up. Shenron is 1 1/2 year old male. He seems fine and healthy... Hasn't been eating much but has been eating. What are some things I should ask the vet? Or some things he should check or look for?

 

[Dinky-Blinky]

Vet should check weight, length, eyes, mouth, ears, check for any unusual lumps bumps, claws, vent and genitals.

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[droco's mommy]

hi your dragon might not be eating because he could be sheading his skin I know mine stop eating when they shead but its always best to ask the vet tho

 

[mxw0rld]

He might not be eating because of relocation stress!! It takes a few weeks for them to not be scared of a new environment! Especially if he's an older beardie. He has been living in the same place for over a year and now bam he's in this new place with new faces and new smells so he's scared to death! I would be too!

And if he's stressed out that will cause his parasite levels to be super high which will make the vet think he needs medicine for parasites.

Anytime you get a new beardie you have to give him 2-4 weeks to see stress before taking him to a vet and freaking out about not eating.

I honestly would reschedule your vet visit for another couple of weeks to let him de stress. It is very normal for them to not eat when they have been relocated!


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[Matt.keith7]

Thanks for the replies. He has been eating a little bit from my hand.. Some greens and he snatched up a super worm this morning. 2 days ago he ate about half his salad. He is shedding some. Looks like his hind legs and a spot behind his head are the only pieces of dead skin left.

I have his temps in the tank at about 95 in the basking side and around 80 on the other side. That's at the thermometers on the wall. The ir temp gun says over 110 on his tall tree perch and about 105 at his rock surface. This is under a 165 watt mvb and a smaller basking light. These lights are on a timer for 14 hrs a day. Night time temps don't drop below 75 in the tank with nothing on.

I can take him back to the vet in a couple weeks if I need to et him re checked. My girlfriend works there and she's already taken him with her.

 

[mxw0rld]

For an adult those temps are way too high! You need to get those temps down! 110 is for babies not adults. That could be another reason for not eating.


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[Matt.keith7]

For an adult those temps are way too high! You need to get those temps down! 110 is for babies not adults. That could be another reason for not eating.


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That must be why he hangs around the 95 degree area. I'll raise the light a few inches and cut off the smaller basking light.. See what that does. Thanks

 

[mxw0rld]

That must be why he hangs around the 95 degree area. I'll raise the light a few inches and cut off the smaller basking light.. See what that does. Thanks

That sounds great! Give him a couple days to adjust to the new temps and let us know how he is doing.


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[PatsyB]

I agree lower the temps 95--00 is good for an adult and give him some time to settle in. You should wait a few weeks until he settles in to take him to the vet unless there is something really off like really runny poop. If you have other reptiles you may want to take him to to make sure there is nothing that can be spread to your other reptiles.

 

[Matt.keith7]

Ok it's been almost a week since I lowered Shenron's temps. I cut off the extra basking light and the temps dropped a lot but he still wasn't eating much at all. I covered one side of the tank with some black background paper to try to make him feel more secure.

Temps were around 100 on his basking tree and about 95 on his rock on the basking side. Around 80 on the other side. I've never seen him on the cool side. He was either hiding and sleeping or laid out on the rock. Not touching the kale or spring mix or summer squash I fixed for him every day. He would only eat super worms when I held them I front of his face. He would only eat one per day, anymore than that and he would close his eyes and turn his nose up.

I gave him a bath yesterday. Still has some dead skin on his thighs and a patch at his upper neck. Still hasn't pooped..

Yesterday afternoon I raised his mvb about 4 inches above the wire cover. This lowered the temps by at least 5 degrees across the whole enclosure.

I picked up some super worms and some adult dragon dry food after work today. When I got home he was up on his basking tree and perked up when I walked in the room. I fixed him some fresh salad with a few pieces of dry food and he was eyeing it when I put it down. Then he ate 5 super worms one after the other and went down and licked some water off the salad. He didn't eat anything in the bowl though. He made a lap around the tank and fell asleep beside his rock.

