Houston 4th Grade Teacher

[AndyT]

What a cute little guy. Congrats. I'm sure that with your help, he'll be doing great in no time!

Andy

 

[dragonbreederwannabe]

Well the little guy (or gal), slept through the night on top of the thermometer with his head and one arm propped up on the glass.

(Sorry for poor quality. It is taken with my cell phone!)

He got a bath this morning. I'm not sure if he liked it or not. He just sat really still for a while, took quite a few sips of water (which I think is good??), then stared at me. After about 10 minutes or so, he must of gotten tired of being in the water because he jumped out of the little container I had him in and started trying to climb out of the sink.

He also had a little poo this morning (don't worry, I don't have a picture of that!! ) However, he still isn't really eating! I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. Yesterday after we got home, he ate one worm and licked a piece of strawberry and a piece of green bean. I was hoping to have pheonix worms and dubia roaches before I got my beardie, but since I got him semi-unexpectedly yesterday because he looked so malnourished and sad yesterday, I am feeding him what they had at the pet store which are meal worms. I know that isn't the best option, and I have already ordered pheonix worms, but until then, I'm still trying to get him to eat the meal worms and salad. I am sure that he is still adjusting to his new home, but when should I start to get worried about him not eating? He is very active, and in fact ran back and forth in the cage seemingly watching my dogs.

 

[AndyT]

If he/she doesn't eat anything in 5-7 days, you have a problem. You could feed crickets while waiting for the worms and roaches.(the movement might interest him) It's good that he drank, he may be a little dehydrated from living in the pet store. He is such a cute little guy! Good luck and keep us posted!

Andy

 

[Monkey]

if he's been cold, his systems are shut down. I recently got a savannah monitor who was suffering of that, he barely pooped the first days, now he eats and poops everyday. It might take 2 -3 days to heat him up properly and get the system up to boot again so to say (heat and daily soaking with help with this). Be careful with the mealworms, he's malnourished right now his body can not handle them well at all. Get crickets I know you hate them but for your beardie that is the better choice for the moment. However, dont let him have too many either, it might chock his systems too, protein overload and that can lead to for example kidney and liver failure. Which is likely why he's not eating so many, cause he's not hot enough to digest a large load, some animals almost seems to know that. If I were you, I would try to up the heat on his hot spot to at least 120 in the hottest, make sure he has a couple of levels so he can adjust this is easy done with one or two branches so he can adjust within the range of 100-to the 120. He might need the extra heat right now to really get going. I haven't seen many beardies sip water, mine never does, which tells me that the poor thing must have been so dehydrated. also once he gets pooping going, take him to the vet for a fecal just to ensure its nothing else underneith going on. Congratulations on your little beardie, I really hope he makes it good. Can't wait for updates

 

[dragonbreederwannabe]

I think there are improvements! He loves his basking area and spends most of the day there. He wasn't too excited about his bath this morning and refused to stay in the container. Instead, he was willing to cling to my finger while I let water drizzle down him. I thought I saw that a lot of people give them morning baths, but could he possibly be too sleepy still? Or too cold for a bath (I use warm water)? Should I move it to the evening or afternoon?

Also, today I saw him gaping his mouth. I've read that it is sort of equivalent to a dog holding their mouth open to cool off. I'm assuming this is the case since it was while he was on his rock right in the middle of the basking area (which also happens to be the hottest part ).

Could he be in a shed at such a young age? His face seems to itch him and he seem to love it when I put water around his mouth and on the top of his nose.



Also, he ate a piece of strawberry and two worms today. The pheonix worms should be here tomorrow. If they don't make it, I'm going to get crickets. He also pooped today, so that's all good. He's very active and enjoys being held (or so it seems!).

Two more questions, that may make me sound like a worried first time mom....First, if the dogs are around while I'm holding him, he will close one eye and leave the other one open. I'm assuming this is to keep a lookout on the dogs to make sure they aren't a threat. Would this assumption be correct?

Second, everytime he jumps up on his basking rock he does the arm wave. I've read this is a submissive move, but nothing is around. At first, I thought he was seeing the dogs, but he does it even when the dogs aren't around. Do they do this to their reflection?

Oh, and!! We have decided on a name. If he turns out to truly be a boy, his name will be Sebastian. If he turns out to be a she, her name will be Sookie (any True Blood fans out there?? :lol: )!

 

[Monkey]

Ok good, the open mouth is a good sign of sufficient enough heat

It takes beardies a little while to get used to a bath, mine loves her in the morning but she didnt learn to like it until she was about half a year old *lol*

armwaving is a natural instinct, maybe he did it to you?

The closing eyes is common for them when feeling threatened, they pretend to be something not alive. My Savannah does it too and my beardie did it as a baby, as soon as he gets used to stuff he will calm down. My beardie is even comfortable with my dog, they can hang out together.

and yes as babies they shed almost non stop, you will be used to that it will be his head, then his body, then maybe a leg, different part is in shed at different times.. right now my beardie is turning grey on butt and tail area, she shedded her body like two weeks ago. its normal

just shows that he is at least somewhat healthy and not stunted too much in growth. You are def on ther giht path, you said warm water, I guess u mean luke warm cause that is about the right temperature warmer than that is likely uncomfortable when they are still a bit cold in the morning.

Keep te cute pcitures coming

 

[Trogdorpheus]

Yeah, the gaping is the same as a dog panting, they do it to regulate internal heat. Some say that gaping means they're overheating and temps are too high on your basking spot, I say that if he's gaping on the basking spot and too hot, he'll move. If you see any gaping elsewhere for any sort of extended period of time though, it may be a little too warm. (Probably won't happen considering young dragons prefer it warmer anyway)

Sometimes what appears to be an arm wave is actually just them trying to find a footing on something without actually looking down. Mine will do that on occasion if she's too close to the edge of her basking platform, she'll try a couple times to put her hand down until she hits something solid. Then again, it could be a submissive thing towards you.

True Blood rules.

 

[sara24354]

You have an a dorable little guy/gal.Sounds like things are going along good for you too.The gaping thing is thermoregulation(dog panting).If he does it continuously then check your temps.

 

[dragonbreederwannabe]

He is starting to explore the tank even more. Last night, I went to turn his lights off (I need to get a timer) so he could go to bed, and he had already gotten comfortable and ready to sleep.

He must have agreed that it couldn't be too comfortable in that position, because this morning he had laid down in a seemingly more comfortable position.

I decided to let him warm up some before I try to give him a bath this morning. Maybe that will help him like it more!

 

[Monkey]

look at that nice creamy white belly, someone is doing good
Ih ave to say his sleeping positions are hillarious. He is so cute, can't wait tos ee him grow!

 

[Trogdorpheus]

I give it a week before he poops on that frog thing

 

[dragonbreederwannabe]

So since this is becoming more and more photos, I'm wondering if I should move over to "Photo Expressions" or something else?

Anyway...onto the update for today...my baby is eating! Still not eating much, but at least is showing progress! Today is the first day he has touched his salad for anything more than one lick or as a running board! I pushed back his bath to a little bit later in the day to give him a chance to warm up from the night. He still wasn't super ecstatic about taking a bath and refused to let me put him in the container. He settled for holding onto my finger as tight as possible and letting me drip water on him. In fact, he even drank water from my fingers! Unfortunately, I don't have enough hands to give him a bath AND take pictures!

After his bath, I put him back in his viv since he hasn't pooped yet today and I really don't want that on me! This is what he did after he was back in his viv....

Can you find him?

Peek-a-boo!!

 

[dragonbreederwannabe]

Haha, Matt! I was thinking the exact same thing!! I made sure he had a stuffed animal that would be easily washed (or thrown out!)!!

 

[landoflor]

im glad he found a goodd home and is doing good soon you will be a slave lol

 

[Freeie]

Oh hes a doll! Love the froggie! Hes happy if his belly is all nice and white good job He will stop sleeping in those weird places soon its normal for babies to sleep that way. Great pictures. One hint about the stuffed animals is make sure they can be washed to death. 3 out of my 4 love the stuffed animals heck id rather sleep on something soft and fluffy than the tile. Beardies are smart.