• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Ruth the Beardie

Zeina said:
This is awesome!!!

I had a beautiful baby girl beardie I named Fury- I used to work at Petsmart, and she was seizing in her enclosure- and since that wasn't " pleasing " and customers kept complaining, they were going to put her down as she wasn't selling.

I took her home instead, she had metabolic bone disease- she only grew a few inches before she passed away. She was my first bearded dragon, too. I loved her so much and I wanted her to live a happy life but she deteriorated after a year and I had to put her to sleep.
It is so heartwarming seeing someone else able to take on such an amazing animal with such a difficult disease.
I can't wait to hear more about her! Nice job!
Click to expand...
It sounds like they had some serious flaws in their husbandry. I'm sorry that your little girl didn't make it. It's unfortunate that she had to suffer because of a pet store's lack of caring and education. You did a good thing, trying to get her healthy. Bearded dragons are a big, but rewarding responsibility, and you are wonderful for taking in a beardie in poor condition as your first.

I'm thankful that Ruth appears to have only mild to moderate MBD.
 
Ruth and I had some cuddle time on the couch after I brought her inside. After a bit, she crawled over to the pillow all by herself. She's getting around much more efficiently and even got on top of one of her hide boxes to bask. It's about time to redo her enclosure and add ramps and railed platforms for her!

b41b650ae480c078efe7974d02fc9167.jpg
 
I'm glad to see her and her beard such a happy color this morning. She's totally awesome. Did she ever wind up in the right place. In spite of the vet visit I think she knows it. I'm so glad she continues to make progress so quickly and is more and more mobile. Keep the updates coming! I'm sure I'm not the only one who is in love with your Ruth.
 
So happy to hear she's doing so well! She's got a lot of sass I can tell lol.


why must good reptile vets be such a rare and endangered breed..
Click to expand...
No joke...I work for a vet but he doesn't see reptiles, so I had to find *another* vet to see my beardie Nancy when she was ill and one of my snakes...I'm glad I did, he's a good guy but I wish my boss saw them, would make my life easier...Now that I'm going to be moving to a completely different state I get to find one all over again, and this time I'll be in a less populated state so that will make it more difficult :/
 
DollysMom - I can't put into words how grateful and thankful Ruth and I are for your, and everyone else's support. This online community is just amazing! I can't help but think that her quick and continuing recovery is not only due to my care, but all of the well wishes and positivity from all of you :) I've taken in many rescues, cold blooded and warm, and none of them have come as far, as quickly, as Ruth has. Nor have we had such a wonderful support group.

Zombiegirl- I hope you're able to find a good vet in your area. I think we can all sympathize with how difficult it can be to find a vet that's experienced with reptiles, and that cares for their well being as much as we do!
 
Ruth kept me busy today. She was out exploring everything she could get to! She's getting around quite well, and has started climbing up onto small items. It's like having a kid that's started the 'terrible two' stage lol. I can't wait to see how she progresses with the roaches. She seems to really like them :)

No more laying probes on the boxes! Everything has to be moved out of reach now. I want to build her some nice wooden hides and ramps very soon. I'd also like to paint the inside of her enclosure, but don't know if there is anything beardie safe. The particle board just looks so tacky. It's funtional, and sealed, so it's easy to scrub if need be, but I'd like to do something with it nonetheless. It's as appealing as nails on a chalkboard *shudder*
f3fd763ebea2212b66adedd0fb1a26c2.jpg
 
After some contemplation, I've decided not to modify her current enclosure, and just to build a new one. Once I figure out how much space I have to work with, I want to make it larger than 4x2. I've also been wracking my brain on ventilation. Screening the top allows the excess heat to rise out, but prevents me from stacking another enclosure on top. But screening the sides would take away from her sense of security as well as some of the structural integrity, still preventing me from stacking..*sigh* I want good ventilation because she gets grumpy if it gets too warm. She doesn't even like it to be 90 for basking. Such an oddball.

