new bearded dragon owner .... wont drink outa water dish

[angelofthenorth2009]

i have had my bearded dragon now for around 2 weeks .. he is eating fine but he just wont drink outa his water bowl .. i have been giving him drops of water thro a feeding syringe but any other ideas would really help as im not sure what to do ?? the pet store where i got him from said to spray him with water every day but he hates that .. any help and suggestions will be great :0)

 

[fresnowitte]

:wave: Hello and Welcome!

Most beardies do not drink from standing water this is not unusual...I don't suggest misting or spraying your beardie especially in their viv. Dripping water off their nose for them to lick up is one way...the other is bathing them they may drink some but even if they don't they can exsorb some thru their vent. You can bath your beardie in lukewarm water about 95*ish in water up to his/her armpits. I do this daily with mine which works great as they poop in the tub not their vivs and they stay hydrated.

Some on the other hand will drink from their water dishes but usually you have to swirl the water around with you finger to entice them. :wink:

 

[angelofthenorth2009]

hi and thanks for replying ... yeah ive tried swirling the water about and he just duznt seem interested he will take drops outa feeding syringe but i didnt think it would be good to get him used to doing that .. i do bathe him a few times a week and he loves the water .. yeh i didnt think spraying him in there was a good idea anyway so i wont be doing that .. he duz sit with his mouth open under his basking light alot mainly on a evening for sum reason tho is that normal .... all his temps are right and everything else is fine !!

 

[fresnowitte]

That is referred to as gaping around here.

Gaping
In a healthy dragon, this behavior is normal. They gape their mouth open to release heat for the same reason a dog pants to cool down. Beardies do not sweat, so they do this to release heat.

Beardies don't exsorb water thru their skin so spraying doesn't really help. And spraying in the viv only raises the humidity.

 

[angelofthenorth2009]

ok thanks for your help ... ill try the dripping water drops on his nose and sticking to the bathing .... thx again ... :0)

 

[fresnowitte]

Anytime! :wink:

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Hello and welcome.

 

[puffwhizzcrooke]

hello and welcome.......stupid question but do you post on the BB forum

 

[myzeak]

i have a decint size water bowl in mine and have the cheapist air pump blowing bubles in the water so it makes him interested in the water but you have to be carful of humidity.

 

[spikerocks]

My baby has yet to drink from the dish in his viv. Really he just runs thru it on his way elsewhere. When I bathe Boodah, I use a dropper n just keep letting water droplets make ripples. It takes patience but eventually they do drink. Mine hates to b misted also n misting in the viv can cause mold/mildew to grow. Since my guy loves to swim I bath him every other day.

 

[jewelmick]

Maxx won't drink much either.

I make sure her greens stay moist....and dip her PW's in a cup of water to wash and hydrate.

She gets a bath every other day or so, and is starting to like it better I think...the only problem is she poops almost right as soon as we put her in. And we have to dump, clean, and refill.....if I think she needs a good soaking (shedding, etc.)

She does accept the dropper on the nose thing pretty good now too....was really leery of it at first...but, trusts us now more and she is older and less skittish about things.

 

[SkitTer]

Pagona vitticeps is a desert dwelling creature. Standing water is not common in their natural environment. Thus, they have not developed any affinity to drinking from such sources.
Your vegetable salad should provide nearly all of the water your beardies need. I even will put about an 1/8" of water in the salad to keep it hydrated and so that they get plenty of moisture.

If you really want to get your dragon drinking from a water dish, try trickling it for them. I mean by this, when refilling or changing their water, instead of putting a full dish down, put it down empty and slowly fill it (making a running creek sound). This has peaked my dragons' interest and they used to drink before I took the dishes away.

A 1mL dropper has also been very effective for me. The dragons drink easily from me. Though this may be due to my hand feeding a vegetable puree (about like organic baby food) when they are young.

 

[angelofthenorth2009]

hello and welcome.......stupid question but do you post on the BB forum

i dunno what BB forum is so naaa ... :0)

 

[angelofthenorth2009]

My baby has yet to drink from the dish in his viv. Really he just runs thru it on his way elsewhere. When I bathe Boodah, I use a dropper n just keep letting water droplets make ripples. It takes patience but eventually they do drink. Mine hates to b misted also n misting in the viv can cause mold/mildew to grow. Since my guy loves to swim I bath him every other day.

mine hates to be misted aswell the pet store told me to do that to him but thts a no no .... i did change his water bowl to a bigger one and flatter and hes took a few sips ... i also put a see thro container inside his viv with water in (just shallow) and he came straight over n started to drink from it ... so we have progress ... i dun the droplets ov water too to make ripples and that works aswell ... so thx