bearded dragon questions??

[justin4snakes]

i just wanted to know, can a bearded dragon live on aspen (larger shavings) as long as his insects and vegetables are in dishes? Also, i just rescued an abused bearded dragon who is 8 months and only like 3 inches snout to vent. Is there a way he can recover from he stunted growth?

[infernalis]

24 hours with zero replies?? come on now.. can anyone help out here?

[stephanbakir]

Regarding recovery i have no idea, but yes he can survive on aspen. Make sure he has an easy way of getting into the food bowl in case hes a little weak and also make sure they are in his line of sight so he can easily locate them.

I rescued a Curly tail and a few other lizards a while back that were REALLY small for their age and with enough food they all bounced back to just about normal. Monitor his food intake and make sure not to overfeed him, slowly bring him back up to normal food amounts and hope for the best.

[mistersprinkles]

It makes a lot more sense to keep the lizard on paper towel than it does on aspen from what I've heard up to this point. That's what my small one is on. They say not to keep small bearded dragons on any substrate if you can as it can lead to impaction. I'm pretty sure aspen isn't on the suggested bedding list though even for a larger dragon. I don't know if it'll hurt them but it isn't really ideal IMO.

[stephanbakir]

For sure hes better off with a dif substrate but i believe impaction is from them consuming the substrate, so as long as the food item is in a bowl without the substrate he should be ok.

[Lankyrob]

Any substrate COULD cause impaction if the animal eats enough of it, personally i keep my lizards on repti bark with an area sectioned off that has repti sand in it. I always feed them on te bark as the pieces are too big to be eaten.

[lukelightwalker]

Good for you for rescuing an abused dragon.

Shavings of any kind are not recomended for dragons. They are to easy for them to ingest. where as bark and sand they can deal with easier

We keep our beardies on a half repti bark and half repti sand substrate. sand on the hot side bark on the cool side. As for as impaction goes we find that with a bi or tri weekly treat of Horned Worms keep them moving very well as they are so high in fat that they go through them like Xlax.

as far as your small dragon goes do you know what the average temp was in the tank he was rescued from. If it was generally to cool he may have been in a constant state of brumination and just not eating anymore than he needed to survive. Give him lots of heat and lots of protien and he will likely catch up. We addopteed a bonded pair who were about the same size and shortly after we got them the female went into a brumination and by the time she came out the male had grown imensly to her. Now that she is out and eating like a horse again she is quickly catching up to him

[justin4snakes]

thanks i switched him to a tile and paper towel bedding. His previous temps where around 95 at the most, but now i have him with a 125 degree basking spot and he seems to be more active (and aggressive) now. He only eats if food is place directly in his face, and if it start running away he doesnt chase it. Is this good?

[mrherpdotca]

thanks i switched him to a tile and paper towel bedding. His previous temps where around 95 at the most, but now i have him with a 125 degree basking spot and he seems to be more active (and aggressive) now. He only eats if food is place directly in his face, and if it start running away he doesnt chase it. Is this good?

125 is a little on the warm side. I think 115 max. At 125 he is likely basking on the fringe of the spot.
I have heard about beardies being this age and very small because of neglect. It's amazing how little food they need to survive.
You should really have a fecal done to make sure it does not have a digestive tract bug. It may need a week or 2 on panacur to get on the right track.

Cheers.

Chris

[NennaMeerkat]

My own bearded is a little on the small size due to being a finiky eater, but I do know from other experiences that dragons can recover and get bigger if they are still young. I personally use reptile alfalfa pellets for my dragon since he loves to dig himself a trench to sleep in every night. He gets a little antsy if he can't dig. But every dragon is different just have to find what works best for your guy. Alfalfa pellets cannot get impacted as it is a leaf based product (and dragons can eat alfalfa normally) and breaks apart in the bowls and such naturally. Also their taste is distinctive and if the dragon is hunting crickets he is likely to spit out the pellet if he misses his mark when trying to grab up a cricket. I know mine does with a frustrated shake of the head...sending said pellet flying across his tank.

As for him not eating food unless it is right in front of him I would suggest allowing a small number of crickets loose in his home without a bowl. That way the scurrying crickets will eventually walk in front of him AND it may promote a "hunting". My dragon won't even eat a cricket if it isn't moving. Now if you are feeding him greens (I would personally suggest more crickets than greens to help promote growth) you can put the bowl of greens in his tank and physically move him to the bowl. You can even "hang" whole pieces of greens in the tank if he likes dangling food.

If you are feeding him greens may I ask what veggies you are feeding him?

[sickvenom]

^ agree with everything said.