ZoZosMommy
New member
Hello there!
My name is Alexa and I'm a proud owner of an 8 year old German Giant. I've had him since late October to early November. A friend gave him too me and said he was a breeding dragon. I had never owned a bearded dragon before him nor any lizard, but I've always had a deep love and fascination with these scaly beauties. Well, needless to say, she gave him to me for keeps and said he was "special needs and if he dies in my care she will be beyond angry at me." She said he had bad vision and when he ate, he couldn't see and was "trained" to eat from chopsticks, tweezers, and hands. She said he had MBD, a couple of missing toes, curvatures in his feet, and odd curves in his tail. She says his previous owner, 10 years ago, had abused him and left him in a shoe box. I've done my best as a first time owner to take care of him. I've recently gotten a job when my previous job fell through and I had no choice but to feed him what I thought would give him the most benefit during my struggle period which I saw from research was kale and blackberries.. But recently, I've gotten extremely worried about him. I was told at Pet Smart not to feed him meal worms because they were treats and said that since I fed him kale and blackberries I was doing a good job. I dust his food every so often, as his former owner said that's what she does for him. His previous owner said to also sprinkle calcium in his water too, so that's what I did. They said that crickets, pinkies, and eggs would be a good source of protein he needed to pack on some of the healthier fats he needs. Well recently, as I've stated he refuses to drink his water. He will run up and down the sides of his tank because like I said, he seems extremely unhappy inside of it and he seems to want to run out. His owner told me she helps peel his shed and he can't shed himself. But he is social for the most part. But he sleeps a lot. And he opens his mouth juuuust a little bit while sunning himself under his bulb. He tends to also close one eye and keep one open from time to time. Also, he will run over to inspect sudden movement because his tank is at the end of my bed on a coffee table in my room and he seems really curious as to who and why something is moving. His previous owner tells me he's just a sleepy guy that loves mating and he rarely eats or drinks but maybe twice a week and just to leave food and drink in his cage when he wants to grab some sustenance. What should I do? I'm scared, I don't wanna hurt him or be a bad owner... He's my first scaly critter, I don't want to let his previous owner or him down.
Thank you so much for tuning in and answering any questions I have!
P.S- This is my first bearded baby. Please be kind and offer constructive criticism and correct my ignorance. I'm trying my hardest and I'm only doing what I could with what I had and what I was told to do by his owner and the pet store. I am now on a mission to buy him a new tank to replace his old one, buy him some fun feeding and basking accessories, and make his little lizard life as luxurious as possible as I recently picked up a new job and want to spoil my little bearded baby.
My name is Alexa and I'm a proud owner of an 8 year old German Giant. I've had him since late October to early November. A friend gave him too me and said he was a breeding dragon. I had never owned a bearded dragon before him nor any lizard, but I've always had a deep love and fascination with these scaly beauties. Well, needless to say, she gave him to me for keeps and said he was "special needs and if he dies in my care she will be beyond angry at me." She said he had bad vision and when he ate, he couldn't see and was "trained" to eat from chopsticks, tweezers, and hands. She said he had MBD, a couple of missing toes, curvatures in his feet, and odd curves in his tail. She says his previous owner, 10 years ago, had abused him and left him in a shoe box. I've done my best as a first time owner to take care of him. I've recently gotten a job when my previous job fell through and I had no choice but to feed him what I thought would give him the most benefit during my struggle period which I saw from research was kale and blackberries.. But recently, I've gotten extremely worried about him. I was told at Pet Smart not to feed him meal worms because they were treats and said that since I fed him kale and blackberries I was doing a good job. I dust his food every so often, as his former owner said that's what she does for him. His previous owner said to also sprinkle calcium in his water too, so that's what I did. They said that crickets, pinkies, and eggs would be a good source of protein he needed to pack on some of the healthier fats he needs. Well recently, as I've stated he refuses to drink his water. He will run up and down the sides of his tank because like I said, he seems extremely unhappy inside of it and he seems to want to run out. His owner told me she helps peel his shed and he can't shed himself. But he is social for the most part. But he sleeps a lot. And he opens his mouth juuuust a little bit while sunning himself under his bulb. He tends to also close one eye and keep one open from time to time. Also, he will run over to inspect sudden movement because his tank is at the end of my bed on a coffee table in my room and he seems really curious as to who and why something is moving. His previous owner tells me he's just a sleepy guy that loves mating and he rarely eats or drinks but maybe twice a week and just to leave food and drink in his cage when he wants to grab some sustenance. What should I do? I'm scared, I don't wanna hurt him or be a bad owner... He's my first scaly critter, I don't want to let his previous owner or him down.
Thank you so much for tuning in and answering any questions I have!
P.S- This is my first bearded baby. Please be kind and offer constructive criticism and correct my ignorance. I'm trying my hardest and I'm only doing what I could with what I had and what I was told to do by his owner and the pet store. I am now on a mission to buy him a new tank to replace his old one, buy him some fun feeding and basking accessories, and make his little lizard life as luxurious as possible as I recently picked up a new job and want to spoil my little bearded baby.