Just adopted this dude

[beardie]

Its not like they have laying boxes scattered about the Outback

LOL

 

[Rubble1212]

Instead of finding the irony in my comments why don’t you find all the newbies she’s driven away and who I’ve personally had discussions with about how rude her approach is. Her response to every post is exactly the same know matter the subject. I’m not telling you to do anything but if I were to make a “suggestion”it would be to ask her to please read the entire post before she spouts off the same crap. The irony in this whole thing and makes me consider the validity of this forum is the fact it’s administered by someone who doesn’t even own a bearded dragon!

 

[beardie]

Instead of finding the irony in my comments why don’t you find all the newbies she’s driven away and who I’ve personally had discussions with about how rude her approach is. Her response to every post is exactly the same know matter the subject. I’m not telling you to do anything but if I were to make a “suggestion”it would be to ask her to please read the entire post before she spouts off the same crap. The irony in this whole thing and makes me consider the validity of this forum is the fact it’s administered by someone who doesn’t even own a bearded dragon!

I am aware ... and as I've said, I don't handle any discussions like that with someone in public if I (or the moderators) were to do things. You seem to have some anger lashing out. I don't see how me still keeping dragons is relevant to me administering the site. I kept them for about 12 years total (and reptiles since I was 5) and when my last died, my life was in a very different place than when I was in my mid/late 20s (when I started the site). Many of the other "community" sites out there are owned/run by companies that run many different forum sites, and not someone who actually cares (I know as I get requests from them to buy this one regularly).

Anyway... what I suggest rather than ranting on someone else's thread is to actually REPORT posts that have violated our community policies on behavior. The moderators and I can then review it, and assess if the situation constitutes a policy violation, and address it appropriately.

 

[Rubble1212]

My only anger is because this site is supposed to be a helpful resource for new owners to reach out and literally in the last 2 days I’ve been in conversations with newbies who PM’d me because they were put off by her responses and were asking me to help. So yes there is frustration when I’m a part of this forum to offer help and suggestions to newbies and we have someone who literally answers every single new post and by doing so is representing this group as a whole and I can’t count how many people have posted one time received some recited verbatim response with no knowledge behind it and the new poster never posts anything again. Owning a bearded dragon aside if I started a site to help bearded dragons live better lives which is an assumption based on you saying you actually care then I wouldn’t want someone spouting off responses to every single new post representing the website I created. Maybe a little more fire in you would have taken care of this crap along time ago and helped a lot of people who turned elsewhere for help.

 

[hdochow]

please take this to a private message

 

[Bobbyhill]

I've never seen a picture of a bearded dragon in the wild that is in truly loose soils. Certainly there are loose parts to it, and it can be dug into as they burrow. But most soil/dirt in nature is packed down naturally. Even around trees (we do have them here). Some parts of my back yard would actually be pretty good for beardies, as it is just dirt with a high clay content that naturally is packed down. Again, that has loose stuff, and can be dug into with helps naturally trim their nails (also a fan of that). Actually, when I had my beardies on sand early on and they dug, it didn't give them the resistance. The sand would move and partly fall back into the hole they were working on. When I tried a substrate that dried hardened and packed (more like naturally packed dirt with a high clay component), their digging was more productive, and they seemed satisfied with digging. When too loose, they would dig for hours. I suspected it was because their instinct wasn't really being met with loose. Granted, tile doesn't offer that ability to dig either. In the end, my last beardie had a combination of tile and the packed dirt/clay compound (where they would dig).

When I refer to loose particulate, I'm referring to things like sand, or the walnut shell substrates. Those are truly loose... like sand at a beach or the Sahara desert. And this is far too often what people put their beardies on. That is not natural for them either. I am actually a fan of natural where possible, but also in reducing the risks that have been seen in captivity (because of captivity conditions).

So would using tile and then putting a dig box in one corner, say 18”Lx18”Wx8”H and then making a substrate out of organic potting soil with a higher clay content mixed with play sand to go into the dig box be a good idea? I have removed the walnut shells he had been living on. He is currently on paper towels until he moves to his forever home when it arrives from amazon on Feb 10. I would like to offer him an area to dig if possible he would dig in the walnut shells quite a bit. AGAIN THE WALNUT SHELLS ARE GONE

 

[Bobbyhill]

please take this to a private message

Awesome idea I just wanted some advice on how to give him a great home, but seeing so much fighting and drama over trivial things is kinda disheartening.

 

[Bobbyhill]

I think this thread has given me an idea on a possible article listing a bunch of the various substrates with objective information on pros and cons (with supporting links, if it can be found).

