So I was thinking about getting a hammock for my Beardie. She is 1 year old and loves climbing on twine and sleeping on it. I think a hammock would be great for her but I was thinking about when she gets older. Would she only use it while young? is it worth buying?
Also how would you introduce her to it? Would you just let her discover it by herself or would you put her on it?
You can make a hammock with some fleece and suction cup hooks. It might make a nice place to bask and would create a shade area under it. Just make sure not to put it too close to the basking light and UVB light. If she likes to climb, she may like having some nice wide sticks to climb around on too. The older dragons climb and bask as well.
Putting it in a spot she's comfortable in is a good idea. I would just put it in the enclosure when you have it and watch her. Just see how she takes to it. If she seems to like it, leave it in. If not after a bit, take it out. You may need to make adjustments and move it around as time goes on depending on how she uses it. Kind of an ongoing process but no big deal.
Hi; I know this post is old; but I had a beardie that stayed in it all the time and took on the form of the hammock; I would not use them anymore JMO; Hope this helps a little.River7
So you took it out because she used it all the time or she hid under it all the time? Well nowadays she uses it for shade which is a good thing especially now being summer and I sometimes catch her on top of it which is great so I will keep it in there.
Since rocks and trees come in all shapes, and beardies like to sleep on them in all sorts of positions, it seems kind of strange to me that it would do lasting harm to them...
I put large driftwood type pieces of wood underneath Apollo's hammocks to give his body support. Then his spine stays straight. I like the homemade bandana one, but you might wish to reinforce it. I buy those green plastic ExoTerra? ones and cover them with fleece or bandana.
I don't like hammocks for several reasons.....one being they don't support their muscles, kind of like what you mentioned, so it puts them in an unnatural position with little muscle support for long periods of time. The other reason is that they easily snag their claws in them. There are often posts about dragons with ripped nails, sometimes unexplained sore legs and while there are other things that can cause this, it's easy for beardies to get their claws or legs snagged on the hammocks. A nice basking log is better IMO, plus in nature that is what they would bask on [ as well as rocks] and would keep their muscles toned better.
I bought one for my beardie but she shows zero interest in it the spoiled brat. oh well, to each their own. I might try adding something soft to it since beardies love soft things it seems.
Well since this post has been a bit popular I thought I should give an update.
I made as hammock and she usually uses it for shade or climbs up on it to see whats happening. Rarely does she lounge on it so it works well for her. She loves lounging on her rock, twine and wood. So the hammock does have a few uses.
Thanks for all the posts and making this interesting