ingie
Well-Known Member
About 6 months ago I purchased a boyd's forest dragon. I was looking for nice big healthy adults but ended up getting a soft spot for this 3 year old male that was being picked on and injured by the others he was kept with. He was smaller than the others, had missing claws, broken toes, bent tail and swollen/lumpy looking leg joints. He has no interest in food and has to be hand fed every meal.
I thought he would snap out of his depression when I removed him from his situation but he didn't completely. He still won't feed himself. Lately it has gone to a whole new level though. He just sits on the floor with his head on the ground looking like he has given up on life. It makes me so sad. Because he has been sitting on the cold bottom and not moving I have just put him in a small 3 foot wide x 2 foot tall 'hostpital enclosure' where I can make sure he is warm and see if he is pooing properly etc. There is a thermostat set to 25 degrees at the bottom and a shallow water dish. He is on newspaper with some bunches of fake plants to hide under. There is a 5% UV tube and a heat lamp. There is no point having vertical things in there because he isn't using them at the moment and he actually appears to have reduced movement in his legs and feet. I have been giving him a warm bath every couple of days. He looks like he has lost some weight so I have been syringe feeding him hills a/d mixed with a bit of warm water, and putting squashed woodies in his mouth with sporadic use of calcium powder and vitamin powder. I also open his mouth and drip water in.
A little about his original enclosure:
His enclosure has tall vertical branches to climb on, and fake plants and vines with lots of places to hide. He has a big water dish on the bottom with a heat cord under it to increase humidity, I also mist the enclosure frequently with warm water. During the warmer months of the year he has only a 5% UV spiral globe as anything else overheats his enclosure. The temperature fluctuates in the mid to high 20's. At this time of year I have a 60 watt globe in his enclosure hooked up to a thermostat that keeps the very top of the enclosure at 30 degrees, and it drops off to room temperature towards the bottom.
I really don't know what to do here. I would be happy to hear any advice on where I may have gone wrong, or what I could do to help him. Also if there is anyone in Brisbane with real EXPERIENCE owning Boyd's, who feels like they could help, I would give him to you. I just want him to be happy.
I thought he would snap out of his depression when I removed him from his situation but he didn't completely. He still won't feed himself. Lately it has gone to a whole new level though. He just sits on the floor with his head on the ground looking like he has given up on life. It makes me so sad. Because he has been sitting on the cold bottom and not moving I have just put him in a small 3 foot wide x 2 foot tall 'hostpital enclosure' where I can make sure he is warm and see if he is pooing properly etc. There is a thermostat set to 25 degrees at the bottom and a shallow water dish. He is on newspaper with some bunches of fake plants to hide under. There is a 5% UV tube and a heat lamp. There is no point having vertical things in there because he isn't using them at the moment and he actually appears to have reduced movement in his legs and feet. I have been giving him a warm bath every couple of days. He looks like he has lost some weight so I have been syringe feeding him hills a/d mixed with a bit of warm water, and putting squashed woodies in his mouth with sporadic use of calcium powder and vitamin powder. I also open his mouth and drip water in.
A little about his original enclosure:
His enclosure has tall vertical branches to climb on, and fake plants and vines with lots of places to hide. He has a big water dish on the bottom with a heat cord under it to increase humidity, I also mist the enclosure frequently with warm water. During the warmer months of the year he has only a 5% UV spiral globe as anything else overheats his enclosure. The temperature fluctuates in the mid to high 20's. At this time of year I have a 60 watt globe in his enclosure hooked up to a thermostat that keeps the very top of the enclosure at 30 degrees, and it drops off to room temperature towards the bottom.
I really don't know what to do here. I would be happy to hear any advice on where I may have gone wrong, or what I could do to help him. Also if there is anyone in Brisbane with real EXPERIENCE owning Boyd's, who feels like they could help, I would give him to you. I just want him to be happy.
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