I'm NEW to Beardies and have some questions.

[Baradonnis]

SO. First of all I should say that I'm unfortunately living at home again due to financial circumstances a while back. I would love to get a Beardie. BUT. My "dear" mother has a immense fear of snakes, and thinks that basically Beardies are the next step down. So to avoid heart attacks, how should I approach getting one? As it seems that I won't be able to move out for a couple years.

Second of all. About Brumation. Do all Beardies go through it? I've heard that some, choose not to go into brumation. If so, what are you experiences with brumation and how long it lasts? And what happened when your Beardie went into brumation for the first time?

Do females have a tendency to smell more than the males? Can I use shredded newspaper as a liner for the cage? What kind of tips do you have for keeping Crickets? I've heard about feeding crickets and all of that, but haven't heard much on keeping them alive til they become dinner. And lastly, what has your beardie done with dogs or cats? As I have a cat, and the family has a small dog.

 

[SARBEAR]

Hello and welcome!!

SO. First of all I should say that I'm unfortunately living at home again due to financial circumstances a while back. I would love to get a Beardie. BUT. My "dear" mother has a immense fear of snakes, and thinks that basically Beardies are the next step down. So to avoid heart attacks, how should I approach getting one? As it seems that I won't be able to move out for a couple years.

You should start out with a baby, everyone loves the babies
But just keep in mind babies need a lot more special care then adults, so you'll want to do as much research as possible before getting one, and not just jumping in like a lot of people do. Don't listen to petstores as many have found out they don't always give the right information. Look around here, and talk to people, ask questions, whatever

Second of all. About Brumation. Do all Beardies go through it? I've heard that some, choose not to go into brumation. If so, what are you experiences with brumation and how long it lasts? And what happened when your Beardie went into brumation for the first time?

Not all beardies go through brumation. My dragon is 9-10 months old and we haven't hit that yet, I'm hoping he'll skip right over it, lol.
Here's a site to learn more about it:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/brumation/

Do females have a tendency to smell more than the males? Can I use shredded newspaper as a liner for the cage? What kind of tips do you have for keeping Crickets? I've heard about feeding crickets and all of that, but haven't heard much on keeping them alive til they become dinner. And lastly, what has your beardie done with dogs or cats? As I have a cat, and the family has a small dog.

I've never heard of females smelling more then males, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. I wouldn't use shredded newspaper, especially for a baby. You can just lay the news paper in. You can also use repticarpet, non-adhesive shelf liner, ceramic tiles (which is what I have) or just plain ol' paper towels
What I do with my crix is I keep them in a "cricket keeper" sold at Petsmart, and I drop a few carrots in there, or whatever veggies my beardie doesn't eat in the few hours I leave them in his viv, I toss the veggies in with the crix.
Cause if you think about it, whatever your crickets are eating, your beardie will be eating, so I try to make sure the veggies are as fresh as possible in with the crickets.
If you click the link in my signature, it has a bunch of pictures of my dragon, Howie, and it also has some of him with my cat, SeeJay. They seem to get a long really well, but I will NEVER leave them alone. Howie loves jumping on SeeJay and take naps on him, lol. I guess it's warm?? Idk, haha.

Hoped I helped a little
Feel free to ask any questions you may have, everyone is really nice here, and we all love to see someone doing their homework before they purchase a beardie!

 

[Baradonnis]

First of all thank you soooo much for taking the time do type that lengthy response. I've been doing research on beardies for about a week now, reading and re-reading the same information over and over and over. But even though it's the same thing it's just slightly varied sometimes, depending on how people word it. So it gives better insight.

Lol. Yes, most do love babies. Especially baby animals. I myself can't stand babies. But baby animals, well, lets face it, they're adorable. lol. I've also read that baby beardies rely on a mostly cricket diet, and then as they get older they move onto the fruits and veggies. Can you mix some mealworms into that?

Good to know about the shredded newspaper. Just thought now, probably not a good idea as they could ingest it, and gives crickets a place to hide. Right?

And very cute pictures regarding your cat and the Beardie.


VERY IMPORTANT!! I almsot forgot. The nearest big city is a five hour drive from me, but I will be getting my beardies from in town. So if I do move within the next 10-12 years, How would I prepare them for such a long drive? And where I am, it gets very very cold, on average about -36 celcius, in the winter, what was the average temperature for the beardie? Cause in the winter I usually keep my house at about 22 celcius. I'm not sure of what that would be in farenheit.

 

[SARBEAR]

First of all thank you soooo much for taking the time do type that lengthy response. I've been doing research on beardies for about a week now, reading and re-reading the same information over and over and over. But even though it's the same thing it's just slightly varied sometimes, depending on how people word it. So it gives better insight

You are very welcome! I enjoy helping where ever I can!! And yes, information is often easier to understand the more you read about it.

