Drinking water...

Hello everyone,

I had some beardies some years back and bread them a few times but got out of it after the mother got so old and died on me. Well I am back into it again and just picked up a couple 6 month old cuties. The male is a beautiful red breed and the female is a gorgeous candies dragon. I plan to breed them probably next summer they should be old enough. I got these for pennies as the guy was heading back to IRAQ again.

Anyway, can't seem to get them to drink water. Unless they are drinking out of their bowl when I am not around. Yes I have them together as they have been together practically since birth and will keep them together unless I see some aggression later. Contradictory to what most say here, I have always kept pairs and never had any issues. But they always have been paired since very young. I don't think I would try to pair adults except for breeding only.
Anyway, any thoughts on getting them to drink?

Thanks.....JD

Lots of bearded dragons don't drink from a water bowl but get their water from veggies or soakings.

just a quick thing though you said they have been together since birth but you want to breed them, wouldn't that be considered inbreeding?
Just a warning.

I agree with Poisoned1. Also please just make sure that you keep an eye on them, seeing as they are only 6 months there may not be any aggressions issues yet but that doesn't mean they wont be and he should be hitting puberty soon, you don't want him mating her too early.

Poisoned1":77bad said:

Lots of bearded dragons don't drink from a water bowl but get their water from veggies or soakings.

just a quick thing though you said they have been together since birth but you want to breed them, wouldn't that be considered inbreeding?
Just a warning.

Click to expand...

HaHa sorry I should have mentioned they were not from the same mother. They were just born at about the same time but bought from different breeders and put together at that time. I just got them now at about 6 months old but I know the person who I got them from and know he got them a couple weeks apart from different people.
I guess I am just used to my old ones. They used to drink like a dog.......

They can actually enter puberty at about 5 months. Do you plan on separating them to prevent them from breeding at such a young age? The female will not be able to survive the egg laying as she's just a baby herself.

My beardie drinks a bit out of his bowl (i've seen him do it once), I've also seen him swim in his bowl a couple of times and I can tell he also swims it when I'm not home because I find bits of greens and sheds in the bowl I imagine he probably drinks when he's swimming too. Several beardie owners give their beardie "baths" and let them swim and drink in the sink or tub. I am not able to bathe Dex daily so I also mist him which causes him to lick the water off his face and I make sure his greens are moistened with water too. Maybe one of these items will work for you.

Thanks everyone. I actually introduced them to a critter water bottle. The ones with the little steel ball on the end and they both seem to drink from that. I have just been holding it in front of their mouths but I plan to mount it somehow in the new Viv I am planning to make for them.
Has anyone tried a bottle like this before?