Today is the only day he has moved around and wanted more food. So I hope the temps are more to his liking now.

 

[mxw0rld]

Ok it's been almost a week since I lowered Shenron's temps. I cut off the extra basking light and the temps dropped a lot but he still wasn't eating much at all. I covered one side of the tank with some black background paper to try to make him feel more secure.

Temps were around 100 on his basking tree and about 95 on his rock on the basking side. Around 80 on the other side. I've never seen him on the cool side. He was either hiding and sleeping or laid out on the rock. Not touching the kale or spring mix or summer squash I fixed for him every day. He would only eat super worms when I held them I front of his face. He would only eat one per day, anymore than that and he would close his eyes and turn his nose up.

I gave him a bath yesterday. Still has some dead skin on his thighs and a patch at his upper neck. Still hasn't pooped..

Yesterday afternoon I raised his mvb about 4 inches above the wire cover. This lowered the temps by at least 5 degrees across the whole enclosure.

I picked up some super worms and some adult dragon dry food after work today. When I got home he was up on his basking tree and perked up when I walked in the room. I fixed him some fresh salad with a few pieces of dry food and he was eyeing it when I put it down. Then he ate 5 super worms one after the other and went down and licked some water off the salad. He didn't eat anything in the bowl though. He made a lap around the tank and fell asleep beside his rock.

Today is the only day he has moved around and wanted more food. So I hope the temps are more to his liking now.

Can you check his poop when he does poop cuz feeding superworms as a staple isn't so good. Phoenix worms, BSFL's, dubia's, crickets, or discoids are a much better option. Superworms have more chitin which makes it hard for them to digest. I did the same thing to Wally and after 3 days of supers and nothing else cuz I gave in to him! Lol - his poop was all supers! Big huge pieces of them.

I'm just curious cuz you said he hasn't pooped. So when he does poop just take a toothpick and look thru to make sure he's not eating too many supers.

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just saying from experience what happened to me and I don't want the same thing to happen to your baby.

 

[Matt.keith7]

Can you check his poop when he does poop cuz feeding superworms as a staple isn't so good. Phoenix worms, BSFL's, dubia's, crickets, or discoids are a much better option. Superworms have more chitin which makes it hard for them to digest. I did the same thing to Wally and after 3 days of supers and nothing else cuz I gave in to him! Lol - his poop was all supers! Big huge pieces of them.

I'm just curious cuz you said he hasn't pooped. So when he does poop just take a toothpick and look thru to make sure he's not eating too many supers.

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just saying from experience what happened to me and I don't want the same thing to happen to your baby.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't take it mean..lol I've been waiting for a poop so we can get it tested. I'll look through it too. Do you think he should have pooped by now? I think I remember the previous owner saying that he had just pooped when I got him. He also said it was usually massive too! Lol

I have crickets too but he dont even look at them.. Should I try just throwing some in there tomorrow?


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[mxw0rld]

Thanks for the advice. I didn't take it mean..lol I've been waiting for a poop so we can get it tested. I'll look through it too. Do you think he should have pooped by now? I think I remember the previous owner saying that he had just pooped when I got him. He also said it was usually massive too! Lol

I have crickets too but he dont even look at them.. Should I try just throwing some in there tomorrow?


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Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. My mom is in the hospital and I was dealing with that. Sorry.

Am I understanding you correct that he hasn't pooped at all since you got him like the end of July??? I've got a 16 week old and he poops once a day and it is massive! Adults usually poop once a week or so. Maybe get him in the bath cuz Wally always poops in the tub. The hot water makes him go! But when Wally does it I think he thinks bath time is over! He will poop 5 mins into the bath. So I'm like no no no you are going to get back in once I clean this mess up silly man! Lol

I do not feed my beardie's in their enclosures. I use a plastic container & put them in it. I don't want the dirt on the carpet! Lol besides those crickets will all run and hide in anything and everything you've got! Under the carpet, in all his hidey spots and seriously they can bite on him at night. If you can go to the dollar store and get one of those plastic bins that you store clothes or papers in, depending on how big he is will depend on the size you need. I think that would be better for you, your dragon and the crickets.

