Hi, new one here- no dragon yet but considering...

[widor]

Hello Everyone,

Would like to join in order to learn as much as I can before decide whether these little dragons are for us or not? We currently own a rabbit and parrots.
I think after reading many sites I can say that I know the basics but I have some concerns for which could not find answer:

- for example what happens when you go on holiday (we usually go for a week only), and your neighbour who is looking after your pets is not keen on insects? Can you give pellet food and greens for a week? Or can you use dried insects -do they have any nutritional value?

- how about the smell? Do your dragons or poo smell? I understand that you need to clean the poo every day or every time it occurs but how often you need to clean the full terrarium?
( sorry for the spelling, not native English speaker here )

 

[Hazel_Basil10]

Hello Everyone,

Would like to join in order to learn as much as I can before decide whether these little dragons are for us or not? We currently own a rabbit and parrots.
I think after reading many sites I can say that I know the basics but I have some concerns for which could not find answer:

- for example what happens when you go on holiday (we usually go for a week only), and your neighbour who is looking after your pets is not keen on insects? Can you give pellet food and greens for a week? Or can you use dried insects -do they have any nutritional value?

- how about the smell? Do your dragons or poo smell? I understand that you need to clean the poo every day or every time it occurs but how often you need to clean the full terrarium?
( sorry for the spelling, not native English speaker here )

Some things online aren't true or half true. Pellets aren't the best thing to give to your dragon. They can eat their salads for that week period or if you put them in a bag and let your neighbor dump them in. As long as they don't run in their poop they shouldn't smell. You shouldnt pick up the poo every time they poop. Just clean it out when you feel like there's a lot of poo. The poo shouldn't smell too bad. Of it does smell that it stinks the room, then you take them to a vet as they could have parasites.

Tank setup it should be a 4x2x2 and a basking bulb(No colored bulbs! It can damage your dragons eyes) and a UVB light. NO COILS! coils are health hazards for bearded dragons. You can add a tiny bit of sand but it's very Sanitary. I'd recommend getting a reptile carpet where you can clean it easier.

Bearded dragons are an easy pet to take care of, bit they're not necessarily cheap to keep. They're also really fun animals!

 

[Hazel_Basil10]

Hello Everyone,

Would like to join in order to learn as much as I can before decide whether these little dragons are for us or not? We currently own a rabbit and parrots.
I think after reading many sites I can say that I know the basics but I have some concerns for which could not find answer:

- for example what happens when you go on holiday (we usually go for a week only), and your neighbour who is looking after your pets is not keen on insects? Can you give pellet food and greens for a week? Or can you use dried insects -do they have any nutritional value?

- how about the smell? Do your dragons or poo smell? I understand that you need to clean the poo every day or every time it occurs but how often you need to clean the full terrarium?
( sorry for the spelling, not native English speaker here )

Also, welcome to the forum!

 

[widor]

Some things online aren't true or half true. Pellets aren't the best thing to give to your dragon. They can eat their salads for that week period or if you put them in a bag and let your neighbor dump them in. As long as they don't run in their poop they shouldn't smell. You shouldnt pick up the poo every time they poop. Just clean it out when you feel like there's a lot of poo. The poo shouldn't smell too bad. Of it does smell that it stinks the room, then you take them to a vet as they could have parasites.

Tank setup it should be a 4x2x2 and a basking bulb(No colored bulbs! It can damage your dragons eyes) and a UVB light. NO COILS! coils are health hazards for bearded dragons. You can add a tiny bit of sand but it's very Sanitary. I'd recommend getting a reptile carpet where you can clean it easier.

Bearded dragons are an easy pet to take care of, bit they're not necessarily cheap to keep. They're also really fun animals!

Thanks for info, will keep on reading as this is promising that they can survive without proper diet for a week. Never had reptiles and do not even know how it feels to let them climb onto you but they seem to be fun and crazy little creatures in a good meaning

 

[xp29]

Some things online aren't true or half true. Pellets aren't the best thing to give to your dragon. They can eat their salads for that week period or if you put them in a bag and let your neighbor dump them in. As long as they don't run in their poop they shouldn't smell. You shouldnt pick up the poo every time they poop. Just clean it out when you feel like there's a lot of poo. The poo shouldn't smell too bad. Of it does smell that it stinks the room, then you take them to a vet as they could have parasites.

