Newbie

[Heather]

Hello,

We've had a Dragon join our zoo for the first time. It's 5mths old and I haven't even looked to see what sex it is, so I hope it's male because my husband, who claims ownership, has named it Beaureguard. Nicknames are: Boogie by husband & son...Boga by daughter & self.

I've read & studied up on dragons, as our 9yr old son asked for one a few yrs back and with our zoo, I just wanted to make sure it was time for another reptile to join us. We've had a few turtles, wild & tame, and a few lizards, wild & tame, but this was going to be a large decision in my opinion. I love reps & herps, but know they are a bit harder than dogs/cats/birds/fish.

We've lived in Austin TX area for 2yrs now and I work in Animal Research with 300+ Owl monkeys and 500+ Squirrel monkeys. I've been caring for these non human primates for 11yrs now, moved from Al to TX to continue caring for them. My human primates are 19F & 9M with a 33hubby. Other zoo members are:

Pom M 7
Pug M 2

Cats:

M12
F2
F2
M9mths (3 legged & deaf as well)

Birds:

Lovebird F6

Tiels:
M7
M6
M6
M6
M6
M6
M3

Here to learn more to make his aquarium more "natural" as I can and spoil him just like the other creatures in this zoo.

H

 

[corrine]

welocome to the forum. We all love pics!

 

[staylor]

Welcome. You make my zoo sound small. I have 12 yr old Black Lab, 8 yr old Black Lab mix, a 1 yr Chihuahua, 8 yr Cat, 7 yr cat, 2 yr cat, 2 hermit crabs, and a 4(?) month old Beardie.

 

[renich]

Hi and welcome! Congrats on your new zoo member! Beardies are lots of fun. Once you get the basics down, it will be smooth sailing. Here is a link to our basic caresheet. Give it a read and let us know if you have any questions.

Bearded Dragon Care

 

[egg 80]

welcome to the forum, pics are a must im affraid ;D any questions are not seen as stupid hope you enjoy the little fella and glad to have you aboard
paul

 

[zebraflavencs]

welcome to our little corner of insanity.. Okay, just kidding.. But we do have a whole lotta fun here !
Welcome !
Don't be afraid to ask questions... We can guide you in your walk with Dragons !
Janie

 

[Heather]

Here's what I have so far. *lol*

A friend has a dragon herself and asked why do we use a leash. Day 2 at home and Boga took a leap off the daughter, while distracted playin Halo, and the dogs and a cat took notice quicker than anything that something was "flying". So as another "assurance" of having a prey & predator household while interacting with it's members, we use the leash to control the distance of Boga's flights as we give a verbal command at the same time to the furry animals to not investigate/help the humans with the "flying" animal.

 

[egg 80]

great lookin little fella you got there,
in the enclosure sand as a substrate is not advised as if eaten can cause impaction resulting in death in most cases the advised substrate would be paper towels, ceramic tile which helps keep their nails filed down repti carpet but woud need a spare to use alternativly whilst cleaning one. please dont take it to heart as we all live and learn.
when i saw the harness i thought why the hell has that poor little fella got a rope tied round his neck for before i realised what it was, our dogs feel a bit left out when we get our beardies out as they get locked in a different room
paul

 

[corrine]

he's very cute

 

[lexi]

Your beardie is super adorable!

I have to agree about the sand, though... very, very bad for young beardies. I personally don't think sand is good for any beardie, which is why all mine are on slate, but there are people who use sand with adults without issue. Too many bad stories for me to risk it, though.

I would get rid of the sand and just use newsprint. The difference between adults and young beardies is that adults have a fully developed and elongated intestinal tract, whereas young beardies don't. Having this kink in their systems makes young beardies more vulnerable to impaction.

Also, just checking, is that a regular rock there on the left hand side or a heat rock? Heat rocks are very, very bad... normal rocks are ok.

Otherwise, though, your viv is awesome. He looks pretty happy in there, too!

 

[Heather]

The use of sand can be changed till Boga is older. I'm expectin my hubby to get tired of cleanin the cage so much because of the use of sand. I won't be able to autoclave it all the time at work either. Tile/slate/rock would make for easier cleaning. Question is, what type of tile/slate/rock? I've looked in the Habitat area and my biggest question that I haven't yet found answered, an maybe it's cause I'm a girl and a lab animal tech *lol* but, Is there a risk of the heat releasing fumes into the enclosure from the tile? Would natural slate/rock work better than man made tile? Guess I should post this question in the Habitat area. *G*

Heat rock was another thing hubby & I were goin round about. His friend told him it was needed yet I've read about them goin haywire on people. Not just with dragons either. If more people say they're a bad item then hubby will give in. *lol*

Question...in the 2nd pic...his Left Front foot...2nd diget is fatter than the others. There's nothing wrapped around the toe and it's the same color. Moves just fine too. Anyone ever see this before? I see this at work once in a while when hair wraps around a toe/finger for a while.

