sick striped water dragon HELP

Question

Lil' Bit   QUESTION: I took her to the vet and he gave her a 50% chance. Said it was good I was keeping her hydrated although she is still VERY skinny. She only weighs an ounce. They had to dilute the antibiotic b/c she was too small for the weakest dose. He also said it was a good sign that she is alert and running around. She will not eat what I have offered her so i'm not sure if its a "not hungry" thing or a picky eater thing. I offered her pinhead crickets dusted with calcium. I offered her green pea, sweet potato and banana baby food. No dice. I felt that she needed something, so I mixed Zilla brand "Jump Start" with some water and the veggie baby foods and have had her drinking a little bit of that. Its not much, but anything I can get into her is a success. I'm going to try again today with the crickets. Not sure if she just doesn't like them?? What else should I offer. I don't want to give her anything that requires too much chewing due to her snout. The vet wants her in (if she survives) Wednesday morning for another shot (antibiotic). For the things she's going through, she seems rather personable. She will sit on my shoulder while I do homework (unless she sees something more interesting) and last night she cuddled up on my chest b/c she was sleepy. I also wanted to ask, do these water dragons bond with humans the way that bearded dragons do? I'm afraid of her bonding to me because I really didn't plan on keeping her. Her breed is a very small size as compared to typical Chinese water dragons and we read that they tend to be more skittish and less tamable than their larger cousins. We like to harness our dragons and take them out and that would be impossible with her. We feel like it would be better to give her back to the pet store (not responsible for all her issues) so that she can have a chance at getting a home where she is more suited to the owner(s). However, if she has bonded with me, or if she is capable of it, I want to know because giving her back to the pet store would be much harder on her, and she's been through enough. She is 17" from snout to tail. This is supposedly their full grown length, so i'm assuming she somewhere between 18-24 months, but I can't be certain.

ANSWER: Hello Ashley,

Wow, she does not weigh very much at all, poor girl.  She is pretty though.  I have never kept one of these types of water dragons, but we have a chinese water dragon with snout damage.  
Which antibiotic did she get?  She probably only got a drop or two, of diluted solution because it doesn't take much.  
They can be picky eaters like chinese water dragons.  Is she skittish?
That is fine, the Jumpstart is pretty good.  Did the vet not give any powdered Critical care formula for her?  I would stick with soft foods right now, and lower protein so her body can process it more easily since she has been dehydrated.  The excess protein is hard on her kidneys so keep up with the oral hydration for her.
At least she is friendly enough though, that is great.  
I feel that the water dragons do not bond quite like the bearded dragons do, no.  They can form a bond however, especially if they are ill & require extra care they tend to bond more.  
At this point, I would go by how you feel because if you really like her & she seems to be doing well, I would not move her right now.  The stress of another relocation might do her in right now.
She could prove to be very sweet & a great companion.

Let me know how she is doing.

Tracie

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Lil' Bit   QUESTION: She went to the vet again on Wednesday. She didn't gain any weight, but she hasn't lost any. She has become beautifully colored compared to the dark brown dragon we received on Saturday morning. Her snout is starting to heal, but I'm afraid she's getting ready to lose the bottom part comparable to the top that she already lost. My boyfriend (who never took any interest in reptiles before he met me :) ) has become enamored with her, and every time we go to the pet store to get her something, he looks at everything water dragon and always picks something out to bring her. She has become VERY comfortable with us, sitting on our shoulders and snuggling. The woman who gave her to me told me that we don't have to bring her back to the pet store after having spent so much money and time on her (around $150 in vet bills and supplies). She is finally eating baby food. She's such a PICKY little thing. We went through 6 different flavors until we found one she would touch. She's settled on the apple blueberry flavor. My boyfriend and I were cleaning out her cage and water bin and decided to try to get her to swim since she hadn't been in it at all. We put her down in there and she was a little apprehensive at first, but then decided she liked it and now is in it almost every day! It's as if she didn't know she was a WATER dragon. I'm assuming she was never given the opportunity before. We would still like to rehome her once she is healed and eating live food on her own. We bought her a few minnows last night, so we're going to try those. She wont eat crickets or wax worms. I have some phoenix worms coming Monday. It would be GREAT if she would eat those. She really likes tv and she wants to play with our younger beardie,  lol. I'm keeping her quarantined right now though. She had a fecal done, and she does have parasites, but the vet wasn't too worried b/c she's not overrun. To deworm her now would be risky as well because she doesn't have much weight and she's already getting over an infection. Do you know of anything else we could try to feed her? She is tiny, so it's been difficult thinking of things she might be able to eat. Would scrambled eggs be something we could try? I know this is something I feed my beardies on occasion. She is well hydrated now. She drinks from a syringe 2-3 times a day. I take a little bottle of water and mix it with some calcium dust, D3, and juicy juice for flavor. Check the blog for more in depth info, or if you know anyone that would be willing to adopt her. Thanks.

