How to give a bath?

[Samajade]

I keep reading how many beardies will poop when given a bath. Sounds silly, but how do I get him to do this? He's had a bath like 4 times a week since I've had him (about a month, and he's an adult) and he's never gone in his water. I'm using a big underbed plastic storage thing as his bathtub and filling it with warm water (like baby-safe temp?) just to about his armpit. He just sits dead still and soaks until I take him out. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Nope.
He just doesnt want to go in the water.
Dragons each have thier own opinions.

 

[Grimleo]

Neither of mine ever go in their baths, either :?

 

[diamc]

Hi, some beardies enjoy baths more than others. If you're not putting a wash cloth or small towel down in the bottom, that would be a good idea to help him feel more secure so that he moves around more. Also, you could make the temp a little warmer, you want it warm but not hot. For adults I add enough warm water to cover their backs so it encourages them to swim but be sure to watch him closely anyway.

 

[Maldesto]

I put my 3 beardies in a bath today, and my beardie i've had for over 6 months, never went in the bath, today i just got 2 more and both went in the water within 5 minutes.. and my savannah doesn't ever.

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

Samantha,

No, you're not doing something wrong.....some beardies simply go in their bathwater because they don't want the mess in their tank, so they hold it until you give them a bath. And believe it or not, the males are more likely to hold it until bathtime than the females are. At least that's the case with my three.

Charlie NEVER has a bowel movement unless he's in his bath, and Ming will also go while in the water, more often than not. However, Eden, my only female, will go any old place she pleases, and then walk through it and smear it over her tank, and couldn't care less, unless I don't clean it up right away......then I get the beardie "death glare" and the black beard! LOL Cheeky little thing has her "beardie slave" trained right

Seriously though, some beardies prefer to go in their bath, and some don't...it all depends on the beardie.

If you WANT him to go in his bathwater, then one way to get him to do that, is to make the bathwater very, very warm (but not hot) and bath him in a deeper container, making the water deep enough so that he can't just stand on the bottom, but has to swim, Generally the combination of very warm water and exercise will produce a bowel movement very quickly, unless they're constipated, and even if they are constipated, they should still go, although it may take a bit longer.

However, if you make his bathwater deep enough so that he has to swim, and he has nothing to hang on to, and no way to get out of the water, then don't leave him unatteded in his bath for more than a minute or two, not only because he may get tired and could drown, but also because if he does produce a bowel movement for you, you don't want him drinking the bathwater once he's gone in it, or it could make him sick.

Hope these suggestions help!

 

[Sadona]

Cinder never, ever pooped once in the bath...he never liked bathes much. He was always too busy trying to get out!
It depends on the dragon...some just like to do their business in the bath, others don't! Don't worry, its not you.

 

[ziggy23]

maybe if you take note of what time he usually goes, then give him a bath before. but if he doesn't want to go in the water, you just might train him to do that.

With my dragons, I have two opposite personalities. Bane hates baths. He will try to get out, and if that doesn't work, if he has any at all he'll go just to get out of the bath. Astarte on the other hand, thinks she's an aquatic lizard. She never wants to get out. If she can hold it until she gets out, she will.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Malibu goes in her bath everyday at the same time.
i use a new kitty litter pan....works great....on Saturday she likes to watch hanna montanna and have an hour soak. :whip: In the kitty litter pan she can see out,i just fill it and set it on the coffee table....when shes done down the toilet the poopy water goes.Then i clean her pan out and rinse very well.Then she gets dried off and put on her beanbag chair to look out the slider door and eat her supers and salad.Beardies like schedules.

 

[Samajade]

Hu! Well, I think this would be easier if he had any schedule in regard to poop. He goes many, many days with nothing (right now it's been exactly a week since the last one), then I get a HUGE liquidy mess about the size of my head. He seems not to care where he goes in the cage, but after he goes, he won't go near it. (Cant blame him - it's really, really sloppy and smells horrid.) Dunno if that's because he was possibly wormy (just finished a course of deworming), but he most certainly doesn't go every day. Far from it. And doesn't have the more...solid-ish consistency I'd expected. So I can't time his bath with when he usually goes 'cause I never have a clue when that's going to be. I would love for him to go in the bath - so much easier to clean up.

Bathwise, though, he seems to like it - even sometimes falls asleep in there. Never moves a muscle the whole time.

Denise - if I fill something with water higher than that allows him to stand, what do I do? Do I fill it then put him in or let it just start getting higher while he's in it? The only time I did that (accidentally) I didn't realize how high it was, put him in, and he promptly sunk with his whole head under the water. :shock: I of course pulled him right up and lowered the water to underarm-level. ?

Diane - nope, hadn't been putting anything down on the bottom - I will start!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

Samantha,

I usually bathe mine in the kitchen sink! I just put the trap in the drain, plop one of them in there, and then just run the faucet until the water level is high enough that they have to swim! That method is really easy, since, when they go, it ends up in the drain trap. Then I just dump what's in the drain trap in the trash, rinse them under running water, dry them with a couple of paper towels, and they're done!

That seems to be the easiest way for me to bathe mine, since if I use any other sort of container, my four cats stand around the container while they're in the water, which freaks them out.

The only thing that makes it a bit more trouble, is that once the three of them are all done, I have to pour boiling water in the sink to disinfect it, and get rid of
any germs left behind. I'm definitely not comfortable with washing the dishes we eat off of in the kitchen sink without disinfecting it first!

Also, just so you know, they don't have to swim the whole time they're in there, if they don't want to. Beardies have a way of inhaling air which somehow bloats up their little tummies and makes them bouyant if they get tired of swimming. When they do that, they don't even need to paddle to stay afloat...they just bob around the surface like little scaly corks! LOL They look so cute when they do it!

 

[Samajade]

Denise! It worked! He hadn't gone since Tuesday of last week (as I type, it's Thursday - 9 days!), so I did as you suggest. Put him in the water and let it run and get higher and higher. Finally he had to do something so made a mad dash/swim for the edge (he was NOT liking the high water) and let loose with a big ol' poop (and everything else). This is the first formed poop I've seen from him, too. Not sure if that's because the hot lights "melt" it by the time I see it, or because he's now been wormed and is getting back to "normal." But anyhow - it worked!

Oh... and quick question. Will the boiling water alone kill any germs and worm eggs (if there are any)? If so, the sink would be MUCH easier!

(edited to fix a dopey typo)

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Behavior]

 

[Freeie]

All 5 of mine poop in the bath. The 2 males and the oldest female will not poop in their vivs they will hold it. So i have to give them a bath everyday usually its a quick one soon as the warm water hits them they go. The older female loves to swim under water and have a good time so i just refill with clean water and let her go at it. The two males give me the stink eye and will try and climb out lol My 2 younger girls will go in their vivs they dont care. SO i have to catch them before they do in the morning or i have poop art to clean up I put my beardies in the tub and dump in the water sometimes if they see the movement they will drink too.