giving a bath

[garywhitehair]

is it neccesary to give my beardie a bath several times a week?, cause s/he does'nt like it at all. but if neccesary i'll make sure to do it

 

[YavannaV]

You can give water with a plastic syringe (without the needle). Baths do help when they're shedding though.

 

[garywhitehair]

i bought a misting bottle that i use on s/he a couple times a day will that help, or is that not enough

 

[YavannaV]

Misting doesn't really help them. They don't absorb water through their scales at all. In the bath, they soak it in though their tail vent.

You can drip water on their nose to lick up or use the syringe to give them a drink (don't point the tip towards the back of their throat since they could swallow it wrong- you can spray the water from the side of their snout across the tongue).

Some people turn their faucet on really low and their bearded dragons will drink from it. I haven't tried that yet so I can't say for sure how well that works.

Hope that helps.

 

[YavannaV]

Btw, misting frequently in the enclosure could up the humidity level and cause a URI (upper respiratory infection). They need the humidity to stay around 30%.

 

[garywhitehair]

thanks for the advise, i just gave lizzy a bath and s/he did'nt freak out. i read that the water should b between 90 to 100 degrees, do u agree with that? i made it 95, and how long should i leave her in the water, and if it gets cold do i take her out

 

[YavannaV]

From what I've read it should be baby bath water temperature so the mid to high 80's. I started with a higher temperature too and my little gal would always try to climb up my arm to get out. She's mellowed more now that she's nearly a year old (8-8-2011) and I've made the water less hot so she will stay in around ten minutes now w/o acting like she wants out. Just make sure to dry him/her off good and place them back on their basking spot to warm up when it's over. From what I've seen on here some people do a daily 5 minute baths (because they've trained their dragon to poop in the water to keep the enclosure cleaner). Others do a twenty minute soak 2 or 3 times a week. I guess it's mostly just up to your schedule and what fits best for you. Mine gets a ten minute soak every other day in a plastic bin and if for whatever reason I don't have the time that day, I give her a syringe with a bit of water instead.

 

[diamc]

You've gotten some great advice. To help your beardie feel more secure, it's a good idea to put a wash cloth or small towel down in the bottom of the plastic container to keep him from sliding around.