Fell in love with a beardie...

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Hey all,

Pleased to be part of what seems like a wonderful, supportive community. <3

I've been considering a bearded dragon for some time now. To the point where, after a lot of reading on this site, I decided to get together all the equipment. I have an Exo-Terra Large Wide tank, a hide, several natural rock structures I ordered online, a hammock... even a plushie since I heard they like them. xD With a Reptisun 10.0 and a Zoo Med 100W bulb I got the tank temperature to be 80F on one side and 105 on the other. I live in Southern California so temperatures drop to tolerable levels at night. I got my reptile vitamins, my calcium, all of it. I know the number of a local vet who does beardies and the same local reptile store where I want to get my beardie also sells crickets. I feel like I'm on the right track.

So I went to the local reptile store. They had several beardies, but I fell in love with this one who isn't old enough to sell yet. About a month ago, the store owner said he would be ready in a month, but I went in today and he hasn't grown much at all since I last saw him. :( The other beardie in his tank grew and went home today. The store owner said that since the other dragon is gone, maybe he'll grow more now? And that he's eating well and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him, but that it might be another month before they can sell him.

Of course, I want him to be in the care of the experts if he isn't old enough to come home yet. But I worry because he's under a red bulb and all the guides I've read say the coloured bulbs are bad for them and don't give the right amount of UVB. There's not a lot of enrichment in the tank either. I want to give him the best possible home, but I have to wait! :( And the owner won't let me put a down payment on him either. I just want to know that he won't get bought by anyone else...
 

Claudiusx

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I'm sorry, thats got to be tough!

Perhaps you can convince the petstore owner that you are willing and able to take care of this dragon. I would imagine that he only doesn't want to sell it yet for two reasons:

1. he realizes that at such a small size, they are vulnerable and need to be cared for properly
2. he doesn't want to sell a dragon that potentially could die with a new owner.

So perhaps you can put his thinking at ease by letting him know that you've done a ton of research, and maybe even that you have this site here with a large group of people all willing to help you. And you could tell him you understand the risk of him being so small, and would not be looking for a refund or anything like that if something were to happen to him!

Good luck I hope it all works out for you!

-Brandon
 

behemuffin

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Thank you for your reply! <3

Like I said I don't mind the store keeping him until he gets older. I'm mostly worried that one day I'll show up and they will have sold him to someone else.

I also worry about his enrichments because he doesn't have a whole lot, and not much in the way of a hide. Just a basking ledge to stand on, that he can also go underneath.

Here he is by the way-- such a curious little fellow, he's always at the front of the viv hanging onto the frame, peeking at people. This is a pic from a couple weeks ago, though he hasn't grown a whole lot since then.

20190416_163601.jpg


(Whoops, not sure why the pic is tilted on its side. It's normal on my phone.)

Do you think that he'll grow more now that the other beardie is gone from his viv? I was wondering if bearded dragons experience the same thing that fish do, where they'll only grow as big as they feel their environment will allow for.
 

Claudiusx

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What was more likely happening was the other beardie was dominating this one. Dragons are very territorial and when housed together, one usually thrives while the other struggles. They dont like to share food, or basking areas.

So hopefully your guy will start growing now that he has the place to himself!

-Brandon
 

behemuffin

Member
Original Poster
I hope so!! Good to hear that the store owner was right. Thank you so much for putting my mind at ease!

Now I just gotta keep checking in on him haha. Next time I go in I'll leave my phone number so they can call me when he's ready to go. :D Should have thought of that before, but I love going to see the dragons and the other reptiles there so it's no big deal to make the trip.
 

behemuffin

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Update on the lil guy: I've been popping into the store every few days to take a look at him. The other beardie has been out of the tank for a week now so he's on his own, but still very small. He doesn't seem to have grown much at all since I first came in about a month ago.

Here he is having a little nap... Looks pretty healthy, you think? Other than his small size, he's normally active when I see him, and he's eating well, but I still worry he won't grow bigger!

full
 

Claudiusx

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He looks large enough to sell imo. Usually breeders hold out until 6 weeks and 10g in weight.

-Brandon
 

behemuffin

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Just wanted to let you all know that I was able to bring Nara home today! He's still very small, but I'm hoping with the proper light, heat and diet he'll grow well!

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He ate a bunch of calcium dipped crickets today, seems to be ignoring his salad but that's normal. One thing I'm not seeing advice on is how much to coat the crickets? I just popped 'em in a bag with a half teaspoon of the Rep-Cal and Herptivite powders each, like it said on the tub, and let them get coated all over. They're pretty white when they come out.

Is that fine? Will too much powder harm him?
 

Claudiusx

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Awesome!
I honestly was just thinking about you earlier and was trying to find your thread. I'm so glad you were able to get your dragon!

I don't pay attention to the amount of dust, I just coat the insects and leave the extra to coat the next time.

-Brandon
 

behemuffin

Member
Original Poster
Aww! <3 I'm touched. Yeah, I'm sooo glad to have him home-- and at the same time terrified, haha. I wanna give the little guy the absolute best care possible.

Right now just waiting to see if the timers I have work as planned...
 

behemuffin

Member
Original Poster
Day 3 and he seems to be doing well still. Pooping once a day-- you know you're a new parent when you get excited about poop, haha. Loves him some dubia roaches. He's had some time out in the sun and he seems to love that too. Drinks out of his bath water, does all the good stuff.

My only concern is that when I called the vet to get him his first appointment, they asked how old he was. I wasn't actually sure, so I called the shop and the guy said he was born February 2nd. He's really small for a creature that's almost 4 months old! So I'm really hoping he'll start to thrive.

img1558731363881.jpg
 

Claudiusx

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I'm sure he will now that he is in your care. There is always the possibility that he is just gonna be a smaller dragon. Don't get too caught up in the weights and lengths. Just focus on making sure he is healthy :mrgreen:

-Brandon
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, congrats on your new little cutie pie. :) It's great that you did your research and it sounds like he's off to a great start with you. With the calcium powder it's best to use much less than what you're using, over time it can cause calcification of the organs and actually neutralize the important stomach acids that help digestion, also can cause toxicity. Just a VERY light powdering is enough. I'd hold off on a vet visit until at least a month or two, give him time to settle in. He's doing well so far !
 

behemuffin

Member
Original Poster
Ahhh thank you so much AHBD! I'll be sure to reduce it to just a very light sprinkle.

My concern currently is that when he's in his tank he typically has stress marks, but whenever I take him outside or for a bath they go away, even though it's much cooler outside the tank than in. He seems otherwise active, curious-- but I worry he isn't getting enough light or something?

He has a gradient of places he can sit under the Reptisun 10 T5 tube, close to or away from the basking lamp (a ZooMed 100W bulb). The left side of the tank sits around 80 (he generally avoids that side) and the right side goes up to 110-- he seems to enjoy basking at around 109 (does the gaping thing). But even when he's gaping he has stress marks!

I know it takes babies some time to settle in, but it's weird that he doesn't have them when I take him out for a bath. You'd think that'd make him more stressed, not less!
 
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