Early retirement evenings: To hold or to leave alone?

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Hi everyone,

I'm curious about your opinions on our situation. Our young dragon, Alduîn, is recovering from MBD and thus doesn't have a lot of mobility. Until recently I was home nearly 24/7 and was thus able to interact with him frequently, check up on him, and just offer him time outside the enclosure.

Last week I started at a new position and I am out of the home from 06:30 to 18:00. We have Alduîn's lights set to turn on at 04:30 so he is warmed up and ready to eat/take medications by 06:00. However, his lights are set to turn off around 19:30. Usually my partner is home around 17:30 so he has about 2 hours to digest before lights out. Sometimes (like tonight) we both get home late and so he only has about an hour.

Since he's been alone all day, I thought it would be nice to take him out in the evening after feeding to give him some additional heat after lights out (body heat) and also just some interaction with another living thing. (We want to go bioactive, but not until he's much further along in his recovery.) However, he tends to burrow into his corner before lights out, and I'm loathe to wake him up just to let him fall asleep on me on the couch.

So here's my question: If it were your dragon, would you prioritize his own clock over bonding time or vice versa (or neither)? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

With kind regards,
Aaron
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I think it would be OK either way. Maybe split the difference and leave him be some nights but go ahead and sit up with him other nights. He is likely to fall asleep with you and then you can put him back when you go to bed.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hi Aaron,

If it were my dragon, I would leave him asleep if he was already asleep. If not, then I'd probably take him out for a bit, he can always fall asleep on you anyways :)
But IMO, sleep is important (for all creatures) and I prefer not to disturb if they are already asleep.

-Brandon
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
skyfishcafe":bk8t1w0e said:
Since he's been alone all day, I thought it would be nice to take him out in the evening after feeding to give him some additional heat after lights out (body heat) and also just some interaction with another living thing. (We want to go bioactive, but not until he's much further along in his recovery.) However, he tends to burrow into his corner before lights out, and I'm loathe to wake him up just to let him fall asleep on me on the couch.

So here's my question: If it were your dragon, would you prioritize his own clock over bonding time or vice versa (or neither)? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
  • 1. Animals thrive on regular routines/schedules. Dogs & cats adapt better to our schedules than most animals (dogs in particular are ready to get up & party 24/7, but they're highly social animals. Cats sleep--on average--18 hours a day and like dogs, can/will nap anywhere/any time) but reptiles are reptiles. I would only modify a BDs schedule/habits if it's for the animal's benefit/health--not my own desires.

    2. Most reptiles (including BDs) don't need "interaction with another living thing" other than a bug--to eat it. In the wild, they live solitary, territorial lives. Any interaction is for territory, dominance, sex, hunting/eating, or to avoid being hunted/eaten.

    3. After investigating bioactive enclosures (because I thought they were an interesting idea before I did look into them), I've come to the conclusion/decision that they're not a good idea for BDs or other arid/desert habitat reptiles. YMMV, but to me, the risks (RI, compaction, parasites, and more) outweigh any benefits.

    4. If it were my dragon, I would definitely prioritize his clock over bonding time. To put it another way (and this is a rhetorical question), how does putting bonding time (something more for your benefit than his, regardless of whether he gets something out of it) over his clock/health benefit him?
 

skyfishcafe

Member
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CooperDragon, Brandon, and MrSpectrum, thank you for your perspectives! I appreciate your thoughts on this question.
 
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