Random Beardie Questions

[Jen_kimberly]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Jen, I'm new here. I currently do not own a beardie as I plan on learning as much as I can before I make that commitment. I can't lie though I'm looking forward to it! I have some random questions and I didn't want to make multiple threads for one question. So here they go!

Male VS. Female which makes a better pet/easier to care for? Is there a difference?

I read somewhere all beardie's go through this juvenile stage where they are rebellious & can be aggressive due to hormonal changes, is this true for both sexes? If so how long does it last?

What is the minimum enclosure size for an adult beardie?

I live in New York our winters can be pretty brutal & over night it def gets cold that is one of my concerns. What can I do about this?

How much outside of the enclosure time should you give him? Is there a certain time of day you should or shouldn't remove him from the cage?

That's all I can think of for now. Thank you!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Jen, I'm new here. I currently do not own a beardie as I plan on learning as much as I can before I make that commitment. I can't lie though I'm looking forward to it! I have some random questions and I didn't want to make multiple threads for one question. So here they go!

Male VS. Female which makes a better pet/easier to care for? Is there a difference?

I read somewhere all beardie's go through this juvenile stage where they are rebellious & can be aggressive due to hormonal changes, is this true for both sexes? If so how long does it last?

What is the minimum enclosure size for an adult beardie?

I live in New York our winters can be pretty brutal & over night it def gets cold that is one of my concerns. What can I do about this?

How much outside of the enclosure time should you give him? Is there a certain time of day you should or shouldn't remove him from the cage?

That's all I can think of for now. Thank you!

Welcome Jen, I'm glad to see you are gathering the info beforehand.. If you haven't already take a look at the links below several of our signature lines as we have put together some general care info..
I have a 1 year old female and I just got a 4 month old male Sat, so far my girl has always been very laid back, chilled, cuddler and just loves to watch us.. Our little fella so far is squirmy, jumpy, active, and VERY alert he loves to swim in the sink. they are soo different and the personalities can be very different from dragon to dragon..
40 gal breeder is the min. Males will typically be bigger than the females and they all need the space to run around and turn around.
With the proper basking and UVB lighting they should be fine and as long as they don't go below 65F at night your all good and if the house temps go below that then you just get a CHE (ceramic heating element) that gives off heat only NO light at nighttime as they have an organ ontop of their heads so you don't want any light of any color on so they can sleep.
Outside time varies depending on the season and the temp in your home.. But typically they can spend several hours outside the tank. I have a room set up that is safe from escape and safe from eating anything that I have a basking lamp set up over some rocks so when they want to warm up they do then off running again. If they are cool to the touch then they should go back in their tank.
Hope that helps!

 

[Jen_kimberly]

Welcome Jen, I'm glad to see you are gathering the info beforehand.. If you haven't already take a look at the links below several of our signature lines as we have put together some general care info..
I have a 1 year old female and I just got a 4 month old male Sat, so far my girl has always been very laid back, chilled, cuddler and just loves to watch us.. Our little fella so far is squirmy, jumpy, active, and VERY alert he loves to swim in the sink. they are soo different and the personalities can be very different from dragon to dragon..
40 gal breeder is the min. Males will typically be bigger than the females and they all need the space to run around and turn around.
With the proper basking and UVB lighting they should be fine and as long as they don't go below 65F at night your all good and if the house temps go below that then you just get a CHE (ceramic heating element) that gives off heat only NO light at nighttime as they have an organ ontop of their heads so you don't want any light of any color on so they can sleep.
Outside time varies depending on the season and the temp in your home.. But typically they can spend several hours outside the tank. I have a room set up that is safe from escape and safe from eating anything that I have a basking lamp set up over some rocks so when they want to warm up they do then off running again. If they are cool to the touch then they should go back in their tank.
Hope that helps!

Now that you mention a male being bigger than females. How do they range in sizes? Also did your female go through that juvenile stage I mentioned?

 

[Elders]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Jen, I'm new here. I currently do not own a beardie as I plan on learning as much as I can before I make that commitment. I can't lie though I'm looking forward to it! I have some random questions and I didn't want to make multiple threads for one question. So here they go!

Male VS. Female which makes a better pet/easier to care for? Is there a difference?

I read somewhere all beardie's go through this juvenile stage where they are rebellious & can be aggressive due to hormonal changes, is this true for both sexes? If so how long does it last?

What is the minimum enclosure size for an adult beardie?

I live in New York our winters can be pretty brutal & over night it def gets cold that is one of my concerns. What can I do about this?

How much outside of the enclosure time should you give him? Is there a certain time of day you should or shouldn't remove him from the cage?

That's all I can think of for now. Thank you!

I have a male named Odin, and right out of his delivery box he has been a firecracker; his personality is awesome.....now that he's been with me nearly two months he is calming down to me handling him. He does still gape but I just close his mouth and he calms down...Never nipped at me; eats from my hands; and is a super fun guy all around;

As mentioned above Males grow larger than females and if they have the german giant gene they can grow even larger.

