Hey everyone! It’s been a minute since I’ve posted - but my girl is turning 10 years old the first week of January 2020 - so I thought I’d come to the board and see how many of y’all have or have had an older beardie, like over 10 years? Or, at what age did your dragon live out their life til?
I see a lot of baby beardie care posts which are so vital and also fun to read - but i thought - would anyone like to give any input about senior beardie care? I also see many different sites/sources that say different things regarding age - I see some site say 6 and up is “senior” - then some say 8 and up, some say 10 and up. I’ve also seen the labels fluctuate with the years old as well - from “senior” to “elderly” to “geriatric” ... it’s just neat to see different sites and different people use use different terms and such.
My girl Blue appears to still be happy and in good health - alert, bright eyes, pink mouth/tounge, basking well, eating well, drinks her water from her syringe every other day, pooping well, etc ... she just came out of her 5 month brumation about 3 weeks ago - she tends to go down completely (zero waking up - out like a light - deep sleep) in late summer - this year it was late July - and emerge in late December or January ... that’s been her typical yearly schedule her whole life.
The only thing I have actually noticed is that her activity level is a bit lower than it used to be which to me feels totally normal and expected ... for example she doesn’t climb like she used to - BUT I am actually super thankful for that b/c I definitely don’t want her falling at her age (any age, but especially now) ...
Blue has only been to the vet one time - around age 4 - for a standard check up - we have never seen any signs of a visible health issues, however I am making a vet appointment for January - marking her 10 year birthday with a dragon physical ? - In case I’m missing something, in case of anything really.
So what do y’all do differently or not differently if you have an older dragon? Anything different with temps, diet, overall care and routines? What are yalls experiences with your senior/elderly dragon? Have you had them since they were babies or did you get your dragon as an adult or an adult rescue? I’d love to hear your opinions, thoughts and your stories and also any issues you have had with older beardies!! Thanks!
I see a lot of baby beardie care posts which are so vital and also fun to read - but i thought - would anyone like to give any input about senior beardie care? I also see many different sites/sources that say different things regarding age - I see some site say 6 and up is “senior” - then some say 8 and up, some say 10 and up. I’ve also seen the labels fluctuate with the years old as well - from “senior” to “elderly” to “geriatric” ... it’s just neat to see different sites and different people use use different terms and such.
My girl Blue appears to still be happy and in good health - alert, bright eyes, pink mouth/tounge, basking well, eating well, drinks her water from her syringe every other day, pooping well, etc ... she just came out of her 5 month brumation about 3 weeks ago - she tends to go down completely (zero waking up - out like a light - deep sleep) in late summer - this year it was late July - and emerge in late December or January ... that’s been her typical yearly schedule her whole life.
The only thing I have actually noticed is that her activity level is a bit lower than it used to be which to me feels totally normal and expected ... for example she doesn’t climb like she used to - BUT I am actually super thankful for that b/c I definitely don’t want her falling at her age (any age, but especially now) ...
Blue has only been to the vet one time - around age 4 - for a standard check up - we have never seen any signs of a visible health issues, however I am making a vet appointment for January - marking her 10 year birthday with a dragon physical ? - In case I’m missing something, in case of anything really.
So what do y’all do differently or not differently if you have an older dragon? Anything different with temps, diet, overall care and routines? What are yalls experiences with your senior/elderly dragon? Have you had them since they were babies or did you get your dragon as an adult or an adult rescue? I’d love to hear your opinions, thoughts and your stories and also any issues you have had with older beardies!! Thanks!