Baths????

[Wavedancer]

I gave Merlin his first bath last night and it didn't go over well at all. He was still holding a grudge this morning. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if this is normal. How often should I be soaking him? I've only had him a week and he's right around 4-6 weeks old. I'm thinking probably 5 weeks old now. He's just been acting better about me touching him but after the bath I think he thinks I'm best avoided. He doesn't drink out of his dish or eat greens yet so he's not getting fluids that way. I do mist him every morning and he does lick the water off his face when I do. Help please...

 

[fresnowitte]

Did you bath him in a small container with a wash cloth on the bottom? Plus if you swirl the water around with your finger it makes it more enticing to them. I bathe mine daily or at least every other day...I prefer daily this way the poops go in the bath and not in the viv. :wink: But of course Merlin is just a baby so he probably poops a couple times a day. He will get use to it just give him a few times. :wink:

Funny little boogers have a way of making you feel bad don't they? :lol:

EDIT:
I just noticed you are new to the site.....
Hello & Welcome to BD.org!

 

[Chryss]

Hi
Welcome. I got my Lil Alvin when he was 6 weeks old and started bathing him every day and have ever since. Some people say to let them get adjusted to their new surroundings and to you before handling to much, but Alvin seemed ok with it all. At first he would cling onto me when I started to put him in the water, but now he just goes in because I think he knows he is going to have to anyway. I put in him in the small part of my kitchen sink and I have something for him to rest on if he needs to. He always poos in the water (usually within a couple min) so sometimes I empty out the water and make him go again so he gets a good soaking. Usually, I just take him right out. He is about almost 12 weeks now. I think they get into a routine and once they figure out you or what they are going to do doesn't hurt them, they settle down. I have read that some really like their bath and play in it. I wouldn't say that about Alvin. He "tolerates" it but it is good for him so I do it anyway because he eats very little vegies at this stage in his life doesn't drink out of a bowl. The thought of squirting him in the face just seems mean to me so I put him in the water each day for a short bit so that he can take in some water and he can get used to pooing in it so I don't have to clean it out of his house.

 

[Venom508]

Hello,

how deep did you have the water? and was it warm enough?
bds dont usually drink out of their water dish cuz they absorb it thru their skin, some ppl have a water dish in the tank and some dont its personal choice really

mist him outside his tank cuz its not a good idea to do it in thier tank cuz it can raise the humidity too high
and make him sick. water dishes can too

as for bathing the water only needs to be about halfway up his belly and should be lukewarm. make sure it covers his vent or bum

you can train em to poo in the water mine doesnt poo his tank untill i take him out and put him in the bath or
unless i for get to or he really needs to poo then he will do it in his tank

some beardies will eat thier greens almost right away but some dont, he will probably eat nothing but his crix but keep putting greens in his tank and will try em eventually
my BD is 5 months now and he only started eating his greens about a month ago

just keep trying with the bath, and hold him in ur hand in the water just so he knows he is safe.

im no where near an expert but from being on this site i have learned HEAPS.

also just for referance here is a really good nutrition guide as to what to feed ur beardie

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

i hope i helped in some way and im sure others will pipe in too and help you
good luck with him and post pix of him soon everyone here lovesssssss picures!!

sheena.

 

[Wavedancer]

Thank you for the welcome and yes, they can make you feel guilty. It was a small container but I didn't use a washcloth. I shall try again with a washcloth but I think I'll wait another day. Our relationship is rocky right now. I'd like to build the trust back up a little. Is the misting all right to do? I don't wet anything except for him and the branch that he sits on because I know high humidity is a no-no in the viv but he does get moisture from that. Licks his face like crazy when it gets wet... I wish he'd drink out of his bowl. I even tried something that I read about on the net. It said to put a cup on top of your screen and put a pin hole in the bottom so it drips into a bowl down below. They said that dragons like water that drips and that his natural curiousity would make him investigate it. Well, he finds it interesting... He sits up on his branch and stares at it while it drips but he hasn't investigated it yet to my knowledge. But who knows what he does while I'm at work????

 

[Venom508]

if ur only wetting him and his branch that shouldnt be too bad i wouldnt think

that cup idea is a good one i reckon

good luck with him
i love his name its awsome!!

 

[Chryss]

I read about a lot of people that spritz them. It is just I know I wouldn't want to be sprayed so I just rather put him in some warm water. Sometimes I take a drop of water and put it on the top of his nose and he will lick it off as it comes down. Other times he won't.

 

[Venom508]

yeah they can be picky little buggers as you will lean

but persistance is the key with these guys!!

lemme introduce you to Ryuu



hope you post some pix soon!

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

Juice!

Drip a drop of juice onto the end of their noses and they'll happily lick it off. You can spend hours playing "Juice"...
Orange has best flavour (make sure it's pure or fresh) but apple is just as good. Stickier though.

 

[Wavedancer]

That's a great idea. How do you post pictures on here? Everyone's asking to see him and I can't figure out how to post.

 

[Venom508]

if you have a photobucket account upload them there and put ur cursor over the pic u want go down to more links and then you get the url code from the bit where it says for forums

sorry im not good at explaining technical stuff

 

[Wavedancer]

Thanks, Sheena. It's going to have to wait until I get home. Can't do that on this puter.... I've got a nice pic of him basking and then a funny one that came as the result of taking the first pic. His reaction to my taking his pic. I'll try to post tonight.

 

[Venom508]

im surprised you understood that lol

 

[fresnowitte]

This reply has nothing to do with baths but I just thought of something incase your worried and need him to drink some water.

I use to play a little game with the babies to get them to drink water. I would let drops of water run down the side of the glass viv....babies will usually attack it. Just a thought!

 

[Venom508]

oh yeah i used to do that!!

cuz its moving they go for it