Worried about my new baby

[MadamDragon]

Hi, so I am new to the bearded dragon world and this is the 3rd day I have had her.. We finally measure her and she's about 12 inches. But this morning when I went to feed her she had no interest in the bugs her poop is runny and I'm not sure but I think she may have tail rot i rescued her and she wasnt living in great conditions. I just would like some input from ppl who have had there beardies for longer who could help me figure out if she's gonna be ok or if I need to take her to the vet.

 

[MadamDragon]

 

[MadamDragon]

That is what her tail looks like.

 

[Canicke]

hi. her tail looks ok to me. both of mine have darker tips than base (base = near the body) what are you feeding her? what was she fed? what kind of set up do you have for her? can you give us some ideas about her temps - basking? ambient (on the cold side) overnight? and maybe a picture of your set up ? a vet check up for a rescue is almost always a good idea. sometimes beardies will go through a transitional phase when they are moved - may not eat, may hide, may beard up - for a few days until they get settled in to their new digs. the more info you can give us, the betterer we can help you both !!!

 

[Elders]

just coat-tailing what Canicke said; it looks normal to me; they can darken their bodies when they are mad; (including the tail region) but it could also be retained shed; doesn't look like tail rot to me.

You should go to the vet anyways just as a first time visit. like canicke said; especially for a rescue.

 

[MadamDragon]

Well I've just got her so I'm still working on getting the proper set up and she is Gettin a little to big for it but am in the process of getting her a bigger one. As for food I am feeding her crickets and dust them. I was told that she was older then she was and gave her some veggies so I think that's why she may have poo problems. She hasn't been wanting to eat yet and I gave her her first bath today and she seemed to enjoy it. As for her actions she doesn't seem to act much different then when I first brought her home though I'm still learning. She had a second poo which I know is said to be bad but she actually seems to feel better now and is moving around more.

 

[MadamDragon]

it's a little on the plain side but like I said I just got her a couple days ago so I am still working on Gettin her everything she needs

 

[Canicke]

you are correct - she does need more room to run around! i would also like to see some kind of "hide" for her. it doesnt have to be fancy - a cardboard box will work til you get something that you like better. give her someplace to get out of the light if she wants to. you really don't need to keep a bowl of water - she probabaly wont drink from it. some do. and - unless you live where the humidity is high, it's ok, just not necessary. if you live in a highly humid area, skip the water bowl, please. some alternatives to crickets: lots of different types of worms. I feed both of my superworms and dubia roaches. I don't have ready access to other types of worms, but a lot of our members do and feed quite a variety. I treat my gecko to crickets every once in a blue moon - they are a pain! I much prefer dubias. once you get past the yuck factor - ever so much better than crickets. offer greens every day. if she doesn't know what they are, she may not eat them. younger beardies tend to not eat greens as much as older beardies, but that's not a sure fast rule. sometimes my girl (a retired breeder - several years old, but not sure exactly how old) wont eat greens at all. other times - there;'s nothing left when I get home. its an adventure - enjoy the ride !

 

[MadamDragon]

Ya I know I need to find her something she can hide in it will be the next thing that I get for her. And I will be getting her different kinds of bugs to eat as well. Thanks for the help and input it was indeed helpful

 

[PatsyB]

She could not be eating too because she's going through a bit of relocation stress. Once she settles in things might get better. Veggies are something that can be offered at any age and the the earlier you start them on them the better. Here's a link to some veggie ideas: http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf If the poop is still runny after you add some fiber to her diet, then I would have it checked for parasites.

A couple things to tweak with the tank, it is on the small side and it's hard to get a temperature gradient in a smaller tank. Young ones need about 107 degrees in the basking spot and 75-85 on the cool side during the day. Get something good to measure your temps with like an infrared temp gun, you can get them on Amazon for around $13 or a digital probe thermometer that you can put right on the basking spot will work too. It looks like you have a basking light and a coil or compact UVB. Coil bulbs are really no good, a compact bulb is a little better and is okay to use on a temporary basis but you really want to get something like a ReptiSun 10.0 or Arcadia tube style UVB bulb. Coil and compact bulbs have been known to cause eye problems and they don't disperse the UVB onto a wide range of the tank. Places like Dr. Foster and Smith or PetMountain usually have great online deals on lighting. Might even be having some sort of Memorial Day sale this weekend.

I feed mine a variety of different worms. Super worms are the staple but then they also get hornworms, silkworms and butterworms.