My first bearded dragon

[DrogontheDragon]

Hello everyone! My name is Jordan, I'm 25 and yesterday I bought a fancy bearded dragon! His name is Drogon for now until we figure out if he's a she or she's a he. Drogon is the name of one of Daenerys' dragons from Game of Thrones (a little nerd tid-bit)
We picked him because he seemed drawn to us and was pretty excited to be held. He was also the tiniest! Right now he's only 5 inches
Here's a picture of Drogon resting on me on the day back from Petsmart.

First day home from the pet store he ate just 3 crickets and didn't have an appetite for much more than that. We tried feeding him later at night and he didn't have an appetite for more crickets.

Today is day two and we tried feeding him in the morning but he didn't want anything, meal worms nor crickets. We gave him a nice warm bath to see if that would help digestion because we still hadn't seen any poop yet, but he seemed to really enjoy the bath.

Right now he's basking and we'll leave him alone to do that for a couple hours and then try feeding again. I'm going out to the store to buy collard/mustard greens, calcium dust, multivitamins, possibly a day/night outlet so I can set it to a timer.

More pictures to come!

 

[popsickle18]

What a cutie pie! I hope Drogon starts eating soon. Keep trying! Drogon needs his live feeders to grow big and strong I would stay away from mealworms for a such a tiny bearded dragon. They can cause impaction because of their hard outer shell. There is a super awesome care for dragons on this site! Also, if you aren't familiar with a nutrition guide yet http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html this is an excellent one! Feel free to ask any questions. There are a lot of very helpful people on here.

 

[Dragonkate17]

he's so cute and superworms would great plus they're easy to breed. He might just be getting used to his new surroundings that's exactly how Digger was except Digger was 15 months when I got him.

 

[jacody]

He/she is really cute.. not nerdy @ all, hands down my fave show ever. I wouldn't worry @ all, I got my 2nd beardie from a local Petsmart and he was and is as healthy as they come.. it's a big change going from there to your home.. diff. smells/sounds and your temps are prob. higher than he's used to I'm sure which is great in itself. I'm not sure where you're from, I live in NH which is north of Boston (where winters can be rough and cold too) and I don't use any night heating source from maybe May/October as the temps in the house don't ever go below 65 @ night.. they do need that cool off period at night as they sleep however I do use a timer always to regulate and establish a consistent lights on/lights off schedule and Nov-April I do install a heat source in the way of a bulb, not an under the tank heater which is never advised. I know they've prob. gone ahead and fed him/her mealworms @ the store, but the previous poster is correct in trying to let you know they're not safe for lil' ones and not a nutritious food source.. if you have trouble getting your new pet to take to "salads" I've always used a bit of grated squash added and both of my babies took to that mix w/ your collards/other greens. Do keep trying in the way of greens.. even if they don't eat it ever for a while just prepare a small amt. to get them used to it in their enclosure and for him/her to realize they can snack on that.. mine didn't take to them until maybe 3 months or even a bit older so I just did small amounts so as not to waste $$ on something they won't consider for a while.. it's a bit of a waiting game/patience needed to get them acclimated and then you'll be forever buying live food for a long while!! Have fun w/ your new mini friend..

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Congrats on your 1st. Also do not feed big superworms as babies have a kink in their digestive track until they are 16 inches. You can feed mini superworms.

 

[DrogontheDragon]

Well...update on day two. He pooped which is nice. But I think he is still stressed out and getting acclimated. He has not eaten much at all today, maybe just one cricket with calcium and multivitamin mix. He has a little more than 4 hours left in his day cycle, I think I will try one more feeding session with one hour left. At what point should I be worried if he's not eating alot? When he's acclimated will be he consuming 20-60 per day like your guide said? Seems a bit steep from the 3 he ate when he first moved in. I am probably just over-worried but I wish he had a healthy appetite.

I did end up getting the Reptisun 10.0 for my terrarium so hopefully that gives him some more energy.

 

[jacody]

It'll also help him digest which is always a good thing.. if your baby is pooping, bright-eyed, active and alert I wouldn't worry about it, like I said a hard waiting game.. he'll eat when he's ready and comfortable.. I assume you know the between the eyes rule as to how big your crickets should be... don't be offended if you do, even though I don't know you I wouldn't want you to make that mistake and have a problem.. just be patient and soon enough he'll be a mad man/woman w/ his appetite so get ready!!

