My Chinese Water Dragon has not eaten for over a week. He has not had a bowel movement for quite some time. Substrate material in his cage was packed in his mouth. I cleaned it out as best as possible. He is not doing well, and I hope he doesn't die. I do not have the hundreds of dollars to take him to a vet. What can I do to ensure his survival? I have tried several things, such as: keeping him submerged in luke-warm water, using a soft bristled tooth brush to gently clean the sides of his mouth, using a Q-tip soaked in olive oil to attempt to clean and hopefully try to free up the possible forigen body that is perhaps lodged in his intestines. I am desperate to try to keep him alive and get back to good health again. Can you please help me? Advice? Suggestions? I take good care of all my animals and I most definitley would never dream of neglecting any animal. Perhaps there might be some type of laxative that I could give him to help make a bowel movement. Time may be running out!!!
2007-02-18 10:33:58 · 11 answers · asked by Mickey 1 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Your lizard is very sick and needs to see a vet, if you can not afford to take him to a vet give him to reptile rescue so he has a chance at life because if you keep him and do not take him to a vet he WILL die! If you couldn't afford to care for it then you shouldn't have bought it. Please take it to a vet or to a reptile rescue AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
2007-02-18 13:10:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
What temperatures are you keeping your dragon at? Proper day time temps should be 84 to 88 F (28.8 C to 31.1 C), with a basking spot of 90 to 95 F (32.2 C to 34.99 C); Night time temps should be 75 to 80 F (23.88 C to 26.66 C). You should have two thermometers in the cage in case one is faulty!!!!
If you are having trouble keeping the temperatures correct in the cage try changing the wattage of the basking bulb you are using until you reach the correct temps. If you are still having trouble keeping the temps up put a human heating pad under the propped up cage, set the heating pad on low (prop up the cage so the heating pad doesn't directly touch the glass or the glass with get very hot and could possibly burn the reptile or dry out the substrate too quickly causing low humidity problems!). This will help add some ambient heat to the cage.
Oh and throw away that hot rock (heat rock or sizzle stone or heat cave)... it will burn your reptile, or short or smoke ... its a possible fire hazard at the very least! There are no safe precautions to take with a hot rock to ensure that it doesn't hurt your animal or endanger even your life or your household. Checking the rock daily may not help. The best prevention is to simply not use the hot rock.
If the cage has a screen lid you can try to cover part of the lid with a towel or piece of glass in order to keep some of the heat and humidity in the cage. If your cage is screen- good luck!- you can get thick Styrofoam and stick it on the sides and back to insulate the cage ... just watch that no lights are near the Styrofoam as you don't want a fire hazard! Please see: Heat sources
If the temps are too high your dragon might not eat well, dehydrate and become lethargic.
If the temps are too low the dragon will likely not eat well if at all, and may gape- this is a big sign of respiratory infection!, or it could develop a bowel obstruction due to food not being digested properly due to low temps. Improper temps leads to all kinds of ailments from respiratory infections, obstructions, weakens the immune system which might in turn give any parasites the dragon has in it a chance to multiply and overwhelm the dragon (stress seems to do that too!), poor digestion due to low temps could also lead to calcium deficiency. Please see Temperature and Common Ailments of Water Dragons. Read it yourself
2007-02-18 10:37:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I can't really comment on the set-up because i have never had a CWD, but i can tell you with 100% certainty that rat pups/pinkies/chicks whatever do not provide a good diet. The fat content is huge and they are not recommended as a standard feeder. They don't have any fibre in them... fibre is an essential part of any animals diet. You can't suppliment the fibre in them either. They need to be fed living insects that have been gutloaded and packed with all the proteins, fibre, enzymes, minerals and vitemins that he needs to be happy and healthy. I am a little sad that you didn't consider his diet when you appear to have taken such care to set up his enclosure to a high standard. Do not get a lizard if you are not prepared to keep insects also.
2016-03-29 01:55:28 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it sounds as though you are leaning to a bowel obstruction if so he is poisening his own body and it's only a matter of time before one of three things happen you get him to a vet to remove the obstruction or he could possibly get rid of it himself but not very likely. what is your substrate " Substrates such as moss, shavings, bark, and gravel all seem to cause impaction problems- whether the dragon accidentally eats the substrate or eats some out of curiosity- if it is ingested and gets lodged in the digestive tract. Some people are quite successful keeping their dragons on these last mentioned substrates- but when I hear about impaction problems these substrates are often listed as the culprit so be warned.
NOTE: Substrates that are made of pine or cedar (especially cedar) are toxic to most herps- don't use them! "
or three he dies i am sorry to say
best to get him to a vet and very soon.
2007-02-18 12:04:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like he might have intestinal parasites. From what I have read, these are only curable by a prescription from a vet and the over the counter medications are not effective in curing parasites.
2007-02-18 10:43:27 · answer #5 · answered by Kendra R 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
can you send me its picture on my personal id i know im not answering to you still id like to see a water dragon is it same as comodo dragon of thailand
2007-02-23 23:01:51 · answer #6 · answered by xxsanxx 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OMG take him to petco or petsmart and get help
2007-02-24 08:26:16 · answer #7 · answered by Becca H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try feeding your Dragon a unicorn. My Fire Dragon only eats Elfs and Unicorns, and he's doing fine!
2007-02-18 10:38:09 · answer #8 · answered by Anna 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋
take him to the vet he's impacted and it could be fatal, he may even require surgery
2007-02-19 11:36:33 · answer #9 · answered by MommyCaleb 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
What the heck is a water dragon?
2007-02-18 10:36:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