Leaving Beardie for 2 months *UPDATE*

[Steble]

Hi everyone

This summer, I will be going out of country for 2 months and leaving my bearded dragon, Sherbert, with my dad. I have a few concerns on my mind that I want to address before I go. First, Sherbert can't wake up on his own, and will sleep for the whole day if he could. I was out of town last night, but my dad told me that he slept until 8 pm, then woke up to eat and poop. He was still really active when it was 10 pm. (I had to let him stay up late to digest his food). I'm thinking this may be brumation but I'm not so sure. I just don't want him to sleep away while I'm gone, so I'm asking my dad to wake him up every morning himself by scooping him out of his hide. Sometimes, Sherbert would go back in his hide but still be awake. He'd stay there all day until I have to take him out. Maybe he wants to cool off in the cool side, and the hot side is too hot? I don't know.

Next, I just need some general advice for leaving a bearded dragon with someone else. I will try to explain to him all about bearded dragon care and let him use the forums for help. I will be checking back to keep up with Sherbert, but I just fear that he's going to get sick or something. We ordered a new UVB light and a bulk of roaches just in case too. I'm also going to make a schedule and a list of what and what not to do. However, my dad has work and leaves in the morning and comes back at 8 pm. We're thinking of him waking up Sherbert early in the morning and feeding him his salad and roaches at 8 am, then my dad leaves to work for the rest of the day. Does this sound okay? My dad wouldn't be able to feed Sherbert roaches twice a day, so we would have to upgrade the amount of roaches he gets in one meal.

Lastly, Sherbert makes a huge mess when he poops. Usually, he poops and leaves the poop alone, but on some days he gets really active and runs over the poop and creates a giant mess. Is this normal for a juvenile, since they're really active? Anyways, I don't want Sherbert to be stuck in a messy cage while my dad is at work the whole day, so I have to find a way for Sherbert to chill when it comes to pooping. I don't think he has diarrhea since it's not so watery or liquid, and there still is some shape of the poop left. He just gets his tail and feet messy. I'm not sure if he has parasites since we have never done a fecal, but I don't see physical signs of parasites since he isn't losing weight, is stressed, or lethargic.

Setup:
50 Gallon Tank
Heat lamp: bright white 70 watt flood light (heats up surface 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit)
UVB: Reptisun 10.0 T5 florescent tube (will be replaced soon)
Both lights 10 inches away from basking spot, and are left on from 7 am through 9 pm.
Cool side 80-85 degrees and hot side 85-90
Substrate: non-adhesive shelf liner
Wooden box with blanket for hide, ramp and log for climbing, a bowl for roaches, and 3 bricks for basking.
Diet: Mustard greens and Collard greens in the morning at 7 am, two meals of dusted roaches in calcium with Vit.D3 or vitamin powder later at 3 pm and 6 pm. New schedule: Salad AND roaches in the morning at 8 am.

He is 8 months old and is 18 inches long. He's active and eating well, but stays in his hide.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I'd make sure the carer bonds with them .... my personal experience is they do get very depressed and miss their human , when I had an enforced stay in hospital after a fall (I was suffering cellulitis and it made me very sick and weak) and I caught pheumonia 1A from a ward nurse while I was there , so I was in enforced bedrest on a drip for about a month.
My skinks and dragons all missed me , my livewire Toothless refused to eat anything for my wife the whole time I was in hospital.

One day when she phoned me I had her put the phone on speaker , and all the lizards instantly started perking up and looking for where my voice was coming from.

I'd get the carer to do a period where they come to your place everyday and do the caring and lots of bonding (handfeeding treats and snuggles and petting) , this way it will be less of a traumatic experience for the dragons when you are out of the picture ....

These other suggestions might sound crazy and out there -
consider registering for skype so you can talk to and see their reactions when you are making a cybervideo call to say hello to them
consider talking to them every week or so on the speaker phone.

 

[Steble]

Wow, what an experience!
I'll make sure my dad handles Sherbert like you said, after all, he will be gone for the whole day. I never thought that bearded dragons and other reptiles can really miss a human like that.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[Steble]

Hi everyone. Kinda bummed that this post didn't get posted earlier before I left, but I have just returned and Sherbert is doing okay! He has grown an inch since I've left and is now 19 inches at 10 months old. Good news is that he stopped messing up his poops and now poops only on a paper towel which is really nice. My dad has been taking him on walks around the house every morning and feeds him salad and roaches. He told me he poops huge every 4 days, and that some days he doesn't eat.

Now that I'm back, I've noticed that today he only ate a few roaches I tried to offer him and didn't eat his salad or any of the other roaches at all. I'm a bit paranoid that something is wrong with him though he doesn't show really any obvious sign of sickness. Is it true that bearded dragons can skip eating days when they're growing? I hope this is the case instead of something serious. I will see if I can get him to eat tomorrow. Also, my dad has told me that sometimes he wouldn't eat his salad, but sometimes he would. He had the salad attached to a clip hanging from the cage to look like it was a tree (and it's cute!). He was reported taking chomps of his hanging salad.