Dehydrated bearded dragon

[Sena Hansler]

The last few poos he has had, has been dark and smelly. There was only one poo before I remember that had a smidge of white in there (not hard). If he does not get better in a week he is definitely visiting a vet.

[Drafeara]

Good call. I hope he gets better before it comes to that though. Best wishes to you and your dragon.

[Sena Hansler]

Would his weight change much in the week? Just so I can start checking his weight with the scale I have.

[pittipuppylove]

I agree with Drafeara. I'd say it sounds like a parasite issue - the immune system of a healthy beardie should keep the parasites that naturally occur in a balance, but if they get stressed (which it definately sounds like your little guy is/was) the immune system can be compromised which can allow the parasites to get the upper hand, and then it can be difficult for the balance to re-establish. Sounds like a good plan to get him to a vet if he doesn't start improving, but I'd be ready to take him earlier if he starts to take a turn for the worse.

Strange that he won't take his greens - all of the beardies I've ever met love to eat with a fiery passion. Maybe try some watermelon? Not a whole lot of nutritional value, but it has a high moisture content and could help with the dehydration.

Honestly, I don't know if you'd see much change in his weight over the course of a week. How sensitive is your scale? If you figure your beardie is two pounds (a big beardie), he could loose two tenths of a pound and that'd be 10% of his body weight - which can be rather significant.

[MidTnBetta]

Watermelon and iceberg lettuce is not good if watery poo, but again, good for dehydration. Sounds like he needs to readjust to proper care again. Will take a while. Mashed bananas are good. What temp is your tank at? We used to own/raised beardeds, etc and run a reptile store, so I know a little. Can you get grub worms? Try that instead of meal worms or crickets. Easier for them to digest as he gets used to good food again. Baby food fruit is another good thing to try. You don't have to use a syringe if he's drinking on his own. You should notice a slight change in weight in a week.

[Sena Hansler]

Never seen grub worms around here sadly.

My scale does down to ounces and to the decimal point. It's ones of the most sensitive scales out there lol :) I've used it for guinea piggies (the one who was supposed to be 5 pounds and was 1.6)
He even snubbed his favorites which shocked me. Then he decided he was tired of me trying to give him food and wander off lol.

Not sure on temp, I ordered an under-the-tank heat pad (for a third of the tank I think) for the night since I don't think those night bulbs are any good. Used them before and he was always sleeping during the day (more lazy, less likely to eat).

I read that during brumation they usually don't bask in the light as much or at all? He does

Another note, before I gave him a bath he was doing a "swallowing" motion which I noticed when looking down on him.

[Sena Hansler]

Another note, on the subject of heat lamps... The bulb that was in the lamp when I got him back was an energy efficient LIGHT bulb. That did not give off an ounce of heat. The other bulb was dead.

[Sena Hansler]

Weight: 0.532 kg (1.17 pounds)

I remember weighing him before I gave him up. He was about 0.590.

The temperature: N/A. Even the new exoterra temperature thermometers are wrecked with sand. Their kid must've decided to put all of them in there. They all say past 100 F, however it does not change during the night either.

However, I did test with my more accurate thermometer, it says 26.1 celsius (and I just turned the light on) I will test it again when I get home from work.

[Sena Hansler]

So... Was not sure what kind of baby food to get for him... So I grabbed three... Carrots, Sweet potatoes, and squash His favorite colors even lol. If he tastes it even, at least he will be eating some! And be unable to spit it out.

[ThePearlFish]

Wow, your boy is an impressive looking lizard Sena. Very pretty color.

I hope he starts to feel better soon and let us know if you end up taking him to the vet.

Just be careful that you don't give him too much carrot. Can give them Vit. A toxicity I believe? Moderate amount is okay. I'd have to look it up again though.