Hello Everyone! Meet Leo

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bfeg272

Member
Hello Everyone! I just recently picked up this little guy from the pet shop. Took me a couple days of research and planning to decide on this little guy but I knew he/she was the one from the second I saw him. Held him and he fell asleep on my hand. Brought him home and set up his enclosure. It's a 20gal tank with sand mat for substrate (until I can pick up some tile tomorrow). He's pretty red and the pet shop did say he was starting his shed which would explain his greyish tail, legs and head. Not sure on his/her sex. For the 12 hours I've had him he hasn't done much but sit on his log basking although I did catch him rubbing his head on it. Tried to feed him a few dusted crickets and hes noticed them but hasn't made any advances. I'm hoping hes not hungry because he is getting used to his new environment and such. Stresses me out but maybe I should give him some time to settle in and see if he gains an appetite. Any suggestions is much appreciated since I am new to this type of pet ownership and want to give him nothing but a enjoyable thriving life! Thank you all for allowing me and Leo to be a member!
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RarestDragon

Hatchling Member
They usually don't have much of an appetite when you first bring them home. Plus, Leo's in shed and when bearded dragons are in shed they sometimes lose a bit of their appetite. If you can get him to eat just a few feeders at all, even if it's just one or two, then he'll be fine. Just give him about a week or two of settling in and don't handle him any more than necessary(like when giving him a bath). Offer him water as well, though they don't need to drink as much as you'd think and he looks well hydrated. Now, if he goes two or three full days without eating anything at all, then you might have a problem.

What's your light and temperature setup? What kind of lights are you using?
 

bfeg272

Member
Original Poster
I witnessed him eating a couple crickets today! Phew! and i offered him some water droplets on the tip of his nose and he licked them right up! I've tried to handle him as little as possible, because he did seem to puff up a little when i reached in to try to get the pesky crickets out from under the sand mat. (also ended up with multiple crickets escaping and running around my room... whoops. ) I'm trying to figure out a solution to the crickets getting away and hiding under the mat. Wanting to do tile. The corners curl up and they seem to find any spot to crawl into to where he can't find them. The background that came with the enclosure is made of a foam piece or something and Ive noticed it's not flush with the corners and feeders have crawled around the back and up and out of the vent holes on the cage. (using small crickets) So I might have to take it out and use a different background. As far as lighting goes I am using and 18" uvb bulb as well as a 75watt basking lamp... I keep the temp in the basking spot around 95- 100 but I've noticed if it seems to get above that he stays away from the heat. The cool side is around 85. Measuring the temps with a heat gun although I do have a temp gauge in the cage for a peek estimate.
 

RarestDragon

Hatchling Member
Is the basking lamp a white light or a red light? Red lights have been known to cause eye problems. As for the cricket thing, you an get a small plastic tub that's tall enough so the crickets don't get out and feed Leo in that.

Leo must not have been handled much before you got him if he's puffing up at you. My dragon is only seven weeks old and she's never puffed at me. Then again, I'm sure some babies are more defensive than others.

How old is Leo, do you know?
 

bfeg272

Member
Original Poster
The lamp is a white light. It just happens to reflect red because of the red background. Im not sure on his age, the lady at the pet shop said he was a couple months old. He is about 6 inches long although I haven't gotten to measure him. He definitely gets a little defensive if I try to flatten the mat in his cage but he seems okay when I pet his back, although I've tried to bother him as little as possible while he gets used to his enclosure. I've noticed he has started to lick around his cage when he decides to move around. He's started to devour a couple more crickets today but hasn't pooped since I brought him home. Not too worried, I'm just glad he has an appetite. I was almost thinking about letting him soak in a bath but I don't want to stress him out too much considering his belly and beard still has black stripes.
 

bfeg272

Member
Original Poster
Oh okay! Quick question then. How much should he be eating a day and how many times a day? I’ve seen so many different opinions from people so I’m not sure. I have crickets as well as wax worms I used to feed my box turtle. When should I try to hold him and take him out of his cage? How often should I give him a bath especially with him being in shed. So many questions I don’t want to mess up
 

RarestDragon

Hatchling Member
bfeg272":179g7mhl said:
Oh okay! Quick question then. How much should he be eating a day and how many times a day? I’ve seen so many different opinions from people so I’m not sure. I have crickets as well as wax worms I used to feed my box turtle. When should I try to hold him and take him out of his cage? How often should I give him a bath especially with him being in shed. So many questions I don’t want to mess up

It's hard to say how much he's supposed to eat a day because how much he eats depends more on him. I'll have had Lyrica for a full week on tuesday and she's over her appetite loss from the relocation stress. She started out eating only five or six small dubia roaches. The next day she ate about ten, then around fifteen the day after that. Now, she's eaten over twenty today alone. I offer her live food three times a day.

I recommend offering Leo live bugs at least twice a day and leave him some fresh veggies for him to munch on whenever he wants. Spray the veggies with a little water to make sure they don't dry out and leave them in a shallow bowl or dish on the cool side of your tank. Don't spray them too much or else the humidity in Leo's tank will rise, although if his terrarium is well ventilated then it shouldn't be a huge issue.

There will likely be days where Leo might eat more bugs or less bugs. Offer as much as he wants within ten or fifteen minutes until he is about six months old. My girl will ignore the dubia roaches when she's finished so I imagine Leo will turn away when he's full as well. Remember to let him warm up for two hours before feeding him in the morning and feed him no less than two hours before you turn his lights off to allow him to digest his food. As long as his poops are normal, then he's doing fine. His appetite should increase as he settles into his new home.

