How to Care for a Sick Bearded Dragon

Bearded dragons are fairly easy to care for, but nursing a sick beardie back to health can be a challenge. Here are some tips that could save your bearded dragon's life.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A qualified reptile veterinarian
• Warm water
• Superworms and mealworms
• A feeding syringe
• A blender
• Your bearded dragon's normal diet of vegetables and fruits
• Any prescribed medications

1. Determine any symptoms your bearded dragon might have. Signs of a problem include lethargy, loss of appetite and rapid weight loss.

2. At the first sign of distress, call a qualified reptile veterinarian. Your dragon will need to see a vet who is experienced in treating reptiles; the average dog and cat veterinarian probably won't cut it.

3. Collect a stool sample to take to the vet.

4. Begin keeping a journal of how much your dragon is eating and how often it is having a bowl movement.

5. If you can't get into a vet immediately, place your dragon in warm water deep enough to cover its body, but don't submerge its head. Test the water's temperature with your wrist. If your dragon is constipated, the water will encourage a bowl movement. The water is also good for a dehydrated bearded dragon.

6. If your dragon is refusing vegetables and fruit, tempt it with superworms and mealworms. Mealworms have a lot of calories, so feed these to a dragon that is losing weight.

7. If the dragon refuses the worms, puree veggies, fruit and the dragon's daily vitamins. You can add worms for additional protein. Syringe feed at least a tablespoon of the mixture.

8. Request a blood draw if the vet doesn't offer one. This test will rule out any possible problems with the dragon's organs.

9. If the vet prescribes medications, make sure to give them as directed. Read the labels carefully as some medications need to be refrigerated and the amounts can be confusing.

10. If the dragon isn't showing improvement in a week, schedule a follow up appointment. It can sometimes take a few tries to determine what is bothering a reptile.

11. Continue giving warm baths until the dragon shows improvement.

12. Continue syringe feeding until the dragon is eating on its own.

13. Finish the medications, even after the dragon has recovered. This will prevent infections from returning and continue to kill parasites.

Tips & Warnings

• When pureeing your dragon's diet, make enough for a few days and store it in a container in your refrigerator.
• Use a calender to keep track of when and how long to give medications.
• If your vet suspects parasites and you own other reptiles, take the well reptiles into the vet for preventative treatment.
• Reptiles do a good job of hiding illness, so it's important to get into the vet as soon as possible. Usually by the time a reptile owner notices something is wrong, the reptile is extremely sick.

[nsc1628]

on 7/29/2009 What is it indicating when a bearded dragon is white and beard is black

[Cyperian]

on 11/17/2008 Just a note:

This is great for most adult dragons. However, if you're dealing with a juvenile or with a dragon that is having trouble passing food, the meal worms/super worms are a bad idea. The shells of those particular creatures are very hard to digest.

I specifically asked the pet store owner about this at the time I purchased two bearded dragon juveniles and some meal worms. I was told the dragons wouldn't eat too much. Two days later I had two dead dragons.

So just please be careful with those worms.

[bmi57]

on 11/4/2007 I have always wanted a bearded dragon. Great step by step tips. Thanks.