New user to this forum, BD more interested in my shirt than meal worms

[Mac32109]

Hi, I'm new to the forum but not that new to owning a bearded dragon. I currently have a 2-3 year old male bearded dragon right now, the reason age is a range not exact is because the way I got him is the problem for deterring exact age. CJ(or Charley Junior) my bearded dragon was obtained in January 2019 but was originally meant to be a Christmas 2018 gift from my parents. The reason we couldn't get him immediately was issues with stock from the breeder. Anyway, just here to introduce myself and show a picture of CJ. I commonly nickname my pets, I won't bring those other pets up since they're not bearded dragons. CJ is my only bearded dragon but I keep the others away from CJ. I sexed CJ myself and saw the 2 bulges, I did use internet sources and comparison to general female biology to do it. I haven't taken him to vet yet, not sure if there is one near me. I live in Greenville, North Carolina myself. I will use this forum if I have any questions which I have one now, but not sure where to post it. I had it happen last night when I was feeding him mealworms from the refrigerator but they weren't moving, and he didn't go for them but instead my shirt. Where should I ask about that? too much detail for an introduction? I'm not good with introductions myself, I tend to put too much detail or too little detail.

 

[Skybug]

Hi, I'm new to the forum but not that new to owning a bearded dragon. I currently have a 2-3 year old male bearded dragon right now, the reason age is a range not exact is because the way I got him is the problem for deterring exact age. CJ(or Charley Junior) my bearded dragon was obtained in January 2019 but was originally meant to be a Christmas 2018 gift from my parents. The reason we couldn't get him immediately was issues with stock from the breeder. Anyway, just here to introduce myself and show a picture of CJ. I commonly nickname my pets, I won't bring those other pets up since they're not bearded dragons. CJ is my only bearded dragon but I keep the others away from CJ. I sexed CJ myself and saw the 2 bulges, I did use internet sources and comparison to general female biology to do it. I haven't taken him to vet yet, not sure if there is one near me. I live in Greenville, North Carolina myself. I will use this forum if I have any questions which I have one now, but not sure where to post it. I had it happen last night when I was feeding him mealworms from the refrigerator but they weren't moving, and he didn't go for them but instead my shirt. Where should I ask about that? too much detail for an introduction? I'm not good with introductions myself, I tend to put too much detail or too little detail.

Welcome to the forum age usually can be determined by weight and length, if ur beardy has mbd or a short tail it will be harder to correctly age them, and to answer ur question, bearded dragons have great eyesight, but sometimes they’re just a little dumb, my beardy bit me on accident for the first time the other day (now i did have 5 supers in my palm so it was my fault) they’re very movement motivated so ur shirt probably looked tasty lol, u didn’t post a pic of ur guy btw….

 

[Mac32109]

Welcome to the forum age usually can be determined by weight and length, if ur beardy has mbd or a short tail it will be harder to correctly age them, and to answer ur question, bearded dragons have great eyesight, but sometimes they’re just a little dumb, my beardy bit me on accident for the first time the other day (now i did have 5 supers in my palm so it was my fault) they’re very movement motivated so ur shirt probably looked tasty lol, u didn’t post a pic of ur guy btw….

oh I will, thanks for telling me and asking, this is CJ, normal body but he was sleeping in this pic and its my most recent in my phone(iPhone so airdrop)

 

[Vic and Mars]

oh I will, thanks for telling me and asking, this is CJ, normal body but he was sleeping in this pic and its my most recent in my phone(iPhone so airdrop)

No red lights, or colored lights at all. They can damage beardie eyes. I can't see the whole enclosure, but he might need and upgrade. Adults require minimum 75 gallons, 120 gallons is preferred. Calcium sand is not a good substrate. I suggest using tile. Reptile carpet is an option, but not recommended. You can also get the zen mat from zen habitats and cut it to size. Be very careful with feeding meal worms, they can easily cause impaction in your beardie. They are only occasional treats

 

[Vic and Mars]

No red lights, or colored lights at all. They can damage beardie eyes. I can't see the whole enclosure, but he might need and upgrade. Adults require minimum 75 gallons, 120 gallons is preferred. Calcium sand is not a good substrate. I suggest using tile. Reptile carpet is an option, but not recommended. You can also get the zen mat from zen habitats and cut it to size. Be very careful with feeding meal worms, they can easily cause impaction in your beardie. They are only occasional treats

Oh also,, no nighttime heating period. Since they are sleeping they won't need the energy from heat. If your enclosure gets below 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night, you can use a ceramic heat emitter instead of a light. Annd another safe substrate is paper towel, but it isn't very visually appealing

 

[BengalGirl]

I keep my nails long. A couple weeks ago, I had them painted green. Earl kept going for them every time he saw my hands. I think he thought they were hornworms....one of his favorites. LOL. Once my nails were no longer green, he stopped trying to eat them. Haha!!! Silly dragon!!

 

[Mac32109]

I keep my nails long. A couple weeks ago, I had them painted green. Earl kept going for them every time he saw my hands. I think he thought they were hornworms....one of his favorites. LOL. Once my nails were no longer green, he stopped trying to eat them. Haha!!! Silly dragon!!

no, I have actual scratch marks on my hands, he bit me once when I feeding him by hand because I usually use red tweezers but he broke the pair I was using so when I went to feed him with my hand he bit my finger, usually my pointer. happens occasionally but not that often. anyway, I have a college chem lab I have to leave for in 12 minutes so I have to get dressed.

 

[Mac32109]

Oh also,, no nighttime heating period. Since they are sleeping they won't need the energy from heat. If your enclosure gets below 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night, you can use a ceramic heat emitter instead of a light. Annd another safe substrate is paper towel, but it isn't very visually appealing

oh, I didn't know that, I live in North Carolina, like I said. so it typically doesn't. how should I do UVB light then?

 

[Mac32109]

No red lights, or colored lights at all. They can damage beardie eyes. I can't see the whole enclosure, but he might need and upgrade. Adults require minimum 75 gallons, 120 gallons is preferred. Calcium sand is not a good substrate. I suggest using tile. Reptile carpet is an option, but not recommended. You can also get the zen mat from zen habitats and cut it to size. Be very careful with feeding meal worms, they can easily cause impaction in your beardie. They are only occasional treats

oh, what is a good alt to mealworms, I should stop as I leave in 10 minutes for college lab. and also I will get a pic of his enclosure afterwards. will take a few hours for lab to finish and to get home. please be patient

 

[Vic and Mars]

oh, I didn't know that, I live in North Carolina, like I said. so it typically doesn't. how should I do UVB light then?

No coil/compact lights, those suck as uvb. You need a long strip light (preferably 24 inches) at least 12-18 inches away from your decor. Zoo meds reptisun 10.0 is the best

 

[Vic and Mars]

oh, what is a good alt to mealworms, I should stop as I leave in 10 minutes for college lab. and also I will get a pic of his enclosure afterwards. will take a few hours for lab to finish and to get home. please be patient

Superworms are good treats, as are wax worms and horned worms. Key word: treat. These bugs are not a staple by any means. But they will not cause impaction as long as they are a good sizs

 

[Skybug]

oh I will, thanks for telling me and asking, this is CJ, normal body but he was sleeping in this pic and its my most recent in my phone(iPhone so airdrop)

Thats a cute picture, he could use a nail trimming though, Has he had hornworms?

 

[Mac32109]

Thats a cute picture, he could use a nail trimming though, Has he had hornworms?

nope, usually mealworms/superworms with the occasional cricket feeding, also a daily serving of mustard greens and long-neck butternut squash

 

[Mac32109]

No red lights, or colored lights at all. They can damage beardie eyes. I can't see the whole enclosure, but he might need and upgrade. Adults require minimum 75 gallons, 120 gallons is preferred. Calcium sand is not a good substrate. I suggest using tile. Reptile carpet is an option, but not recommended. You can also get the zen mat from zen habitats and cut it to size. Be very careful with feeding meal worms, they can easily cause impaction in your beardie. They are only occasional treats

here is his enclosure in full, please do not mind the tweezers, calcium dust or containers; used for daily feeding(should that change to every other day feeding?) he is my first bearded dragon, my only dead pet is from overfeeding and it was a male a betta fish

 

[Vic and Mars]

If he's 2-3 years old his food should only need dusting a few times a week.

 

[Vic and Mars]

If he's 2-3 years old his food should only need dusting a few times a week.

 

[Vic and Mars]

Definitely will need upgrading to at least a 75 gallon. Usually pet stores won't have ideal enclosures. Zen Habitats has some fantastic 120 gal tanks that you can buy, but there other companies as well

 

[Bailey]

Welcome to the community!

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!

 

[Mac32109]

Hi, I'm new to the forum but not that new to owning a bearded dragon. I currently have a 2-3 year old male bearded dragon right now, the reason age is a range not exact is because the way I got him is the problem for deterring exact age. CJ(or Charley Junior) my bearded dragon was obtained in January 2019 but was originally meant to be a Christmas 2018 gift from my parents. The reason we couldn't get him immediately was issues with stock from the breeder. Anyway, just here to introduce myself and show a picture of CJ. I commonly nickname my pets, I won't bring those other pets up since they're not bearded dragons. CJ is my only bearded dragon but I keep the others away from CJ. I sexed CJ myself and saw the 2 bulges, I did use internet sources and comparison to general female biology to do it. I haven't taken him to vet yet, not sure if there is one near me. I live in Greenville, North Carolina myself. I will use this forum if I have any questions which I have one now, but not sure where to post it. I had it happen last night when I was feeding him mealworms from the refrigerator but they weren't moving, and he didn't go for them but instead my shirt. Where should I ask about that? too much detail for an introduction? I'm not good with introductions myself, I tend to put too much detail or too little detail.

I was just looking at this post again and it is now titled "New user to this forum, BD more interested in my shirt than meal worms", how did that happen? I know nothing of how this forum works, or titles to posts