Hello everyone!

So, were do I begin... Well to start I am the owner of two leopard geckos that I am really happy with. This is the first time that I've owned any leo's and they have been great! I'm working on starting up a mealworm colony to help with feeding. Anyways, the other day me and my girlfriend were killing some time in Petsmart. Looking at my options for future reptile pets, I got to talking to an employee there. What started out as small talk ended up with me taking in a baby bearded that was severely neglected. Ok I'm going to try to be descriptive as I can, and if I can find my girlfriends digital camera I'll be able to show examples.

What I learned at petsmart -> The animal was bought and not taken care of properly then returned. The baby Bearded Dragon was sent to a veterinarian and then sent to Petsmart. At the vet it was injected with calcium and given an anti-bacterial to apply to sores. I went to petsmart on the 25th, they had the baby since the 9th. I talked to an employee there and he told me he has been force feeding it baby food and canned cat food. While mixing in a calcium supplement.

The condition of the Bearded Dragon -> He seems pretty bad, he uses three of his legs to move. The fourth leg looks darker then his others and is almost a dead limb. He has some swelling on that leg and possibly on the other ones. His hands (or feet, paws, whatever) are swollen. His toes seem to be bent up and it looks like he is missing a few. When he walks it looks like he avoids putting weight on the toes. He is pretty docile. (well obviously he's docile, he's sick)

The setup I have him in now -> I have him in a 10 gallon tank. In the tank is a water dish, a basking rock, and a fake plant. The fake plant shades the "cool" side. I use an infrared bulb at night and a UV emitting bulb during the day.

Treatment I have applied -> Last night I fed him baby food with calcium supplement. He does not eat like most lizards... but once you get him going he will take down a little bit. I also applied the anti-bacteral ointment last night. This morning I fed him cat food, he didnt like this as much as the baby food and I had to force his mouth open. Once he opened his mouth though he let me put a little on his tongue and he ate it. Tonight I gave him more baby food and also soaked him in warm water. I read online that this might help a dehydrated Bearded Dragon and also help with digestion.

What I want to know -> There is plenty I have to learn about Bearded Dragons. But what is important right now is recovery. ANY advice I can get will be much appreciated. Any suggestions at all will be welcome. My mind set was that this guy has a lot better chance of surviving with one on one attention. So please help me do that.


My girlfriend isn't home right now, but once I can get ahold of her I will post some pictures of gimpasouras rex.

When you say baby, how much of a baby is he.. or she?
How big, in inches?
What kind of substrate do you have him on?
And are you planning on getting him a bigger tank in the near future?
He'll need it.

Oh, I've never heard of feeding a Bearded Dragon baby food.
I believe I've heard of cat food, but I can't exactly recall.
What kind of baby food are you feeding him? Like, carrots, or pudding or what? lol

And I'm sorry, but I can't help with the healing process.. I've never had that experience.
I've never had a Bearded Dragon either, but I've been planning for one for weeks, if not a month, and I know a good bit. :]
I'm sure there's someone here who'll be able to help you with healing though.

__________________
♥lauren♥

My Babies
1 Rough Green Snake [[unknown]] Sprite
3 Cats [[all male]] Yellow Cat, Tobey, Chicko
1 Dachshund [[male]] Buddy
1 Red Eared Slider [[female]] Jeremy
2Bearded Dragon [[i think male/female]] Raptor and Rosalie


My Wishlist
Fire Belly Toads [[males and females]]
Corn Snake [[male or female]]
Poison Dart Frogs [[males and females]]
Emerald Tree Boa [[male or female]]
Some kind of Gecko... not sure yet

He's about 5-6 inches long I would say. Right now paper towel is his substrate. If he lives through the next couple of weeks, and then grows I will be getting him a much bigger tank as he will need it. And I think the baby food is like, mixed vegetables? I'm using that because I dont want to tax his digestive track much and he doesn't eat live food yet.

5-6 inches not including the tail? You probably should get him a bigger tank asap.
He'd be much happier.
Paper towel's a good choice for now, while you're rehabilitating him and such. :]]
I would think the mixed vegetable baby food would be okay... but I really have no idea. I don't know if they put things in that that reptiles shouldn't get or not. :/
Anddddd I believe they need the protien from live food. I would suggest starting him on crickets soon as you feel he's capable.

