Sabotender
Member
I just wanted to say hello to every one and say that I am happy to be part of a bearded dragon forum. I have what appears to be a baby bearded dragon of unknown type. He currently shares a tank with a green anole because they are the same size. He will get a separate tank as he gets larger, because I don't want my anole to eventually become a light snack.
Couple of issues I've noticed, and perhaps you could help me with. The dragon sure is jumpy when I am around. He just doesn't like for me to hold him! He runs away and jumps around in the cage. When I finally catch him, he runs up my arm, to my shoulders, around the back of my neck and then up to my head, where I have to grab a mirror to see where he is. I was wondering if this is normal behavior. When I have him in my hand, he sits very very still, so still that I can hardly see him breathing and his eyes are closed. If I keep him in my hand for like ten minutes without moving, he suddenly (and I mean SUDDENLY) wakes up, comes alive and hops off my hand and tries to hide under a pillow or something.
I was reading that this is classic 'baby dragon' behavior, but I am simply not sure. I have had him for six months, and he is still super tiny. He has shed three times since I've had him, so I guess that is a good sign because he is growing? He eats every day, small to medium sized crickets that have been dusted with complete nurtient powder. Occasionally he will eat a waxworm, but he only eats those if he is desprate. My Anole prefers the worms. I read that dragons were omnivores, but mine absolutely refuses to eat anything that is not moving. He won't eat any fruit or veg! He just walks over and around them, spreading them around and makes a big ol mess. Notice that I used to have a vivarium with live plants. I thought that would help control ammonia and provide fresh air in the tank between cleanings, but he had a BAD habit of consuming the white volcanic pebbles in the tank. It worried me so much that he would become impacted and die that I recently changed to a reptile friendly fine sand made of calcium carbonate. At least, if he eats that stuff, he won't get impacted.
I've seen photos of various dragons online, but I am simply unable to identify what kind of dragon I have. He is so small that I thought he might be a pigmy dragon, but the pattern on his back is different than anything I've seen. So many people I've shown him to thought he was a snake at first because of his patterns. I am 80% sure its a dragon, because he definitely does the push-up thing. I see him do it every day. He has an eye-spot on the top of his head, and his tail does the characteristic 'wiggle' when he is hunting for food and about to lunge at something. Perhaps he is a hybrid? He doesn't have any spikes on his sides and his head is shaped differently than dragons I've seen. He also likes to bury himself in the sand to partially cover himself when its time for him to sleep.
I would be devastated if he weren't even a dragon at all...
Any help would be appreciated.
Oh, a bit of info about my cage. 10 gallon upright cage (it will be changed when he gets larger, I promise, he is just so small at the moment), with a 10.0 UVB compact florescent, cage has two heating lamps, one is a halogen bright white bulb that is on with the UVB bulb during the day, and an infrared bulb (to my horror, it turned out to be RED, I wanted the non-light variety) that comes on at night. There are two timers on the cage to control the different lamps
I have posted an image for your perusal.
Couple of issues I've noticed, and perhaps you could help me with. The dragon sure is jumpy when I am around. He just doesn't like for me to hold him! He runs away and jumps around in the cage. When I finally catch him, he runs up my arm, to my shoulders, around the back of my neck and then up to my head, where I have to grab a mirror to see where he is. I was wondering if this is normal behavior. When I have him in my hand, he sits very very still, so still that I can hardly see him breathing and his eyes are closed. If I keep him in my hand for like ten minutes without moving, he suddenly (and I mean SUDDENLY) wakes up, comes alive and hops off my hand and tries to hide under a pillow or something.
I was reading that this is classic 'baby dragon' behavior, but I am simply not sure. I have had him for six months, and he is still super tiny. He has shed three times since I've had him, so I guess that is a good sign because he is growing? He eats every day, small to medium sized crickets that have been dusted with complete nurtient powder. Occasionally he will eat a waxworm, but he only eats those if he is desprate. My Anole prefers the worms. I read that dragons were omnivores, but mine absolutely refuses to eat anything that is not moving. He won't eat any fruit or veg! He just walks over and around them, spreading them around and makes a big ol mess. Notice that I used to have a vivarium with live plants. I thought that would help control ammonia and provide fresh air in the tank between cleanings, but he had a BAD habit of consuming the white volcanic pebbles in the tank. It worried me so much that he would become impacted and die that I recently changed to a reptile friendly fine sand made of calcium carbonate. At least, if he eats that stuff, he won't get impacted.
I've seen photos of various dragons online, but I am simply unable to identify what kind of dragon I have. He is so small that I thought he might be a pigmy dragon, but the pattern on his back is different than anything I've seen. So many people I've shown him to thought he was a snake at first because of his patterns. I am 80% sure its a dragon, because he definitely does the push-up thing. I see him do it every day. He has an eye-spot on the top of his head, and his tail does the characteristic 'wiggle' when he is hunting for food and about to lunge at something. Perhaps he is a hybrid? He doesn't have any spikes on his sides and his head is shaped differently than dragons I've seen. He also likes to bury himself in the sand to partially cover himself when its time for him to sleep.
I would be devastated if he weren't even a dragon at all...
Any help would be appreciated.
Oh, a bit of info about my cage. 10 gallon upright cage (it will be changed when he gets larger, I promise, he is just so small at the moment), with a 10.0 UVB compact florescent, cage has two heating lamps, one is a halogen bright white bulb that is on with the UVB bulb during the day, and an infrared bulb (to my horror, it turned out to be RED, I wanted the non-light variety) that comes on at night. There are two timers on the cage to control the different lamps
I have posted an image for your perusal.