ANSWER: Hello Ashley,

She is so cute!  It is very difficult to resist them when they are so beautiful!  It sounds like your hubby is shopping for his daughter.  :-))  That is so sweet.
I think that you should definitely keep her now, as she is bonding with you now also if she is that comfortable with you all.  Take your time with rehoming her, the stress would not be good for her right now.
That is great she is finally eating some baby food now.  At least you found a flavor that she likes, too.  They can be very picky.  I hope that she eats some phoenix worms, they are small enough she should be able to eat them easily.  
That is a good idea not to introduce her to your younger beardie.  I would hate for anything to happen though.  I agree, as long as her parasite/worm levels are in check then she should be able to fight them off right now.  Automatically medicating a young reptile is not always the way to go.  
You could also try some bee pollen as an appetite stimulant & it is safe.  She would probably like the flavor, also.  The scrambled eggs on occasion are fine.  Did you try the turkey or chicken baby food & she did not like that?  Brewer's yeast has a nutty flavor that she might like too.  It is fairly high in protein.
The water, calcium & juicy juice is fine, she probably really likes that!  
I hope she likes the minnows, too.  I am happy that she is starting to enjoy the water.  She probably did not have the opportunity to play in the water before.

Great job getting her started on her healing process!  I know it isn't easy but it is very rewarding.

Let me know how she is doing.
Tracie

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Lil' Bit UPDATE   QUESTION: Tracie, she is doing remarkably well! We got her eating last week (wax and phoenix worms) and took her today to start her deworming. The vet was very surprised that she had made it. He was very excited about her progress and said that he didn't care if she grew another millimeter, the fact that she was eating and happy was a miracle in itself. I was excited  to hear this because he had not revealed to me before his true estimate of her chance for survival. She eats from our hands like a little piggy and now enjoys rides in the car. She is due for another dose of her wormer in two weeks. We really like her, but we are in college,  getting ready to graduate and are unsure of where we are going and what our professional demands will be, so we feel like it would be unfair to her and our two beardies to keep her. We will certainly keep her until we find the RIGHT home for her. We are very avid about her going to a home with humans who are a good fit for her and her needs (i.e. no young children/rambunctious teens/ inexperienced keepers). I did, however, have a question about sexing her. I do not wish to have her probed, and I am pretty sure she is full grown. However, I know water dragons can be particularly difficult to sex and i noticed that her crest seemed a little "taller" (for lack of better term) than usual today. I know that a more pronounced crest is a male characteristic for Chinese water dragons, but was not sure about her particular species. Do you have any images of the difference in appearance between male and female striped water dragons? Or possibly where I could find this information? Thank you so much, again.
Ashley, Scott & Lil' Bit

Answer
Hello Ashley,

That is excellent she has made it through.  I am sure the vet was happy about her progress also.
The chances of survival of reptiles who are ill to that point are usually not very good.
I understand about not keeping her though, with having 2 dragons already.  It can become time consuming for sure.
It sounds like she is eating very well also, that is great!  Luckily the dewormer has not slown her down any.  
I can understand being busy & in college & getting ready to graduate.  I am sure you will find a great home for her.  
You can check to see if she has any pronouced femoral pores on the underneath side of her legs all lined up.  That is a sign of a male.  If there are no pores at all, then it is probably a female.
Yes the crest being larger is indication of a male, not a female.  
I don't have much information yet on the striped water dragons, but their setups are basically about the same as the Chinese water dragons, as well as their physical appearance.

Tracie