They all have their cons. Even the ones that are more like their natural environment (which mind you doesn't have much "loose" dirt... it's hard packed and has a lot of clay component) have their cons. As I noted, I tried one that is actually very close to natural environment. The challenge with it was that it was hard to clean. And while close to their natural environment, in nature, there's much more square footage to go poop and rub oils on (femoral pores) and not worry about the cleanliness and bacterial levels. As hobbyists of captive pets, we need to find a good balance between natural to them (and their instincts) and manageable in a confined space ('cause it's not natural to be in a 4x2x2 enclosure).

If you can find that article i would greatly appreciate reading it!

 

[hdochow]

Awesome idea I just wanted some advice on how to give him a great home, but seeing so much fighting and drama over trivial things is kinda disheartening..

i don't blame you. it was getting to me and i'm just an avid daily reader, not someone currently looking for advice.

i have a 4x2x2 but the top is solid so my uvb is mounted inside. i use an arcadia 12% 39w 34" bulb in a pro t-5 fixture. so far it has been perfect. i order my bulbs from Arcadia 12% UVB T5 HO . it is placed in the front of the tank with a long grape vine under it to give varying levels of ubv options, anywhere from 6-18 inches, but he is usually in the spot that is about 12 inches away. my basking bulb is a zoomed, and behind the uvb toward the back corner with a basking platform/hide under it. i only use a 50 watt, but I assume that is because i have a solid top, if it was mesh i'd probably need higher. i keep my house at 72° so that and the light keep my ranges from 92° hot side, 88° mid, and about 82° cool side. his basking spot sits at about 95, or a little higher depending on the time of day. (let me know, and i'll send you pictures of our enclosure if you want.) sir henry of scales spends the day in multiple locations in his vivarium based on the lighting he wants at the time. for a "substrate" i use the non-adhesive shelf liner, but that is just for ease of cleaning. my daughter and i are both full time college students, so anything that is isn't harmful to him while being helpful to us is a win in our book.

for feeding, he gets salads every day. we switch between collard, dandelion, and mustard greens, with different colored bell peppers, squashes, and sweet potato. 3 times a week he gets bugs. his staple feeder is dubia roachess. he'd love it if he could live on meal worms alone! (not happening little dude!) usually he eats about 3-5 roaches in a feeding. he refuses to eat anything powdered, so we ordered liquid calcium and vitamins from tracie (one of the mods on here.) he gets the calcium in about 1/2 a teaspoon of tart cherry juice 3 times a week and then the vitamins the same way once a week. that way i know he has those vital nutrients in even if he does decide to skip his salads. we use the cherry juice as a proactive measure for gout, which is possible with dubias as a main feeder. since he is getting the sugars from that it is very rare he gets fruit as part of his salads. at night what is left of his salads gets fed to the roaches and then removed from their tub in the morning.

well now that i'm done babbling! hopefully something in there is helpful to you. it's just an example of what we learned to do through the help of people on this forum, we are not experts at all! (usually it's not so drama filled around here.)

 

[beardie]

If you can find that article i would greatly appreciate reading it!

I meant more that it gave me a good idea to start writing one, spending time researching, gathering feedback on people’s experiences, a list of various choices, etc.

but seeing so much fighting and drama over trivial things is kinda disheartening.

yeah. Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have let myself play the part of derailing your thread that I did.

So would using tile and then putting a dig box in one corner, say 18”Lx18”Wx8”H and then making a substrate out of organic potting soil with a higher clay content mixed with play sand to go into the dig box be a good idea?

I think that would be a good idea for sure. The mixture for making your own might be better answered by those that have experience with doing so. What I used was a product (I don’t recall the name, but as it said, it was too pricy). Just make sure it’s well packed, but not so much he can’t dig, as I think the constructive exchange that @Badwolfe and I had came to an agreed understanding of.

 

[Bobbyhill]

i don't blame you. it was getting to me and i'm just an avid daily reader, not someone currently looking for advice.

i have a 4x2x2 but the top is solid so my uvb is mounted inside. i use an arcadia 12% 39w 34" bulb in a pro t-5 fixture. so far it has been perfect. i order my bulbs from Arcadia 12% UVB T5 HO . it is placed in the front of the tank with a long grape vine under it to give varying levels of ubv options, anywhere from 6-18 inches, but he is usually in the spot that is about 12 inches away. my basking bulb is a zoomed, and behind the uvb toward the back corner with a basking platform/hide under it. i only use a 50 watt, but I assume that is because i have a solid top, if it was mesh i'd probably need higher. i keep my house at 72° so that and the light keep my ranges from 92° hot side, 88° mid, and about 82° cool side. his basking spot sits at about 95, or a little higher depending on the time of day. (let me know, and i'll send you pictures of our enclosure if you want.) sir henry of scales spends the day in multiple locations in his vivarium based on the lighting he wants at the time. for a "substrate" i use the non-adhesive shelf liner, but that is just for ease of cleaning. my daughter and i are both full time college students, so anything that is isn't harmful to him while being helpful to us is a win in our book.

