Beardie in the house

[pittybeardie]

Hi there, I just got a male beardie and a huge habitat that sits on one of the wings of my desk as I'm a writer working from home.

I fell in love with Manson at the rescue as when I picked him up to check him out, he ran up my arm under my long hair and that's where he sat. He is about 2 years of age.

I brought him home and have no issues with him except for him being right by the edge of the crate staring at me all the time. I brought him out and again right up under my hair and his belly lays against my neck where it's warm and he falls asleep there. I feed him am and pm in his enclosure and have proper lighting etc but I'm hoping its ok for him to be out ALL the time except for night time or when I have to go out?

He also sleep on my desk sometimes burrowing in a blanket I have there for him and it seems like he wants to hang out with me and not in his habitat. Is this OK? I live on the coast of BC. He's quite the cling on and I have no issues with this as long as it's ok. Thanks...Anyone else have beardies that are out A LOT without issue?

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. We have ours out alot in the spring/summer months. We have a big picture window that the sun comes in and they sit and bask and we let them out in our back yard if its at least 65 with the sun out. They all go in their tanks in the moring to eat and bask and get the uvb for a couple of hours but then they end up out most of the day. There are also others on here that put a basking spot in their house so when the beardie gets cold from being out they just go to the basking spot that they have put up in the living room.

 

[Terry15]

Manson must love the attention. He sounds like a really cool dragon. They love being talked to. Some people get those kitty fleece beds at the pet store, they like hanging out in those. If you can post some pictures.

 

[kingofnobbys]

He seems a great people orientated beardie.... and loves human interaction.

I think you are doing fine, and he'll appreciate lots of free range time in your house (just shut the doors to the rooms you want to keep him out off and block off any gaps he might crawl into while exploring and watch where you are walking when he's out).

Our big girl Rex (3.5 yrs old spends most the pm out to roam inside most days), she demands it.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....sounds like you have a friendly and inquisitive dragon. Your question was specifically whether you can have him out all the time, but that's not healthy or realistic. How many hours of heat + uvb is he getting ? If you don't have a uvb source outside of his tank it might affect him pretty badly over time, unseen to your eyes because he's already grown . A baby would become quite ill in those conditions because of the huge amounts of uvb needed for bone development [ so you'd see metabolic bone disease, deformity, lack of ability to move eventually ] but with an adult the symptoms would be more subtle. He'll need at least 5-6 hours in his tank, some in the a.m after feeding, some in the afternoon [ it's not good to feed them late ] for him to digest + absorb food/nutrition.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hi there....sounds like you have a friendly and inquisitive dragon. Your question was specifically whether you can have him out all the time, but that's not healthy or realistic. How many hours of heat + uvb is he getting ? If you don't have a uvb source outside of his tank it might affect him pretty badly over time, unseen to your eyes because he's already grown . A baby would become quite ill in those conditions because of the huge amounts of uvb needed for bone development [ so you'd see metabolic bone disease, deformity, lack of ability to move eventually ] but with an adult the symptoms would be more subtle. He'll need at least 5-6 hours in his tank, some in the a.m after feeding, some in the afternoon [ it's not good to feed them late ] for him to digest + absorb food/nutrition.

This is quite right.

My beardies get 15 - 16 hours per day with the UV and basking lights on, so 3 - 4 hours out in pm is OK for my big 3.5 yr old girl, my little ones haven't have much time out of their rearing tubs yet, too small, only maybe 20 mins per day mostly for bonding time and not every day (6 months old).

 

[SLDragon]

Listen to AHBD

Your lizard needs time under the correct temps and UVB lighting to maintain his health. It might be worth assessing whether there are other factors that mean he is less comfortable in his vivarium or if he is conditioned to associate human interaction with food.