I got Allie last Saturday with very little research, experience, and only a few items for her. It's been a rocky start because I got three different stories from two different people and misleading websites. I told the pet store I was getting a beardie and wasn't sure of her size yet because I was going to pick her up. (She sold me a dozen crickets.) Petland's associate told me I needed a ninety gallon tank and other things. He said he knew all about Beardies and how they need to live. Well, he had two males together and they fought constantly. I wasn't going to follow his tale of a ninety gallon tank. Then he told me I needed calcium sand which I did buy. I'll not use it. 
So you guys don't have to be worried about Allie.
When I rescued Allie from her previous owners, they had promised a 29 gallon long tank, basking lamp which they gave me, but it was broken, and a well used heat mat that wouldn't stick to the bottom of her tank. (The tank she was in was a fifteen gallon tank that had broken glass. I knew right away this wouldn't be her home and went to buy another tank and a few other supplies such as: A 50 watt basking light, a 10 gallon tank-too small, a heat mat (House gets cold, used to heat the bottom of the tank at night), a climbing piece, a food bowl, a hide-way converted into a bathing area, and a plant.) I took in the basking lamp to get another one and they fixed my lamp for me! I was glad I didn't have to spend anymore money on another lamp.
And Allie was starving. She didn't eat anything all day from her previous owners. When I asked them if she ate, they said no. When I fed her, she ate all of the crickets and had none for the next day. They couldn't afford to feed her. (Sure she's expensive, why did you get her in the first place?) They fed her crickets every day with very little veggies. I couldn't let her just eat crickets. The first thing Allie ate was a spring mix salad. She picked through all of the lettuces and ate the dandelion greens. She likes dandelion greens a lot but I can't find them except in those spring mix salads. I give her parsley, banana, and a sliver of strawberry as a treat. She also likes celery leaves.
Since the ten gallon was too small for her, I went searching for another tank. Something a bit larger than a ten. I found a twenty gallon tall with a background. A fish background, but she loves it none the less. She didn't know what to make at first because she had a change of scenery. Everything of hers almost fits. She's got two more plants, a new 75 watt bulb that works wonders now. The tank's between 87. Close enough to the nineties. She's not used to the 100s yet. (I don't know if her previous owner had her in the 100s or not as a basking temperature. The tank goes into the mid-70's at night.) She's regular now. No more abnormal poops. She poops every day at 3:00-3:20, after she eats her crickets. Today's the first time she ever pooped and peed early at 11:00. If I can get her to go, she looks happy.
Allie loves to run around and explore. If she had her way, she'd have her run of my room and practically the whole house. I've got three dogs that stay in doors. I'm trying to protect her against them. I set up a basking point near my sliding glass window on the old 10 gallon tank. I also found that doggie pads, the large size, are a good way to catch her poop and pee. She has made it the habit of not going in her tank. So she's clean. After that, she got upset because her colors were black this morning. I told her she didn't have to worry about going into the tank today yet. I told her that she's a good girl and she could come out because she pooped and peed already.
A warm bath and a massage seems to help her go and holding onto my hand while she goes, makes her feel better. Does any of the young beardies do this? They run to you for help when they relieve themselves? I know she's getting plenty of food and water. I know she's eating right because the first time she pooped, it was hard. Now it's not as hard as it was. It's not runny either so that's a good thing.
Allie's 13 inches and is a dare devil. Climbing a portable screen that was hanging over our sink, she jumps right in and looks like she didn't do anything wrong. More like saying, 'Look Mommy! I jumped for you!' Then the second time, I had her on my bed with some sheets and a huge pillow mountain. I was working on my laptop, she decided to use my blanket as a slide and slid down between me and the bed. I had put a teddy bear behind me in case she tried it again. She had the same kind of look again, 'Look Mommy! I did it again!' I swear, she had the biggest grin on her face. I think she's happy when I'm around her.
Bedtime. Oh, you must hear this! When I first got her, she wouldn't sleep in her tank. I had to rock her, stroke her, and tell her it's all right. She fell asleep on me. Then after that, I started to get her used to the tank and she fell asleep where she lay down. I moved her so she wasn't sleeping on the heat mat all through the night. Didn't want her belly to get burned. But anyway, she began to really feel different. I took an old flannel pillowcase and wrapped her around in it. As long as she could crawl out when she wakes up, she's fine with it. I rocked her to sleep in it. Tell you what, she was sleeping over the heat mat with her flannel pillowcase where she sleeps. I haven't thought of using a flannel pillowcase for her. There's also another thing about her that you should know. She doesn't sleep anywhere else in her tank. She doesn't sleep on her basking branch, rock, or near her watering pool. She sleeps right near the fan. I guess it helps her sleep. White noise and the vibration. So I guess I'll have to have it there for a long time to come and that's great because she's one of a kind with a personality.
