Change of scenery

[BeardedHippy]

Hi, I was wondering , just how intelligent are beardies? I have watched plenty of videos with some real characters, they are certainly smart enough to know where the food is coming from. Do they have good and bad moods? Do they let you know if they are unhappy?
I have tried to give mine a taste of their natural environment, desert bedding, cork branches and bark etc. I can see myself altering a lot , unless I find the perfect combo. Do beardies freak out if you mess around with their environment too much or will they get used to change?

 

[Canicke]

wow. first - welcome. good questions. so - from the top : they're not stupid animals. some of them have got lots of smarts. moods? oh my yes. depending on the hour of the day, what they've had to eat, or not, whether or not the sun is shining, what part of the moon cycle we may be in, whether or not they're shedding, what month of the year it is (have you heard of brumation?) male or female, etc etc etc. Do they let us know if they are unhappy? in a round about sort of way - hissing and black bearding. but some are just fussy. I would recommend getting rid of the "desert bedding" - generally what is recommended is reptile carpet, paper towels, tile. they may eat the desert bedding - leads to impaction. leads to not good things. your call - my suggestion. no such thing as a perfect combo. do they freak out at change? sometimes. too much too fast ya know. check out the links below for some super info put together by some of our members. would love to see a pic of your set up and the kid !!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Well said Canicke!! I couldn't have said it better even if I tried!! lol

 

[BeardedHippy]

Hi, thanks for that info, its very interesting. They had their first taste of dubias today, they were going through those things like I go through pistachios. They certainly have healthy appetites and seem so at home in there. I am attempting to upload a few pics, its a new camera so please excuse the awful shots until I get used to it. They are only cohabiting for a few more days, then everything should be here to set up the second viv. I will get rid of the desert bedding, I thought it might have been ok to use because its not sand but rather soil or earth. I guess small particles of anything is bad then? I think it looks good ,but its gone if it can impact them.

 

[Canicke]

not sand? might be ok - one of our members (Jarich) posted a how to on bio active substrate - you might find that interesting. I found it interesting and would love to do it someday. don't have the link right at hand - but you can search the posts. the kids are adorable

 

[Draeju's_world]

I'm currently using excavator clay for my bedding. It dries hard like packed earth which is very much like their natural habitat. If it is swallowed by accident, it simply turns to mud when wet and passes right through the digestive tract.

 

[BeardedHippy]

I have a 4kg bag of excavator clay, its terribly expensive stuff. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, its not enough for a whole viv, perhaps just a small installation, like a sandcastle.
I read the bio active substrate post, I must admit I really like the sound of it, especially the self cleaning part. However, my wood vivs would not be best suited for it i think. The end part about the effect of hydration on impaction was crucial information.