Hello, I just joined.
My beardie's name is Sparta. She's small for her age, which is about 5-6 months. I'll post pics underneath this post.
Right now she eats crickets daily dusted with multivitamin and calcium D3. I give her a large bowl of leafy greens in the morning, and the crickets late afternoon. She's plump and healthy so it works for her.
Right now she is shedding. So I've been giving her daily baths. It helps a lot. She HATES baths though. But I prefer to give her baths because then I rub her abdomen so she can urinate and poo in the water, so that I don't need to worry about her pooping on my carpet or on me (which has happened). Plus her favorite spot is on top of my head, nested in my hair, and I really don't want her to poop there. Anyway, I bathe her with some deshedder fluid in the water, and let her soak, then rub her gently with a soft bristle toothbrush. It works really well. I don't brush too hard...if the skin isn't ready to come off, I leave it alone.
I used to work at PetSmart up until this past July. That's how I was first introduced to beardies (had never heard of them before then). Sparta was underweight and malnourished when I adopted her. Her skin looked unhealthy too. I quickly fixed that. I had to at first give her food and water with a dropper because she wouldn't eat or drink. I looked all over the internet trying to figure out how to encourage her to eat her crickets. Finally I read something that I then tried, and it worked (keep in mind I didn't know much about beardies at all at the time). I put her in a small tank and set it in the backyard underneath the sun. I kept the screen top on it because there are predatory birds around here. I let her sit and bask under the sun for a while and then I put a few crickets in there. She ate them!
It took her a while to warm up to veggies too. She used to HATE it if I watched her eat. She would stop eating. Nowadays, she'll eat the crickets in front of me, no problem. And she'll eat worms and veggies and fruit out of my hand. But when it comes to the veggies in the bowl, I need to leave before she'll eat it.
I'm about 98% certain she is female. I've had her for quite awhile now and she has female sex organs. I tried the flashlight trick but I guess my flashlight wasn't too great because I couldn't see anything. It's been a long time since the last time I tried this method, though.
We have our daily routine. I have conditioned her to eat bugs inside a separate tank. And now I have to do that because her newest home is traditionally meant for iguanas but it seems to be working out just fine for her....she started going through a growth spurt only a few days after the upgrade. I know her habitat isn't ideal, but I can't afford anything else right now. Plus she seems to like it. But I can't put bugs in there because it's built like a cage. I have a heating mat underneath the bottom of the cage, reptile carpet as the substrate, and various driftwood and rocks to climb on. She has a basking bridge too. I use the Reptisun 10.0 long tube with hood. I honestly can't remember what brand my basking light is. It's held up really well though. I have the hood and lamp arranged like this:
_________
l{______ }l
( )
__________
If that makes any sense at all!
In the evening, it's time to roam around the apartment and/or cuddle. I put her harness on while she's on her basking spot, and she is so used to it that she'll even help me out by arranging her arms for me. But if I take too long, or accidentally put it on wrong, she'll get mad and puff out her beard. It's actually really cute when she does that.
I'm now considering starting a dubia roach colony. My friend that has a beardie has already started one, and she said she'd give me some of her roaches. I pretty much know what to do, I just need to figure out exactly how to carry this out. My apartment is tiny so I'm not sure where I will keep them. I'll keep thinking on it.
Once I figure out how to post pics, I will.
Oh, but I do have a question! I've noticed with this shed, her skin is looking very red instead of grayish brown. Just wondering, is this normal for their "true" colors to emerge with each shed? I'm pretty sure she will always retain a lot of brown, but the red is quite pretty so far. And it's definitely like a blood red, not orange.
Anyway, thanks if you were patient enough to read all of this!
My beardie's name is Sparta. She's small for her age, which is about 5-6 months. I'll post pics underneath this post.
Right now she eats crickets daily dusted with multivitamin and calcium D3. I give her a large bowl of leafy greens in the morning, and the crickets late afternoon. She's plump and healthy so it works for her.
Right now she is shedding. So I've been giving her daily baths. It helps a lot. She HATES baths though. But I prefer to give her baths because then I rub her abdomen so she can urinate and poo in the water, so that I don't need to worry about her pooping on my carpet or on me (which has happened). Plus her favorite spot is on top of my head, nested in my hair, and I really don't want her to poop there. Anyway, I bathe her with some deshedder fluid in the water, and let her soak, then rub her gently with a soft bristle toothbrush. It works really well. I don't brush too hard...if the skin isn't ready to come off, I leave it alone.
I used to work at PetSmart up until this past July. That's how I was first introduced to beardies (had never heard of them before then). Sparta was underweight and malnourished when I adopted her. Her skin looked unhealthy too. I quickly fixed that. I had to at first give her food and water with a dropper because she wouldn't eat or drink. I looked all over the internet trying to figure out how to encourage her to eat her crickets. Finally I read something that I then tried, and it worked (keep in mind I didn't know much about beardies at all at the time). I put her in a small tank and set it in the backyard underneath the sun. I kept the screen top on it because there are predatory birds around here. I let her sit and bask under the sun for a while and then I put a few crickets in there. She ate them!
It took her a while to warm up to veggies too. She used to HATE it if I watched her eat. She would stop eating. Nowadays, she'll eat the crickets in front of me, no problem. And she'll eat worms and veggies and fruit out of my hand. But when it comes to the veggies in the bowl, I need to leave before she'll eat it.
I'm about 98% certain she is female. I've had her for quite awhile now and she has female sex organs. I tried the flashlight trick but I guess my flashlight wasn't too great because I couldn't see anything. It's been a long time since the last time I tried this method, though.
We have our daily routine. I have conditioned her to eat bugs inside a separate tank. And now I have to do that because her newest home is traditionally meant for iguanas but it seems to be working out just fine for her....she started going through a growth spurt only a few days after the upgrade. I know her habitat isn't ideal, but I can't afford anything else right now. Plus she seems to like it. But I can't put bugs in there because it's built like a cage. I have a heating mat underneath the bottom of the cage, reptile carpet as the substrate, and various driftwood and rocks to climb on. She has a basking bridge too. I use the Reptisun 10.0 long tube with hood. I honestly can't remember what brand my basking light is. It's held up really well though. I have the hood and lamp arranged like this:
_________
l{______ }l
( )
__________
If that makes any sense at all!
In the evening, it's time to roam around the apartment and/or cuddle. I put her harness on while she's on her basking spot, and she is so used to it that she'll even help me out by arranging her arms for me. But if I take too long, or accidentally put it on wrong, she'll get mad and puff out her beard. It's actually really cute when she does that.
I'm now considering starting a dubia roach colony. My friend that has a beardie has already started one, and she said she'd give me some of her roaches. I pretty much know what to do, I just need to figure out exactly how to carry this out. My apartment is tiny so I'm not sure where I will keep them. I'll keep thinking on it.
Once I figure out how to post pics, I will.
Oh, but I do have a question! I've noticed with this shed, her skin is looking very red instead of grayish brown. Just wondering, is this normal for their "true" colors to emerge with each shed? I'm pretty sure she will always retain a lot of brown, but the red is quite pretty so far. And it's definitely like a blood red, not orange.
Anyway, thanks if you were patient enough to read all of this!
