New Beardie owner

Hello. My name is Cat. I have a beardie named Rango. He is about 3-3 1/2 months old. I'm overly paranoid about every move, marking, color , etc that I see, but as best I can tell, I'm not alone LOL thank you guys in advance and nice to be here

Welcome to the forum! You're definitely not alone in your anxiety about Rango. Pretty much everyone has this to some extent. It does get a bit easier once you get a hang of their mannerisms and "normal" behavior. I'd love to see photos of Rango. You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.

I tried, but unfortunately I'm responding from an iPad at the time and I'm assuming I need to be at a computer. I'm going to get my laptop later and upload a photo I never knew I'd get so attached to a reptile but my gosh, I'm very attached. I'm part of a BD group on Facebook and I seem to get so much conflicting information and it's making me even more worried.. I'll get a pic up as soon as I can, and thank you!

Well, I figured out how to do it from my iPad. The pics aren't right side up, but they're there lol

Yes it's incredible what a strong bond you can form with them. Kind of a double edge sword in some cases. There is a mobile version of the site which allows uploading (I use my iPhone for this regularly). Click on the green menu button at the top and then go to the user image upload manager link and it should take you to the upload area. You can upload photos from your phone or ipad there.

ShadyFeline79":1in9nxp2 said:

Well, I figured out how to do it from my iPad. The pics aren't right side up, but they're there lol

Click to expand...

That has to do with the way the site interprets the code embedded in the photos. Common issue but not a big deal. You can post the photos by selecting them using the XIMG button when you reply.

Ok... Did I do it right?

Yep! He looks good. Looks like he's working on a tail shed too =)

He is. He sheds a lot.. probably about every 2 weeks or so. Guess that means he's growing fast? He's just now getting to where he will lay by my neck for a little while and he'll climb up on my arm voluntarily. How long have you owned a beardie? Anything very important that I need to know about him at this age? Like I said, I've gotten a lot of conflicting information! I thought I knew what I was doing for about 5 minutes lol

I would ask specific questions about any conflicting information you have. Asking for a general guide can be a bit over-whelming and repetitive to us, but if you have specific questions (I know sand can be a big topic of debate in some groups) please feel free! We all have a pretty general agreement on most topics, so that's good.

I would remove that green hammock, though. Many users here have had a bad experience with their dragons toes getting caught in the mesh and then breaking or pulling limbs out of sockets as they try and jump off but get stuck, especially with babies. It's better to get a tightly woven fabric like cotton or fleece if you want to use a hammock. You can find them all over Etsy! https://www.etsy.com/search?q=dragon+hammock&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

You can also post pictures of your whole set up if you want people to kind of go over it and double check everything

Oh my gosh, the sand topic.. I had sand initially and he was probably only a few weeks old when I got him so I'm very thankful he was not harmed. I just switched to carpet about 8 days ago... I know it's irrelevant because health is far more important but my feelings are kind of hurt because he has been kind of moping. He barely gets on the floor anymore, and he loved to burrow in the sand and go to sleep. He would also barricade himself in his little cave with the sand before going to bed. I feel like he's existing but not exactly "living" if that makes sense? I had the crushed walnut because I heard calcium sand and colored sand was a no-no and then I learn that mine was actually worse. Anyway, this group I'm in, they freaked out on me! It was like "Use newspapers! Paper towels! Tile! Shelf lining! Soul of a virgin! ANYTHING BUT SAND!!!" I changed it to the repticarpet that same day... He's pouted ever since.

I guess my only real specific question is, I've recently read that their poop (y'all said PG-13 lol) isn't supposed to smell? Well.... day before yesterday he stunk up the whole room BUT he had also eaten a pretty good amount of mustard greens (and it was his first time eating it) so I attributed it to that. Yesterday was still kinda bad, but today was considerably better. And he's not eaten anymore greens since Sunday..but should I still be concerned? That and I read that Super worms are great and much better than crickets, so I got a small container of SW and then sure enough, someone said they're terrible for them! I'm certainly not trying to aggravate the people whom know more about this than I do, I'm just new and I'm legitimately concerned and am almost to the point of leaving the FB group. My nerves are just torn up. One day, according to them, I'm doing everything right, and then the next day, I'm subjecting the poor baby to a slow and painful death. I just want to do right by him..

And this is his set up, it's a Nat Geo 40 gallon with repticarpet and I actually have a blanket that I had wrapped around the hammock because I thought that wasn't ok either. He really liked it, though so I'll definitely put it back.

The supers are OK as a treat for an adult dragon but I wouldn't offer them too much. Crickets are fine as a staple, as are roaches. I like to mix in soft worms such as silks and black soldier fly larvae as well. If the stinky poop was only temporary it was probably just an upset stomach or due to change in diet as you mentioned. Nothing I'd worry about.

The concern with the hammock is that the holes can catch his nails. As he gets bigger the suction cups can fail and it can fall which is not usually a huge deal but can be a bit alarming to them. If he likes hammocks, I'd pick up a fleece one off of etsy or make one. Using command hooks tends to make them more sturdy than suction cups too.

If he liked burrowing, you might try some small fleece blankets or scraps of fleece on the floor for him to dig around in. They won't get caught on his nails and are easy to wash. Just toss them into the washer with the repti carpet.

Oh my paranoia did not leave out the hammock lol... I taped the suction cups with packing tape. I had blanket scraps that I'd applied to the hammock, Ive been looking at the ones on Etsy and there's also another woman who makes them (can't remember her name right off hand) so I fully plan to get one. I love the TMNT one lol. He does love it so much so I think in the interim, I'm going to sew the blanket scraps onto this one, if you feel that'll be ok as a temporary set up? I definitely plan on having a different one for when he gets bigger. At the rate he's growing, man, I have a feeling he's going to be a pretty good size! So, not to beat this dead horse but.... is there just no sand or sand like substrate that's ok? I was also told it's a little less of an issue once they're adults...again, except colored and calcium. Is that accurate or no?

The blanket scraps should be just fine. The only loose substrate I have faith in is bioactive which is a self sustaining eco system. They take quite a bit of space to have proper drainage layers and take effort to set up but once they've been set up properly they can break down the bacteria from rotting food and feces. These are the most natural substrates to offer. In most cases, for ease of use and maintenance, I recommend using a solid substrate so you can easily clean and sanitize the surface. I use tile with fleece blanket over one half and that works well for me.