UPDATE: Clay and Gizmo!

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Hello! I last posted about my two dragons in April. Then, the two of them were about the size of my index finger and shared a 40 gallon. Being the stubborn girl I was, (and still am) I kept delaying separating them. Over the summer, Clay attacked Gizmo and wretched her arm. It wasn’t broke, but pretty close. This acted as a wakeup call to me, and I knew it was time I had to start caring more for my animals. I immediately separated them. Long story short, I’ve been very much more keen on taking good care of them, and now Clay’s nearly adult size! At 8 months, Clay is about a foot and a half. Meanwhile, Gizmo’s stuck at about 9. But she’s getting there! Being that I wanted a Leopard Gecko for a year before I got C and G, my father FINALLY let me purchase one. His name is Zazu, and he’s a cranky, stubborn gecko. He’s still perfect, though. And then my father purchased a beardie for himself. Of course, juggling between work and his own hobbies, my father eventually let the work fall on me. His name is Digit, due to his lack of toes on his back feet. On one foot, he’s missing one toe, on the other he only HAS one. The pet store did let us adopt him for free due to this, even though it wasnt a big deal. Soon, when my bedroom gets redone in a couple of weeks, every lizard will have their own 20 gallon! I’m SO excited! (PSA: Gizmo and Digit do share a tank, but it’s separated by a barrier so they cannot see/harm each other) Clay is living in a 20 though. Anyway, thank you for reading!
 

VenusAndSaturn

Sub-Adult Member
Its good you finally separated them, though its very sad that you didnt do it until one had to get hurt badly.

Personally if i were you just go out and buy two separate enclosures so nothing else bad happens. Its a shame you have not learned from your first mistake, after all what if the "barrier" collapses and they see each other, one or both will get seriously injured and possibly killed.
You should not get more animals if you can not already care for the ones you have or do not have the space already. I may sound harsh but honestly these are not toys for a child to play with. These are living, breathing creatures with feelings just like us and that should be taken into account before purchase.
 

JessPets

Gray-bearded Member
Though unfortunate what happened, I am glad the situation was sorted out and everyone is OK. Please try to get as large enclosures as possible. Each beardie needs a 4x2x2 MINIMUM sized enclosure. You can get away with smaller, but it really isn't great for them. Check places like garage sales, craigslist, and other classifieds for used tanks or materials to build your own vivarium. Also, what UV do they all have?
 

clayandgizmo

Member
Original Poster
VenusAndSaturn":2q0bwr05 said:
Its good you finally separated them, though its very sad that you didnt do it until one had to get hurt badly.

Personally if i were you just go out and buy two separate enclosures so nothing else bad happens. Its a shame you have not learned from your first mistake, after all what if the "barrier" collapses and they see each other, one or both will get seriously injured and possibly killed.
You should not get more animals if you can not already care for the ones you have or do not have the space already. I may sound harsh but honestly these are not toys for a child to play with. These are living, breathing creatures with feelings just like us and that should be taken into account before purchase.

I understand where you're coming from, but the barrier is stable and is extremely hard to take down even when I am cleaning the cages. Gizmo's arm was not seriously injured and she is healthy. I have learned from my mistake, and I have stepped up the time and effort I put into them. Getting the third bearded dragon wasn't my choice, yet somehow the work eventually ended up falling on me.

As for the separation that happened months ago, it was very difficult to even bring up the topic to my parents. Since they were just "babies", my family assumed that if they grew together, they'd bond. In my father's experience with dragons, he had two that lived together their whole lives; which led him to assume that mine could do the same. Since they were so tiny and in a cage quite large, he also assumed that they could live in that their whole lives. I tried to talk to him about it more, yet he would just push it away and restate his point about the money, time, and space it would take in my bedroom.
Long story short, I ended up not being able to get separate cages while I went on vacation, and they were stuck together in a tiny "temporary" cage until I could be home a couple weeks later. That's when it happened, the day before I was to go home. Clay bit Gizmo's leg. I completely panicked and started worrying about things that most likely wouldn't happen. I was far from a reptile vet (or even a reptile store) so I called my vet in FLORIDA, while i was in NC. When I was finally back home I took her to the vet immediately, and they performed x-rays. The leg wasn't broken, it was just a couple of scratches on the skin. Still, Gizmo had been hurt, and it had been my fault.
This finally told my father that it was time to take action and do the thing we had planned on doing so long ago. They are both healthy, and Gizmo's leg fine.


I understand that reptiles (or any animal for that matter) are not toys, and they should be properly taken care of. I'm working my hardest to find a way for bigger enclosures, and I've even put money from my babysitting and dog-walking toward more hides, a more varied diet, supplements, and etc. etc.

