ToothlessTheBeardie
Member
Totally new beardie owner here! Actually Toothless is the first reptile I’ve owned, unless you count lazy slug dogs lol. I’ve read through a ton of forum posts, online articles, watched several YouTube videos, but still have some questions I’m hoping can get answered.
1. Lighting - does the UVB light need to extend across the entire tank?
2. Vitamins - I’m getting mixed information about them, does the calcium need to be with or without Vitamin D? From what I’ve read, I should do calcium 5 days a week and a multivitamin twice a week?
3. Water/Bathing - How often should I be bathing him? He doesn’t seem to drink water, once I got him into the bath he protested heavily but when I started dribbling water on his head he finally understood and drank, but didn’t really want to stay in the bath very long, though it was his first time, I’m guessing they get more used to it and into it over time?
4. Misting - How often should I mist him? I know signs of dehydration are wrinkled skin and I *think* holding his mouth open? Should I mist only when I notice that or every day? He doesn’t always seem to like it either.
5. Feeding - I cannot for the life of me get him to eat greens, I’ve tried mustard and collared but that’s all the local store offers and the closest other store is 45 minutes away (small town). I also offer squash baby food, two different “beardie bites” little pellets and one has dried mealworms and grasshoppers mixed in and a baby beardie thing that looks like tiny purple spaghetti and smells good. Occasionally someone in the house will see him eating a few things off his plate but never greens. Also he doesn’t seem to be eating as many crickets as expected, however all I could get in town was medium so they’re a little big for him, he’ll eat 5 or so each feeding, which is 3 times a day. I did discover I can order small ones off Amazon, so those should be here any day, hoping he’ll eat more. Also he’s incredibly spoiled and will only eat them out of my hand. Should I be encouraging him to hunt more? Any suggestions? Advice?
6. Playtime - I’ve read little about playtime, some recommended colorful ping-pong balls, I let him run around our trampoline this weekend (it’s netted so it was totally enclosed and safe) any other suggestions? Advice? How often should I attempt to play with him?
7. Outside time - This weekend was incredibly beautiful, I took him outside to enjoy *real* UVB rays, we were outside for about 30min each day for the last 3 days and he protests going back inside every time. How long/often should he go/be outside?
Anything else I should know, keep an eye on, worry about? Sorry for such a long post, thanks in advance for any help offered!
1. Lighting - does the UVB light need to extend across the entire tank?
2. Vitamins - I’m getting mixed information about them, does the calcium need to be with or without Vitamin D? From what I’ve read, I should do calcium 5 days a week and a multivitamin twice a week?
3. Water/Bathing - How often should I be bathing him? He doesn’t seem to drink water, once I got him into the bath he protested heavily but when I started dribbling water on his head he finally understood and drank, but didn’t really want to stay in the bath very long, though it was his first time, I’m guessing they get more used to it and into it over time?
4. Misting - How often should I mist him? I know signs of dehydration are wrinkled skin and I *think* holding his mouth open? Should I mist only when I notice that or every day? He doesn’t always seem to like it either.
5. Feeding - I cannot for the life of me get him to eat greens, I’ve tried mustard and collared but that’s all the local store offers and the closest other store is 45 minutes away (small town). I also offer squash baby food, two different “beardie bites” little pellets and one has dried mealworms and grasshoppers mixed in and a baby beardie thing that looks like tiny purple spaghetti and smells good. Occasionally someone in the house will see him eating a few things off his plate but never greens. Also he doesn’t seem to be eating as many crickets as expected, however all I could get in town was medium so they’re a little big for him, he’ll eat 5 or so each feeding, which is 3 times a day. I did discover I can order small ones off Amazon, so those should be here any day, hoping he’ll eat more. Also he’s incredibly spoiled and will only eat them out of my hand. Should I be encouraging him to hunt more? Any suggestions? Advice?
6. Playtime - I’ve read little about playtime, some recommended colorful ping-pong balls, I let him run around our trampoline this weekend (it’s netted so it was totally enclosed and safe) any other suggestions? Advice? How often should I attempt to play with him?
7. Outside time - This weekend was incredibly beautiful, I took him outside to enjoy *real* UVB rays, we were outside for about 30min each day for the last 3 days and he protests going back inside every time. How long/often should he go/be outside?
Anything else I should know, keep an eye on, worry about? Sorry for such a long post, thanks in advance for any help offered!