I'm new to Beardie Life

I'm a new Beardie Momma. And I'm hoping for some guidance from more experienced folks. I got my little one from a pet store. And now I'm freaking out a bit as I'm not sure if he is even a Bearded Dragon. (I say he, but he/she isn't old enough to sex yet). But after looking into his markings and body it's self I'm concerned I haven't got a bearded dragon at all? I've included pictures. I measure him today and he is about 9in and he is steadily gaining weight. I have the feeding down (for a bearded dragon mind you) already. Any advice (not nit picking advice please) would be nice!

Welcome to the forum! Your little guy is definitely a bearded dragon. Still pretty small, probably only a few months (maybe 3-5ish?) old. He will likely grow to around 18-20'' long and put on lots of weight (400-600g is pretty common for an adult) by around 18 months old. If you have any questions about his care please let us know. And feel free to share stories about his adventures =)

CooperDragon":3a7zgrl0 said:

Welcome to the forum! Your little guy is definitely a bearded dragon. Still pretty small, probably only a few months (maybe 3-5ish?) old. He will likely grow to around 18-20'' long and put on lots of weight (400-600g is pretty common for an adult) by around 18 months old. If you have any questions about his care please let us know. And feel free to share stories about his adventures =)

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Well tips on getting him to eat his veggies would be appreciated honestly. He eats some but only every like few days. We have been giving him spring mix and I tried mixing in some greens but... nothing seems to push him towards them. And then he gets 5-6 (sometimes 7) roaches at lunch and dinner. I'm not sure if I'm pushing too many roaches or not enough... I just want him to be healthy.
Tonight was a bit of a surprise as he stood up on his back legs like a dog to meet my hand for a dubai.
Also, shedding? ANY INFO ON THAT PLEASE! We also have 2 snakes so I'm not unfamiliar with the process just with him I am.
We got him from Pet Valu in our area, he is just listed as a "hatchling". He has gotten longer and a little belly from his diet lol but I know to be careful on his weight, cute but FAR from healthy for them to be over weight. We have a reptile guy in our area where we get our roaches and such, we started going to him for the snakes live food. We do the vitamin and calcium powder alternating days and every other day as he suggested. When I have more time I can post his enclosure, it is a work in progress and we want to wait till he is older to add substrate or give him something other than the carpet that came with the "kit"

THANK YOU ALL!

The little ones often favor bugs and ignore their veges. Keep trying to offer variety and you may strike on something he enjoys. Cutting squash into small worm shapes and hand feeding may work well. Check out this list for other ideas. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html Just keep rotating what you offer based on what is available in season and what looks fresh at the store. If he doesn't eat much, don't worry about it for now. Just keep offering. The leftovers can go to the roaches. The amount of roaches he eats will vary. Sometimes he will be hungrier than others and that is OK. Offer him what he wants over about 5 minutes or so a couple of times per day. He may eat a lot around growth spurts.

They shed a lot when they are young because they are growing so quickly. The young dragons tend to shed all at once or in large patches (not always though). As they get older, the shedding becomes much less frequent and more patchy. Sometimes they will shed just a hand or part of their tail or even a single scale at a time. They are pretty good about shedding on their own and don't really need any interference from us. They do tend to be moody and sometimes lose appetite during sheds - that is normal.

So we got a shed, both arms. And now his little nose is going. Still giving us hell on the veggies but is starting to eat them more. His new thing is jumping. Jumping whenever and where ever, with no regard to safety. :roll: We got him a smaller Vivarium for his size. He seems a lot happier in there, a lot more alert and active. Has even taken to coming to the door of it.

Is there anything other than Dubai's that I can give him at this stage? The veggies are getting eaten, I know because he drags them all over the place and poops on them. Leaves with bites taken out covered in spicy meatballs.... But I feel like if I added something more? It would be better? He lost a gram this week, I'm not too worried cause he is actively shedding, but advice would be awesome!

BSFL are a good staple feeder - do not dust them - good salad toppers-
Karrie

Like people dragons can be picky with their vegetable foods. Keep up on offering greens. It can take months before you and him figure out what he likes. It took my girl 3 months before she consistently ate greens, the struggle is worth it

Do post the enclosure. I hope this doesn't sound nit picky. Being sun baskers setting up their enclosure to get enough heat/UVB and spaces to escape the heat/UVB does effect behavior, including their appetite. There are a lot of fun things you can do to make their enclosure full of things to climb on and crawl under. Every dragon can show you their preference by watching what they do, although it is just human guessing, scale colors and appetite and behavior can show they how they feel. Then you can make enclosure changes over time to figure out a set up your dragon likes.

DorgEndo":3em0gosu said:

Like people dragons can be picky with their vegetable foods. Keep up on offering greens. It can take months before you and him figure out what he likes. It took my girl 3 months before she consistently ate greens, the struggle is worth it

Do post the enclosure. I hope this doesn't sound nit picky. Being sun baskers setting up their enclosure to get enough heat/UVB and spaces to escape the heat/UVB does effect behavior, including their appetite. There are a lot of fun things you can do to make their enclosure full of things to climb on and crawl under. Every dragon can show you their preference by watching what they do, although it is just human guessing, scale colors and appetite and behavior can show they how they feel. Then you can make enclosure changes over time to figure out a set up your dragon likes.

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He has vines in it now, but I took them out to pull all the (I'm guessing) hot glue reside off? He also has a skull with an open side and that log in the corner is a hide. He gets misted and "baths" regularly too. I am actively always trying to make his space better! He was in a 40 gallon but I was told smaller at his age is better so I got him this one. Now he will let me know he wants to come out or wants to stay inside. He is also a lot more active inside of it versus when he was in the 40 gallon he didn't like to move around it much. His size now. He is actively shedding from his face and front legs. His color has pretty well maintained, he does get brighter when on his rock of course.

This on the other hand was last night. Has me a little concerned as it's not his first night sleeping like this? I have ordered a background for him but it was delayed...

Thank you for your help ya'll!!! I really do want a happy, healthy, big ol Beardie!

Please get rid of the coil bulb if it's your UVB-- they are inadequate-- you want a long tube fixture-- 24" fixture/ reflector for a 40 gallon tank--- you want a Reptisun 10.0 T 5
Karrie

KarrieRee":1oxvxax8 said:

Please get rid of the coil bulb if it's your UVB-- they are inadequate-- you want a long tube fixture-- 24" fixture/ reflector for a 40 gallon tank--- you want a Reptisun 10.0 T 5
Karrie

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He's not in a 40 gallon right now? He's in a 20x20 with a swing door. I was told to get him in a smaller one until he gets larger in size to make him more comfortable. Should I use that in that small of one?

I'd probably go with the larger one and see how he does with it. It's easier to provide powerful UVB and good heat and UV gradients in a larger space, and they often enjoy the extra space to roam and explore. If he starts to look defensive and timid and that continues, you can switch him back. Even with the T5 fixture you can set that on top of the smaller enclosure and just set it along the front or back (on top) which will give a good gradient even if it overhangs by a few inches - that's no big deal.