When you fall in love with the neglected

Discussion in 'Bearded Dragons' started by beardyshmear, Oct 29, 2015.

  1. beardyshmear

    beardyshmear Embryo

    Messages:
    1
    Hey guys,
    So I'm kinda driving myself crazy trying to help this 10 year old(roughly) Bearded Dragon. My brother got her and basically forgot about her. My mother has been taking care of her the entire time, but in my opinion barely. My mother has been keeping her outside during the summer as it gets hot here, but is incredibly humid (Houston, TX) and I just moved her to the cage my brother had. Before I started to give her attention the most human interaction she got was my mom giving her food and water. When I realized the way she was being treated, or should I say not treated, I decided that I'd like to give her some quality in her life, however much she may have left. The problem with this is I have this bearded dragon, a 36" long 18" wide and 16" tall fish tank, a hood with one UVA and one UVB bulbs (don't know the specs), another hood with a 40W halogen bulb and another UVA(or UVB not sure which). I went to the pet store and got ground walnut shell substrate (only to later find out that was a bad idea), a 100W mercury vapor bulb, calcium supplement, 1 digital thermometer(going to get another next chance I get because I had a brain fart and forgot to get the second) and another 40 W halogen bulb. Thought that should be MORE that enough heat, right? nope. With all the lights on the screen the highest temp in the cage is on the basking side at 85 F. When she was first moved to the cage she was fine but over the past couple of days she's become somewhat lethargic, her head has become a bright yellow, and when I stop by my place to check on her I ended up being late to where I needed to be because it looked like she was having spasms and it scared the hell out of me. She hasn't been eating at all, I've been trying to feed her superworms because she was being fed mealworms before and as much as I'd like to switch her to dubia roaches I don't know if she will like the drastic change of diet. I've also been making her a salad everyday with bok choy, collard greens/ mustard greens, finely chopped squash, and carrots. I know winter is right around the corner so she could be going into brumation, but that doesn't make sense because when I hold the mercury bulb a little closer to a platform I made of tiles she'll make her way over fairly quickly (not FAST but faster than stationary, obviously) and bask, but I can't stand there holding the bulb closer all day and when it's on the screen it just doesn't do what it needs to. I guess what I'm really asking for is advice because I've never taken care of any reptile before but have always been fascinated with them. So please help me? what am I doing wrong/right? What do I need to change? And is her behavior something to worry about, or does it have to do with the heat? And what's up with her head color changing to yellow and her body almost losing her color and becoming pale? She is normally more of a tannish color/
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. geckolover22

    geckolover22 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    575
    Hello and welcome. Sounds like she's in a 45ish gallon glass tank? It's hard regulating in glass tanks to begin with so it adds to the trouble. Moving her in melamine bearded dragon enclosure would probably be ideal but other things may work for the time being and better than glass. I would probably get a bigger bulb so her basking spot can be around 100-110 degrees if not then an UTH for supplemental heat for the time being. The food list looks pretty good. Carrots and bok choy is best as an occasional treat and an excellent staple veggie would be the mustard/collard greens. More info --->http://www.blackninjakitty.com/herps/care/troystuttlegreeniglist.htm
    The spasms could possibly be from a calcium deficiency so boosting the calcium or administering liquid calcium to help but a trip to the vet sounds best. Does she look dehydrated? Any pics of her current state? Typically, if the husbandry is spot on these guys can make an astounding recovery. Hope she gets better!
     

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