 

[DrogontheDragon]

I will be ready! I ordered 500 crickets in bulk so that should be here by Monday and I bought food to keep them alive. I just realized now however that I bought 1/16 crickets and after reading a couple guides it appears 1/4-3/8's inches is ok. Are the baby crickets too little for my 5 inch beardie?

 

[jacody]

No, they're not too little.. this way you can really gauge how big/small you need to be, better to be on the safe side then push it too soon.. if he/she handles these w/ no prob. then bump up to the next size.. who did you order from?? I ordered last time from hungrylizard.com and for 1000 it was $24.50 which included shipping, but they do take a day longer to come than the other suppliers which if you plan it right doesn't really matter..

 

[DrogontheDragon]

I ordered mine from backwater reptiles. I forgot how I found the place but it was pretty easy to make the order. Drogon ate one cricket this morning, but I don't think he likes the calcium dust. I suppose he'll get used to it. After he ate just one he went onto his branch to bask, considering he didn't eat at all yesterday this is a good development lol

 

[FisherAnd2Chainz]

Hey, don't worry about him only eating a few crickets here and there. It will be around a week to two weeks before he will start eating a lot to the relocation stress the little guy has. My opinion, and this is for the better health of all drtagons, stay away from mealworms period! Also, do not give him any kind of superworm until he is atleast 15 to 16 inches. I would also NOT use these as a staple. Dragons fall in love with the taste of superworms and many will not eat any live food unless it is a superworm. Also superworms are higher in fat and can make your dragon overweight. (nothing is wrong with a fat happy dragon, but not a huge overweight one ) I simply use my superworms as treats. I throw in a few on my dragons salads in the morning and I give her a few after a bath and whatnot. If you want to use any kind of "worm" as a staple I highly recommend silkworms. They are hands down the healthiest staple for your reptile and the easiest to care for. This is just my input!

 

[DrogontheDragon]

Thanks Fisher I will keep that in mind!

Another quick question for my beardie...
I read in some guides this site recommends that if your tank is big for your baby beardie they might have trouble getting to the crickets or just get lazy after eating a couple. I bought one of those small "critter" totes when I bought him and haven't used it yet...could I put him in there when its feeding time or should I just continue to feed him crickets in his 40 gallon viv? I think he has stress marks and I don't wanna stress him out and make him unhappy.
Someone in my other thread said I should give him 7-10 days with little to no handling (even baths) to help on the relocation process. However he seemed to like the one I gave him the day after we got back from PetSmart.

EDIT: After looking at a TON of baby/juvi beardie pics I don't think mines stressed. They all seem to have that same pattern when they're young. He's lively, is slowly gaining an appetite every day he's here (even ate 2 crickets for breakfast!) and seems to be enjoying his new viv, if not being a little lonely in there. I know I should keep him mostly to his viv while its still newish to him, but I want to play with him! I'll give him a couple more adjustment days, but so far it looks like he's adjusting nicely.

 

[jacody]

If your dragon seems comfortable w/ handling you don't need to hold off.. I've never waited and it worked out well. babies do get dehydrated easier/faster than sub-adults/adults so you giving soaks every other day will benefit your new pet.. you said he liked the baths so go for it. As far as feeding goes I've always had a couple logs and one feeding dish to remove from my viv so I feed in there to make it easier on myself.. you don't need to move your baby just to eat.. however if it's a pain to remove furniture due to an elaborate set-up than you've got no choice to find a different way to do this, I know of people just finding a small aquarium and doing it in there, my only tip if you do feed in his/her home than you should make sure there are no leftover crickets in there, people have reported sores on their babies from crickets when left in there overnight as your baby sleeps.. hope this helps.. :wink:

 

[DrogontheDragon]

Jacody, I must thank you for your help and support. You've given me a ton a great recommendations and probably most importantly have calmed my nerves concerning the health of my baby.

 

[jacody]

I've learned everything on this site.. when I got my 1st dragon in 2011 I was told all the WRONG info. and was straightened out by members here so when I brought Omni home I knew what to do.. much like bringing home my 1st son.. you are most welcome, not too often in my life I can give advice that's actually wanted!! BTW, have you sent in your 2 pics to the bd.org admin. for the 2014 calendar?? I had Omni in 2012/2013 and the 2014 will be Crixus's debut.. I look forward to it every year.. very cool to see all the pets from the past years as babies grown up..