Lol. Yes, most do love babies. Especially baby animals. I myself can't stand babies. But baby animals, well, lets face it, they're adorable. lol. I've also read that baby beardies rely on a mostly cricket diet, and then as they get older they move onto the fruits and veggies. Can you mix some mealworms into that?

lol, I love babies of all sorts, now young children, say about 7-14, I cannot stand, haha.
Yes, babies do eat mostly crix (up to about 40-60 crickets a day, easily) until about 1-2 years old I believe it is. And once they reach the adult stage, they actually rely mostly on veggies.
Meal worms should never be fed to a baby, they cause impaction due to their hard shells, and are very poor in nutrition. When they get older, they can digest them, but it's still not recommended to feed them to adults as they have no nutritional value what-so-ever. Super worms, Phoenix worms, or Silk worms are all great to give to a beardie (supers shouldn't be fed until they're at least 16")

Good to know about the shredded newspaper. Just thought now, probably not a good idea as they could ingest it, and gives crickets a place to hide. Right?

Absolutely, you wouldn't want your baby eating some on accident. And actually, I had repticarpet and paper towels for a little while, and the crix are the main reason I got rid of them, I hate how the crickets will run and hide. Although if something big and scary was chasing me, I'd do the same thing
But that's why I switched to tiles, they look really good in the viv's, easy to clean up, and you don't have to replace it.

And very cute pictures regarding your cat and the Beardie.

Thank you very much! They are my pride and joy, lol. They eat better then I do, dang!

VERY IMPORTANT!! I almsot forgot. The nearest big city is a five hour drive from me, but I will be getting my beardies from in town. So if I do move within the next 10-12 years, How would I prepare them for such a long drive? And where I am, it gets very very cold, on average about -36 celcius, in the winter, what was the average temperature for the beardie? Cause in the winter I usually keep my house at about 22 celcius. I'm not sure of what that would be in farenheit.

I really don't think the trip will be that big of a problem, my beardie loves going on car rides, he will sleep on my lap the entire time! If you get the beardie soon, he will be pretty old in 10-12 years, and my guess is the car ride will be least of his worries and will probably rather sleep more then anything
Wow, yeah it gets pretty cold there!!
Beardies need to have a basking spot at 105 F (40.5 C) to 110 F (43.3 C) and a cool end of 85 F (29.4 C)
If the beardies tank gets down to 65 F (18.3 C) you will need some kind of heat source at night, probably a Ceramic Heat Emitter.

Have you decided on a UVB to get the beardie?

 

[Baradonnis]

Nope I haven't decided on a UVB for the beardie yet. I'm still in the deciding to get one stage. I'm really leaning towards getting one. I've wanted one for years. And WOW, I knew that baby beardies relied on a cricket, or crix (gotta get used to the lingo) of about 40-60 per day, for 1-2 years. I didn't know it lasted that long. WOW. Really gotta check on that pet store now and make sure they get crix on a regular basis.

How do you know what stage they are in? The measurements right?

And yes, it gets very cold up here. Hearty canadian winters. lol.

 

[SARBEAR]

Nope I haven't decided on a UVB for the beardie yet. I'm still in the deciding to get one stage. I'm really leaning towards getting one. I've wanted one for years. And WOW, I knew that baby beardies relied on a cricket, or crix (gotta get used to the lingo) of about 40-60 per day, for 1-2 years. I didn't know it lasted that long. WOW. Really gotta check on that pet store now and make sure they get crix on a regular basis.

Oh okay, just for future reference, ReptiSUN 10.0 tube is the best! I highly recommend getting one of those if you do decide on getting a beardie. I'm sure you will though, they are lovely creatures and hard not to fall in love with!
Yep! As I said though, I'm not positive on how old they are before they start eating more veggies, but I think it's around there. Either at a year, or before 2 years..
Some prefer veggies even as babies though, it all depends on your dragon!
They all are different and unique in their own ways!
You can even order thousands of crix at a time if you needed to, they are a much better price on there anyways!

And yes, it gets very cold up here. Hearty canadian winters. lol.

lol, I live in AZ and our winters are like 75-80, haha, just kidding, but it feels like it. The summers are horrid though!!

 

[peera]

Actually, 40-60 per day is a pretty conservative estimate, I was going through about 1000 crickets every 2 weeks for the first year with Priss. So that's just over 70 crickets every day. Inara hasn't worked her way quite to those levels yet, but she's quite the cricket/roach hoover when she's not freaking out about being in the feeding tank, and she's a way better veggie eater than most babies. Expect that to last for the first year, then over 6 months you cut them down to 30-50 feeders a week by the time they're 18 months. Buying them online is SO MUCH easier & cheaper! I don't know who ships to canada, but we have lots of canadian members, so I'm sure someone knows.

