Junior hates water! Any suggestions

[thebearded56]

My beardie just absolutely dislikes water. I don't know if it was a bad memory of a bath or what, but she has hated it since i bought her. She was just a couple of months old when I bought her and she never liked taking baths and didn't like drinking water. Its been a year since I had her and she still doesn't like to drink but she is more docile when taking a bath. I've recently tried slipping a little bit of bottled water in her food bowl, but she ignores the food bowl when she realizes there is water in it. Is this normal and is there anything I can do?

I'm only concerned because my previous beardie enjoyed drinking water and cherished it.

 

[CooperDragon]

Drinking water is pretty unusual. Sometimes they'll take a gulp when in the bath. If she's OK with taking a bath, that's probably all you should demand. She will get enough hydration from her feeders (keep them well hydrated) and fresh veggies.

 

[KarenInCA]

I give my dragon a bath in the bathtub. He loves baths in the bathtub but dislikes them in smaller, more confined areas like a sink.
I put a folded washcloth down for him to rest his front feet on, so he doesn't feel imbalanced, and fold another one up like a burrito for him to rest his chin on. If the tub water isn't extra warm, he doesn't like it either. (almost hot).
You also might want to try filling it lower than with your other dragon, maybe he's scared of it being too high for him to lay down and get comfortable. If I fill it too high, he won't lay down and relax.
Sometimes, he tries to escape, but then settles in, it's all really how relaxed he is at the time.
Also, if you give him a bath in the evening, 1 and 1/2 hours after his dinner, it can be nice and relaxing too. Late enough that he has time to digest his last meal, but also late enough that he's a bit tired. And early enough so that you can dry him off before putting him to bed. When I do that, I make sure the lights stay on, in the viv, then turn them off directly before I put him down, so that it's warm in the viv when he goes to bed.