Hello everyone I was given an adult beardie tonight, a coworkers kid didn't pay attention to him anymore. I've been considering a beardie for a long time now and I've done a lot of research on them and the opportunity arose so I took him in. Now right off the bat I was a little upset with the Conditions he was in. He did have a uvb and basking bulb, but sadly he had been housed in a 15 gallon aquarium for his entire life from what I was told. The biggest tank I had on hand for him tonight was a 30 gallon, but I've actually got a deal on a 120 gallon tomorrow off craigslist, so that problem will be solved in the morning. I do however have a few concerns. First and foremost is every now and then he will "shiver" his head. It's not a head bob, just fast vibrations of only the head. It seems to not happen as much when I'm not near the tank, but I may just not be noticing it from a distance. Before he was given to me he was fed on crickets and rep-cal adult bearded dragon food, I don't believe fresh veggies were offered so possibly a vitamin deficiency? I'm really hoping it not a symptom on mbd. He seems to move around fine and I don't see any oddities physically. I would really love your input, vets around here couldn't tell you the difference between a ball python and a Burmese.
One other concern of mine was his personality. I was worried that not having great socialization may be permanent? Don't get me wrong he's not aggressive at all, he wouldn't eat from my hand when I offered, but he tolerated some light petting on his back, no head bobbing or biting, but hes skeptical. I only picked him up to move him to the slightly larger tank and he didn't care for that at all. Squirmed and did not appreciate being picked up. Is this behavior something that can be altered late in a beardies life? Could he learn to trust and befriend me? Or is it too late? I don't know exactly how old he is but he seems rather large. About 16 to 18 inches and a big head on him.
Thank you everyone for reading and giving me your input. I really appreciate any advice you experts here can give.
One other concern of mine was his personality. I was worried that not having great socialization may be permanent? Don't get me wrong he's not aggressive at all, he wouldn't eat from my hand when I offered, but he tolerated some light petting on his back, no head bobbing or biting, but hes skeptical. I only picked him up to move him to the slightly larger tank and he didn't care for that at all. Squirmed and did not appreciate being picked up. Is this behavior something that can be altered late in a beardies life? Could he learn to trust and befriend me? Or is it too late? I don't know exactly how old he is but he seems rather large. About 16 to 18 inches and a big head on him.
Thank you everyone for reading and giving me your input. I really appreciate any advice you experts here can give.