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I have a juvenile Chinese Water Dragon -- got him in December -- not sure how old he is. only about 6" lonb (without tail). He has stopped eating or drinking. He has sunken eyes and his skin has gotten loose and his hump on his back has gone soft. I have tried feeding him Repti-care, but won't take it very easily. He keeps shedding his skin, but has maintained nice color -- very worried as he won't eat and he seems very dehydrated. What can I do to get him back to health?
Optional Information: Pet's Gender: Male Pet's Age: <1 Already Tried: Repti-care. Crickets, mealworms -- quit eating crickets first, so was hand feeding mealworms.
Hello and Welcome to Justanswer,
Can you tell me about the set up?
Diet prey?
Substrate/bedding?
Temps and how measured?
Supplements?
UVB light? Tube or coil? How old is the bulb and strength?
Do you have a basking light?
Joan
30 gallon tank -- bathing pool , climbing log, artificial vines and leaves. was eating crickets -- and hand feeding mealworms (both with calcium powder) -- stopped eating.bedding is reptile "carpet" that is taken out and washed every week -- i just replaced last weekend. Small bowl with moist moss to retain humidityTemps range between upper 70's and upper 80'sUVB light -- bulb -- only a couple months old. 75WBasking light also -- Nighttime red heat lamp --small "under tank" heater on side of tank. Mist tank several times a day to retain humidity
Hello,
The UVB needs to be a Florescent Tube or Coil bulb. A Mercury Vapor bulb gives off UVB and they are self balasted. Do you have one of those? The UVB bulb would be rated a 5.0, 8.0 or 10.0.
sorry -- UVB is coil bulb. 8.0Also -- I just checked temp and it's at 85 degrees farenheit.
I suspect that the Water Dragon is dehydrated, so we are going to start with immediate first aid. Please set up a shallow soak of 50% warm water and 50% Plain Pedialyte(infant electrolyte replacer) in a bowl or the sink. The Water Dragon needs to soak for at least 30 mins in this soak. Once the Water Dragon is out og the soak, dry him off and put him back into the tank. You can make a mixture of meat flavored baby food(chicken or beef stage one and mix with calcium powder) drop on the snout and allow him to lick it off. Hopefully this will help until you can get him into the Herp Vet.
I suspect that you are dealing with a parasite issue, but without having the Dragon seen by a Herp Vet for a fecal and blood work it is impossible to say this for sure.
I would be happy to locate a Herp Vet for you with a State. I am afraid that without the Herp Vet he will only get worse. The loss of weight that you have described is the loss fat resources as well as the sunken eyes is not good. Joan
If you could please find a herp vet near the Flint, Michigan area, that would be of great help. I haven't had much luck.
I will give you a listing for Herp Vets. You may have to travel, but we will try to find some close by: http://www.anapsid.org/vets/mich.html or this link: http://www.herpcenter.com/reptile-vet-finder/michigan-reptile-vet-listings-45/
Experience: I have been doing Reptile Rescues for 15+ Years