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1st ever Bearded Dragon

Den Amerikanske Drage

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
1
Hello, just got my first ever bearded dragon 5 days ago.
As a very concerned parent I want to make sure my baby is fine and well.
I got some question for you experienced owners out there, or just for whoever can answer them.

My beardie is a small one, kid, baby. Don't know how old though. When will I be able to tell what sex my baby is?

My beardie is a bit scared of me and my girlfriend, but we want him to get used to us so bad, of course this will take time. But how long time will it take? In your experience.
As we use sand for the floor of the enclosure, we have tried feeding him in a box outside the cage. We have only suceeded once, because he is always so jumpy and tries to run away.
I wan't him to get used to me, so me and my beardie just stare at eachother, but when I wan't to greet him, he always runs away and around his cage, but after sometime he will just hold his forelegs on my hand and lick me as well as look me in the eye.
What is a good way to make him tame?

I have uploaded some pictures, and I would love to hear from you guys what I can do better in his cage, as well as what is good about the cage.

I have uploaded pictures of the temps. as well. The thermometer says that at it's highest the temp. in the cage gets to 34 celsius. I have trouble getting the exact temperaure of the basking spot, (any suggestions would be great) but it does seem like it sometimes gets too hot for him as he likes chilling in the chill side of his enclosure.

Anyway it seems like "The American Dragon" which is his name, is happy and healthy. Today he has eaten a dandelion leaf, 2 crickets, 1 grashooper, and over 15 mealworms, which I think is a lot.

Thank you for your time. :)
 

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BrookeE

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
199
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new pet!

Youre going to probably have to wait a couple of months to do the flash light test and find out the sex. Your little guy probably needs to grow a bit more before you'll be able to tell.

Dont worry, he will warm up to you, just be patient. People have said that wearing a t-shirt around the house for a few hours (with no perfumes or extra scents) and then putting it in the tank with him helps him get used to your scent. I have never done that before so i really cant tell you if that works. However I can tell you that these guys really love food, especially at that age. When im bonding with a beardie, I hand feed the bugs for a little bit. That way he learns hand=food=good. If youre weird about bugs you could always use feeding tongs. When you go to pick him up, make sure youre coming at him from straight on, not from above. You dont want him to think youre a predator. Slide your hand underneath him to pick him up. And try to give him space if he's really terrified. You dont want to stress him out too much while he's getting used to his new home.

Note: Great call offering him vegetables so early. Dandelion greens are a fantastic choice. Its generally not recommended to feed mealworms though because they have a tough outer shell that can be difficult for them to digest. Most places that offer mealworms will also offer superworms, which are almost identical but they have a softer shell. Just be careful about how many mealworms/superworms youre feeling him. They have a higher fat content than other bugs and are like candy to him. They can very easily become "addicted" to them and quite literally refuse to eat anything else. Its a pain to break that habit so just be conscious. He should be eating probably around 50 small crickets or the equivalent per day at that age. Its recommended to feed them 2-3 times a day, and be continuously feeding him as much as he will eat for 15 minutes each time.

About the set up: The light does look a bit close to him when he's basking just from the picture, what kind of light is it? You can go to a hardware store and get a temperature gun for pretty cheap, those tend to be by far the most accurate in my experience. Its very important to get the temperature right when he's so little and trying to grow. you want him to be eating a ton and digesting really well. On another note, it doesn't look like you have a UVB light? You'll need one of those ASAP. They are extremely important to their health and will become very sick without one. I would recommend ditching the sand for paper towels, newspaper, reptile carpet, or even tile. Babies are still learning to hunt and are very curious creatures, so they tend to lick their surroundings which leads to a tongue full of sand. You do not want to deal with the complications of your beardie becoming impacted, and neither does he. Besides that, the sand soaks up the liquid and germs that comes from bearded dragon poop. It not only becomes unsanitary, but it starts to stink too. Its kind of an all around bad situation.

Hope this helps! He's super cute! Makes me want a baby again!
 

Hdrydr31

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Staff member
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
5,574
Welcome to the forum..
Take a few min and take a look at the links below several of our comments as we have put together a ton of info for new comers.. (it's also in the general care section at the top) This covers everything you may need...
Babies take alot of care and it's very important that you have the basking temp and UVB needed for them to grow, digest properly and to absorb and get the nutrients they need.
 
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