Hi everyone! I am a chinchilla breeder in Northern California and also do small-scale chinchilla rescue. Somehow a few months ago, I ended up rescuing -not chinchillas - but adult bearded dragons! They were brought to the petstore I work at and unfortunately, were kept in very poor conditions. They were infested with mites, had URI's, internal parasites, and were all very malnourished and underweight. I felt so bad for them I had to bring them home. I set up an old fish tank I had with an under tank heater, Powersun bulb and another fixture with a smaller daylight bulb.

We started with mite treatment immediately (Reptile Relief spray) and soakings and I changed the paper towel substrate daily to prevent any eggs from hatching. I had to give them injections of an electrolyte liquid for dehydration. They were on TMS for the URI followed by Flagyl and Panacur. Once they were healthy, I adopted most of them out but still have two...

One is most likely going to be a special needs Bearded Dragon. He came here with a back injury and open wounds on his back which has caused his hind legs to be paralyzed. He can still get around the cage just using his front legs but it is difficult for him to catch crickets and worms. I have to handfeed him his live food (he can eat the greens on his own) and also have to give him water. Although he is alive, I don't know if it is right to keep him alive with the quality of life he has... I feel very bad for him.

The other Bearded Dragon I still have is a female who I kept for treatment because she developed an eye infection. However, I noticed her to be gravid a couple weeks ago and she actually just lay 16 eggs today! I had to do a crash course on Bearded Dragon breeding and set up a makeshift incubator for the eggs a couple hours ago. I have a tub half-filled with water that has an aquarium heater in it set to 85 degrees... then there is a stand inside the tub with a tupperware container on top which is filled with moistened vermiculite. I placed the eggs in there (and marked the positions they were in with a marker) so now I'm just hoping for the best.

If you read this entire intro, kudos to you, lol. I'm glad to be here and I'm sure I will have questions along this Bearded Dragon journey.

Hi and welcome to Herp Center. did the vet give you a quality of life exam on the severely injured one?
I wish you luck with all of them,, some people are just disgusting with how they treat their animals!
Oh, by the way,, my kids want one of your chinchillas, lol. BUt I told them no, lol

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Welcome to HC, kudos to you for taking in the Bearded Dragons.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Sorry to hear that your happened upon your Bearded Dragons due to someone elses neglect, but on the bright side they are very lucky you did.

Welcome and good luck with your Bearded Dragons!

welcome

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Welcome to Herpcenter! Good for you for taking in the Bearded Dragons!
Sounds like you have things under control but we will be glad to help answer any questions that arise.
As for the special needs Bearded Dragon, if the only problem is the hind leg paralysis and it is not in pain, I see no reason why, with the right person, it could not continue to live out its lifespan. Reptiles are very adaptable.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

hello and welcome
It just breaks my heart about the Bearded Dragons but sounds like you are a very good person. Chins area very cute.
Good Luck

Welcome to Herpcenter.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

Welcome to HC, and you're wonderful for taking in the Bearded Dragons!

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~Juliane~

Welcome to the HCN! Sounds like youre doing an awesome job with the Bearded Dragons. As Merlin said reptiles can adapt very well, he should do just fine. Good luck with those eggs and if you have any questions be sure to ask and post pics when you get the chance :-D