New beardie owner

Hello, I got a baby beardie from pet smart and I’m not sure they gave me correct information. I’ve read the care package on this site and it has helped a lot though now I have a couple questions. I would like to find out how old he/she is as well as how soon you can tell the sex. Also I’ve noticed that he/she likes to lay with his/her legs completely stretched out all the time is this okay? This morning I had put him/her back in the tank, after running around on the bed, an grabbed the top to put on when I noticed he/she was laying in a weird position it almost looks like he/she tripped and fell over his/her plant. Is there any reason to be concerned? I’ve had him/her three days now and he’s/she’s been pretty normal aside from that.

Here is a picture of my baby

It's hard to tell the age of a bearded dragon down to the month, as bearded dragons grow at different rates, and the ones in chain pet stores like Petsmart tend to be stunted. Based on your picture, I'd put her around 2-3 months old — but one of the breeders on here can probably give you a better guess.

As for sex, generally you can tell after ~6 months of age. After 1 year you can tell for sure. So you'll have to wait awhile for her.

The stretching out is called "sexy leg." Dead serious. :lol: It's perfectly normal and means that your beardie is comfortable and enjoying a nice stretch.

Also, over time you'll learn that bearded dragons can sleep comfortably in the *weirdest* positions. It may not seem cozy to you, but to her it's probably like sleeping on a Purple mattress.

The care guide in my signature has information on bearded dragon body language as well as some other minutia of bearded dragon keeping. I recommend reading through this one, too. Welcome to BeardedDragon.org!

Pet smart told me to only give her 5 crickets a day so I can see how they are stunted for sure. I’m almost afraid to stroke her for fear of crushing her small body but she loves it and closes her eyes and snuggles. She definitely chose me at that store. She seems to have a small appetite(probably due to not properly fed) but she has began to eat more and more crickets each day. Sexy leg that’s adorable ? thank you for relieving my worry that she’s unhappy. I can tell she took the change to her new home like a breeze after reading so many forums on stress lines and I will definitely read yours as well I want to make sure I provide the best care I can. Thanks for the great welcome!?

5 crickets a day?! :shock: :shock: :shock: Uh....no. Baby beardies will eat themselves to death, given the chance, but giving her as many as she'll eat in 15 minutes should be fine.

That’s what I said after I read the care sheet. I’m like how in the world are you people able to sell these amazing creatures when you don’t know the first thing about them. It’s basically setting an owner up to murder their baby unknowingly. I believe she may be impacted or is starting too she hates her tank she is always stressed out and her entire body will darken but I take her out and she’s as happy as can be not a single stress line an today I noticed that she’s having trouble swallowing and puffs her beard after every cricket and occasionally have her mouth hanging open with her tongue out I was massaging her belly an felt a bump right in front of her tail I’ve put her in two baths today not for a long time maybe a min because she tried to climb out of the tub an I felt bad lol I may still be worrying over nothing but something just tells me somethings not right with her

Also how do I check out your care sheet in your signature I’m having some trouble navigating the website

Here you go: https://www.reptifiles.com/bearded-dragon-care-packet/

What temperatures do you have her at (basking, ambient, cool)? Also what are you using to measure temps?

It's normal for young bearded dragons to have stress marks; it just seems to come with the territory. As long as your husbandry is correct, it's possible for a beardie to be perfectly happy and still have them.

How big are the cricket you're giving to her? They shouldn't be bigger than the space between your eyes.

We’ve had trouble keeping the tank the right temp in her basking spot the rock we were using got wayyy to hot so we took it back an built our own. Her cool side is 75-80 her ambient side is 80ish to 90ish an her basking spot is now at 90-100 it was 115-125 which I freaked out a little bc that’s where she’d stay she wouldn’t move off if her rock unless I took her out. Her crickets are smaller than the space of her eyes I use my fingertip to measure since it’s the same size. She doesn’t chase them that much either she’ll just stare at them until they move close to her an she’ll eat them she’ll chase maybe one or two but that’s it. I just noticed she has a bite on her back but I’m not sure if it’s infected or not it’s just scabbed over I never leave crickets in after 15 mins of them being put in. She is pooing regular now thankfully. We got wax worms from pet smart I questioned their big size, since they were mostly bigger than between the eyes, an he said that since they were soft she could still eat them we ended up that same night having to pry her mouth open to dig one out bc she started choking they were all on the big side but one just didn’t go down. I don’t know if I should cut the worms to her size or what.

