In love with our new BD, but...

[LittleOne2321]

Hello! I am new to the world of Bearded Dragons. My boyfriend and I got one about 2 weeks ago for free from a friend who couldn't care for him(?) any more. His name is Draco Phoenix. We couldn't decide on the two names, so he got both. If he turns out to be a girl, we'll change it to just Phoenix.
My boyfriend has owned 2 bearded dragons before, the first was healthy and lived a normal life, but the second was starved to death, so it's hard for me to believe that he really knows everything about the little guys. Draco Phoenix is about 10 inches long, and about 6 or 7 months old. He's in a 10 gallon tank right now with a mixture of calcisand and vita-sand. We're getting a new 20-gallon tank as soon as we can afford one. I'd post a picture, but I don't know how.
Anywho, we love him to death, but I'm too terrified to pick him up. He's really fast and very friendly. The only time he's ever gotten angry was when my boyfriend decided to mess with him while he was sleeping (not smart, but Draco Phoenix fell down from sleeping vertically, and he was just checking to see if he was ok). He loves being misted, but we've never tried to give him a bath. My boyfriend will pick him up no problem, but he works more than I do, so I'm usually the only one home with him. I feel bad all the time, cause I'll look at him, and he'll make faces at me and stuff, but I'm too scared I'll hurt him, or he'll run away, and I'll lose him. Does anybody know how I can get over my fear?

 

[fez09]

You know the old saying "practice makes perfect!"
I am glad that you found this forum because unfortunately, in order to keep Draco Phoenix healthy you have some changes to make. First, he sounds pretty small for being 6-7 months old. I have a 5 month old who is over 16 inches. What are you feeding him and how often? Second (and very important) you need a bigger tank for him, you can't get proper tempratures in a 10 gallon. Also, dump the sand it harbors alot of bacteria and can cause impaction (I know this from experience) What type of UVB do you have for him? Also instead of misting him, soa him in a little warm water in the sink. If you mist him in his cage it can raise the humidity and cause respiratory problems. I know that's alot of info to take in so let me know if you have any questions!

 

[Sag]

Hi nice to meet you. First off, the sand needs to go, it can be very dangerous to the Beardie esp. as it is young. It may ingest it when eating and become impacted, which means it will be unable to poop. Then if the impaction is not rectified, it will kill the lizard. Although I too am new to owning Beardies, I have rescued two Leopard Geckos who had that exact problem and unfortunately by the time I got them it was so far gone and the internal damage was so bad that the vet suggested that after 3 months of working to help them to recover, euthanasia was the best thing for them.

In most of the reading I have done on Beardies, including here, the same warning comes up time and again. If you go to the Care Sheets and Articles section here and read the Article called Impaction Article once you get to page three of the article there is an xray of an impacted Bearded Dragon, it is just terrible the amount of sand in it's digestive system. Impaction in these guys can also lead to paralysis of the limbs as they do not have discs in between their vertebrae like we do and when the impaction gets bad enough it pushes on the spine and misaligns it causing pressure on nerves and the spinal cord.

As for you fear of hurting the little buddy in your house remember a few key points and you should be fine. When you go to pick him up try sliding one hand under him and lifting him that way. He will feel less threatened in the sense that you are not picking him up as a predator would and you are not hanging him suspended in midair which may startle him and cause him to flail.

Then at first try just holding him in the viv so that if he jumps he lands a small distance and in a confined space where you do not have to worry about him running away. If you do this for a week or so he will get to know you and you him. A bond will start to form and both of you will be more secure.

Try to be calm and not afraid as many animals can smell fear as it puts out different hormones.

If you have other pets (cats, dogs etc.) hold him when they are locked out of the room you are in that way they can not startle him and make him bolt.

As you become more familiar with him and get to know his body language you can put him up against your breast (yes like a broach) and gently cup a hand around his back and carry him around or sit with him like that. It allows for bonding cuddle time and you have him where he can not fall as your hand is his safety net.

As well as you get more comfortable with holding him, try placing him on your bed, where you can see exactly where he is going and he will always basically be within in arms reach and there is not a couch or a fridge for him to run under.

