HELP!!!! New water dragon!

[shandav]

Hi there! my brother just purchased a new baby chinese water dragon.. well his/her eyes are always crusted shut! i mean we have rinsed them with warm water..and it helps for a while then crusts over again? also he/she seems to be sheeding its skin but the skin dosnt look right.. its tough, brown and clumpy ugh! also he/she dosnt seem to move around much but if u try to pick him/her up he/she scoots away quickly? now i was wondering are these symptoms of mites, respitory and/or metabolic bone disease? if so how can i treat him/her? there isnt a reptile vet in the area so im a little stuck! any ideas and suggestions might be a great help!:confused:

[Aaron_S]

Pictures of the eyes and skin would be very useful.

We need more information though. What kind of set up do you have? The temperatures on the hot side/cool side and hot spot? The humidity. Also, if it's still really new, I would take it back to where ever you got it and tell them it looks sick.

[shandav]

I don't have a picture at the moment...
the cage set up is a homemade cage from an inclosed tv unit (5ft x 4.5ft), theres rocks and vines on the walls with a wood mulch type bottom that my bro was told to get when he purchased his 1st water dragon 4 years ago.. plus theres a smallwaterfalliin the back for moisture and a glass front for viewing! mind you the 2 dragons are kept separated for quarantene and so the larger dragon (who is male) dosnt hurt the baby one!
the cool spot ofthe cage is roughly between 73-75 degrees and the warmer spot is about 84-86 degrees! the humidity in the cage at the moment is 82%
also the skin seemsto be a little better my bro has been giving the baby dragon some dusted crickets and some calcium water dechlorinater in the water dish.. his/her skin has started to peel like normal.. but the eyes are still crusty and he/she seemtoscatch at them alot..yet there are no signs of mites like i thought!

[shandav]

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4262/waterdragonlc6.th.jpg (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=waterdragonlc6.jpg)

these are some pictures i took from the internet (not actual photos of my dragon) but the skin and syptomslook alot like these.. if its any help.. sorry i cant get an actual photo.. my camera is broken :S

[Faequine]

Its skirting away behavior is normal. it may calm down after it adjusts but with 'Terri' my aussie dragon that i had for a year, never calmed down, he always seemed to over react to everything. lol.

[Chu'Wuti]

Aaron, do saline baths help the skin & eyes in these animals? I've heard of using saline baths for treatments for skin ailments but have never done so myself. And I've never had a CWD, so I do NOT know if such a treatment would be at all appropriate.

So, Shandav, do NOT use this treatment unless Aaron says it's OK!

[milldabeast]

what about olive oil? i heard taht works great. like i said"HEARD" not sure tho, never done it. get some pediactric electrolytes and squirt it in its mouth or water bowl. once a day. that stuff is awsome. u can find it at shoppers drug mart or somthing like that. its for babies an ppl that are sick. gives them energy and helps fight out sickness. take an old tooth brush and apply water , oil, skin softener for lizards and snakes (at pet stores its only like 8$ they all have it)

[Chu'Wuti]

I have also heard that oil baths are really bad for herps' skin . . .

Shandav, what's happening at this point?

[milldabeast]

I have also heard that oil baths are really bad for herps' skin . . .

Shandav, what's happening at this point?
thats not what the pet store told me. where did u get your info?

[citysnakes]

thats not what the pet store told me.

:laugh:

you need to get your info, and animals, from somwhere other than pet stores.

[Chu'Wuti]

you need to get your info, and animals, from somwhere other than pet stores.

Absolutely! Pet stores are the worst source of info!

I got my info here from experienced keepers and breeders--people who actually know what they are talking about. People like Julian, and Mykee, and Aaron_S . . .

[milldabeast]

well i also have seen it written on several forums like herpcenter and repticzone which are way more advanced reptile forums. so your saying smbdy from this forum told you not too put oils on your lizard or snake to help shedding? has smbdy actually tried this or your just assuming to be safe? the stuff u buy in the store shedding aid or whatever has oil in it.

