Meet Princess Daisy!!

[Basie]

My over 12 yr old bearded dragon recently died to a severe injury that put her into shock, but luckily I was with her for her final moments. It was awful to experience but I am glad I was with her.

Her empty terrarium would haunt me, so I decided to get a new baby to grow and nurture, get me back into that routine. Knowing my sweet girl did not have any diseases she could have spread, I deep cleaned her terrarium and fit it for Daisy, she has more of a jungle themed whilst my old girl had a desert theme.

I got my old darling when she was elderly, so I've never raised a baby before, many tips are welcome!!

P.S. Can anyone tell me what color her patterning is classified as? I'm curious <33

 

[JohnLillywhite23]

Welcome, Daisy!

So sorry for the loss of your last animal. It's never easy

As for tips, basking temp in the 110°F mark, offer protein (roaches preferably) twice a day for 5 minutes each session, ensure to hydrate regularly, and understand as babies, they are flighty, so it may take some time for your new girl to get used to you.

They grow fast as well, so depending on the size of the enclosure you have, be ready to upgrade soon.

Do you have any questions on certain topics? Lighting, feeding, enclosures, etc?

 

[Basie]

Welcome, Daisy!

So sorry for the loss of your last animal. It's never easy

As for tips, basking temp in the 110°F mark, offer protein (roaches preferably) twice a day for 5 minutes each session, ensure to hydrate regularly, and understand as babies, they are flighty, so it may take some time for your new girl to get used to you.

They grow fast as well, so depending on the size of the enclosure you have, be ready to upgrade soon.

Do you have any questions on certain topics? Lighting, feeding, enclosures, etc?

Her basking temp is at 111 right now so I think I nailed that! My only question is what should I do if she refuses bugs? She only wanted kale today (first day home) and how long should I wait until taking her to the vet if she won't eat them? I'm assuming she's just not wanting them from stress.

Luckily for me, she's grown accustomed to me also immediately and loves crawling on my hand, I like to think my other princess sent her to me. Her favorite thing to do right now is explore her new home

 

[JohnLillywhite23]

Her basking temp is at 111 right now so I think I nailed that! My only question is what should I do if she refuses bugs? She only wanted kale today (first day home) and how long should I wait until taking her to the vet if she won't eat them? I'm assuming she's just not wanting them from stress.

Luckily for me, she's grown accustomed to me also immediately and loves crawling on my hand, I like to think my other princess sent her to me. Her favorite thing to do right now is explore her new home

So with beardies that are in a new home, they tend to, from my previous experience, go on a food strike for a day or two. They are stressed with the new home, and need to get used to it.

Now if they still refuse their protein after a couple days, try changing the insect. If they don't want crickets, try roaches, etc. I would 90% chock it up to relocation stress. Give her time, and she'll be good. The anxiety that goes with a new baby beardie is INSANE. Been there, done that, currently doing it again, got the tshirt to prove it

That's awesome that she's getting used to you. Handling is super important at this age. Laying the foundation that you are not only there to care for you, but you are the alpha in the relationship. I see too many people that don't handle their beardies enough, or they back away when their new beardie puffs up at them. You can't do that. Handling every day will teach the animal you are their friend, and you are the alpha.

 

[Basie]

So with beardies that are in a new home, they tend to, from my previous experience, go on a food strike for a day or two. They are stressed with the new home, and need to get used to it.

Now if they still refuse their protein after a couple days, try changing the insect. If they don't want crickets, try roaches, etc. I would 90% chock it up to relocation stress. Give her time, and she'll be good. The anxiety that goes with a new baby beardie is INSANE. Been there, done that, currently doing it again, got the tshirt to prove it

That's awesome that she's getting used to you. Handling is super important at this age. Laying the foundation that you are not only there to care for you, but you are the alpha in the relationship. I see too many people that don't handle their beardies enough, or they back away when their new beardie puffs up at them. You can't do that. Handling every day will teach the animal you are their friend, and you are the alpha.

Thank you so much !!!