I agree that it's bad I didn't separate them until after the last minute. If I could go back in time and fix it, I definately would. But I can't. Nothing I can do except put more time and effort into making sure something like this never happens again.
 

JessPets

Gray-bearded Member
Thank you for doing all you can to care for your beardies. Honestly, you are doing a great job, as some people wouldn't even try. While, yes, there is still much more to do before they are in tip-top conditions, they have a caring owner and that'll have to do for now :D
 

clayandgizmo

Member
Original Poster
JessPets":1jjjbgem said:
Thank you for doing all you can to care for your beardies. Honestly, you are doing a great job, as some people wouldn't even try. While, yes, there is still much more to do before they are in tip-top conditions, they have a caring owner and that'll have to do for now :D

I talked to my dad today and he is definately stuck on individual 20 gallons for all of them. Sad :( but hopefully i can upgrade over time and kinda gradually move them into bigger and more well-fitting tanks. i just hope letting them run around my room for the day is enough to keep their mind busy lol.
 

JessPets

Gray-bearded Member
Well, at least you tried. You probably already know this, but in case you don't - don't let them run around together. Give each their own out of cage time.
 

3magpie3

Member
I'm sorry, it's hard to be limited by a parent when it comes to the care of an animal. If your one dragon is already a foot and a half, how can your dad think it's OK for him to live in a 20 gallon? It's barely bigger than he is. :( I think that should be your priority right now since he's the largest.
 

clayandgizmo

Member
Original Poster
3magpie3":3vdsawsg said:
I'm sorry, it's hard to be limited by a parent when it comes to the care of an animal. If your one dragon is already a foot and a half, how can your dad think it's OK for him to live in a 20 gallon? It's barely bigger than he is. :( I think that should be your priority right now since he's the largest.

I feel so bad for him! It makes me sad that he’s cooped up all the time, but I try and take him out more than the smaller beardies. He gets to run all over my bedroom and sometimes I’ll even let him explore outside in the kitchen and living room. He really enjoys looking at the fish in my dad’s fish tanks! Hopefully when we have a free room in the house when my sister moves out, we can renovate and upgrade those 20 gallons to triple the size. Clay seems happy and healthy when he’s out, it just hurts me to see him cramped in such a tiny cage. My dad has even commented on how cramped Clay looks in his cage. :( I don’t know, I just hope everything gets fixed so that he doesnt have to spend his life the size of his cage.
 

clayandgizmo

Member
Original Poster
JessPets":15zs175m said:
Well, at least you tried. You probably already know this, but in case you don't - don't let them run around together. Give each their own out of cage time.

Oh, I try to. I always let them run around my room and explore. Somehow they always find where I’m keeping the crickets and climb around my barriers to get to them. I always take Clay out more since he’s more cramped, and I think he really enjoys it. Doing beardie things (licking the carpet and trying to eat blankets) must be rivetting to him.
 

lizardmom25

Hatchling Member
It's great that you are enjoying your reptiles, and awesome that they are getting care and attention. The 20 gallon is great for the leopard gecko, but each dragon is eventually going to need their on 40 gal or larger tank. You just can't keep an 18" long lizard in a 20 gal tank.

I have my baby in a 40 gal breeder tank right now. He is only about 9 inches long, but based on how fast he is growing i can see that he will need a bigger area fully grown. We are currently in the process of gathering material to build our own 4'x2'x2' wood and glass enclosure.

Edit: just saw that your dad says no to bigger tanks. Maybe show him the various care sheets that talk about tank size?
 

clayandgizmo

Member
Original Poster
lizardmom25":34zyqksb said:
It's great that you are enjoying your reptiles, and awesome that they are getting care and attention. The 20 gallon is great for the leopard gecko, but each dragon is eventually going to need their on 40 gal or larger tank. You just can't keep an 18" long lizard in a 20 gal tank.

I have my baby in a 40 gal breeder tank right now. He is only about 9 inches long, but based on how fast he is growing i can see that he will need a bigger area fully grown. We are currently in the process of gathering material to build our own 4'x2'x2' wood and glass enclosure.

Edit: just saw that your dad says no to bigger tanks. Maybe show him the various care sheets that talk about tank size?

GREAT NEWS!!! Finally my dad is realizing they are cramped, and is soon going to upgrade their tanks. I’m really excited he’s finally noticing the things I had blatantly told him so long ago. :))))
 

clayandgizmo

Member
Original Poster
JessPets":1i7lwz92 said:

AHHH im so excited to renovate their tanks and make them
perfect. i cant wait until the day i dont see them
running back and forth across their tank out of stress <3 <3 it may be a little bit since we gotta find the room to put their cages and stuff but it shouldnt be more than a few months (hopefully, if he doesnt become lazy argh)
 
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