A few ??s. My son is a new baby dragon owner

[Goldbox]

Hi everyone. I'm a baby beardie grandma. Lol. My 9 year old son just got "angel" with his spending $. I find I'm the one doing all the research and most of the care.
First off, angel is tiny. Like 4 inches? She tries to run away a lot. I'm afraid she doesn't like to be caught" and held and might bite me. ? I want to hold her all the time. She's so cute! I've heard conflicting things about feeding. Some say romaine lettuce is good, some say bad. Comments
Also, there are crickets that hide in the wood and surrounding areas. What happens if I leave them? How do I get them out?
How often do I bathe her? Some people say dry them after, some say it's dangerous to dry them off. Comments??
Anyway. Thank u in advance

 

[Taterbug]

There is a great caresheet on this page (to the right) if you haven't read it. It will help you make sure you have the right setup/equipment incase you bought a kit, and is a good guide for how to setup and care for your new family member.

4 inches is practically a hatchling. Is that total length or just the body?
For little bitty ones it's best to let them do their thing until they get bigger and more robust. Tiny dragons are fragile and scare easily, they are more likely to run off or jump and get hurt. They are prey in the wild, as such they don't want to be caught - instincts tell them that means they will get eaten. They grow very fast though, putting in around 1" per week in some cases. Older dragons are much more self confident. Babies rarely bite, and aren't big enough yet to do damage.

Romaine is ok - but to not the best. The darker the leaves the better, but it is not as nutritionally dense a foods as mustard, turnip or collard greens. I feed it occasionally or mix it in. Variety is important, so don't be tempted to just stick with one thing. Check out beautifuldragons.com for a easy to use food guide. Your tiny one won't eat much greens but at foot to get them started as young as possible.

Try feeding only as many crickets as she can catch at a time, you can even chill them in the fridge for a few minutes to slow them down. If you leave them in they may take to chewing on your dragon out of hunger. Leave a bit of veggies in a toilet paper tube in the cage - they should climb in for a snack and you can remove them. Otherwise take out the furnishings and catch them. Some folks take furnishings out during feeding time.

I bathe Pepper about 1 time per week, some folks do every other day. Most people dry them off - but with such a little one it may be challenging not to crush or injure the baby. Maybe let it sit on a towel or something. I just let pepper run over a towel and then put him on his basking rock.

 

[Wolfeden]

Also, make sure you understand and provide the correct heat and UVB lighting.
This is very important and can be complicated and overwhelming in the beginning so be sure to ask questions if you don't understand everything.

Good luck.

 

[Pushkin]

Hi! Congratulations on your new addition!

Here is my best advice

Make sure you have a UVB fluorescent tube light - you can mount this in the enclosure with an under-counter fixture and command hooks or you can put it in a hood. UVB is really important!!!! You need it in addition to a basking light.

Dust feeder insects with calcium powder.

I put my dragon in a 10 gallon aquarium with crickets and let him eat to his hearts content - then put him back in his home. That way, there were no insects in his home and his home stayed clean. Crickets can bite dragons and cause injury.

It's normal for a dragon that small to be nervous around people - just try to handle often so that it gets used to you and your son. You can also put a t-shirt (yours or your son's) and put it in the tank with it so that it gets comfortable with your smell. It's tiny, so it'll be extra skittish - just be patient! Soon they'll be cuddling up on your neck and falling asleep on your chest.

As for greens, mustard greens and turnip greens are great staples to use!

 

[Goldbox]

Thank u for all your great advice. She's already getting cozy with us.
Went and bought stuff u guys mentioned to help her be more comfortable. :wink:

 

[Kriechtier]

Hi everyone. I'm a baby beardie grandma. Lol. My 9 year old son just got "angel" with his spending $. I find I'm the one doing all the research and most of the care.
First off, angel is tiny. Like 4 inches? She tries to run away a lot. I'm afraid she doesn't like to be caught" and held and might bite me. ? I want to hold her all the time. She's so cute! I've heard conflicting things about feeding. Some say romaine lettuce is good, some say bad. Comments
Also, there are crickets that hide in the wood and surrounding areas. What happens if I leave them? How do I get them out?
How often do I bathe her? Some people say dry them after, some say it's dangerous to dry them off. Comments??
Anyway. Thank u in advance

Sounds super exciting and congratulations! Food: look what they can't eat, everything else: variety is king (don't forget flowers)! I feed often a nice mix of the whole foods loose greens but any mix will do (don't worry too much about the occasional spinach leave). Important to mention is the vit d3 - especially while they are young and they need to get enough protein while they are young. You'll see, with good food, heat and lighting your dragon will grow up in a jiffy.
Best of luck!

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It sounds like your dragon is adjusting quite well with you.
Feel free to post pictures of Pepper too as we all love pictures here.
Let us know how he is doing & I know he is going to eat you out of house & home, too.

Tracie