 

[xp29]

The dark circles on her under side are stress marks, as long as they are there she is still stressed. Every beardie is different, some will eat like nothing happened, others can take days.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that your new beardie has gotten used to you in just a few days. That's how accidents or loosing them can happen. Beardies will absolutely bond with us, but it takes time and work. Even though she seems ok already it is to soon to assume she trust you. All it takes is her getting spooked and leaping off you hand or shoulder and it can end in tragedy.
I'm not saying to not handle her or not to interact with her, just use an abundance of caution in the beginning.
One of the big risk with babies is dehydration. The are very small and live under high basking temps, they can dehydrate a lot faster than older beardies. You can counter that by making sure the greens are moist, by feeding appropriate sized soft bugs like hornworms or silkworms, or by using an eyedropper to drip it on their snout. If you use the eyedropper be EXTREMELY careful not to aspirate her. Go slow at her pace. If she won't except it like that you can add in just a little bit of none citrus fruit juice or punch to give it flavor. If you use the juice or punch be sure to use a wet cloth to wipe away any that runs down her chin. Leaving it could cause bacteria or fungus to start in her scales.
Just leaving a water dish in the habitat usually don't work, most beardies won't drink from standing water, they do however think a water dish is a great toilet lol.
Thats another thing, be sure to clean up any poops asap. Leaving poops and letting them track through it can lead to a Coccidia outbreak and it is a real pain in the azz to get it back under control.
All that being said, welcome to the forum. feel free to ask about anything at all. Everyone here is happy to assist you in any way you need.
Oh and the only visible morph I see is she looks to be a leatherback. If you can get pictures a little more close up, we can tell you for sure. Otherwise she looks to be a standard dragon either way she is a cutie pie

 

[ChileanTaco]

Welcome here Already very good suggestions from the other users here.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that your new beardie has gotten used to you in just a few days. That's how accidents or loosing them can happen. Beardies will absolutely bond with us, but it takes time and work.

Agree very much on that. And: Getting used to us - does not mean getting used to other things around us or in their general surroundings already. Weird noises. Things reminding them of predators. Things they even don't associate with us so trusting us doesn't help with this. Usually time that shows them nothing bad happens with all those things will help.
I didn't handle my dragon out of the enclosure for months, because of the danger of e.g. him encountering things that frighten him, or me having to do unusual and frightening things to get him out of dangerous situations. I wanted to have to avoid to catch him. Or to have to drag him out with a broom from behind furniture. Or really being hurt or lost (13th floor, ventilation openings).

I'd agree on the leatherback, with quite standard looking colors.

 

[Basie]

The dark circles on her under side are stress marks, as long as they are there she is still stressed. Every beardie is different, some will eat like nothing happened, others can take days.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that your new beardie has gotten used to you in just a few days. That's how accidents or loosing them can happen. Beardies will absolutely bond with us, but it takes time and work. Even though she seems ok already it is to soon to assume she trust you. All it takes is her getting spooked and leaping off you hand or shoulder and it can end in tragedy.
I'm not saying to not handle her or not to interact with her, just use an abundance of caution in the beginning.
One of the big risk with babies is dehydration. The are very small and live under high basking temps, they can dehydrate a lot faster than older beardies. You can counter that by making sure the greens are moist, by feeding appropriate sized soft bugs like hornworms or silkworms, or by using an eyedropper to drip it on their snout. If you use the eyedropper be EXTREMELY careful not to aspirate her. Go slow at her pace. If she won't except it like that you can add in just a little bit of none citrus fruit juice or punch to give it flavor. If you use the juice or punch be sure to use a wet cloth to wipe away any that runs down her chin. Leaving it could cause bacteria or fungus to start in her scales.
Just leaving a water dish in the habitat usually don't work, most beardies won't drink from standing water, they do however think a water dish is a great toilet lol.
Thats another thing, be sure to clean up any poops asap. Leaving poops and letting them track through it can lead to a Coccidia outbreak and it is a real pain in the azz to get it back under control.
All that being said, welcome to the forum. feel free to ask about anything at all. Everyone here is happy to assist you in any way you need.
Oh and the only visible morph I see is she looks to be a leatherback. If you can get pictures a little more close up, we can tell you for sure. Otherwise she looks to be a standard dragon either way she is a cutie pie

Yes I've only let her crawl on me while my hand is in her cage!! Her little shoulders are a bit lighter now and hoping that remains that way. She's been getting lots of hydration, thank you very much!

 

[Basie]

Welcome here Already very good suggestions from the other users here.

Agree very much on that. And: Getting used to us - does not mean getting used to other things around us or in their general surroundings already. Weird noises. Things reminding them of predators. Things they even don't associate with us so trusting us doesn't help with this. Usually time that shows them nothing bad happens with all those things will help.
I didn't handle my dragon out of the enclosure for months, because of the danger of e.g. him encountering things that frighten him, or me having to do unusual and frightening things to get him out of dangerous situations. I wanted to have to avoid to catch him. Or to have to drag him out with a broom from behind furniture. Or really behind hurt or lost (13th floor, ventilation openings).

I'd agree on the leatherback, with quite standard looking colors.

Oh yeah definitely! She's feeling a lot better today, leaving her be besides food and water for now

 

[ChileanTaco]

@Basie
The water dish, as already mentioned by others above, is really not necessary. Beardies aren't used to drink from a dish, as in their natural environment, there are rarely any puddles. They drink from dew (we can mimic this with dripping a bit water on their snout, and with misting their veggies), and they get their water from the insects and plants they eat.
If you use a live plant, you can mist the plant and your dragon might lick off the water. As a live plant, I can recommend golliwog (sometimes also sold as "turtle weed", scientific name is callisia repens), usually sold in either the pet or the plant section of hardware stores/ home centers. That's a succulent with small leaves, edible, usually used for reptiles, birds and small rodents, and it grows well under the typical conditions of a desert terrarium - so it doesn't need much water, and it does well with high temperatures and high uv. I have multiple of them, switching them out once in a while as my dragon eats quite a lot of golliwog. Once the plant is half gone, I replace it with the other one and let it grow back on the balcony. Golliwog was even one of the first plants my dragon ate (I got him at approx. 3 months plus/minus a week or two).

 

[Basie]

@Basie
The water dish, as already mentioned by others above, is really not necessary. Beardies aren't used to drink from a dish, as in their natural environment, there are rarely any puddles. They drink from dew (we can mimic this with dripping a bit water on their snout, and with misting their veggies), and they get their water from the insects and plants they eat.
If you use a live plant, you can mist the plant and your dragon might lick off the water. As a live plant, I can recommend golliwog (sometimes also sold as "turtle weed", scientific name is callisia repens), usually sold in either the pet or the plant section of hardware stores/ home centers. That's a succulent with small leaves, edible, usually used for reptiles, birds and small rodents, and it grows well under the typical conditions of a desert terrarium - so it doesn't need much water, and it does well with high temperatures and high uv. I have multiple of them, switching them out once in a while as my dragon eats quite a lot of golliwog. Once the plant is half gone, I replace it with the other one and let it grow back on the balcony. Golliwog was even one of the first plants my dragon ate (I got him at approx. 3 months plus/minus a week or two).

That sounds like a great idea, I'll look into that! I've been using the eyedropper method very carefully for now but that sounds like an option I wanna try

 

[Chris.]

Welcome Daisy and welcome to the xhallenge of raising a baby.
My boy was a jouvenile when I got him and I'm also raising a baby for the first time this year

The eyedroper works really well with my girl also.

As for handling I personally leave them alone the first week or so and then slowly start handling them. Like every other day at first for a couple of weeks and only for a few minutes. Slowly bump that up, don't handle her too much.
For babys it is very important not to stress them too much, otherwise they won't eat well. They become more resilient against stress with age.
I agree with @JohnLillywhite23 that you should handle her daily when she's older but not a baby that you just took home yesterday.

 

[Basie]

Welcome Daisy and welcome to the xhallenge of raising a baby.
My boy was a jouvenile when I got him and I'm also raising a baby for the first time this year

The eyedroper works really well with my girl also.

As for handling I personally leave them alone the first week or so and then slowly start handling them. Like every other day at first for a couple of weeks and only for a few minutes. Slowly bump that up, don't handle her too much.
For babys it is very important not to stress them too much, otherwise they won't eat well. They become more resilient against stress with age.
I agree with @JohnLillywhite23 that you should handle her daily when she's older but not a baby that you just took home yesterday.

You got it!! Letting her relax and explore everything as she likes! Shes been eating and drinking well so far just hoping for good movements

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Your little baby is precious! I'm sure she will get adjusted to her new home, it looks terrific for her!
Daisy is a great name, too & it sounds like she is loving attention too.
I am so sorry you lost your other girl, it is the worse feeling.

Tracie