dnewnam2001
Member
hey everyone! so i just bought an 8 week old beardie from a pet store about 2 weeks ago. i’d say he’s 8 inches in length from head to tail. he’s been getting crickets three times a day plus some veggies (if i can get him to actually eat them lol, which he does most of the time!). i’ll usually offer him kale or collard greens. the crickets get supplemented with calcium dust and a calcium fortified feeding gel. although, my vet told me that crickets actually are not a prime source of protein/calcium so i just ordered some small phoenix worms to start giving him. i don’t have a water bowl in the tank because i can’t keep the humidity down if i do, but i’ve been trying to get him used to baths and dripping water on his nose for him to lick it off. he has a 100 watt white basking bulb plus the reptisun 10.0 uvb bulb. both the uv and basking bulb are about 8 inches from where he usually likes to sit. the hot side of his tank is around 100 and the cooler side is 85. at night the tank is usually 75-80. i had a red night lamp for him but i’ve learned that they actually disturb your beardies sleep, so i’m picking him up a ceramic heat emitter tomorrow when the pet store opens. i have a rock cave for him, two tree like decorations, and a hammock that he loves to hangout in. i have a reptile carpet liner on the bottom of his terrarium and a desert background on 3 out of 4 sides so he can’t see his reflection. his stress marks have gone down immensely. they used to be present pretty much 24/7 but he now has long periods of time where he’s got his happy bright colors on. he still won’t let me hold him though :/ he goes crazy running around and gapes/hisses at me occasionally. never bitten me. i’m trying to be patient with him and go at his pace i’m just not sure the right way to get him to trust me without overhandling him or not handling him enough. i always approach him with my palm up and i go to pick him up from underneath his belly and support his legs. i never reach my hand over his head. i’m so eager to have a bond with him but i need to remember he’s just a little baby who sees the big world as a scary place where everything wants to eat him right now lol. any advice on bonding with my baby would be so helpful. my last bearded dragon didn’t require any type of work to get her to trust me. she was so calm and trusting and sweet by nature even as a baby, so i’ve never had to learn how to do this before. i just want to make sure i’m doing every thing correctly and doing everything i can to give him the absolute happiest/relaxed life possible. i’m the biggest ball of anxiety when it comes to making sure my animals are okay, especially when their such tiny fragile babies; so i could use some reassurance/advice!!