 

[Baradonnis]

Imyself haven't had time to look much at the feeding charts, but I should have tine tonight. It deoends on the dragon how much they eat. I will definitely have to check though with the pet store to see how many crix they get though. If not, then just order online.

But I do have another question about feeding. I have very long days where I'm out of the house for about 14 hours per day. Would I be able to feed my beardie first thing in the morning, then when I get home? Or will he need a meal in between? Luckily I'm 1orking 6 days on, and 6 days off. Just really long days.

 

[peera]

That wouldn't really work, no. 14 hour days are the absolute max we advise for a daylight schedule, and they need an hour to heat up in the morning before eating, and then 2 hours under the basking light to digest after eating, since they are cold blooded all that food would sit in their stomach overnight and start decomposing, leading to a bacteria explosion in their gut. And feeding at least 2x a day really is necessary. Look into getting an adult if a baby's needs are to pressing. They're a lot easier to manage, and as someone who's adopted adults as well as babies, it's every bit as rewarding. More so in many ways.

 

[SARBEAR]

That wouldn't really work, no. 14 hour days are the absolute max we advise for a daylight schedule, and they need an hour to heat up in the morning before eating, and then 2 hours under the basking light to digest after eating, since they are cold blooded all that food would sit in their stomach overnight and start decomposing, leading to a bacteria explosion in their gut. And feeding at least 2x a day really is necessary. Look into getting an adult if a baby's needs are to pressing. They're a lot easier to manage, and as someone who's adopted adults as well as babies, it's every bit as rewarding. More so in many ways.

I agree, like I said I adopted Howie, and the previous owners weren't feeding him NEAR enough. Crickets once a week and veggies 2 times a week
But he's really a great dragon, and he's special to me because I feel like I rescued him from what could've been a long life of suffering (starving, as well as not having the proper lights/temps.) and got him into a nice, loving, all you can eat, home!

 

[Baradonnis]

Thanks for the input. I know for sure that even if I'm not home, that I will be able to get someone to feed him. Not an issue but I've got to explore all options. Cause I do 12 hour shifts but only 3 of those I wouldne be home for. The nights I would be up to give him a meal after work and after he's been up for a while. Then again before I'm ready to go back to work.

Seeing as there is only one morning person. Would one of those automatic food bowls work? The ones that open at certain times? With holes drilled in for the crickets. Just for the first meal. I would do that before work and the crix would be in there for a 2 or 3 hours max.

Just thinkin ideas here. Any feedback is helpful.

 

[riceko]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned what to do about your mum being... skeptical about a beardie?
I too am living at home right now and my mom used to be freaked out at the sight of Scorch. The first couple days she would come in my room with me and sit and watch me play with her and feed her... eventually she warmed up. At first she was like "no... I dont think I want to touch it." and now she wants to pet her and feel the different textures on her. She even admitted she thinks Scorch is cute!

Have you ever owned a reptile before? And if so, did it give your mom a bad impression? I find that most people are frightened of reps because they don't know what they do, what they are like, or that they aren't going to escape their viv and run rampant in the house (hopefully not!).

So to approach the issue I would say let her know that the bearded dragon will be kept in an enclosure that is nearly impossible to escape from (if you use it properly). Also let her know that they are very gentle creatures who rarely bite out of aggression (or even defense). And you could do like what I did and invite your mom to come watch during play and food time!

Goodluck!

 

[Baradonnis]

Actually what's really ironic about my mom not liking reptiles is that she owned a small turtle when she was younger, and it was fine, it only lasted a summer, then it escaped or something. But for some weird reason she's always been afraid of snakes. She'll get as far as the parking lot to the pet store and you swear that she's gonna faint from just the sheer thought, that there might be a snake in the store.

It sucks though, cause in order to have a Beardie, I will end up moving out of my house that I'm in now so that I have the freedom and live my own life, etc..... Except for where I live it's over a grand a month for a bachelor's pad, and I think I'm gonna end up losing any money that I have saved up for going to college.

 

[riceko]

Wow $1000 for rent is a lot! I'm sorry to hear your parents don't give you the freedom you need. Parents can be so difficult sometimes :roll:
Well i hope you find some way to find that freedom... and hopefully not have to move back in! I have so many friends who jumped the gun and ended up back where they started three months later.
I also hope your mum considers a Beardie! Just remember to tell her all the facts and positive things! Fear is a result of ignorance after all!