She does love sleeping on me. As of right now, she's sound asleep on my chest. She's happy.
So you guys don't have to be worried about Allie.When I rescued Allie from her previous owners, they had promised a 29 gallon long tank, basking lamp which they gave me, but it was broken, and a well used heat mat that wouldn't stick to the bottom of her tank. (The tank she was in was a fifteen gallon tank that had broken glass. I knew right away this wouldn't be her home and went to buy another tank and a few other supplies such as: A 50 watt basking light, a 10 gallon tank-too small, a heat mat (House gets cold, used to heat the bottom of the tank at night), a climbing piece, a food bowl, a hide-way converted into a bathing area, and a plant.) I took in the basking lamp to get another one and they fixed my lamp for me! I was glad I didn't have to spend anymore money on another lamp.
And Allie was starving. She didn't eat anything all day from her previous owners. When I asked them if she ate, they said no. When I fed her, she ate all of the crickets and had none for the next day. They couldn't afford to feed her. (Sure she's expensive, why did you get her in the first place?) They fed her crickets every day with very little veggies. I couldn't let her just eat crickets. The first thing Allie ate was a spring mix salad. She picked through all of the lettuces and ate the dandelion greens. She likes dandelion greens a lot but I can't find them except in those spring mix salads. I give her parsley, banana, and a sliver of strawberry as a treat. She also likes celery leaves.
Since the ten gallon was too small for her, I went searching for another tank. Something a bit larger than a ten. I found a twenty gallon tall with a background. A fish background, but she loves it none the less. She didn't know what to make at first because she had a change of scenery. Everything of hers almost fits. She's got two more plants, a new 75 watt bulb that works wonders now. The tank's between 87. Close enough to the nineties. She's not used to the 100s yet. (I don't know if her previous owner had her in the 100s or not as a basking temperature. The tank goes into the mid-70's at night.) She's regular now. No more abnormal poops. She poops every day at 3:00-3:20, after she eats her crickets. Today's the first time she ever pooped and peed early at 11:00. If I can get her to go, she looks happy.
Allie loves to run around and explore. If she had her way, she'd have her run of my room and practically the whole house. I've got three dogs that stay in doors. I'm trying to protect her against them. I set up a basking point near my sliding glass window on the old 10 gallon tank. I also found that doggie pads, the large size, are a good way to catch her poop and pee. She has made it the habit of not going in her tank. So she's clean. After that, she got upset because her colors were black this morning. I told her she didn't have to worry about going into the tank today yet. I told her that she's a good girl and she could come out because she pooped and peed already.
A warm bath and a massage seems to help her go and holding onto my hand while she goes, makes her feel better. Does any of the young beardies do this? They run to you for help when they relieve themselves? I know she's getting plenty of food and water. I know she's eating right because the first time she pooped, it was hard. Now it's not as hard as it was. It's not runny either so that's a good thing.
Allie's 13 inches and is a dare devil. Climbing a portable screen that was hanging over our sink, she jumps right in and looks like she didn't do anything wrong. More like saying, 'Look Mommy! I jumped for you!' Then the second time, I had her on my bed with some sheets and a huge pillow mountain. I was working on my laptop, she decided to use my blanket as a slide and slid down between me and the bed. I had put a teddy bear behind me in case she tried it again. She had the same kind of look again, 'Look Mommy! I did it again!' I swear, she had the biggest grin on her face. I think she's happy when I'm around her.
Bedtime. Oh, you must hear this! When I first got her, she wouldn't sleep in her tank. I had to rock her, stroke her, and tell her it's all right. She fell asleep on me. Then after that, I started to get her used to the tank and she fell asleep where she lay down. I moved her so she wasn't sleeping on the heat mat all through the night. Didn't want her belly to get burned. But anyway, she began to really feel different. I took an old flannel pillowcase and wrapped her around in it. As long as she could crawl out when she wakes up, she's fine with it. I rocked her to sleep in it. Tell you what, she was sleeping over the heat mat with her flannel pillowcase where she sleeps. I haven't thought of using a flannel pillowcase for her. There's also another thing about her that you should know. She doesn't sleep anywhere else in her tank. She doesn't sleep on her basking branch, rock, or near her watering pool. She sleeps right near the fan. I guess it helps her sleep. White noise and the vibration. So I guess I'll have to have it there for a long time to come and that's great because she's one of a kind with a personality.
She does love sleeping on me. As of right now, she's sound asleep on my chest. She's happy.