Also...how long is too long on the nails? *LOL* They look like they need a trim to me. *G*

 

[Red Ink AUS]

G'day mate and welcome to the madhouse,

Sand is a no no as your dragon is quite young, juvenile dragons have been known to have a natural kink in their stomach (grows out when older) which cold cause impaction if on a particle substrate.

Outdoor tiles will do or any natural slate tiles. Try and get tiles with a rough surface (hence the outdoor tiles) and avoid the ceramic white tiles as they will offer no grip what so ever. Any hardware store should have a variety for you to choose from, some even cut to size. There is no chance of any fumes coming out (provided you don't glue them down) from either man made tile or natural slate. The heat needed for the dragon to have optimum metabolism is way way lower than the maximum heat tolerance of the tiles.

Heat rocks are not necessary as BD have low sensitivity to heat from their bellies and require an overhead heat source such as a basking lamp. If you use tiles or slate they will heat up naturally from the basking light and would be well appreciated by your dragon. The difference is that they won't be a constant continuing heat source.

There does seem to be what looks like constricting on one of it's front digits unfortunately a diagnosis over a forum from pics will never be sufficient to find out what's really going on. Quick vet check should fix that though.

Nail length is only too long when it impedes the natural motion of the dragon or causes it discomfort otherwise IMO they are never too long. Some people like to keep their dragons nails trimmed though but again an easy way to keep dragons nail trimmed is the use of rough tiles or slate in the enclosures.

 

[lexi]

The use of sand can be changed till Boga is older. I'm expectin my hubby to get tired of cleanin the cage so much because of the use of sand. I won't be able to autoclave it all the time at work either. Tile/slate/rock would make for easier cleaning. Question is, what type of tile/slate/rock? I've looked in the Habitat area and my biggest question that I haven't yet found answered, an maybe it's cause I'm a girl and a lab animal tech *lol* but, Is there a risk of the heat releasing fumes into the enclosure from the tile? Would natural slate/rock work better than man made tile? Guess I should post this question in the Habitat area. *G*

Heat rock was another thing hubby & I were goin round about. His friend told him it was needed yet I've read about them goin haywire on people. Not just with dragons either. If more people say they're a bad item then hubby will give in. *lol*

Question...in the 2nd pic...his Left Front foot...2nd diget is fatter than the others. There's nothing wrapped around the toe and it's the same color. Moves just fine too. Anyone ever see this before? I see this at work once in a while when hair wraps around a toe/finger for a while.

Also...how long is too long on the nails? *LOL* They look like they need a trim to me. *G*

Slate works well for me and seems to be comfortable for them to move and lay around on. Plus, it looks nice. Fumes are not a concern with regular slate tile. Anything with adhesive, though, would release fumes and is bad.

The heat rock is absolutely not necessary - as has already been said, most reptiles have little sensitivity to detect heat on their undersides, making burns extremely common. It happens to iguanas, too, as well as other lizards. They don't realize they're getting burned. They also can have mechanical issues, but that is secondary to the fact that the animal isn't able to detect that it's burning their skin. Burns lead to skin infections and it's a road you don't want to have to go down...

And, as far as the person who told you that heat rocks are "necessary", ask them how many heat rocks Beardies come across in the wild.

 

[renich]

Tell the hubby that the heat rock is bad. Everyone already told you the reasons.

Also, as pointed out sand is bad for babies. It can be used when they reach adulthood, but with caution. Special care is needed to keep bacteria to a minimum. This includes efforts to clean up poo as soon as it happens.

For babies, you can use papertowels, shelf liner or newspaper. Once you get to your permanent viv, you can upgrade to slate.

 

[corrine]

I bought slate tile from Lowe's for a little over $20 a case. Tile cleans easily. It also helps to keep your beardies nails trimmed. Plus they can't eat it.

 

[Heather]

Thanks for the info & input. Hubby likes the idea of tile and having looked thru the Habitat area we've gotten some new ideas to make. We really liked the transformation of the dresser to viv.

His toe is fine. Old injury we think. I was just wonderin if anyone else has seen a baby do this to themselves. I see this at work alot with the infant monkeys and nothing comes of it.

Now I'm finding myself settin up a home for crickets. : ;D Boga has been eating up to 10 med a day, so we're settin up shop for crickets. Mealworms are comin home tonight.

How stubborn can these guys/gals be? He hasn't touched his veggies at all, an with havin to get birds to eat fresh vegs/fruit, I'm sure I'm in for a wait. I'd just like an idea to measure by.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Heather.. Not mealworms.. Super worms.. Morio sp. Mealies have too hard of a carapace, and not enough protein to weigh out the fat content.

Can't wait to see pictures of the new mansion !
Janie

 

[renich]

A lot of babies do not eat their salad. Keep offering it and play around with different kinds. A lot like butternut squash and bell peppers - any color. Put a mound on the bottom of the greens. Offer the salad in the AM before any protein. He should come around.

And as Janie pointed out, mealworms are not good for beardies. Their outershell makes it difficult to break down and they offer no nutritional value.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Hello and welcome, cute pooper.

 

[crypticdragons]

Welcome to the site