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

Status
Not open for further replies.
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
These monsters continue to grow and eat and poop like machines! Picture dump. This is CandyCane after her dinner of roaches and blueberries.

87106736_10104396518264430_7638848259355574272_n.jpg

87144916_10104396518404150_6938013938583863296_n.jpg

87089559_10104396518369220_4906375260888104960_n.jpg

This is her evening routine. She eats and then rests in her bed.

87101709_10104396518289380_1873750826581753856_n.jpg

Wilbur is extremely predictable and basks like a person sunbathing on the beach. Arms back and legs splayed lol.

They both seem to be getting into a routine, and know when I put their bowls back in in the morning that they're full of roaches and salad and they usually come right up. It's still taking a while to get them "tame" and I find CandyCane has been super cranky today. She puffed and hissed at me for the first time ever! Can they get into "moods"? She's not shedding atm as she just finished, but then again Wilbur's legs are already shedding again and he literally finished a week or so ago. She was glass surfing a bit yesterday, which is really her just tilting her head to watch us outside her cage. I went to open it to see if she wanted food or if she'd maybe pooped, but she ended up jumping on me and scaring the daylights out of both of us! She crawled up my torso and I put her back in the enclosure so she didn't try to jump back in. Wilbur still puffs up when we try to pet him, but if we keep up for a few seconds he deflates and lets us pet him for a few seconds.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
The pictures are great! I particularly love Candycane and her bed, I think i've said that before lol!

I've found that a lot of times, as they settle more and more, and grow a little bit, they get more fiesty and it almost feels like you've regressed in your taming. But, they always end up coming around if you keep working with them :)

Kiki only lets me pick her up at this point because she knows I usually will feed her if I do that. In the beginning she would hang out with me with no problem lol.

-Brandon
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":2yrrzvx9 said:
The pictures are great! I particularly love Candycane and her bed, I think i've said that before lol!

I've found that a lot of times, as they settle more and more, and grow a little bit, they get more fiesty and it almost feels like you've regressed in your taming. But, they always end up coming around if you keep working with them :)

Kiki only lets me pick her up at this point because she knows I usually will feed her if I do that. In the beginning she would hang out with me with no problem lol.

-Brandon
Oh ok good to know! I definitely want them to be super tame for my kids. We have winged leashes after all lol. She puffed at me when I had to go pick up a dried poop off her bed that fell from the hammock. Idk why she insist on pooping on that and the log. Both are being taken out tomorrow for a good rinse and dry. I wish she was like Wilbur and would poop on the floor right by the glass, like he knows it’s easiest for me to pick up and I don’t have to go digging around in his enclosure lol. It’s funny because on one hand I feel like they’re getting used to us especially since they know to associate their food bowl returning with fresh grub, but at the same time seem more skittish. I was actually thinking of making a corner shelf on the cool side with steps. Food on top and a resting place underneath. They don’t seem to like the log hides very much.
 

ComicBookMama

Sub-Adult Member
Figment never liked the log hides, either, except for sitting on top of them... but then, he doesn't have much use for ANY hide I've offered him, and sleeps right out in the open, usually on his hammock or his branch.

As for moods... I think dragons go through phases just like any growing critter does. Mind, I've only got my one to base this theory on, but I definitely know that Figment at 8 months-ish (gosh, I love not knowing his exact hatch date, or how long he was in the pet shop :roll: ) is much calmer and more mellow about being handled than Figment at 4-5 months was. You're doing a great job working with your babies... they'll earn those wings eventually! :D
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
So I’m cooking supper at the moment and decided to cut up the bellpepper scraps for the beardies. The reaction was immediate! Both tried to take it from my fingers, Wilbur for the first time as he hasn’t even used the tongs since the first day. I put some on their logs and all around their enclosure so they’re hopping from place to place munching on bellpepper. Cut up the rest and put in a plastic baggie for breakfast tomorrow!
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Love that picture of Wilbur.

Bell pepper has always been a big hit with mine too. Just watch out for runnier stools because of it. Not a big deal though :)

-Brandon
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":29ocfrdr said:
Love that picture of Wilbur.

Bell pepper has always been a big hit with mine too. Just watch out for runnier stools because of it. Not a big deal though :)

-Brandon
I’ve noticed the more moisture a food has the runnier the poop. At least I know they’re hydrated. Not big on drinking in the bath, not big on drinking from the spray bottle or a dropper either.
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I can't even begin to explain how many roaches I've gone through with these two animals in the past month and a week. Now that they've settled in they are eating like crazy. I feed them in the morning, salad and dusted dubias, and then non dusted dubias in the evening around 4:45. I ordered a thousand from KPs critters that came in Friday last week, and I swear we are almost out! I ordered another thousand, plus some adult females and an adult male to hopefully get some babies made because holy crap.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Starting your own colony would definitely be a good idea. However by the time to colony is sustainable, they likely wont be eating as many roaches anymore.

I would definitely be supplementing in other bugs though. Have you tried BSFL? Smyton has great prices on them.

-Brandon
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yep I would order some BSFL add them on top of their salads as many as you want and then feed the roaches later -- that will slow them down on the intake of the roaches also super worms and butter worms and horn worms --- add them to the salad as well only 1-3 of them tho
Karrie
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":3qmhfriw said:
Starting your own colony would definitely be a good idea. However by the time to colony is sustainable, they likely wont be eating as many roaches anymore.

I would definitely be supplementing in other bugs though. Have you tried BSFL? Smyton has great prices on them.

-Brandon

I have and they do enjoy them. If I combine those with roaches and such how many of each should I feed a day?
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
If you are doing multiple feedings a day, I'd just do 1 feeding dubia and 1 feeding bsfl. Or if you are only doing one a day feeding, just mix them up and let them have at it. You can leave the bsfl in a dish in the tank too for them to munch on as they like. As long as they are dry, that can't climb.

-Brandon
 

opaquelace

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":3mnqh37o said:
If you are doing multiple feedings a day, I'd just do 1 feeding dubia and 1 feeding bsfl. Or if you are only doing one a day feeding, just mix them up and let them have at it. You can leave the bsfl in a dish in the tank too for them to munch on as they like. As long as they are dry, that can't climb.

-Brandon
I noticed their climbing ability when they get wet lol. I’ll have to order some more I ran out last week. I have a special small dish I keep them in and they munch on them throughout the day. The roaches they go through within minutes. I do two feedings a day of the dubias, with salad in the morning. The roaches and salad stay in the same dish, I find since I mist the salad the BSFL were crawling out the dish pretty easily. Should I still dust the dubias it they’re getting BSFL every day?
 
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
155,899
Messages
1,255,687
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom