BEST WAY TO GET MY BEARDIE HYDRATED

[Gtxollie1]

I was having trouble with hydration and getting my dragon to drink. I couldn't get him to drink from a syringe or from regular bathing. The method I now use is mixing orange juice(pure, natural no additives) and water in the ratio 1:5, 5 being water. He loves it and Ivery only done it once. Is this safe as it is citrus. Please help.

 

[daughterofMyou]

No, absolutely no citrus fruits. It's bad for beardies' digestive systems, please do not do this.

Some dragons may drink from their bath. Some will start licking when you dribble fluid on their nose. Some just don't like drinking. It's entirely possible for them to get all the hydration they need from greens alone, so I wouldn't worry about it too much if he's eating well

 

[Gtxollie1]

No, absolutely no citrus fruits. It's bad for beardies' digestive systems, please do not do this.

Some dragons may drink from their bath. Some will start licking when you dribble fluid on their nose. Some just don't like drinking. It's entirely possible for them to get all the hydration they need from greens alone, so I wouldn't worry about it too much if he's eating well

Okay thanks, he just seemed dehydrated with saggy eyes and wrinkled skin that retreats slowly so I was trying all day and found this. Would I be able to use apple juice instead?

 

[daughterofMyou]

Apple juice should be okay, watered-down.

I'd suggest trying him with a bit of watered-down baby food! Nice and tasty, potentially nutritional as well depending on what it's made of. Sweet potato is my Bandit's favourite, but any beardie-safe veg should be okay. Fruity baby food is not as preferable, because the higher sugar content means it could go straight through him

Solid foods with good water content include cucumber, watercress as greens, and grapes. All in moderation, though - we don't want to give your poor dragon the runs!

 

[Gtxollie1]

Apple juice should be okay, watered-down.

I'd suggest trying him with a bit of watered-down baby food! Nice and tasty, potentially nutritional as well depending on what it's made of. Sweet potato is my Bandit's favourite, but any beardie-safe veg should be okay. Fruity baby food is not as preferable, because the higher sugar content means it could go straight through him

Solid foods with good water content include cucumber, watercress as greens, and grapes. All in moderation, though - we don't want to give your poor dragon the runs!

OK thanks, I think I'm gonna add some iceberg to his greenstone

 

[daughterofMyou]

Iceberg lettuce is not a good idea - it will give him diarrhoea. Avoid anything with 'lettuce' in the name, please

 

[Gtxollie1]

Iceberg lettuce is not a good idea - it will give him diarrhoea. Avoid anything with 'lettuce' in the name, please

I meant like add a small amount to his salad to make sure he's hydrated today not forever

 

[JessPets]

Most beardies do not and will not 'drink' water. Since they come from a desert type area, they get almost all their water from their food. Spraying down greens (NOT ICEBERG LETTUCE PLEASE!!) with water before feeding will do them just fine. Dripping water on their snout or giving them a bath is the only other way really. Honestly, a lot of people overthink this part of beardie husbandry. Giving them nice juicy leafy greens like collard, mustard, turnip, or dandelion will give them everything they need (well plus their bugs obviously!)

 

[AHBD]

While some dragons get a decent amount of hydration from food, not all do. Babies especially ones who are not eating well are better off with the water on the snout method. All the many babies I raised drank that way. If a beardie is not used to it they may shy away from the " spray " but if they're thirsty they will drink in a bath or from a bottle if you're patient and you don't blast them

It's highly likely that one of the causes of the huge number of beardies with gout is from lack of hydration, along with too much protein. So best to offer a drink at least a few times a week.

 

[Mysty]

Easy way: dissolve some bee pollen in cooled, boiled water. Offer to beardie using syringe. Let the licking conmence.

My guys had come to associate the syringe with medicine, but now investigate eagerly because it could be tasty bee pollen water.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[EllenD]

If she likes the taste of juice and will drink it from a dropper/syringe then you've got it easy, as you can give her flavored Pedialyte (or the generic store brand, I buy Walmart brand). I usually buy the unflavored Pedialyte to mix with slurries when my rescue guy or my parrots ares sick or impacted, but I found that my rescue guy likes the grape flavor a lot, so I can actually just drip it onto his snout and he'll drink a ton of it. I even put some in a bowl and he drinks a ton of it (he's the only beardie I've ever had that I've seen drink water out of a bowl, so I tried the grape Pedialyte). It's sugar-free and has no citric acid in it.

Beardies should get all the hydration they need from both their greens/veggies/occasional fruit and their live feeder insects (if you gut-load your feeders with greens, veggies, and fruit and then feed them to your beardie they get everything the feeders just ate). So you shouldn't need to give additional hydration to your beardie if his diet is complete, but if you still feel it necessary then that's fine to give her water or the flavored Pedialyte if she likes it. I'm glad you understand that baths do no good at all unless they actively drink the water, as hydration has to go in through their mouths, not their vents or scales/skin. Soaking them in a bath does nothing for hydration unless they drink the water, so pouring Pedialyte into a bath and letting them soak in it does nothing but wasting the Pedialyte. But if your beardie likes orange juice, try orange flavored Pedialyte, or any other flavors, they're all safe and she'll get electrolytes too...

 

[Gtxollie1]

If she likes the taste of juice and will drink it from a dropper/syringe then you've got it easy, as you can give her flavored Pedialyte (or the generic store brand, I buy Walmart brand). I usually buy the unflavored Pedialyte to mix with slurries when my rescue guy or my parrots ares sick or impacted, but I found that my rescue guy likes the grape flavor a lot, so I can actually just drip it onto his snout and he'll drink a ton of it. I even put some in a bowl and he drinks a ton of it (he's the only beardie I've ever had that I've seen drink water out of a bowl, so I tried the grape Pedialyte). It's sugar-free and has no citric acid in it.

Beardies should get all the hydration they need from both their greens/veggies/occasional fruit and their live feeder insects (if you gut-load your feeders with greens, veggies, and fruit and then feed them to your beardie they get everything the feeders just ate). So you shouldn't need to give additional hydration to your beardie if his diet is complete, but if you still feel it necessary then that's fine to give her water or the flavored Pedialyte if she likes it. I'm glad you understand that baths do no good at all unless they actively drink the water, as hydration has to go in through their mouths, not their vents or scales/skin. Soaking them in a bath does nothing for hydration unless they drink the water, so pouring Pedialyte into a bath and letting them soak in it does nothing but wasting the Pedialyte. But if your beardie likes orange juice, try orange flavored Pedialyte, or any other flavors, they're all safe and she'll get electrolytes too...

That's probably the best way of doing it that I've heard but I'm in the UK so no Wal-Mart ...

 

[AHBD]

It's still best to offer oral hydration. By the time a dragon shows signs of gout or dehydration then you can have a real problem. Every hatchling I raised drank water from a spray bottle....most breeders offer some type of hydration along with the food.

Mixing it with a bit of bee pollen or tiny bit of natural juice are good ideas as well.

 

[EllenD]

I would imagine they still sell Pedialyte in the UK, at drug stores or whatever that big Walmart-like department store is that you have.