My kids’ grandfather gave them a bearded dragon. He says it was a friend of his’ pet and they just couldn’t keep it anymore. We have a variety of pets (chickens, turtles, a bunny) so I agreed to it. How hard can it be to take care of a lizard? He brings it over in a 10 gallon tank and tells me it can eat mealworms, lettuce, and pinky mice and that it doesn’t need a heat lamp etc etc. Not having any real idea what all is required to make this little lady happy and comfy, I start looking things up online and WOW! There is a lot more to it than that from what I’ve read. Obviously she is much too large to be in a 10 gal tank so tomorrow we’re going to get a larger one. I’ve put a heat lamp 14inches above her little aquarium for the time being because she was very cold when I first held her. I read at minimum a 40 gal is good but I’m curious as to what size some of you have your adults in, as we plan on keeping her and want her to have enough room. I haven’t measured but I’d estimate she’s about 14-16 inches. I also read that she needs a “hide box” and a mini pool to lay in and poop in. Do you always have water in that? Or is that occasional and just have a smaller bowl for water for her? Does she need live meal worms and crickets or can they be freeze dried ones? Also her coloring is weird compared to pictures I’ve looked up. Is there any reason for that? Is there something I can supplement to help her out? I’m sorry for so many questions but I want to make sure I’m doing as much as I can for her. I feel like she looks to be in sad conditions and she has not eaten anything for about 8 hrs and has been sleeping a lot which maybe is just stress from being in a new environment. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. (The picture is when she first arrived at our home. I’ve kept her in her aquarium since, aside from taking her out a few times to let her lay on my chest)
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A bearded dragon gift
- Thread starter A3p33
- Start date
Thank you for all of the information! We are in the process of setting up a new home for her with all of the suggestions you’ve made. I did put her in a warm bath today and she seemed to enjoy it. After I took her out I put her in a soft towel to dry and let her lay on me. After about 15 minutes or so she crawled out of the towel and started walking around and checking out the couch which is the most activity I’ve seen from her since we got her! She started to open her mouth and stick her tongue out a bit so I put her back in her aquarium to see if she would go after some bugs but she just sat there. I held a meal worm up in front of her and she immediately grabbed it from me. This is the first I’ve seen her eat since we’ve gotten her and I continued to hand feed her for about 10 minutes and then she seemed uninterested. So today has been a much better day and I’m so excited/relieved to see improvement. Is there a reason that she would not eat on her own? I enjoyed feeding her but Im worried she will be hungry and waiting for me to feed her. Also, how often should she be handled/let out of her aquarium? I have had her out three times today and the last two times she just hung out looking around and sitting on my lap and eventually began to explore. She likes walking around the house and has taken off in a kind of brisk walk (not sure what this means) but I’m afraid to leave her down for too long as we have wood flooring and the air going so the floor is cool to the touch. Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my posts!
I haven’t fed any pinky mice but that is what her previous owners were feeding her. I’m going to pick up some dubia roaches tomorrow morning and I do have zucchini from my garden, I will give her some of that for now. What about romaine or spinach? I have that on hand. She came to me with a bunch of iceberg lettuce in her aquarium which I should’ve known was not a good sign as I have rehabbed desert tortoises before and that’s a no no for them as well. Also, for the basking light, no red lights correct? I believe I read somewhere that they can see the color red and it’s an irritant to their eyes, is that true? Gosh, I need to get a notebook and start writing all this stuff down lol.
Here she is this afternoon, still looking pretty scrawny. I got the dubia roaches, repti calcium, collard greens, carrots, red bell peppers etc. I also bought a “food sampler pack” that has canned papaya, worms, reptivite and some stuff to put in her water. Probably did not need that but I went a little overboard because I feel so bad for the condition she’s in. I do not know if she will use the hammock but I’ve been looking through the posts and many people have them for their beardies so I figured I would give it a shot. I want her to be happy. We’re setting up her new tank, I could not find a large enough tank that has doors that open in the front so I am improvising for the time being. Could you please point me in the right direction as to where you bought one. The largest I found at the pet store was 40 gallons. My husband has constructed a large habitat for her for the time being as I’m worried about her having enough space because who knows how long she has been stuck in that 10 gallon aquarium. Thanks again for all the help!
It’s a T8 and yes I got the hood. I will get a better temp reader, I didn’t realize that those aren’t accurate. I’ll send a pic of her current set up once we’re done with it. We’ve been in the midst of a birthday party, gotta love summer right? lol. I put her on my shoulder and took her outside to be in the sun while I watched the kids swim and she just basked in the sun on my arm. She started feeling pretty hot and tried to go to the back of my neck (under my hair) so I brought her back inside. My husband thinks I’m crazy for letting her ride around on my shoulder for the afternoon but she seemed to enjoy it. I feel like I’m bonding with her, is that crazy?
