Baby Dragon

[Zachariah]

Hello, my name is Zachariah and I am 12 years old and new to this forum and Bearded Dragons. Well I received a baby bearded dragon as a pet for my birthday, she was 3 weeks old at that time and female according to the store my dad bought her at, that was the middle of January. Her name is Joy, she's eating occasionally but not like in the books I read and the sites on the internet. I rarely see her eat but I do keep fresh greens and fruit for her daily but I am not sure if she is eating them of if they are just drying up and shrinking from the heat in her cage. I also have a shallow dish with a small amount of "Fluker's baby bearded dragon pellets" that does'nt seem to get bothered with. I put 3-5 small quarter inch crickets in her cage daily but she does'nt chase them down and rarely eats them and they end up hiding and then dying in her water bowl or under her basking branch. I have to go to school during the day so I can't really watch her all the time. My real concern is that she does'nt seem to be growing much (not the half inch a week stated in the "Bearded Dragon Manual" book by Philippe de Vosjoli.) and is always resting and not very alert. Her temperature is at 80 degrees on her cool side and 105-110 near the top of her basking perch. She's in a 10 gallon tank with a screen top now and has a background. I have small playsand as a substrate, I hope she isn't compacted. She's pooping normal so I guess she's eating something, but she's not growing and is listless. She perks up occasionally when I watch her through the glass but then closes her eyes and looks tired. She was active when I first got her but soon stopped. She's about 7 weeks old now and 4 inches from tip of head to tip of tail. She's not too skinny but not plump either. I have 10.0 uvb Repti-sun bulb for her just over the top of the tank, about 1 inch from the screen and about 4 inches from her basking perch and 10 inches from the bottom of the enclosure. I have many other reptiles and amphibians that are thriving well under my care (3 aquatic turtles, 9 brown anoles, 1 female veiled Chameleon, 4 woodhous's toads, 1 Pac man frog, 5 fire belly toads, 5 green american tree frogs, 1 eastern newt, 2 fire belly newts, 2 african dwarf clawed frogs and 2 leopard geckos) but I can't seem to get this baby girl healty. What am I doing wrong with her, it will kill me if she dies. I started spraying her daily this week with 4 paws vitamin spray but I am not sure if it's helping. Is that a good idea? Am I being paranoid or is this normal for a 7 week old dragon to act like this? Please tell me what a baby bearded dragon normal behavior should be like. Sorry about such along post, but thanks for reading. I could use all the help and tips I can get. I also sray her snout with water and she laps it up so I also hope she is not dehydrated. :? :?:

 

[deh05001]

If you have playsand and are worried about her getting *impacted* then you already know the risk of sand with baby dragons and therefore know what you should do about the playsand..... get rid of it. Tile or non-adhesive shelf liner are your best options. They are so much easier to clean than sand and no risk of impaction. Most young dragons wont bother with greens so don't worry about that. They also aren't fond of those pellets and will only eat them as a last resort. Make sure you are using a temp gauge with a probe on it so you can get a more accurate reading. There is an accurite one at walmart for around 12 bucks. Just keep offering the crickets and try to minimize contact with her until she gets a little more comfortable in her enclosure. You can feed her baby food if you really feel like she's getting too skinny. Just drip it on her nose and she will lick it off. Good look and just keep trying, check that she's going to the bathroom once a day to make sure it's not the playsand. and obviously get rid of the playsand

good luck

 

[wckdbtch]

Firstly, I am so impressed with your way of writing! So much better than the 12 year olds I get into contact with, and even better than some of the adults I've come across!

Well done on looking after your pets so well. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work and I don't know of many people that can pull it off, but you seems to be doing very well.

I totally agree with above poster about the playsand. I also started our first baby on sand, but I have to admit that she does a lot better on the tile I've got in at the moment.

They do take a while to get settled in, so give it some time. The worn t-shirt trick usually works very well with getting your beardie used to your scent. I am also very much in favour of hand-feeding little treats (mine loves pieces of fruit, especially raspberry) so they associate your hand with something nice.

