cant get my 2 and a half month old to drink, help!

hi,

I got a beardie 5 days ago, so he might still be stress from relocation, although he is very social. But bathing wont make him drink, iv tried dripping on his nose, what else can i do?
does misting actuall help the lizard hydrate? I think its just for shedding?
Only way so far iv done, but havent done it again is sticking a syringe in his mouth (soft plastic tip). But I don't want to really force it like that.
I'v tried pouring water along the wall of a tub with him on front but nothing, even stuck his nose under little water dripping from the sink. help

bump,
anyone?

They get most of their hydration from bugs and greens so as long as he's eating those, there's no need to worry about him drinking. Hope this helps.

Hiya BeardieSmaug,

So, if your beardie is active, alert, and eating, you probably don't have much to worry about. They get most of their water from the food they eat.

This said, my boy, Guacemole, has a habit of dehydrating himself despite eating like a champ. Dripping water on the tip of his snout works for me, as does bathing, so if your beardie isn't drinking during these activities they're probably perfectly happy and simply not thirsty, having gotten all their water from their food already. If you are still concerned, please post some pics of your friend so that we can get a gauge of if they're dehydrated or not - though I am sure they are fine!

To answer your question regarding misting, no, bearded dragons and most other lizards have water tight skin and do NOT gain any moisture from being misted. In fact, high moisture can be dangerous for them over a prolonged period of time, as it allows fungus and bacteria to linger in their habitat and on their scales. HOWEVER, thirsty dragons may lick water off their bodies - but they're no more likely to do this them dripped water on their snout or during bath time. OTHER species that need high humidity or that are adapted to gain water from their surroundings are benefited from misting, but bearded dragons are not adapted in this way.

If we see pictures and come to the conclusion that your dragon is dehydrated, please do not worry! Me and the other folks here will help you get your dragon to drink.

Best,
-Ellen

EDIT: better images

Looks like a feisty little bugger to me. Might want to get a second opinion, though!

Yep. Fiesty little bugger =). I agree that they will get most hydration from fresh food but dripping water on their snout (or spritzing it) for them to lick up the water for extra hydration is a good way to do it but it's just offering extra. It's OK if they don't want it and you don't need to force it. In the wild they will lick dew/condensation off of surface as well as tilt their head down to funnel rain to their mouth.

Beardies can drink directly from a spray bottle as all of mine have for over 20 years [ countless babies that I hatched up to adult ] Thee is always the misunderstanding because of the term " misting ". Misting is fine when a dragon is shedding, but this is not meant to get them to drink. Babies in a rearing tub will drink from water droplets that are sprayed every day. They would find water droplets in the wild as dew in the morning. Others will drink directly from the bottle like in this video [ not mine ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN3tSmkZisM

Adults drink the same way. It's always good if a dragon will take in oral hydration, it can ward off kidney issues when they become adults if they are at least given the chance to drink.

AHBD":4zz1iuye said:

Beardies can drink directly from a spray bottle as all of mine have for over 20 years [ countless babies that I hatched up to adult ] Thee is always the misunderstanding because of the term " misting ". Misting is fine when a dragon is shedding, but this is not meant to get them to drink. Babies in a rearing tub will drink from water droplets that are sprayed every day. They would find water droplets in the wild as dew in the morning. Others will drink directly from the bottle like in this video [ not mine ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN3tSmkZisM

Adults drink the same way. It's always good if a dragon will take in oral hydration, it can ward off kidney issues when they become adults if they are at least given the chance to drink.

Click to expand...

I wish it worked on my beardie :/ I have yet to try the spray bottle method like in the video, but from all the other methods that didn't work I dont have high hopes for this method. Every day I drip some water on his snout but he just gives me a look like "what are u doing human?"
He is eating 100x better this last 3 days, so thats good at least he is getting hydrated from his gut loaded crickets, phoenix worms and occasional wax worm