I just dont know why it opens mouth

[leatherbd]

I know people say the bearded dragon will open its mouth to vent, but for some reason it always opens its mouth when i walk up to it. is this normal? She is 5 years old> is it agressivness? plz help i am getting a little woried.

 

[Ebrithil]

how long have you had your BD?
when did it start to gape at you?

gaping is aggressive, if your bd is new, it may still be frightened of you.

 

[leatherbd]

I have had hin for 5 days now so like you siad it could be scared still but i am taking her out for holding is this good plz confirm.. the people that had her before seemed to not take to good of care of her she is healthy but the diet was aeird and their was no proper lighting so i did my homework before i got it and it is doing much better now.. plz respond

 

[jeritta]

well if you have only had him for 5 days he is probably still scared. Also if he came from a bad home he is adjusting to that too. give him some time. Try to take an old shirt or something that you have worn that you dont mind getting really nasty and putting in his viv. That way he can get used to your smell. Also wait until it is close to lights out time when he is sleepy to try to hold him. That way he will be calmer. Then wrap him in the shirt or towel and cuddle with him while watching tv or whatever for a while. Just be patient with him he is still getting used to you and adjusting to a new home.
Can you go over you setup with us too just to make sure something there is not upseting him?
What lights do you have? UVB? Basking? type (coil or tube)?
temps?
what are you checking them with?
what are you feeding him?
how often?
do you bathe him?
do you use calcium and vitamins? how often?
can you post pix? (you can get a free photobucket account and post on here from there)
thanks

 

[leatherbd]

ok then i will discribe my tank set up. it is a 4 foot long terrarium by 15 inches wide and inside of it is sand substrate on top are some pieces of slate (small). i also have a vine hanging on one side and two smaller desert plants she also has a cave under a big log. other than that the temperature is usually 95 to 105 F at one end going down to the other it drops to About 79F. Oh and is it good to spray her with a spray bottle of water? And one last thing she is eating calcium powder wih water and ocassionally with lettuce and apples and carrots and peas, the light is a 10.o uvb light and i also have a sun glo day basking spot lamp and for night i turn on a heat pad below. Thank you for the help very much i am really enjoying having her.

 

[leatherbd]

plz read the above and respond

 

[XxMissTiffanyannxX]

ok then i will discribe my tank set up. it is a 4 foot long terrarium by 15 inches wide and inside of it is sand substrate on top are some pieces of slate (small). i also have a vine hanging on one side and two smaller desert plants she also has a cave under a big log. other than that the temperature is usually 95 to 105 F at one end going down to the other it drops to About 79F. Oh and is it good to spray her with a spray bottle of water? And one last thing she is eating calcium powder wih water and ocassionally with lettuce and apples and carrots and peas, the light is a 10.o uvb light and i also have a sun glo day basking spot lamp and for night i turn on a heat pad below. Thank you for the help very much i am really enjoying having her.

Misting her with water daily is much needed when she's shedding. Giving baths are much better. She'll have fun and you'll get her to poop! Umm I think lettuce is a no no. It provides little to no nutrients. Escarole, dandelion greens, collard greens and kale are quite common to find and is your better bet. I use grapes/mangoes/raspberries for fruits. I dust my crickets with calcium. They also have calcium sprays out there but I really can't tell what's the proper dosage with them :?

 

[leatherbd]

thank you for the info i figured out it is just venting but she is doing it all the time should i lower the tank temperature and are carrots and cucumber fine.?

 

[diamc]

If she's gaping just about all the time when in her tank, it sounds like she is too hot. What is the temp directly under her basking light and what type of thermometer are you using?

Misting is fine as long as it's done outside the tank otherwise it could raise the humidity too much which can cause an upper respiratory infection. As stated, baths are better.

Here's the best site to see what foods are recommended. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html