Also, remember, wax worms are really high in fat. They're like candy to a bearded dragon so don't feed them to him very often. A feeding of wax worms once a week is fine. Dubia roaches and phoenix worms are some of the best feeders for a bearded dragon. Crickets work if your options are limited but one dubia roach has the nutritional equivalent of about five crickets and their meat to shell ratio is much better. Phoenix worms are packed with calcium and they are nice and soft. If you can get your hands onto either dubia roaches or phoenix worms then I highly recommend them.

I'd say wait at least a week(starting from the day he came home with you) until you start handling him. You can pick him up to put him in a bath or something, that's fine. But minimal handling is best until he gets used to being in his new home and learns to trust you. If he's still a little skittish after the week has passed then don't worry. He's still a baby. As friendly as Lyrica is, she still flinches at my hand movements sometimes. Bottom line is simple, she's still very young. She doesn't mind me holding her but if I move to do something in her cage, like clean it or something, then she'll watch me with a bit of a nervous expression.

Here's what I'm going to try with Lyrica. After the first week is over with, which will be on Tuesday, I'm going to take her out twice a day for five minutes at a time every day for the next week. I'll let her rest on my arm or shoulder and interact with her. Maybe give her a few pets and talk to her calmly. Then after that second week, I'm going to handle her much more often. I'll let you know how it goes.

As for the bathing, once or twice a week is fine. Maybe an extra bath while he's in shed will help. My Lyrica was in shed when I got her. On the fourth day I gave her a bath and that afternoon she shed most of her skin.

Try not to worry too much about messing up. I know, kind of hard to tell you not to worry, right? :lol: Every beardie owner is a worrier, especially if it's their first beardie. Either way, try not to panic. If Leo seems like he's doing alright then you're doing fine.

Oh, and if you see Leo bulge out his eyes like a frog(yes they can do that) don't worry, that's just him trying to break the shed free from his eyes. Scared the heck out of me when Lyrica did that a few days ago.
 

bfeg272

Member
Original Poster
Awesome. I’ve been offering him crickets twice a day and sometimes he seems to eat sometimes he is uninterested. He’s probably eaten 3 crickets total today. I’ll look into roaches although I’m not sure if I can get them from my local pet store. Thank you!
 

RarestDragon

Hatchling Member
bfeg272":1nqykosv said:
Awesome. I’ve been offering him crickets twice a day and sometimes he seems to eat sometimes he is uninterested. He’s probably eaten 3 crickets total today. I’ll look into roaches although I’m not sure if I can get them from my local pet store. Thank you!

I have yet to see a pet store that sells dubia roaches. I imagine a lot of common people who go to pet stores wouldn't buy them because...they're roaches. Even though less than %1 of the 4600+ species of roaches on this planet are pests. You'll likely have to get them online. Or you can grow your own colony, like I have. I grew my dubia roach colony over the course of a year and a half before I got Lyrica. I made sure I was prepared for her.
 

Lorilyn

Hatchling Member
Hi Leo is gorgeous. I have only been owned by my girl for a few months. Some advice that was given to me by the experienced slaves on this site that helped me out was: no red light, get a reptisun T5 HO tube uvb or Arcadia UVB for the best UVB rays and that helped my girl out with her feeding and energy. I handled Biggs from the day I bought her home because I didn't know any better and she seemed to like it so I guess handling is really up to the individual lizard. Biggs started out on crickets and after about a month she was eating 60 and more a day (she started by eating only 2-3 till she got comfortable). Crickets are a pain and stink and escape all the time. I ordered online Dubia Roaches and BSFL and it saved a ton on money and time hunting the escapee's. Also dust with calcium one feed per day for 5 days and one feed a day with vitamins for 2 days. Offer food 3 times a day. The experts here can advise better on the amounts and how many times a day to fee. Also look on the feeding forums lots of advice there for feeding and feeders. Have fun and enjoy all the crazy funny stuff he does. I look forward to seeing how Leo grows and reading about the adventures.
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Miss Biggs says hello and welcome!
 

bfeg272

Member
Original Poster
I’m looking into starting him on dubia roaches. If I do decide to go that route do you guys have any suggestions on who I should order them from? I gave him a bath today for about 15 minutes he seemed to enjoy it and he looks like he has alot more color. Hopefully that will help him shed and maybe get him to poop because he hasn’t done that yet since I brought him home.
 

bfeg272

Member
Original Poster
I’m worried he hasn’t pooped still. I’ve had him for 4 almost 5 days, although he’s been eating little but at least he’s eating for 3. I just need some reassurance if anything. Maybe some suggestions on what to do? I might try to give him another bath tomorrow.
 

Lorilyn

Hatchling Member
bfeg272":1ml9iymt said:
I’m looking into starting him on dubia roaches. If I do decide to go that route do you guys have any suggestions on who I should order them from? I gave him a bath today for about 15 minutes he seemed to enjoy it and he looks like he has alot more color. Hopefully that will help him shed and maybe get him to poop because he hasn’t done that yet since I brought him home.

I order from Dubiaroaches.com. I have had good luck with them. No issues and fast delivery. I just ordered silkworms from another members suggestion on Coastal Silkworms. I haven't received yet.
I will say the first time I introduced dubia's to Biggs she lost her mind and went Godzilla in Tokyo on them. She destroyed 25 in less then 3 minutes! :lol:
 

RarestDragon

Hatchling Member
Lorilyn":239uk8gi said:
I order from Dubiaroaches.com. I have had good luck with them. No issues and fast delivery. I just ordered silkworms from another members suggestion on Coastal Silkworms. I haven't received yet.
I will say the first time I introduced dubia's to Biggs she lost her mind and went Godzilla in Tokyo on them. She destroyed 25 in less then 3 minutes! :lol:

Wow, 25 in less than 3 minutes? Lyrica usually stops at around 10 to 15 per feeding. How old was Biggs when you first introduced her to dubias and how big were they?
 
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