In other news, she's still giving me lots of exercise, and she's quick when she really wants to get somewhere. 3 short weeks and my little girl is nearly outrunning me! [emoji23]

She has no problem getting on her boxes now. And tries to get through the screened areas. When I walk in she scratches at the glass until I open her enclosure, then she crawls onto my hand and she's off!
e1907b1d786a8c5c187947cf4f6c1b06.jpg


Silly kid has been boycotting her salads too, since she had a taste of dubia roaches. Terrible twos indeed.
 
What a girl! She is looking so good :) I tried to offer mine roaches...they ate them once and refused them after that. Little snobs they were lol.
 
She has such a personality! And she looks so great under your care. You could maybe try to screen around the top on all sides, and it shouldn't take away from being able to stack it.
Just an idea

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk
 
Wow, I contrast her beard color in that last picture where is she is very capable and happy with the black beard picture after the vet. She sure was not amused in that one. I did know much about Beardies before you got Ruth. Besides falling in love with her from afar, she's taught me a lot about Beardies. So smart and interactive! She continues to amaze me. I'll keep sending those good thoughts, by the way. No reason to slow down her progress now.
 
Zombiegirl said:
What a girl! She is looking so good :) I tried to offer mine roaches...they ate them once and refused them after that. Little snobs they were lol.
Click to expand...
Wow, my kids actually started refusing the crickets I have left over. I'm shocked that your's turned their noses up. Looks like our tarantula is going to get the rest of the small crickets haha
KaylaEliuk said:
She has such a personality! And she looks so great under your care. You could maybe try to screen around the top on all sides, and it shouldn't take away from being able to stack it.
Just an idea

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I thought about that. Do you think she'll get the ventilation she needs without it trapping too much heat?
 
DollysMom said:
Wow, I contrast her beard color in that last picture where is she is very capable and happy with the black beard picture after the vet. She sure was not amused in that one. I did know much about Beardies before you got Ruth. Besides falling in love with her from afar, she's taught me a lot about Beardies. So smart and interactive! She continues to amaze me. I'll keep sending those good thoughts, by the way. No reason to slow down her progress now.
Click to expand...
Definitely keep the thoughts coming! With all that you've researched, maybe you'll get a beardie of your own :) They definitely require a good deal of care, and love attention, but if you have the time to give, they are absolutely wonderful family members!
 
Ruth looks like a totally new girl! She could model for "before" and "after" pictures. I'm still sending love and best wishes her way!
 
Ruth is amazing!! She has improved so much, I'm so glad she has you! Give her love for me!!

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk
 
I would think that she would. You could do it all the way round, and staple the screen to the wood, or whatever method of attachment you prefer. You could make it as wide a strip as you need.

Or if you want to stack but want the screen on the top, just screw a 2x4 on each end on the top and the other tank will sit on those and there will still be airflow

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk
 
Eavlynn said:
Definitely keep the thoughts coming! With all that you've researched, maybe you'll get a beardie of your own :) They definitely require a good deal of care, and love attention, but if you have the time to give, they are absolutely wonderful family members!
Click to expand...

Maybe someday :). In the meantime, I can follow Ruth. The good thoughts for your precious girl continue!
 
Ruth's fecal came back positive for elevated levels of coccidia. It turns out her veggie boycot wasn't insect inspired. She's barely eaten the past 3 days.

I now have Albon to treat her with, probiotics to replace her good gut flora, and chlorhexidine to sanitize everything whenever she goes to the bathroom.

I've also made a pedialite, veggie and roach smoothie recipe so that I can syringe feed her to get nutrients in her. My poor baby has been through so much. With any luck, this will be the last obstacle she has to overcome!
 
Oh no! Poor Ruth.

The good news is you caught it and are treating it. I'll keep sending good thoughts to your little girl. Keep us posted.
 
Wow, my kids actually started refusing the crickets I have left over
Click to expand...

My male got incredibly ill after eating a batch of crickets my roommate brought home...ended up with a bad case of pinworms and wouldn't eat for a long time...so I honestly quit giving them crickets too...I ended up getting phoenix worms and mealworms for them which they ate with no issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top