A bearded dragon from Santa Claus: CandyCane passed away :(

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Like the title says, I'm looking into and thoroughly researching bearded dragons to see if one would be a good fit for my family. My son has been telling me for weeks that Santa is probably bringing him a snake or a lizard and I should prepare myself, so that's what I'm doing. I have 8 year old twins, and a bearded dragon would be their one big gift from Santa Claus. They would not be the primary caretakers for obvious reasons, so I'm also researching what level of care they need, etc. I've learned they need quite a bit when they're younger, and I'm also trying to figure out if this is financially feasible for my family as well. I'm posting mainly because I have a question about habitat. I've been looking at different potential terrariums and I found one called the zen habitat. It's 4 feet long by 2 feet wide, so plenty of room. I'm just wondering if any bearded dragon owners on here have any first hand experience with these enclosures? Also, hoping to find a good breeder in Louisiana that will have some fun morphs, hopefully the bright yellow colors. I wouldn't mind having one shipped, but it would be easiest for us to pick up on Christmas Eve from someone local if that's at all possible. I have a veterinarian (for my dog) that also sees bearded dragons so that's in order. Anyway, just saying hello and introducing myself because I'll probably have lots of questions lol. Thanks!
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
ComicBookMama":2aag61y2 said:
What little beauties you've picked out! They're so tiny and delicate looking. Can't wait to find out what their names are.

Wish I could advise on dubia colonies... but I haven't the time, patience, or stomach to grow my own feeders! I have heard that they can really aggravate asthma, so cleaning in a well ventilated area with a mask on is probably a good idea. Good luck! :D

Ty! My daughter Marilou says hers might be named Stella Rose, Noodles Poodles, or Candy Cane. She hasn’t decided. And Silas has no idea yet lol.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I only need to do it a few times a year. Maybe every 3 or 4 months.

I have a 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in it small enough to let the frass fall through but not the roaches. From there you can have a couple other buckets with larger and larger holes to sort the dubias into size groups if you want. There are a few videos on youtube if you're curious. Video explains it better than I do.

But that's why I wear the respirator, dumping all those roaches and shaking them up a bit to shift the frass does cause some "dust"

What I like to do is filter put the size I want though, and keep them in a separate container that way I can just reach in, grab an egg crate, and shake it into a bin when it's time to feed. That way you dont need to go picking through your main colony. Just make sure you dont use up all of one size, you want to return some back to the colony to keep the generations growing.

I breed superworms and mealworms too.

If your kids are into it, buying silkworm eggs and hatching them is fun, and cheaper than buying live silkworms. Especially of you have mulberry trees available.

-Brandon
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":3s3mrqzz said:
I only need to do it a few times a year. Maybe every 3 or 4 months.

I have a 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in it small enough to let the frass fall through but not the roaches. From there you can have a couple other buckets with larger and larger holes to sort the dubias into size groups if you want. There are a few videos on youtube if you're curious. Video explains it better than I do.

But that's why I wear the respirator, dumping all those roaches and shaking them up a bit to shift the frass does cause some "dust"

What I like to do is filter put the size I want though, and keep them in a separate container that way I can just reach in, grab an egg crate, and shake it into a bin when it's time to feed. That way you dont need to go picking through your main colony. Just make sure you dont use up all of one size, you want to return some back to the colony to keep the generations growing.

I breed superworms and mealworms too.

If your kids are into it, buying silkworm eggs and hatching them is fun, and cheaper than buying live silkworms. Especially of you have mulberry trees available.

-Brandon
I can definitely get a mulberry tree. My husbands grandmother has them on her property. So buckets, tyvek foam boards, and some Rubbermaid containers. Along with CHEs, egg crate, and sustenance for them. Shouldn’t be too bad!
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
So I’ve got my Rubbermaid containers mostly set up. I have one larger one and I sprayed some insulated foam to fill the gaps between the two containers. This will keep the heat in and also keep it quiet for them. I got a Flukers dimmable clamp lamp that I’ll mount to the top with a CHE. The dimmable ones were on sale for 6.75 which is nuts and it’s better so I can adjust the temperature as needed. I have all my egg crates and food and water crystals coming in Monday. I still have to get some fine mesh screen for the bottom to make sure their poop falls through and some sticky Velcro ribbon to Velcro it in place. That way I can remove it for easy cleaning. The dragons get here Tuesday. My kids have been showing all their friends at school their new pets and my daughter decorated her binder with the big picture “Santa” sent in the mail. They’ve even been reading the books I got them on bearded dragon husbandry and telling me facts and information that I’m pretending I don’t know already lol.
 