But then again I don't feel I really know enough yet to answer most of these questions because I haven't owned a Bearded Dragon.
So don't take my complete advice until someone else comes along. Hah. Sorry..
But I know paper towel's the best choice for a sick baby for sure. Well in my opinion at least... Haha.
Sorry I can't really help... All I can do is tell you what I think. :/

__________________
♥lauren♥

My Babies
1 Rough Green Snake [[unknown]] Sprite
3 Cats [[all male]] Yellow Cat, Tobey, Chicko
1 Dachshund [[male]] Buddy
1 Red Eared Slider [[female]] Jeremy
2Bearded Dragon [[i think male/female]] Raptor and Rosalie


My Wishlist
Fire Belly Toads [[males and females]]
Corn Snake [[male or female]]
Poison Dart Frogs [[males and females]]
Emerald Tree Boa [[male or female]]
Some kind of Gecko... not sure yet

Yea I will definitely be getting him onto some live foods when he is ready. He doesn't take any interest in meal worms yet, and he doesn't eat his baby food until it's on his nose or in his mouth either.

From everything I've heard, meal worms are harder to digest because of their exo skeleton.
They're not suggested for Bearded Dragons, I don't think.
Try superworms. :]
Or pinhead crickets.

I've never fed superworms to anything before... So I don't know how that goes.
But I'm very used to crickets. lol
My snake eats pinheads.
I saw him eat for the first time a couple days ago.
It was awesome. Haha.
I knew he ate, I'd just never seen it.
I was so happy. lol

And good luck with your Bearded Dragon.
I'm sure he's totally adorable.
I love Bearded Dragons. Haha

__________________
♥lauren♥

My Babies
1 Rough Green Snake [[unknown]] Sprite
3 Cats [[all male]] Yellow Cat, Tobey, Chicko
1 Dachshund [[male]] Buddy
1 Red Eared Slider [[female]] Jeremy
2Bearded Dragon [[i think male/female]] Raptor and Rosalie


My Wishlist
Fire Belly Toads [[males and females]]
Corn Snake [[male or female]]
Poison Dart Frogs [[males and females]]
Emerald Tree Boa [[male or female]]
Some kind of Gecko... not sure yet

Ok, for now I would keep him in the 10 gal. What are your temps? There should be a UVB bulb, make sure it says UVB not just UV or full spectrum. And try to get the highest UVB output you can.

I would also get a vet appointment ASAP. Sounds like there is a lot of stuff going on with this little guy. Make sure that you go to a certified REPTILE vet.

I would also get some protein in him as well. You can do this with Reptical. It is a supplement that comes in a powder, you mix it with water and feed like you are the baby food.

Warm baths are good. Paper towels are good.

Take the water dish out, it will raise the humidity level in that small of a tank. Also is the "basking" rock one of those ones that plugs in and heats up? If so cut the cord or trash it, those things have been known to short and kill the animal basking on it.

I would also try adding a hide for him. Even if it is something as simple as putting a small cardboard box in there for now. Make it just big enough for him to turn around in.

I would also get some pin head crickets and see if you can get him to eat those. The sooner you get him interested in hunting for his own food the better for him.

Good Luck!

__________________

No I will never use an electrical heat rock of death. It's just a rock I got outside a long time ago. Nice and flat. I will try to get him eating pinheads as soon as I can get him interested in them.

Another question I have which I did not add is about his limp leg. Right now it's noticeably darker, and he does not use it at all. If he survives through all this what are the chances of him losing his leg? I'll get pictures up probably tomorrow I have no idea were the camera is.

:/
I have no idea...
But I do want to wish you and your little Bearded Dragon luck. :]

What's his name?

__________________
♥lauren♥

My Babies
1 Rough Green Snake [[unknown]] Sprite
3 Cats [[all male]] Yellow Cat, Tobey, Chicko
1 Dachshund [[male]] Buddy
1 Red Eared Slider [[female]] Jeremy
2Bearded Dragon [[i think male/female]] Raptor and Rosalie


My Wishlist
Fire Belly Toads [[males and females]]
Corn Snake [[male or female]]
Poison Dart Frogs [[males and females]]
Emerald Tree Boa [[male or female]]
Some kind of Gecko... not sure yet