I have not used the vitamin you mentioned before, but I would suggest dusting her crickets with calcium. I also mix a drop of liquid vitamin with a drop or two unsweetened baby fruit juice and about 5ml water. This I drop onto their nose once a day with a plastic dropper or needle-less syringe - they think its the best type of rain ever!

Otherwise, I think you're doing a marvelous job and remember to ask if you are unsure of anything. This forum really is the best place to get all the knowledge regarding beardies.

PS: You'll soon see everyone bugging you for photographs of your new baby, so I'll be first :lol:

 

[deh05001]

They do take a while to get settled in, so give it some time. The worn t-shirt trick usually works very well with getting your beardie used to your scent. I am also very much in favour of hand-feeding little treats (mine loves pieces of fruit, especially raspberry) so they associate your hand with something nice.

However, don't be discouraged if your baby is hesitant to your hand feeding. My 2 month old dragons will only cooperate with hand feeding about 25% of the time. The other times they are afraid of my big ol hand. Just be persistent and you'll gain some progress.

And also, I too am impressed with your writing. I was like, wow for a 12 year old good job so keep it up!!!

 

[shifty43]

Yeah i did the hand feeding trick with my male.....now he thinks my hand is food all the time. It makes it real hard to clean out his tank when he is chasing my hand around looking for treats. My female on the other hand is great no problems.....the male is just crazy. Good luck to you and stick with it. It takes time for them to get use to you.

 

[Zachariah]

Hello again and thank you for all the compliments and the advice, I have changed the playsand and replaced it with slate tiles that my dad and I bought from Lowes. We glued them to the floor of her tank with a hot glue gun and used non toxic glue. I really don't know why we didn't use that to begin with. We use slate tile for our Leopard geckos. She still doesn't eat all that much and still just often sleeps on her basking branch. I do dust her crickets with calcium with D3 every other feeding and with repti-vite once a week, I forgot to mention that in my first post, but she still only eats 1-2 crickets a day but will eagerly eat waxworms when I offer them to her. I don't know if she just don't like crickets or what. I fed her a mealworm the other day and she vomited it up later on that day. She started gaging and shaking her head and then flung the partiallly digested mealie out against the glass. I showed my dad and he cleaned it off and then we watched her for a while and she seemed alright. She hasn't vomited again since. I got nervous after she did that because we had toads that did that and died the next day. I know she is not a toad but it had me worried but she seems alright as far as the vomiting goes. She is not growing much lenghtwise, she is only four and three quarters inches long and was only 4 and a quarter or so when I got her back on January 19th, and it is now March 11th. Shouldn't she be at least 6 inches by now? Am I being impatient because I want her to get bigger so I can handle her more or is my concern legitimate? She isn't too skinny and has a plump roundness to her abdomen and feels alright when I hold her and she holds her head up. Joy often sits on the tile floor like a dog with her hind legs spread and her upper body held up. It's pretty cute, but is that normal? She wobbles when she walks like a penguin and is kinda clumsy, but she does stand on all fours and doesn't drag her body. I have been hand feeding her rasberries and strawberries every other day when I get off school (thanks for the tip), she seems to enjoy them and licks the juices from her nose. Is too much fruit bad for her? I still offer fresh greens daily, but mentioned in another member's reply earlier that she doesn't bother with them much or at all but they are there if she decides that she wants them. The lose crickets that I leave in there just in case she eats them only when I am not around munch on the veggies and that keeps them loaded correct? I will try to get pictures loaded on the forum but as of now I can't seem to get them to post. I want to get the pics up so smeone with lots of expierience can see her and tells me if she looks healthy. Also she hasn't shed once since I have had her unless she did it during the time I was at school and ate it like my anoles do :?. Should I be concerned with her not shedding? Please leave me some feedback and tips and I assure you that they are greatly apprciated. Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. God bless and happy herping. :?:

 

[wckdbtch]

Hi there!

Good job on replacing the sand with tile! You will find it is also much easier to keep the slate clean.