Females will lay eggs; even if they are not with a mate;

As stated 40Gallon breeder is the minimum; You can get a good price on an aquarium from petcos 1$/gallon sale; they come by every so often. very worth the look at.

I also live in New York and am very familiar with our winters; (I am a bit of a polar bear as well; and keep the AC on through out the winter as well...lol...) I use a CHE and it keeps the temps up. I would recommend getting a CHE. Unless your house is normally warm.

I like to let ody out as much as possible but right now my apartment is small; and not a lot of safe room for him; I take him out for baths and a bit of a walk about on my bed some times. other than that we play in his enclosure. I wouldn't take them out at night as they are trying to sleep.

 

[Elders]

Now that you mention a male being bigger than females. How do they range in sizes? Also did your female go through that juvenile stage I mentioned?

Dragons can get up to 24"

however this is pretty rare; usually around 18-22" is most common.

All personalities are different; you could have a completely placid and relaxed dragon; and then the next is a rocket; like ody...

 

[Jen_kimberly]

I have a male named Odin, and right out of his delivery box he has been a firecracker; his personality is awesome.....now that he's been with me nearly two months he is calming down to me handling him. He does still gape but I just close his mouth and he calms down...Never nipped at me; eats from my hands; and is a super fun guy all around;

As mentioned above Males grow larger than females and if they have the german giant gene they can grow even larger.

Females will lay eggs; even if they are not with a mate;

As stated 40Gallon breeder is the minimum; You can get a good price on an aquarium from petcos 1$/gallon sale; they come by every so often. very worth the look at.

I also live in New York and am very familiar with our winters; (I am a bit of a polar bear as well; and keep the AC on through out the winter as well...lol...) I use a CHE and it keeps the temps up. I would recommend getting a CHE. Unless your house is normally warm.

I like to let ody out as much as possible but right now my apartment is small; and not a lot of safe room for him; I take him out for baths and a bit of a walk about on my bed some times. other than that we play in his enclosure. I wouldn't take them out at night as they are trying to sleep.

Yes I also heard about this egg laying problem. I mean is it a problem? Lol I know they aren't fertilized or anything but does it affect the female in any way? Where did you get ody from by the way? How old was he when you got him? AC in the winter! Lol your crazy!

 

[Elders]

Yes I also heard about this egg laying problem. I mean is it a problem? Lol I know they aren't fertilized or anything but does it affect the female in any way? Where did you get ody from by the way? How old was he when you got him? AC in the winter! Lol your crazy!

It's not really a problem per se; just they require a lot more nutrition to make up for all those eggs they build up; and the energy they spend doing so.

So they will consume more I am speculating; to make up for those nutrients.

I got ody from a breeder online; from my home state of PA:

http://www.dachiubeardeddragons.com/bearded-dragons-for-sale-5082016/

They post new babies every sunday around 3pm ish;

They were very kind in working with me and my scheduling for work; since you have to be home to accept the package.

They also shipped me 500 dubias at a very discounted price to feed him.

Dragons are usually sold at between 6-7" long as babies; which is about 6 weeks or so;

Babies are more expensive as they require different care than an adult.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yea they really do range up to 24" give or take most dragons you get in the stores are pretty common ones so....my Izzy (fe) is 16 1/2" long.
She never went thru any stage really she''s been even throughout..

 

[Hdrydr31]

Some females lay eggs some don't mine hasn't so far.... If they lay eggs you give more calcium to rebuild their stores.

 

[Jen_kimberly]

It's not really a problem per se; just they require a lot more nutrition to make up for all those eggs they build up; and the energy they spend doing so.

So they will consume more I am speculating; to make up for those nutrients.

I got ody from a breeder online; from my home state of PA:

http://www.dachiubeardeddragons.com/bearded-dragons-for-sale-5082016/

They post new babies every sunday around 3pm ish;

They were very kind in working with me and my scheduling for work; since you have to be home to accept the package.

They also shipped me 500 dubias at a very discounted price to feed him.

Dragons are usually sold at between 6-7" long as babies; which is about 6 weeks or so;

Babies are more expensive as they require different care than an adult.

I'll definitely look into them.

 

[Elders]

One thing to remember though is they are animals; so just like any animal you bring home it will need time to acclimate; and then depending on your interactions with it; it will learn to either trust or hate you; if you leave it in an enclosure and never spend time with it; or interact with it; it will become distant and not very friendly. If you spend time and show it that you can be trusted it will get closer to you.

This can be easy or frustrating based on the animal; but almost always they will learn they can trust you.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Ditto ^^^ I make sure to hold them as I can throughout the day my Izzy was fine from the very first day, and so far with Simon he's been fine with me from the same day home.. It really depends on he dragon and how you interact with them..

 

[Jen_kimberly]

One thing to remember though is they are animals; so just like any animal you bring home it will need time to acclimate; and then depending on your interactions with it; it will learn to either trust or hate you; if you leave it in an enclosure and never spend time with it; or interact with it; it will become distant and not very friendly. If you spend time and show it that you can be trusted it will get closer to you.

