Silk Bearded Dragon care sheet?

Status
Not open for further replies.

uk23

Member
Hi, I was just wanting to know if anyone knew of a good care sheet for silks. I just need some clarification on a couple things. First is, how many times a week to soak them? i've heard that if you over soak it can dry them out. And do you use lotion? If so, what kind and when do you use it? The main thing I've seen is that you want to keep an eye on is the shedding, other than that care is pretty much the same as any other beardie. Sorry for all the questions, just want to make sure I do things the right way. Thanks :)
 

cliff

Member
Hello I totally would love a silk care sheet too. Sorry I'm brand new to the forum so I really hope I haven't overlooked it. I have a four month old silk named Seraph and he is my baby. I am having particular trouble with his head shedding, it doesn't seem to fully shed. Thanks :)
 

NightmareDisco

Sub-Adult Member
Hey guys, this is a much debated topic and I will tell you that when doing my research before getting my silk baby, I got a few different answers since the morph is still so new and the oldest silks are just now 5 or 6.

I soak my baby every single day for 20 minutes. I have noticed that he gets dehydrated much more quickly than normal scale dragons.
I use a reptisun 5.0. Some breeders will tell you that a 10.0 is fine, and for some silkies, it is. But because their skin is less protected, they are much less likely to develop burns or a form of skin cancer down the road with the 5.0 than the 10.0-- Silks also have a tendency to have more sensitive eyes and the lower light will help with this also.
I do use lotion, I personally use unscented, normal curel. You can use any unscented, mild lotion that does not have anything "extra" in it (i.e. vitamin E, cocoa butter etc.). I have also been told that aloe GEL works well also (it must be the gel). I lotion him regularly, paying special attention to toes and tail. DO NOT "help" him shed, it is nearly impossible to distinguish ready to come off skin from live skin unlike on a normal scale (not that you should "help" on a normal scale either, but it is much more risky with silks).
I keep my basking spot around 100-103 F for him to avoid burns, although I have provided different areas where he may bask to get more or less exposure to the light as he feels necessary. I have yet to have a problem with his digestion so I feel confident in saying that this is acceptable.
Do not put anything in the enclosure with rough edges, like the bark half log hides as their skin is much more sensitive and when rubbing themselves to shed, they may hurt themselves.

As far as breeders go, do your research, silks can be weak, less enthusiastic eaters. Also, as mentioned above, they have a tendency to have problems with vision. I bought mine from Diamond Den and I recommend them 110%, they were fantastic to work with, very nice, obviously caring, and helpful.

I hope this helps! And, just for fun, here is a pic of my little guy:
040-5.jpg
 

cliff

Member
Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate your experience, my baby is only about four months old I want to make sure he is healthy and happy.
 

cliff

Member
This is my baby Seraph, unfortunately a couple weeks ago a stow away cricket got to his tale so about an inch of it fell off. Nonetheless he has one of the best personalities in a dragon that I've seen and I love him. I took this picture of him waking up in the morning, looking like he is asking "Just five more minutes?"
seraph.jpg
 

cliff

Member
Yeah he is a little small. He would be at 8 inches if his tale hadn't gotten hurt. He eats lots but isn't growing as fast as I had expected. Also I think the breeder sent him to us too early and might have lied about his age. They claimed he was two months old and we have had him for about three months. That's why I am guessing he's about four months old.
 

uk23

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the information. There's so many different opinions on their care, I guess I'll see what works best for my little guy and switch it up if I need too :). Here's my little guy Nagini. Hatched 10/7
WP_000038.jpg
 

Nicodemous

Hatchling Member
Silks are so cute looking. My local Petland has one right now, i wish i could buy it just to get it outta there but they want $350 for it. :(
 

NightmareDisco

Sub-Adult Member
Oh ok. Who was the breeder if I may ask? And uk, yours is beautiful, too! What kind of info do you guys have from your experiences? I would like to eventually compile an actual silkie care sheet when my baby is about 2. I'd like to take away some of the stigma associated with silkies :)
 

uk23

Member
Original Poster
From everything I've gathered I will care for mine as follows. I will only bathe him every 3 days (every 2 days when shedding). Then apply lotion after the bath. I will also lightly mist him outside of his cage on the days he doesn't get a bath. I use a 10.0 reptisun, that's about 8-9 inches from his basking spot, and I try to keep the basking temps around 105. The reason I will only bath every three days is because it seems like the more baths given the quicker the skin dries out, which leads to bad sheds. I first got the info off a thread on fauna by a very reputable breeder. And so far I think I agree with him. But I know people who keep silks in outside enclosures during summer months with no special care, and they're doing great. So I think they're multiply options when caring for silks that seem to work. For some one way may not work, but for others it does. If I notice my current way isn't working in the future, I'll try others ways. When I was gathering my info I tried to take a little info from different people and combined it into one. As long as the dragon is doing good and is healthy, then I would say keep doing what works best for you and the dragon :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,897
Messages
1,255,660
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom