Best way to stimulate a beardie

[msmtinct]

My son has lost interest in his bearded dragon. Igor is 7 years old and seems healthy. I make sure he is well fed and cared for. I feel very bad for him and was wondering if there are things I can be doing to make his like more stimulating. I worry that he is bored and stuff. I would be afraid to let him run around the house as I have 3 cats and would worry that he would get lost somewhere. But was thinking I might be able to take him out of the vivarium. We do have a harness. I would want it to be a pleasurable experience for him, nothing scary.

How often should we be giving him a bath? My son used to do that as well but has not done it much.

 

[Screamin99]

Sad to hear.. Just ensure hes eating live foods and greens. Baths 3-4 times a week are perfectly fine (not too hot! just go with warm) You can get him out and hold him if you wish, let him roam around a room safe room in your home, if you want.

Keep the lights up to check, vitamins and calcium.. temps in their normal ranges.

Good Luck, also nice to see you stepping in to take care of the little guy, he certainly cannot do it himself!

You can also if nothing else find him a caring loving home via this site Hope all goes well, and any questions you know how to find us

 

[msmtinct]

Really baths 3-4 times a week? And for how long?

Any reco's on foods--he gets kale (only likes very curly type), meal worms (that I raise) and crickets. Anything else?

Yes we are thinking of adopting him out. I feel badly for him.

What about toys--I see that on this site?

 

[3bds]

My big girl Lola loves to watch TV. If there is no TV she hides. I only let her watch PBS and animal programs (a lizard mind is a terrible thing to waste)

 

[msmtinct]

that is so funny. I can just picture Lola watching!

 

[Screamin99]

I do baths once every 2 or 3 days depending on how swamped I get with class, If they are going into a shed or its taking a while for some of the skin to fall off I will soak once maybe twice daily until its all gone. Its not going to hurt them at all being in more water that is. Just make sure its not too hot or too cold. and 20 minutes in at a time is a general rule of thumb, but if your bathing 3-4 times a week then you can get them out sooner if you see him starting to pace the tub or sink.

Kale is not really what I would offer. I would look for Turnip Greens, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens or Dandelion Greens from your local supermarket/produce section. These tend to have a higher nutritional value to them then kale and are a much better staple for them to eat daily. also its good to mix it up or offer one or more types to their diet so they are not just eating the same things everyday.

Crickets are great meal worms are ok too for a 7 year old just dont give him TOO much at one time as they can go a little over board before they realize and by that time its too late. The shells are very hard chitilin (spelling might be off) and its harder for them to digest it properly.

As far as toys, I dont really know. As my dragon seems to enjoy just sitting on my lap or running around in a small spot on the floor in a room. you can offer a blanket or something for them to sleep on or lay in, depending on the tank setup/design.

 

[msmtinct]

My guy refused to eat the other greens you mention when I tried to introduced them. Thanks for the tip on the meal worms--he seemed to enjoy them and I had them in the house (raising them myself) so I was giving them frequently. I didnt realize that was a problem.

 

[Jess]

Try super worms instead of meal worms- They are much bigger and have a softer shell... My boy loves them
Have you ever tried putting his worms in his salad? Sometimes they will eat the veggies if they see them wiggling, or they go for a worm, miss, and get a mouthful of veggies instead! Squash is pretty popular too among beardies.

 

[TASTIGER]

i play fetch the worm with my beardies i gives them a chance to "hunt" i just throw the worm and they race after it then come back

 

[msmtinct]

what a great idea! I just put a mouse toy with a bell in and Igor tried to eat it

 

[msmtinct]

Last night I brought him out and let him sit on my shoulder and on the table. He seemed very calm. Gave him a nice bath. Today he seemed more alert. What do people use to clip the nails? How much do you take away?

 

[Elijahsmom]

I've clipped Elijah's nails. i just used a regular human nail clipper and just took off the tips so they weren't so sharp. He did pull from me at one point and too much got taken off but I keep Kwik stop at my house for that problem. (my dog hates having her nails done and I don't know how many times I've gone too far from her pulling away from me) But Elijah was very calm through the whole thing, I did it right after his bath.

 

[msmtinct]

What is Quik Stop?

 

[Elijahsmom]

It's a powder that you can get at any pet store, it's yellow. If you accidentally cut too far it stops the bleeding.