Tank setup it should be a 4x2x2 and a basking bulb(No colored bulbs! It can damage your dragons eyes) and a UVB light. NO COILS! coils are health hazards for bearded dragons. You can add a tiny bit of sand but it's very Sanitary. I'd recommend getting a reptile carpet where you can clean it easier.

Bearded dragons are an easy pet to take care of, bit they're not necessarily cheap to keep. They're also really fun animals!

I disagree about not cleaning the poop asap. One of the hardest parasites to get back under control after an outbreak is Coccidia. It's life cycle requires it to be pooped out and reingested. That happens when beardies track through and spread the poop around. They are always licking stuff so they end up reingesting the parasites and you get and outbreak. Coccidia is insanely hard to kill, bleach WILL NOT kill it. Strong ammonia or high heat can but both have to be in contact for 10 minutes or so. Ammonia is toxic so it has to be cleaned up thoroughly also. Much easier to just clean the poop asap.
As far as a general cleaner, vinegar/water 1 to 2 parts to 10 works. F10 works but is ammonia based as is wipeout so both have to be aired to zero fumes. Also chlorhexidine works (thats what I use, it can be bought at tractor suppy. It's in the horse section.)
As far as leaving them while on vacation, I just teach some buddies how to take care of them.
Beardies generally won't eat food that is dead. If they eat their greens, a week of that won't hurt them either.
As for smell, during shed they have a barely detectable faint smell otherwise just the poop smells. As stated above if the poop is offensive it's likely parasites.
As far as pets it takes a bit for them to bond and trust you but after they do they're the bestest

 

[Hazel_Basil10]

I disagree about not cleaning the poop asap. One of the hardest parasites to get back under control after an outbreak is Coccidia. It's life cycle requires it to be pooped out and reingested. That happens when beardies track through and spread the poop around. They are always licking stuff so they end up reingesting the parasites and you get and outbreak. Coccidia is insanely hard to kill, bleach WILL NOT kill it. Strong ammonia or high heat can but both have to be in contact for 10 minutes or so. Ammonia is toxic so it has to be cleaned up thoroughly also. Much easier to just clean the poop asap.
As far as a general cleaner, vinegar/water 1 to 2 parts to 10 works. F10 works but is ammonia based as is wipeout so both have to be aired to zero fumes. Also chlorhexidine works (thats what I use, it can be bought at tractor suppy. It's in the horse section.)
As far as leaving them while on vacation, I just teach some buddies how to take care of them.
Beardies generally won't eat food that is dead. If they eat their greens, a week of that won't hurt them either.
As for smell, during shed they have a barely detectable faint smell otherwise just the poop smells. As stated above if the poop is offensive it's likely parasites.
As far as pets it takes a bit for them to bond and trust you but after they do they're the bestest

Oh sorry about that I guess I've never heard that since mine only poops once every 2-3 days or she poops outside her cage still learning.

 

[xp29]

Oh sorry about that I guess I've never heard that since mine only poops once every 2-3 days or she poops outside her cage still learning.

No worries. Most of us don't realize what a headache sone parasites are until we have to treat for them. Coccidia has kicked my butt twice over the years
It's much easier to keep it at bay than to treat for it

 

[Xjrosie]

I can make a suggestion for going on vacation and having someone who hates bugs caring for your dragon. I did when I was gone for almost two weeks, and it worked great.

Thor was maybe about 6 months old, so he was heavy on the bugs, not on salad.

I bought a pack of those meal prep containers and drilled holes in the sides. A lot of small holes. Then I used plastic pop bottle caps and filled them with Cricket food and Cricket quencher. I put about 15 crickets in each container. I put the lids on and was able to stack them since the holes were on the sides.

For salad, I got a large Rubbermaid freshworks container, designed for salads, and prepped a whole tub of kale. I cleaned and chopped it.

Then, after he was set up at my brother's house, I told him how to give him greens, I think it was every day, and then crickets twice a day.

All he had to do was put a bowl in his house, take the lid off, then take the bottle caps out. If he wasn't able to take the bowl out right away, he could leave it in until the next batch of crickets were fed.