Going away for a few days

Hi there,

I was wondering how long beardies can go without care. For instance, if I go away to the cottage for a few days, am I ok to leave my beardie at home? Is there anything I can do to make things easier on them? Obviously if I leave for a week I need to have someone look after him, but what about if I leave for a couple days? How does age/size affect this?

Hiya,

Age, size, health, and current diet are really big factors regarding this.

A fully grown healthy bearded dragon who normally eats fresh salad and feeders but will begrudgingly consume pellets/freeze dried would be absolutely fine for a few days, assuming your lights are on a timer.

A young dragon? I wouldn't risk it. A sick dragon? I wouldn't risk it.

Personally I have gone two nights with Guac once he was an adult. I didn't like it, and neither did he, but he seems no worse for wear. On day one, I woke up, have him his salad making sure it had nothing that would mold quickly in it, along with bugs in the morning instead of the evening, and I left. The next day, day 2, he received no care. On day 3 I got home min-afternoon and immediately cleaned his tank and got him a new salad.

Obviously if you have someone who's willing to take care of him, that's a lot better. My roomie has been on "You remove poo and pour this salad in" duty a few times and that's sufficient for short-term care.

Hope that helps.
-Ellen