for feeding, he gets salads every day. we switch between collard, dandelion, and mustard greens, with different colored bell peppers, squashes, and sweet potato. 3 times a week he gets bugs. his staple feeder is dubia roachess. he'd love it if he could live on meal worms alone! (not happening little dude!) usually he eats about 3-5 roaches in a feeding. he refuses to eat anything powdered, so we ordered liquid calcium and vitamins from tracie (one of the mods on here.) he gets the calcium in about 1/2 a teaspoon of tart cherry juice 3 times a week and then the vitamins the same way once a week. that way i know he has those vital nutrients in even if he does decide to skip his salads. we use the cherry juice as a proactive measure for gout, which is possible with dubias as a main feeder. since he is getting the sugars from that it is very rare he gets fruit as part of his salads. at night what is left of his salads gets fed to the roaches and then removed from their tub in the morning.

well now that i'm done babbling! hopefully something in there is helpful to you. it's just an example of what we learned to do through the help of people on this forum, we are not experts at all! (usually it's not so drama filled around here.)

I would love to see some pics, I may be inspired by something I see, and you say that dubias are your main feeder, i had planned on using dubias (ive been attempting to have a small colony) and then BSFL from grub terra as my main staple feeders, with crickets, hornworms, superworms, and mealworms as occasional treats (So long as his taste buds agree). As far as greens go I have also been feeding collard greens, and mustard greens mostly. He seems to really enjoy bell peppers, the previous owner told me he ate bananas and blueberries and spinach and crickets almost everyday, but I really want to limit his fruit since he was getting so much of it before I received him so I have not given that to him yet, I have also been avoiding spinach because I have read about it leading to calcium binding and MBD. How much is a good amount to feed veggies wise a day? I feel like I am having a lot of waste by giving to much, however I dont want to give to little.(I will start feeding my dubias his leftovers rather then them getting there own salad now though that will hopefully help cut back on waste)

And another question that I am not sure this is the right forum for but I will ask anyways, do you know if the liquid calcium and vitamins could work for a leopard gecko? I have one who is a bit picky when it comes to regular calcium dusted insects (her vitamin dusted insects no issues)

 

[hdochow]

i'll take and post some pictures in the morning. as for the amount of salad to give daily, i don't know a "technical" preferred amount, like measurement wise. at a guess i'd say we offer about 1/2 cup a day???? some days he eats a bite or two, some days he goes ham and eats like 10-12 huge bites. but whatever he doesn't eat gets fed to the roaches when we take it from him, and then that salad get taken from the roaches the following morning. (this helps with the waste because you are feeding the same food to multiple animals.) so i guess in a sense he gets the greens in either way. my thought is as long as he is not looking sick or losing weight, he's ok and just doing his thing.

i have no clue on the leopard gecko question. sorry bout that.

 

[Badwolfe]

In answer to your digging box question what you suggested would be fine for him. Beardies absolutely love to dig given the opportunity as its what they do in their native environment for both shelter, egg laying and even obtaining moisture. You will have to spray it down occasionally so that it maintains its consistancy but you'll find you have a much happier and content animal on your hands if he is allowed to do what his instincts are telling him.

 

[smaugthebeardie3756]

i'll take and post some pictures in the morning. as for the amount of salad to give daily, i don't know a "technical" preferred amount, like measurement wise. at a guess i'd say we offer about 1/2 cup a day???? some days he eats a bite or two, some days he goes ham and eats like 10-12 huge bites. but whatever he doesn't eat gets fed to the roaches when we take it from him, and then that salad get taken from the roaches the following morning. (this helps with the waste because you are feeding the same food to multiple animals.) so i guess in a sense he gets the greens in either way. my thought is as long as he is not looking sick or losing weight, he's ok and just doing his thing.

i have no clue on the leopard gecko question. sorry bout that.

Mine does the same. Some days he completely ignores his salads, some days he chows down. I just fill his bowl and let him eat what he wants through the day. I have found that it helps to offer the greens at least a couple hours before the bugs. Once he gets a taste for bugs for the day, there is no interest in anything else. He will also ignore his bugs some days, which used to freak me out that something was wrong with him, but I've learned to just trust that as long as I am offering he will usually eat what he feels he needs each day. He also gets picky and tired of just one thing, so I try to mix it up as much as possible to keep him interested.

 

[hdochow]

here's his light set up. uvb in the front, basking in the back. he will sit anywhere along that long vine. kinda funny when he's way at the top. looks like he's riding a motorcycle!

back hide under the basking bulb.

not much going on in the cool side, but he rarely uses it besides to chow down on salad and buggies. the white is the shelf liner. super easy to keep clean.