Couple of questions about my new beardie

I got a new beardie Friday night. I am a new beardie owner. I was wondering about the baths. Is this a must? How many times a week/month? When should I start bathing my new beardie? I dont want him to freak out on me when I put him in the water.

Also, how do I know my beardie wants to be held? I left him alone the first day I got him. Saturday morning, I visited his cage every hour. That night I got him out. I wrapped him in one of my shirts. He was calm for about 3-5 min. and then started moving around. Mostly he liked going to the back of the couch and looking around. Then layed down and closed his eye. Does this mean he wants to get back in is cage? Or is he just checking things out? I want him to be comfortable when I handle him, so I am looking for any tips. Sunday he started eating out of our hands, so this somewhat means that he is comfortable with us right?

If you have any tips for me as a new beardie owner I would greatly appreciate it! Also and ways/signs to know if he is mad/scared, where I need to put him back in is cage.

Thanks so much!

**edit** I got my beardie from petsmart, he is a baby

As far as handling...I just got my baby last week and I've taken him out a few times...once he starts getting darker or I start to notice his stress marks getting darker I put him back in his tank so he doesn't get too freaked out.

I'm not sure when you can start giving him baths but once you do start I think it just depends on your schedule for how often you do it. A lot of people do it once a week or every other day while some do it every day...it's up to you. I've given mine two baths sofar just because I was worried about him staying hydrated. During his first one he barely moved around because he was a little scared but his second one was yesterday and he started running around the bathtub so I think he was enjoying it haha. My bathtub is also sloped so he can walk out of the water if he wants to but I'm guessing he enjoyed if because he walked further into the deeper part.

Hmm..tips...well I'd just watch him closely when you have him out. The first time I got mine out he started getting very jumpy and actually jumped off my bed :shock: Luckily I had pillows around my bed so he didn't fall but about 6 inches and he landed on a soft one :] So now I'm extra careful when he's out.

Congrats on your new beardie!! You should post some pics of him!

Beardies sometimes suffer from relocation stress,which means they sometimes need time to get used to new surroundings before too much holding etc... Sounds like your little guy was enjoying exploring his surroundings by wanting on the couch to look around. Please don't rush the holding as he may still be getting used to you and babies don't hold still for long anyway. The holding in an old shirt that smells like you or even getting the beardie a blankie to cuddle in at night is a wonderful thing.Just watch closely when your baby beardie is out and don't let in crawl under anything that you can't easily get to him and enjoy watching him. As for helping to bond,beardie burritos really help,simply do the T-shirt or blankie thing at night close to bedtime and hold him/her on your chest,if they wiggle out snuggle them back gently(at bedtime when they are getting ready for lights out.

thanks so much for all the tips! where do i need to look for these "dark" spots so i can notice if he is scared/stressed. i gave him a bath last night in a lid (so it would not be too deep) i put it on a towel so that way if he was not comfortable, he could crawl out. he stayed really still in it for about 3 min or so, then got out. so i wrapped him up. he ran around on the couch for a little bit, then i got him and wrapped him up in my shirt with his head sticking out and in about 3 min. he was out! he slept on my chest for about an hour, then i put him in his tank with my shirt. when he was sleeping he kept moving his head, kinda like nesting down into my shirt. it was the cutest thing! then i was going to go clean his cage before i put him in and told my husband to get him. well he picked him up in the shirt and layed him on his chest. well he didnt even wake up! his eyes didnt open or anything. i got kinda nervous. then saw him kinda snuggle his head back into the shirt. i guess he was just really tired, or either a very hard sleeper! i am so very happy with is progress. i really didnt expect him to act this way for at least another 2 weeks or so. but it doesnt seem that he is scared or anything. but if anyone could tell me where to look for those black marks when he scared i would appreciate it! =)

The dark parts show up on their underside...on their stomach you'll see dark stripes. They also show up on their chin too so that's easier to notice

Here's a picture of mine

Notice the black marks on his chin? That's what they look like but they can be really really dark or very faint too.

My dragon's whole body kind of turns darker though when he gets stressed...I think it may just be because he is a translucent though

On the topic of baths, water up to the shoulders, temp 90-100*F, for as close to 15 minutes as possible. The towel is a great idea, as that allows the baby purchase on an other wise slippery surface. Dragons take in water from their anal vent, where the poos come from.
3-4 times a week is great for helping the dragon hydrate.

Hope this helps out !
Janie.

ok thanks for the bathing tips! ok another question about the stress marks . . . my beardie does have little marking on his neck and stomach . . . they are back, not real dark though and they look kinda like this ( )
just smaller. Are those stress marks or just is markings?

nicolemarie117":c3276 said:

ok thanks for the bathing tips! ok another question about the stress marks . . . my beardie does have little marking on his neck and stomach . . . they are back, not real dark though and they look kinda like this ( )
just smaller. Are those stress marks or just is markings?

Click to expand...

Sounds like stress marks to me...if they change in darkness then they probably are. When he's calm and not stressed they should disappear but relocation stress can last for about 2 weeks I believe