HELP PLEASE!!! Beardie escaped cage

Help me please! I could use as much help as possible, I lost my Beardie yesterday evening and I can’t find him. I came into my room to find one of his cage doors open and my cat inside it. my cat is very curious but harmless and wouldn’t hurt him. But I can’t find him anywhere, my door to my room was also open so he could be in other rooms? could he have went down wooden stairs? I’ve torn apart my house looking for him & put up a basking spot in my room for him with food hoping he’ll come back to it. He’s a year old and I’ve had him since he was a baby i can’t lose him please help me!!!

Look in dark places like under the bed under the couch closets book shelves -- you need to watch that cat or get him out of the house or lock him up somewhere where he cant get to him -- he will find him -- you dont want that---- others on here will give more ideas
Karrie

They are hide and seek champs. Some weird places people have found them sometimes is in bookshelves, inside a pile of laundry, pressed up against the wall and a piece of furniture.

You just have to look everywhere, and move furniture around very carefully just in case.

-Brandon

all good, I found him in another room by next to a dresser. Gave me half a heart attack losing him. And yes my cat will be coming no where near my room or my beardie from now on. thank you so much for the help!

Great news that you found him! Thanks for updating us. Most cats are just curious, little mischievous letting your dragon out. :mrgreen:

-Brandon

Yes it depends on cat if it's a kitten - usually older cats are just curious- I have 4 and they never bother hiccup but I am always watching tho-- for the most part hiccup chases them -- and I haft to get onto him
Karrie

I have 4 as well! The other ones don’t pay any attention to my little guy but my one cat is so curious, he’s an older guy tho and he’s never hurt a fly but rest assured he’s been banned ?

Sorry this has happened to your dragon. But cats and lizards In the same house are a recipy for a disaster and badly injured lizard or a dead one unless you are extremely careful and very diligent about ensuring the room the dragon lives in (in it's tank) is a CAT EXCLUSION ZONE and everyone in the household makes sure it stays that way.

If you are lucky it's evaded the cat . .

Are there are any scratches that have broken the skin ?
, or penetrating claw or fan impaling wounds ?
if there are this is VERY BAD and a vet ER emergency , you will need to get the injured dragon to a reptile vet right away as It's essential to get it xrayed and thoroughly examined and wound's cleaned up in surgery and to start the reptile on a course of carefully targeted very powerful broad spectrum antibiotics to try to head of the inevitable life threatening systemic infection that kills most animals attacked by cats. Please don't even consider home remedies such as raw honey as an alternative. The longer you delay starting getting started with antibiotics under a vet's supervision the worse the dragon's prognosis.


This happens lots .
Kid next door to me had a breeding colony of jacky dragons in his bedroom and his elder sister decided she wanted a cat . Came home from school one afternoon to find 5 of the 6 jacky dragons out of the cage a spread out all over the house either dead or dying . Someone forgot to close the bedroom door , and the cat had all day after the kids went to school to rip open the wire mesh lid on the jacky dragon tank and then fish out the dragons one at a time , torture them until they became "boring" than go and get another .

The cat knows there is a reptile in the house now , you'll be hard pressed keeping the cat away from it and stopping it from attacking the dragon from now on . You need to make the tank cat proof .
There are four options for housing your dragon SAFELY from here forward :


option 1 : convert existing tank to a solid timber hinged lid
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=240221&p=1840683#p1840683

option 2 : convert existing tank by add sliding glass (lockable) doors

option 3 : move the dragon into a tub with a click clak style lid that has been modified , a 120L tub will be ideal for a juvenile up til it's first birthday ie https://www.bunnings.com.au/all-set-120l-plastic-storage-container_p2583852 , conversion is easy and quick
, and the latches that hold the lid on will make it cat proof ie viewtopic.php?f=34&t=233480

option 4 : invest in a solid timber front opening tank or build one for the dragon.

OR you can put an electrified grid on top and infront so the cat gets a jolt of current as soon as it touches the grid.

You've likely learnt a hard lesson and the dragon could have paid the price for cat lovers here saying cats and lizards can live together and be pals.

KarrieRee":jn910v10 said:

Yes it depends on cat if it's a kitten - usually older cats are just curious- I have 4 and they never bother hiccup but I am always watching tho-- for the most part hiccup chases them -- and I haft to get onto him
Karrie

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I have to disagree with this comment . It makes very little difference to the lizard if the cat is a kitten or an adult.

Only difference is the adult is more powerful and more likely to eat the lizard if it's hungry.

beardiebearlovr":2chkb32t said:

all good, I found him in another room by next to a dresser. Gave me half a heart attack losing him. And yes my cat will be coming no where near my room or my beardie from now on. thank you so much for the help!

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I'm glad you found him and he's alive and you don't mention any injuries - dodged a bullet there.

But I recommend a vet check him for internal injuries from being "played with" / um tortured by the cat.