Are you using a heat lamp or hot rock for basking?

She's probably lost her appetite because the basking temps are too low. Baby bearded dragons need quite hot basking temps between 110-115 degrees. You should be able to accomplish this with a 100w halogen floodlight bulb inside of a ceramic socket heat lamp dome.

Wax worms are not a suitable staple feeder for reptiles because they're very high in fat. It's like eating potato chips for every meal. Better feeders are crickets, dubia roaches, silkworms, and black soldier fly larvae. I would especially recommend the black soldier fly larvae because they're small, slow-moving, and very nutritious. My favorite place to buy them is from Symton Black Soldier Fly.

Here's some helpful info about feeder insect nutrition facts if you're interested: https://www.reptifiles.com/feeder-insect-nutrition-facts-chart/

I use a heat lamp, haven’t checked it again since I turned it on it’s probably more around 110-115 I thought that above 110 was too hot so I guess I actually didn’t need to change her basking temp, we don’t use a night basking lamp since our house stays 75 at night. I knew there was something about wax worms that wasn’t healthy but couldn’t remember and pet smart was out of silk worms(an all other healthy food besides crickets) so the recommended the wax worms we had been feeding crickets since we got her so it was time to switch it up I haven’t been able to get her to eat any veggies or fruit but I’m still trying without forcing it

Thank you for the facts they help a whole lot it’s hard to remember in the moment so I always try to relook up the info I read an can’t remember all the sites with these links all I need to do is go here until I’m in the habit of which is good or bad.

Please double check the temps. It's not good to just assume that everything's okay, especially when your beardie isn't acting normal.

It is normal, however, for a young bearded dragon not to show interest in greens. Keep trying, and eventually she'll give them a try. As for what to put in the salad, the key is to offer a variety of high quality, nutritious greens (the stuff that you probably won't eat). Do not offer lettuce, as this stuff has basically no nutritional value — and romaine is even worse. Kale and spinach are also useless and can make your beardie sick. Better options are Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Dandelion Greens, Escarole, Endive, Swiss Chard, Bok Choy, Oak Choy, and Arugula.

Right now, she needs a very high protein diet to fuel the rapid growth that takes place during the first two years of their lives. That being said, just how much will change as she grows:
- Hatchlings under 2 months: 2x daily
- Juveniles between 3-4 months: 1x daily
- Juveniles between 4-12 months: 4x weekly
- Subadults between 12-18 months: 3x weekly
- Subadults between 18-24 months: 2x weekly
- Adults: 1x weekly

Petsmart isn't a reliable source of insects (or information), and you don't want to get caught in a situation where you're out of feeders. Instead of potentially getting yourself in that situation, I recommend ordering your feeders online. You can get black soldier fly larvae at the link I mentioned earlier. You can get crickets at Fluker's online, and dubia roaches from Dubi Deli.

Note that if you buy crickets or dubia roaches online, you will need a place to keep them, as well as a gutload formula like Repashy Veggie Burger and water crystals to keep them hydrated. A Kritter Keeper or other plastic container that they can't escape from along with some egg crates will be fine.

Black soldier fly larvae can just be kept in the fridge. They come with a container, and they don't escape.

Sorry for the info dump but I hope it helps!

I constantly check her temp at least 10 times a day to ensure that I have the right temp or to know if I need to adjust something with her husbandry I’m a better safe then sorry type of person so I’m constantly trying to learn everything I can so no need to be sorry I enjoy the info dump lol. I’ve learned that pet smart (an all other pet stores) need to just stop selling these creatures if they can’t take the responsibility of caring for them. As far as her size on an average chart says she’s about 2months so she should be fed crickets 2x a day? Should I dust both times or only once?

Try 2x/day at first. If she ignores the second feeding, then she's not hungry and feedings can probably be reduced to 1x/day.

All feeder insects need to be dusted because it's not about making sure your beardie gets enough calcium — it's about correcting a natural nutrient imbalance in insects (high phosphorous). Adding calcium fixes that problem. Without calcium, the bearded dragon could get MBD, even with UVB.