This can be easy or frustrating based on the animal; but almost always they will learn they can trust you.

Is there a specific way of handling? Or is it okay to just stick your hand in there and grab them lol. Also where do you get the food from, Petco? I checked out the website of the breeder they've got some nice looking ones

 

[Jen_kimberly]

Ditto ^^^ I make sure to hold them as I can throughout the day my Izzy was fine from the very first day, and so far with Simon he's been fine with me from the same day home.. It really depends on he dragon and how you interact with them..

When they are babies are they hard to handle, do they run from you lol ? I def plan on handling often. I want a socialized dragon that's for sure!

 

[Elders]

You pick them up by placing a finger under the head to support the shoulders and the rest of the hand under the belly;

You can touch their tails however they CAN fall off; and unlike geckos and other lizards they will not regenerate any lost parts.

This is another reason to be careful with your little guy or even an adult; stuck sheds/pinched tails can cause whats known as tail rot; which is basically a damaged tail portion that cannot get blood flow to the rest of the tail; and will start to cause infection which will go up the rest of the tail and eventually into the dragons organs which will cause it pain and death.

I buy my dubias from this site;

http://westcoastroaches.3dcartstores.com/

but there are some folks on here that sell dubias as well.

I like that breeder they have very nice colors available.

 

[Elders]

When they are babies are they hard to handle, do they run from you lol ? I def plan on handling often. I want a socialized dragon that's for sure!

In the beginning possibly; it depends on the dragon; and your approach.

Like Hydrydr said; hers has had no issues with handling from day one;

For me; Ody did run for a few days til he realized I didn't want to hurt or eat him.

It's all up to the dragon you get.

 

[Jen_kimberly]

You pick them up by placing a finger under the head to support the shoulders and the rest of the hand under the belly;

You can touch their tails however they CAN fall off; and unlike geckos and other lizards they will not regenerate any lost parts.

This is another reason to be careful with your little guy or even an adult; stuck sheds/pinched tails can cause whats known as tail rot; which is basically a damaged tail portion that cannot get blood flow to the rest of the tail; and will start to cause infection which will go up the rest of the tail and eventually into the dragons organs which will cause it pain and death.

I buy my dubias from this site;

http://westcoastroaches.3dcartstores.com/

but there are some folks on here that sell dubias as well.

I like that breeder they have very nice colors available.

How often do you feed him? Sorry I'm asking a million questions lmao

 

[Elders]

How often do you feed him? Sorry I'm asking a million questions lmao

No worries;

Due to my schedule I kind of have an unorthadox feeding schedule;

usually its 3 times a day as many roaches as they can eat in 10-15 minutes (As babies) and have fresh greens available to them all day long.

For me I will put a good amount of roaches into his feeding container before I go to work; and when I get home I will re-up his roaches and freshen the greens.

and then if he clears the roaches ill wait another hour or so and offer more; by then it's a getting too late for any food after that. They should have an hour and half to two hours before lights out to bask and digest the food.

I water him a couple times a day; if he drinks he drinks; if not he'll have another go around later in the day.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yep you want to be careful with the babies as they are tiny and very delicate, never come from above them especially if they are sleeping or not looking they have an organ on top of their head it's a scale that is darker off color it senses shadow's that could be predators like birds etc it's best to call their name or get their attention, then as said above come from the front go under their head and the other hand under their belly. They can be very squirmy so at first just let them get used to being in your hand while inside their tank, yes don't grab their tails if they are falling.. some find it easier to handle them when they are sleepy, some are very wary of us so those tend to take more time to let them get used to you.. I've been lucky so far to have pretty easy time getting them used to being handled..and when they get too squirmy I just put them back in their homes. Again my female is super laid back she has always loved being held, now when she was little she was more active than she is now My Simon is very active I do hold him but for short times like 5-10 min at a time, I let him run around in his bath time... Both of them go in their baths so it's easy clean up.
Babies need to be fed 3x a day especially the little little ones... With a salad greens and veggies in all day..
I have my own dubia roach colony, I also feed superworms, butterworms, waxworms, phoenix worms and hornworms..

 

[Jen_kimberly]

No worries;

Due to my schedule I kind of have an unorthadox feeding schedule;

usually its 3 times a day as many roaches as they can eat in 10-15 minutes (As babies) and have fresh greens available to them all day long.

For me I will put a good amount of roaches into his feeding container before I go to work; and when I get home I will re-up his roaches and freshen the greens.

and then if he clears the roaches ill wait another hour or so and offer more; by then it's a getting too late for any food after that. They should have an hour and half to two hours before lights out to bask and digest the food.

I water him a couple times a day; if he drinks he drinks; if not he'll have another go around later in the day.

As they grow older are they fed less times a day? Do you always have to keep bugs in your house lol? Probably a dumb question. When starting out how do you know how many you need for like a week? What about supplements?