Princedargent
New member
Hello, as the title says, I have very fortunately found myself the owner of a rescue bearded. A friend of a friend couldn't keep it and instead of them abandoning it I agreed to take care of it (I have experience in Leo's, Gargs and Cresties). I got everything from the previous owner and am just looking at some recommendations as to how I can improve his life.
He is a 5 year old male (not sure what morph but he's darker in color with black spots. I thought it was stress but he *seems* happy.) He just had a rough shed, I've been using reptished spray and soaking him in a bath. (He came to me with pretty plugged pores so I got a hard bristled toothbrush and I'm trying to soak him every 3 days in a lukewarm bath with treated water.) He seems to have a stiffer leg but his claws are pretty long so I ordered some clippers (small animal nail clippers) that should be in soon. Sadly we're in lockdown here atm so I can't really go put all willy nilly so I'm eagerly waiting for the clippers.
Cage, he has a rough bark hide to try and help with his femoral pores, and a cave to get him closer to the basking spot. There's a thermometer right by the cave and its the right temperature now (hes basking with his mouth open which i read is a good sign *fingers crossed*). I'm not sure the bulb so I'm thinking of replacing it with a Powersun 100w, I hope thats a good heat option and uvb (and ill replace it about 8 months after the purchase). He use to be using sand but that was the first thing I changed, now to repticarpet. I do have a shallow pool of water in his enclosure for him to soak in. Should I remove it at night? The room is warmer than most so I'm not too concerned about him getting too cold but I keep reading conflicting information about water dishes.
And lastly food. I usually leave a bowl of greens when I wake up which rotate depending on whats in stock and in season. I usually aim for collard greens and dandelion greens. Some weeks he will have kale instead or baby arugula. I sometimes will throw some cilantro, snap peas, yellow bell peppers, blueberries (for a treat) or blackberries. The fruit he gets about once every week. And only about three berries. I'll give him dusted super worms (he doesn't really chase down crickets maybe because of the nails) usually about 5 a day or every second day mixed with his greens to get him to eat. And every second Friday he gets 3 big horn worms (he dances for them).
Hes very friendly, and when I'm taking care of the other reptiles in the room he will try to press against the glass closest to me and will puff if I ignore him. So I hope that's a good sign.
The only thing I've noticed besides the claws and stuck shed is he makes the occasional snap sound. I've only heard it twice. I'm not sure if it's related to mating season? Or something worse but I haven't heard it since and it was after a bath when he was under the basking light.
Sorry for such a long post...
He is a 5 year old male (not sure what morph but he's darker in color with black spots. I thought it was stress but he *seems* happy.) He just had a rough shed, I've been using reptished spray and soaking him in a bath. (He came to me with pretty plugged pores so I got a hard bristled toothbrush and I'm trying to soak him every 3 days in a lukewarm bath with treated water.) He seems to have a stiffer leg but his claws are pretty long so I ordered some clippers (small animal nail clippers) that should be in soon. Sadly we're in lockdown here atm so I can't really go put all willy nilly so I'm eagerly waiting for the clippers.
Cage, he has a rough bark hide to try and help with his femoral pores, and a cave to get him closer to the basking spot. There's a thermometer right by the cave and its the right temperature now (hes basking with his mouth open which i read is a good sign *fingers crossed*). I'm not sure the bulb so I'm thinking of replacing it with a Powersun 100w, I hope thats a good heat option and uvb (and ill replace it about 8 months after the purchase). He use to be using sand but that was the first thing I changed, now to repticarpet. I do have a shallow pool of water in his enclosure for him to soak in. Should I remove it at night? The room is warmer than most so I'm not too concerned about him getting too cold but I keep reading conflicting information about water dishes.
And lastly food. I usually leave a bowl of greens when I wake up which rotate depending on whats in stock and in season. I usually aim for collard greens and dandelion greens. Some weeks he will have kale instead or baby arugula. I sometimes will throw some cilantro, snap peas, yellow bell peppers, blueberries (for a treat) or blackberries. The fruit he gets about once every week. And only about three berries. I'll give him dusted super worms (he doesn't really chase down crickets maybe because of the nails) usually about 5 a day or every second day mixed with his greens to get him to eat. And every second Friday he gets 3 big horn worms (he dances for them).
Hes very friendly, and when I'm taking care of the other reptiles in the room he will try to press against the glass closest to me and will puff if I ignore him. So I hope that's a good sign.
The only thing I've noticed besides the claws and stuck shed is he makes the occasional snap sound. I've only heard it twice. I'm not sure if it's related to mating season? Or something worse but I haven't heard it since and it was after a bath when he was under the basking light.
Sorry for such a long post...