Hello all, First off we'd like to say thanks for sharing all that you do, we have learned a lot here and it has really helped all our efforts to appropriately raise our adopted beardie.
The previous owner thought he was 6-7 months old when we picked him up - that was in December 2019. He was handling him with rubber fingered garden gloves... His UV situation was old and minimal. He came with a 40g breeder tank which are working on replacing with a DIY in the coming 6 months.
Cally when we first got him:
Garden gloves and inattention aside he was active, alert, had a great appetite, and no missing anatomy.
We did add a 22" Repitsun 10.0UVB lamp to one end/half of the enclosure and get the heat to approx 102-4F in mid-day.
We've been feeding him black soldier fly larvae pretty much as a staple, crickets when those run out, and we have done silkworms, hornworms, and superworm treats. We add Collards and/or dandelion greens daily, butternut squash daily, and mango as a treat. He doesn't love his veggies, but when no one is looking he will pick at them...
We first weighed him in early Jan at 209g, yesterday, approx 2 months later, he weighed in at 329g and is measuring close to 18inch. He has done a full body shed once and has since shed his legs and tail a second time.
He tolerates being handled and certainly gives far less beard and defensive posturing than when we picked him up, but he is not overly friendly by any means. He is always alert and watchful, looking for danger, food, or escape at any moment!
We have since removed the water bowl and rely on misting and baths - not to mention the water in his food.
In his "shedder vest"
The previous owner thought he was 6-7 months old when we picked him up - that was in December 2019. He was handling him with rubber fingered garden gloves... His UV situation was old and minimal. He came with a 40g breeder tank which are working on replacing with a DIY in the coming 6 months.
Cally when we first got him:
We did add a 22" Repitsun 10.0UVB lamp to one end/half of the enclosure and get the heat to approx 102-4F in mid-day.
We've been feeding him black soldier fly larvae pretty much as a staple, crickets when those run out, and we have done silkworms, hornworms, and superworm treats. We add Collards and/or dandelion greens daily, butternut squash daily, and mango as a treat. He doesn't love his veggies, but when no one is looking he will pick at them...
We first weighed him in early Jan at 209g, yesterday, approx 2 months later, he weighed in at 329g and is measuring close to 18inch. He has done a full body shed once and has since shed his legs and tail a second time.
He tolerates being handled and certainly gives far less beard and defensive posturing than when we picked him up, but he is not overly friendly by any means. He is always alert and watchful, looking for danger, food, or escape at any moment!