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| Sutcliffe is a central bearded dragon. Getting reptile husbandry right is absolutely essential for their wellbeing. He suffered a pathological fracture of his tail, probably due to a combination of poor diet and not enough UV light. |
Meet Sutcliffe, a juvenile
central bearded dragon that we have been nursing. Today's post is more pictorial than anything else.
Sutcliffe has a tiny
pathological fracture of his tail, probably secondary to poor husbandry
including lack of UV light, so we’re supplementing him with calcium Sandoz
syrup and a “matchhead” of Hill’s a/d every day.
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| He weighs a massive 5 grams. |
We took him to SouthPenrith Veterinary Clinic to visit Dr Robert Johnson, who has written several
books on reptile husbandry including this one.
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| Sutcliffe has his calcium sandoz syrup (diluted 1:10 in the tiniest possible amount). |
Pet reptiles are very
prone to metabolic bone disease so it is important to get their husbandry
right. Overhandling can be part of the problem. You can read more here. We'll keep you posted on Sutcliffe's progress. Meanwhile if you're wondering about all the gloves, reptiles are known to carry salmonella so it is important to practice excellent hygiene - and don't kiss them, tempting as it may be.
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| Chilling (well, probably not an appropriate term to use for a reptile's preferred activity) on a leaf. |