One of our dragons refuse most live feeders other than worms - I do think they've got personal preferences (just like most other living things). I would rather steer clear of the mealworms (unless you can find the ones in the tub that is freshly molted and white). The mealies unfortunately carries a very high risk of impaction. If she doesn't like the crickets, rather try some small roaches - my other one loves them!

About the growth rate: If you take into account that she has added 12% to her body length in 2 months, it is not too bad. Angie had a growth spurt at around 7 months and Flippie only had his on 9 months. They grow at different rates and as long as she is growing, I would not yet be concerned.

They do like basking with their heads up and their hind legs spread out. I'm not sure about the wobbliness, as I've never had a dragon that small.

Your next step after the raspberries and strawberries would be to put a little piece of salad (mine love rocket and finely grated butternut) in between the fruits. Give one piece of fruit, and when she is waiting for the next piece, sneak a piece of salad in. Often they don't recognize the salad as food, but once they tasted it they might get the idea. Be patient, though, as younger dragons don't eat as much salad as they would when they get older. Once again, the question of taste applies. If she doesn't want something, try something else.

The shedding will follow as she grows. Ours used to shed once every two months (roughly), and when they got their growth spurs, they seemed to be in constant shed. Even when they do eat the shed, you will most likely see some evidence of it.

Go to http://photobucket.com/ to upload photos. Register on the site (it is free). There is a green icon that says "Upload Now". When you click on it, it will take you to a screen with a big green icon that says "Select Photos and Videos". When you click on that, it should take you to your computer directory. Select the file/s you want to upload. Photobucket will upload your photo and when it is finished, click on "Save and Continue To My Album". All your uploaded photos should show on your screen. When you place your cursor over the photo you want to upload to BD.org, it will give a screen with various codes on it. The last one is the IMG code. Copy that and just paste into your post on BD.org. I cannot wait to see pictures of Joy!

Keep up the good work!

 

[Zachariah]

Here is a picture of Joy, not a great pic but now that I know how to post them I will get some better pics and upload them. Thanks for showing me how to post them Wckdbtch I really appreciate it. I will have some up real soon. This picture doesn't really show much, but at least you get to see what Joy looks like.

 

[warnisha]

We got our baby at around 4-6 weeks and he/she was only 5g and 4.5 inches. He didn't grow a half inch until 2 weeks after we had him(her). And didn't eat too many crickets for the first few weeks either. He/she just started shooting up in length and weight lately. Noticably so that is. I measure and weigh alot but for the first month he/she really stayed about the same length. I think probably like kids they go through spurts too. Sounds like you are doing everything right and doing a wonderful job with your pet!

 

[wckdbtch]

Awwwhhhhhh, how cute! I wish I got mine when they were that small! I'm itching for a baby dragon, but, I'll admit, I'm terrified of the little ones... I am so scared I'll break them. She is totally, utterly, completely adorable! Keep up the good work.

 

[Zachariah]

I said that I would get some better pics up but they are not much better and seem a little blurry and out of focus. But here are some more pics of my beloved Joy and one of me and my new friend, he's a male German giant beardie, meet Franz Goliath Garcia. Does anyone know why this species is called German giants other than they get large and where did the german title come from? They are from Austrailia right? I can't get a straight answer on the net. Thanks for reading and looking and God bless.

Zachariah

 

[mellu]

Oh, she is teeeny, teeeeny tiny! What a cutie though!

She is skinnier than I would like. I would suggest buying her butter worms(if you can find small ones) and phoenix worms, you can get them in small sizes for a pretty good price if you live in the states! My beardies much prefer worms over crickets! Give her as many as she can eat in 10-15 minutes. If they were available to me that is all my little girl would eat! She gets butters and mealies.

My little girl wasn`t big on salad at first but we made a habit out of feeding her out of her bowl 3 times a day, I`d feed her her morning worms, then an hour or so later I`d put her salad in that same dish, she just equates her dish to food! My big guy knows what it means when his dish is coming, for sure! He will actually get up on his doors and watch us put his worms in when we remove his bowl from his viv!

I also want to say how refreshing it is to see a young person write so eloquently!