Introducing Baby Deeno

[DeenosMama]

Hi all!

My boyfriend and I have been following the site for a while not but I finally decided to join!

For my boyfriend's birthday, I bought him a PetSmart beardie. This was on June 3rd of 2012 and at the time, our beardie was 3 weeks old. We call him both Baby Deeno and Baby Burt (Burt because we had a cat named Ernie, Deeno because my boyfriend loves the name). We absolutely love Deeno, He's about the length of my palm at this point and he's fantastic. We're still going through the proccess of learning how to be reptile parents but we really do try.

The funniest thing Deeno does is seeing himself in his glass and either running at himself, trying to stand up against himself (the glass) or lickig himself (the glass). He will also look at the glass and bob his head (which we've read means he's signaling that he's submissive.... pretty funny considering it's to himself). The biggest fear I have with him is that he doesn't eat enough and that he doesn't have enough variety. We try to give him veggies but he usually has zero interest. The only two things he wants are crickets and mealworms. We hold him in our hand and pretty much make him eat veggies and fruits a few times a week so that we can make sure he is getting the right vitamins. I also worry that we don't feed him enough. PetSmart told me to feed him 5-7 crickets a week which is what I did in the beginning. After we began reading this and other online beardie sites, we realized he needed to eat more so I always leave a good amount of fruits and or veggies in his food bowl and give him one live thing a day (either 10-15 crickets or 5ish mealworms because I read mealworms are higher in fat). I pray that I'm feeding him enough, I don't want him to go to sleep hungry!

Another major thing I wonder about is training him. Now that he is the only pet in our house, I see nothing wrong with just sitting with Deeno on my arm while I watch TV or read or whatever I'm doing around the house so he can get used to me however my boyfriend doesn't want me to just sit with him because Deeno moves sometimes and he can be fast so when I sit with him, he wants me to have a hold on him so that he can't run from me however that's unomfortable for both Deeno and I, he spends the entire time squirming and his bottom turns VERY dark.

I'm sure no one will answer all of these questions but I'm happy to be a part of this great community. Thanks to anyone who took their time to read these!

 

[morphmom]

Welcome! :wave: Ok, mealworms are a big no,no because they can cause impaction. As for feeding, give as many live feeders as your baby will eat in about 15mins 2-3x's a day and always offer greens. You can use a multi vitamin 2x's a week and calcium 5x's a week. Hold Deeno as much as he'll let you in a safe environment but always allow 2hrs of time under his lights to digest food after a meal.
Post pics when you get the chance

 

[DeenosMama]

http://postimage.org/image/cvv758sdb/
AND
http://postimage.org/image/nwqca9km7/


I didn't know that he can't eat mealworms! They told me at the store that meal worms are a good way to add some variety because I'm ALWAYS giving him crickets and I feel like he should be getting some other kind of live food. Now I feel like I bad beardie mom

I hold him daily, my big issue is just that he tries to run and while I don't want him roaming the house, I also don't want to piss him off by holding him with my fingers over him the entire time (which I currently do and he's black the whole time). The only time I just sit with him is on the bathroom floor after his baths and then he never tries to run but something about my living room and bedroom make him want to be a free guy!

 

[morphmom]

Cute pics!
"Pet store advice" is kinna like a swear word around here. :? But no, please no more mealworms. Don't feel bad, that's why we have this site! To help each other :wink: Check out "Beautiful Dragons" food chart. Most of us swear by it and it's color coded! Try holding your baby right before bed time so he's slow(er) and less likely to fuss. :wink: Good luck.

 

[YuriTBD]

pet stores will sell you garbage if they can make a dollar off it, never listen to them, heck never even buy from them if you can help it. only an actual reptile store or an experienced breeder can tell you what he really really needs. meal worms are ok in moderation when they are adults, but not recommended. if you want some variety, wax worms silk worms crickets ect... but as a baby you don't want to give him anything really harder then a cricket. but don't be too alarmed if all he really wants is crickets at his age. most bearded dragons won't even turn an eye to veggies until they are sub adults. but keep offering it because he will be easier to switch to veggies when hes older then if you just give him bugs. as far as holding him hes a baby they are naturally skittish and very lively, put him in a closed environment, aka lizard proof the room, towels under door cracks pillow over the vent if it's on the ground or where he can reach. or you can take a cardboard box make a make shift barrier on the ground high enough he can't jump over it and keep yourself on the ground low enough so if he does jump he jumps into the box area so he can't scurry and you can pick him right back up and also so when he does jump ( which he will) he won't hurt himself.

 

[DeenosMama]

Thanks for the info.

We do have a reptile store near us however I've only been in there once and they have cats walking around and turtles just sitting in a kiddie swimming pool and the lady who works there told me she has so many cats, the only vet visits she worries about is getting them spayed/neutered.... which I'm a firm believer in taking animals to the vet for both an anual exam and whenever they get sick (at least with larger animals). This is another question I have about Deeno, are we supposed to take him to a vet? A fellow beardie mom told me about a hept vet in the area but I'm not sure how often I'm supposed to be taking him there.... and how expensive a visit generally is.

 

[morphmom]

This is another question I have about Deeno, are we supposed to take him to a vet? A fellow beardie mom told me about a hept vet in the area but I'm not sure how often I'm supposed to be taking him there.... and how expensive a visit generally is.

A check up is always a good idea. Some people go once a year, some only go if there's an issue. All BD's should have a check up after you bring them home because they're a little too good at hiding potential issues. Most people wait until they're adjusted to their new home to limit stress. Always provide a fecal for the 'just in case' parasite. :study: Myah's 1st check up cost me $100. This was the check up, weigh, fecal float and meds for coccidia. I think a basic fecal float is around $25 but prices can vary as I'm in Canada. 8)

 

[YuriTBD]

a repti store with cats running around openly around other lizards... I wouldn't even consider buying from there. cats pee on everything notice or not they do. and it's very very unhealthy for lizards tiny fragile little lungs. but to just have a cat around you dragon when hes out and about prob won't cause problems but cats everywhere in a store for just lizards, nope.. sorry I'd call the law on that and complain. seems harsh, but I'm a hardcore reptile lover, mine visits his vet regularly and my home stays very clean for him to wander around. i became OCD for my pet because I care about his well being I've seen some choke on things from legos to cotton balls. and i truly felt awful for the poor lizard because it doesn't know any better, so it's not the " stupid lizards fault" it's the owners fault for not making sure his play area was safe before he got there. but i guess I'll rephrase lol a reptile store that is clean maintained and all the lizards look happy and healthy. find one of those not crazy cat lady haha as far as vet visits keep them to your budget, always have money put away to take them if something happens to them. but no one here or anywhere not even your vet will complain if you take him once a year and hes perfectly healthy. it's only when you come here asking what to do with him hes sick, that someone will say why didn't you go to the vet?