ComicBookMama

Sub-Adult Member
Exciting times! I’ll be watching your posts in case I ever get the yen to start farming Dubias myself... or are you going the silkworm route?

I’m so glad the kids have been digging into the books- the more they know, the better! Which books did you get them?

Hope all goes as planned with Tuesday’s delivery- take lots of pics to share!
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
ComicBookMama":2arbv5vz said:
Exciting times! I’ll be watching your posts in case I ever get the yen to start farming Dubias myself... or are you going the silkworm route?

I’m so glad the kids have been digging into the books- the more they know, the better! Which books did you get them?

Hope all goes as planned with Tuesday’s delivery- take lots of pics to share!
I got them each their own “The Bearded Dragon Manual: 2nd Edition” on Amazon. Has some really good information and everything my son has been rattling off has been true based on what you guys have said and everything else I’ve read.

I’m going the Dubia roach route. Too easy with all the information about and such. I informed my local post office that they’d be coming in (the roaches, not the dragons which are being shipped ups or fedex) and she said she’d call me right away because she doesn’t want them sitting over there grossing her out lol. I live in a super small town so I’m sure I will get that call ASAP when they come in haha. I’m going to have to sit down and write all the instructions for feeding. I’ve got my Minerall calcium supplement, Repashy herbivore reptile food, I do have some flukers freeze dried crickets to see if they’ll like those unless I shouldn’t (y’all let me know), and some baby bearded dragon pellets which were recommended by Draggintails. It’s like having a brand new baby with all this gear and food and vitamins lol. I’ll definitely be posting lots of pictures once I get them in. I went and bought them a little log hide and another branch and a bowl for salad the other day as well.
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
81619665_10104296256504800_6966522037414133760_o.jpg

This is the enclosure all set up without the Christmas tree in the way. It took me a while to take the tree down and get a good picture for you guys because we’re also renovating our bathrooms and we’re in the home stretch so my house has been an absolute disaster lol. Tile everywhere, paint and stain, etc.
 

ComicBookMama

Sub-Adult Member
The habs look great - they fit in perfectly with the decor of your living space! I'm jealous! Poor Figment only has his 40BR in our computer room.

Others may weigh in on this, but I'd personally avoid the freeze dried crickets. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that once they're dead and dry, most of the nutritional benefit goes out of them - the liquid, the "meat," and most of the nutrients, leaving only the chitin behind. It's essentially a bug potato chip... all crunch, no real substance. You won't hurt them by offering freeze dried, but I doubt they'll get any real good out of it, either. But I could be wrong, so if I am, I hope one of the more experience posters will correct me. :)

I had to laugh when you mentioned your postmaster's reaction... I have my dubias delivered to the school where I teach so they won't be hanging around outside my house, and our secretaries are SO quick to call my room for a messenger when they come in! I mean, it's not as if they can actually see or hear the little critters... but just knowing they're in there freaks some folks out. :lol:

Have a good time with them - and your soon to arrive dragons!
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
We don’t have a computer room, and our house is relatively open concept considering it was built in the 70s. My kids aren’t old enough to have them in their rooms so I wanted the enclosures to blend in. The black exterior is great too because it disappears when the lights are off and looks great when they’re on.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I recommend getting dubia roaches --- anything freeze dried out of a can or package is not good --- fresh salads and live insects are the best --- w/ a variety of worms like butter worms silk worms wax worms super worms horn worms ---- all are good - BSFL are a great staple and do not need to be dusted --- here are some websites to look for those
https://symtonbsf.com/-- they are calcium enriched do not dust and order large
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/ you can get silk worms here another great staple but spendy
www.abdragons.com
www.joshsfrogs.com
www.dubiaroaches.com -- I get most of my worms except silk from these guys --
Karrie
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3nurmmsb said:
Here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I recommend getting dubia roaches --- anything freeze dried out of a can or package is not good --- fresh salads and live insects are the best --- w/ a variety of worms like butter worms silk worms wax worms super worms horn worms ---- all are good - BSFL are a great staple and do not need to be dusted --- here are some websites to look for those
https://symtonbsf.com/-- they are calcium enriched do not dust and order large
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/ you can get silk worms here another great staple but spendy
http://www.abdragons.com
http://www.joshsfrogs.com
http://www.dubiaroaches.com -- I get most of my worms except silk from these guys --
Karrie
Thanks! I mostly plan on feeding the dubia roaches. I just have a variety of stuff lol. Ordered a bunch of dubias from the bearded dragon breeder when I ordered the dragons. Setting up a habitat for them and starting a colony so I can have them readily available. The BSFL that’s the fly larva? Yum lol. I didn’t realize they were so nutritious they didn’t need dusting. I’ll have to get some of those too. Dubias just seem to be the most popular so I got the most info on those and decided to do a colony for ease of availability. The freeze dried crickets aren’t meant as a staple, but Draggintails puts them on the salads for her adults so I just ordered some lol.
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
83088175_10104306253690360_7532199320838209536_n.jpg

82865920_10104306253780180_3781679542616195072_n.jpg

This is Silas's hypo red leatherback. He wants to name him Elliot after the dragon in Pete's Dragon.

82706889_10104306253785170_3677148332213403648_n.jpg

82269644_10104306253715310_852218307204349952_n.jpg

This is Marilou's. She has named her CandyCane. She is a translucent witblits.

Now, I've been researching they're habitat and everything and how to feed and such. I have my 500 roaches to start off with. Finishing up the roach motel today too. Anyway, I just want to know about their transition into my home. How much should they be handled? Should I feed them in their enclosures for now to minimize handling and reduce stress? Elliot was a little frightened and scurrying away from me when I put him in his enclosure which I assume is normal. CandyCane seems less frightened and is chilling on her hammock. I did offer a roach neither was interested. I don't want to overwhelm them at all so any advice is appreciated. I feel so prepared and not prepared all at once lol!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Feed them in the enclosure you can hand feed them greens worms off the tweezers -- they will go thru relocation stress so expect slow eating but they should not quit eating all together-- handle a little at a time maybe inside the tank but I would give them a few days to acclimate to their surroundings- hands in the tank cleaning getting food in and out will get them accustomed to people in their tank--- they will learn to trust- it may take a few weeks may take months - they may hiss flare up they could even bite depends on the dragon----- mine did all 3 and is now letting us pick him up w/ out doing all that - and we have had him since Sept-- so it depends on the dragon----- my older one came around alot faster than my youngest
I forgot to say I love the name Elliott great name and candycane is adorable :)
Karrie
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3b88i8rz said:
Feed them in the enclosure you can hand feed them greens worms off the tweezers -- they will go thru relocation stress so expect slow eating but they should not quit eating all together-- handle a little at a time maybe inside the tank but I would give them a few days to acclimate to their surroundings- hands in the tank cleaning getting food in and out will get them accustomed to people in their tank--- they will learn to trust- it may take a few weeks may take months - they may hiss flare up they could even bite depends on the dragon----- mine did all 3 and is now letting us pick him up w/ out doing all that - and we have had him since Sept-- so it depends on the dragon----- my older one came around alot faster than my youngest
I forgot to say I love the name Elliott great name and candycane is adorable :)
Karrie
Thanks so much! I let them chill for a little while then offered some roaches and both of them ate. CandyCane even came close to the glass to get more when I pulled away to offer Elliot another one. Both are moving around a bunch and exploring, going from hammock to branch and back. Both were very lively when I opened their box and staring at me. I never realized they stare so much lol. Gazing into my face like crazy lol. My kids will be so excited! My nieces are excited too lol.
 
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I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
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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

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