 

[Hdrydr31]

I feed dubia and supers as a staple and as long as they are hydrated they should be good.. My female went 19 days between poops not long ago.. Increase your water temps for bathtime, you can feed him some pure canned pumpkin (nothing else in the can but pumpkin) if in a few days still nothing you can do gentle belly rubs, a drop of cooking oil, gerber baby food (the all natural ones) prunes or pumpkin.
My female will poop every day to every other day depending on how much she has eaten.And she likes really warm water makes my hand slightly pink. My male will poop every day within 5 mins of being in the sink.

 

[mxw0rld]

I feed dubia and supers as a staple and as long as they are hydrated they should be good.. My female went 19 days between poops not long ago.. Increase your water temps for bathtime, you can feed him some pure canned pumpkin (nothing else in the can but pumpkin) if in a few days still nothing you can do gentle belly rubs, a drop of cooking oil, gerber baby food (the all natural ones) prunes or pumpkin.
My female will poop every day to every other day depending on how much she has eaten.And she likes really warm water makes my hand slightly pink. My male will poop every day within 5 mins of being in the sink.

How warm is TOO warm? I'm always afraid the water is too warm. Lol

 

[Dinky-Blinky]

When I bath my girls they will poop within 10 min I have it as warm as you would with a new born baby bath

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[Hdrydr31]

How warm is TOO warm? I'm always afraid the water is too warm. Lol

Each dragon is different.. it should be like what you would bathe a baby..I know when it's too hot when they don't want to have anything to do with being in the sink or start picking up their feet... You will learn what yours wants...I know when she's not pooped I need to increase the temp some..

 

[mxw0rld]

Each dragon is different.. it should be like what you would bathe a baby..I know when it's too hot when they don't want to have anything to do with being in the sink or start picking up their feet... You will learn what yours wants...I know when she's not pooped I need to increase the temp some..

I was curious about that cuz up until last week he has never pooped in the bath water. So then I guess it was not warm enough. Lol

I warmed the water a bit and now he poops every time within the first 5-7 minutes! Lol

Thank you for your help!

 

[Hdrydr31]

I was curious about that cuz up until last week he has never pooped in the bath water. So then I guess it was not warm enough. Lol

I warmed the water a bit and now he poops every time within the first 5-7 minutes! Lol

Thank you for your help!

you just gotta learn what they want.. my male Simon LOVES the water I set him on the counter while the water is warming up then he goes to the edge and slides into the water and will go within 5 min or so but my female Izzy likes LONG soaks then a bit hotter water that she can pancake in and typically she will "play in the water" swish her tail around scratch her head then she puffs up and will go..then she wants nothing to do with being in the water.. lol I think it's funny how different they are. Just remember they can't sense the heat on their bellies so you have to make sure you monitor closely..and you never leave them alone..

 

[mxw0rld]

you just gotta learn what they want.. my male Simon LOVES the water I set him on the counter while the water is warming up then he goes to the edge and slides into the water and will go within 5 min or so but my female Izzy likes LONG soaks then a bit hotter water that she can pancake in and typically she will "play in the water" swish her tail around scratch her head then she puffs up and will go..then she wants nothing to do with being in the water.. lol I think it's funny how different they are. Just remember they can't sense the heat on their bellies so you have to make sure you monitor closely..and you never leave them alone..

I never walk away! I went and bought a water thermometer with a probe so I can see exactly how hot the water is. Lol - I'm such a mom!

Thank you so much for all your help. I can't wait until Wally likes baths. When I put him in it he will climb up my arm.

Do you bath Simon and Izzy together? I know dumb question. Lol - probably not.