As for his size, there is the possibility he could just be a runt and will be small but mine who is approx. 4 months is about 14 inches long snout to tail. Some of the things I would make sure you are aware of are:
-as a youngin his diet should consist of 80% protien 20% salad
-he needs calcium powder with his bugs 5 days a week
-he needs multivitamin powder with his bugs the other 2 days a week
-great place to get a list of the salad fixins for him is here http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
-he needs UVB light that is one approx 14 hrs a day and should be placed right beside/above his basking spot
-his basking spot should be 105-110
-his cool side should be about 75ish
-his night temp can drop to approx 68-70
-he may or may not drink sanding water, so make sure the dish is shallow
-be sure to gutload his bugs and not just with powdered food but a water or liquid source of some type as they get most of their liquid from the food they eat
-you can mist his salads everyday to help keep him hydrated
-a warm bath 95-100 is advised a few time a week min, as this also helps with hydration as they can draw fluid up through the vent
-be sure that the bug you feed is not larger than the space between his eyes as he could choke on it, same with the salad bits, make sure they are finely shopped or shredded.
-hard salad foods like squash or carrots can be shredded
-superworms are hard for a young one to digest and are kind of large for them, mine (like I said about 4 mths and 14 inches) got temporarily impacted from supers

Hope these help you out some.

 

[LittleOne2321]

Thank you both for all your info. I will try to convince my boyfriend to switch out the sand for something better. I'm starting to like the idea of tile, because it looks natural. The man is stubborn, though, so I'll have him look on this website, too. He does poop at least once a day, sometimes more, but I'll continue to keep an eye on him.

His diet right now is mostly Rep-Cal bearded dragon food (good? bad?), lettuce (yes, I realize now that this holds no nutritional value for him, and we'll go shopping for more substantial greens) and he usually has about 4-5 crickets per day. He hasn't grown much in the couple of weeks that we've had him, and he hasn't shed any, either. We were wondering if Bearded Dragons only grow to the size of their cage, like we've heard some animals do. Hopefully getting a bigger cage will help.

We don't have any other pets yet, but the advice on holding him inside the cage might be really helpful. He doesn't shy away from me at all so far, but I'm hesitant to move him around at all, because sometimes when my boyfriend moves, that inspires him to crawl all over the place. It's the unexpected movement that really makes me nervous. Wierd thing is, I'm just fine with bigger animals, no matter how jumpy they are.

 

[fez09]

He definately needs more bugs than that at his age. Let him eat as many as he wants, once to twice per day. You didn't mention what type of UVB....

 

[LittleOne2321]

I'll suggest feeding him more bugs, but that's my boyfriend's job. He's one of those guys that thinks he knows everything, so we'll see how that goes.

I don't think he has a UVB light. I looked on the box we got his lights out of (one red and one regular). Why does he need one, and what should I be looking for when I buy one?

 

[fez09]

Bearded Dragons require UVB in order for them to survive. It helps their development and digestion. You can order one at www.petmountain.com for about $18.00 make sure to get the tube. Your beardie will become deformed with a disease call Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) without this light, you need to get one today. Maybe your boyfriend needs to do a little homework before getting a pet, his attitude of "knowing it all" is causing this animal to suffer and starve.

 

[ElectricPaladin]

He needs a UV light in order to digest his food. Without enough UV, he could easily suffer from an impaction. He'll also be unable to process calcium, which leads to a painful and fatal condition where his bones become soft, his skeleton collapses, and he dies.

By the way, I'd just like to raise a contrary voice and say that the jury is not really in on sand. Some people like sand - there are entire Bearded Dragon online communities out there that prefer sand to tile - and you should read the literature and make your own choice. There are health and happiness benefits to sand as well, though whether they are worth the risks of impaction is a personal choice. My dragon is on reptile carpet now, but he'll be moving to sand when he gets a little bigger.

 

[LittleOne2321]

Thanks. I'll definitely get one for him ASAP. Boyfriend did research...just in all the wrong places.