[milldabeast]

:laugh:

you need to get your info, and animals, from somwhere other than pet stores.
Speak for your own petstore. just cause the one you go 2 is run by a buncha idiots doesnt mean they all are. pet store owner has saved me a lot of money in vet bills. never had to take any of my dragons to the vet and ive raised 12 for a year and a half. have 2 adults for 6 years now. incubated 3 clutches and sold. all great health and shape. YouTube - milldabeast1's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/milldabeast1)

[milldabeast]

Absolutely! Pet stores are the worst source of info!

I got my info here from experienced keepers and breeders--people who actually know what they are talking about. People like Julian, and Mykee, and Aaron_S . . .
speak for your own pet store. mine actually have an interest in reptiles and have helped me a lot over the years. if your pet store didnt pay minumum wage then maybe you wouldnt get crap service.

[milldabeast]

:laugh:

you need to get your info, and animals, from somwhere other than pet stores.
cant assume that with all pet stores. thats like saying all rep veternarians rip u off. only most of them. some actually like doing it.

[milldabeast]

YouTube - milldabeast1's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/milldabeast1)
MAD sick vids. lots good advice from my pet store helped me have all this stuff. i got the sickest lizard vids on youtube

[Chu'Wuti]

well i also have seen it written on several forums like herpcenter and repticzone which are way more advanced reptile forums.

Boy, you really know how to win people over, don’t you? Be glad that my Internet service went down just as I was beginning to reply to your multiple posts attempting to “prove” your information is correct; it gave me time to reflect on my response to your insulting post. If you think herpcenter and repticzone are so much more “advanced,” why don’t you stay there instead of coming here and insulting this forum right after joining?

Furthermore, from what I've seen on repticzone, using oil is pretty controversial and quite a number of people do not recommend it. In addition, I am a member of several other forums, and I have never seen anyone recommend oil treatments without getting shot down by other members of the forum. This has been true no matter which forum I’m on, including repticzone and my herpetelogical society forum.

In addition to the forums, I also have multiple snake books, including veterinarian John Rossi & Roxanne Rossi’s “What’s Wrong with My Snake?”, and neither they nor any of my other books recommends the use of oil for treating any reptile skin conditions.

Furthermore, Melissa Kaplan, an online source that several people in various forums have recommended, also does not recommend oil except in tiny amounts for removing retained eye caps. Furthermore, here's what she says about Shed Aid Products, which you claimed are mostly oil:

Shed Aid Products
They are, in a word, useless. Well, that is not exactly true. The primary ingredient, by volume, is water. Water is very useful to humidify and loosen resistant skin and help it shed off appropriately. The water from your sink, tub or garden tap works just as well as the very expensive water and minuscule amount of vitamins, emollients and other nonessential and unhelpful ingredients in the shed aid products. (Bold added for emphasis)

Here’s the link to her info:
Reptile Skin Shedding (http://www.anapsid.org/shedding.html#aid)

Frankly, I’ll stick with the information in my herp texts by very experienced lizard & snake keepers and the information provided on this, other forums, and my herpetelogical society site by the very experienced lizard & reptile keepers with whom I’m familiar.

[Chu'Wuti]

Funny . . . after multiple searches of both herpcenter & repticzone, I could find only a few references to the use of olive oil, and the one person who tried it (for mites on a BP) ended up with a BP with more problems after the oil bath, which is what the experienced people here say will happen if someone uses oil . . . nobody really seemed to recommend oil much except for that one thread . . .

[citysnakes]

Speak for your own petstore. just cause the one you go 2 is run by a buncha idiots doesnt mean they all are.

i dont go to pet stores...

[Kmef07]

speak for your own pet store. mine actually have an interest in reptiles and have helped me a lot over the years

I have an interest in snakes...i'm researching them almost all day at work everyday looking at new morphs and learning as much as i can, but that doesn't make me knowledgeable. I don't care if someone has an interest it doesn't mean they know jack **** on the subject.

i dont go to pet stores...

I don't either anymore they are overpriced and useless. I can get better info online from this and other forums and i can get better prices online for the same things they sell.