Do you let your dragon roam around your floor?

[diamc]

We have had beardies for over 9 yrs and have always let them run around on the carpeting since they were little babies and we never had any problems at all.

 

[fluffpuffgerbil]

I might be a ltitle less strict with letting my dragons run around, but often when I'm on the computer in the living room here, Scout will get restless and jump off my lap and run around the living room. normally he runs over to one of the windows, jumps up and just sits there, looking outside or glassdancing to get out(he does this a lot more when it's sunny outside, but too cold for him to go outside), or he'll go find a nice dark corner to cuddle up and sleep.

I don't watch him really though. I'll turn around and see if I can spot him, if not, I'll get up to track him down, and if he's cuddled up somewhere safe(AKA not behind the TV like he tries to get) then I'll leave him or let him cuddle under my jacket or blanket.

My older sis is completely in charge of Riza(the only reason I'd be considered 'partial owner', is because I paid for her mostly, but I don't do any husbandry stuff with her.) and normally lets her run around her room. Riza normally goes under the bed or on the window too.

 

[RandyMarsh]

I might be a ltitle less strict with letting my dragons run around, but often when I'm on the computer in the living room here, Scout will get restless and jump off my lap and run around the living room. normally he runs over to one of the windows, jumps up and just sits there, looking outside or glassdancing to get out(he does this a lot more when it's sunny outside, but too cold for him to go outside), or he'll go find a nice dark corner to cuddle up and sleep.

I don't watch him really though. I'll turn around and see if I can spot him, if not, I'll get up to track him down, and if he's cuddled up somewhere safe(AKA not behind the TV like he tries to get) then I'll leave him or let him cuddle under my jacket or blanket.

My older sis is completely in charge of Riza(the only reason I'd be considered 'partial owner', is because I paid for her mostly, but I don't do any husbandry stuff with her.) and normally lets her run around her room. Riza normally goes under the bed or on the window too.

dude that's what I was doing with Franklin but then he started going all escape style on me and I had to put a bell on his harness to make sure where he was. He even got underneath the over one time and it took us like 26 hours to find him!

 

[ShannyBeard]

I read somewhere that it is really bad for bearded dragons to walk around on a carpet cause the carpet fibers will wrap around their toes and cause them to fall off. Maybe that is just a myth though, if anyone else has heard of this please post. this seems like an appropriate thread to bring up this topic.

Never heard that about the toes but check this out: our vet did a fecal on Chief and found man-made fibers in his poo. He could tell they were man-made because they didn't stain when he did the gram stain. He said since beardies lick everything they ingest these tiny carpet fibers. We are hoping to find a place to live that has more tile and less carpet.

 

[sultan316]

What was the result after the ingestion of the carpet fibers? Did it just pass through his bowels, no harm done? All I have in my apartment is carpet and minimal tile.

 

[ShannyBeard]

What was the result after the ingestion of the carpet fibers? Did it just pass through his bowels, no harm done? All I have in my apartment is carpet and minimal tile.

Well, our vet advised not letting the dragons roam on the carpet, but our current living situation just isn't right for that. They would never get to come out and hang, and that would be really sad for them. The vet didn't say it was doing damage, he just commented on its presence. I really don't think they would ingest enough to block them or anything, and the fibers were tiny, but I don't know, really. :?

 

[RandyMarsh]

the thing about toes to my knowledge comes from the 80s and 90s when people were using so much shag carpeting. Sometimes fibers would get wrapped around the toes of iguanas and monitors and stuff if they roamed around, and if gone uncaught, they can kill the circulation in said appendage, enough to make it an issue. That's what i had thought anyway

 

[sweetiepie9]

There is no truth in carpet fibers wrapping around toes & cutting them off. I have my living room blocked off & all 4 of my boys get out one at a time & run around. My hubby built a ramp of wood & concrete blocks with a soft towel at the top & a power sun light on a fixture, so even if they're out for longer than 1/2 hr, they get lots of UVB & heat. They just love to be out of their tanks. None of them have ever gotten even a nail stuck in the carpet fibers. Not sure where that vet got that idea, but it's not true at all. I've had beardies since 2006 & they've always had outside time in the living room & the floor has always been carpeted without any problems.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Our vet didn't say anything about carpet fibers hurting their toes or feet. He saw tiny man-made fibers in a fecal exam. The gram stain didn't stain them, so he said they were man-made and they would be tiny carpet fibers. He said he didn't know if ingesting them would be bad or not, but if we didn't want Chief ingesting the fibers, then we should try and only keep him on the tile parts of the house.

 

[Claudiusx]

I've seen a few times on here where beardies will get their nails stuck in carpet fibers and struggle so much that they end up ripping their nail off.

It does happen but rarely.

Does that mean you should not let your dragons out on carpet? No.
Just saying it has happened before.
Generally, you don't need to worry about nails getting stuck in carpet at all IME.

Just like Deb I've let my dragons run around on carpet for years without any problems. Although Naughtica did get caught one time, but thats because she has a crocked toe but she was able to easily free herself from it.

-Brandon

 

[Mediabandit]

I let Havoc roam around the house all the time, his enclosure is upstairs in the computer room with us so he always has company, but I will put him out on the upstairs landing and close all the bedroom and bathroom doors so he can't go in the other rooms. He will climb down both flights of stairs to the livingroom where he will run around from tank to tank checking out the fish. When he is done he will climb the stairs and walk back into his room and jump up on the daybed we have in there where he will lay down and have a nap until we pick him up and put him back in his enclosure. While he is out we always make sure either my wife or I are able to see him just to make sure nothing happens to him.
And we have carpet everywhere and it has never caused any problems with his feet/toes.

 

[diamc]

Would love to see a video of Havoc accomplishing all of that, must be adorable to watch.

 

[Mediabandit]

I'll get some video of him on Monday or Tuesday when I am off and post it in his thread.

 

[ShannyBeard]

WOW - Havoc sounds so awesome. We also have a dragon that acts like he owns the house. LOL

 

[diamc]

I'll get some video of him on Monday or Tuesday when I am off and post it in his thread.

That would be awesome.

WOW - Havoc sounds so awesome. We also have a dragon that acts like he owns the house. LOL

I think all of our beardies "think" they own the houses lol. We're just here because they allow us to be and to bring them food. :lol: