New Bearded Grandma

[Julie Beans Mom]

I've been watching this forum for a couple of weeks. My daughter just got a couple of the little reptiles and one in particular needed some help. He/she refused to eat. Brought it to the vet, too young to sex yet. She/he is doing much better with all of your help. She ate 20 little crickets tonight. She does love to curl up with my daughter, under her shirt to sleep for an hour or so. He/she basically begs to do this, in her own cute way. Tonight, we let the larger more dominant lizard in her "house" because they are used to visiting each other. He/she puffed up her beard and refused to let the visitor stay. Not sure what that was all about. The bigger one, who is the same age ran for cover. I guess that now it's healthier it is getting a little more aggressive. Anyway, thanks for all of your suggestions. I don't know how we would have gotten along without it.

 

[Catalyst]

Hello and welcome This is a great place to get information and we're always happy to answer any questions you may have.

I would suggest that you not have the dragons visit each other any more or be very careful when you do - puffing up is a sign of dominance and this can lead to physical aggression. It can also be stressful on the dragons to have confrontations between each other.

I'm glad to hear both dragons are doing well now. I hope all continues to go well Have a great day!

 

[shortygirl]

Julie, can the dragons "see" each other? The smaller one may be too stressed to eat. Can you copy/paste the Important Information sticky (from health I bealieve) here so we can take a look & check if there's something about the husbandry that may be affecting her appetite?

Thanks!

~Michelle

 

[Julie Beans Mom]

Big Dragon and little dragon are about 9 weeks old.
We have had them for 3 weeks.
They are round 7 inches long, I'm just grandma so I'll have to check.
The vet said a week ago that they are too young to properly sex.
They are both in their own 20 gallon tanks at this time.
They are on newpaper, we took the sand out over a week ago.
My daughter bought two of the special reptile UV lights, one for each.
They both have different items to get them pretty close to the lights.
My daughter has been keeping the basking up to a good 100 degrees.
The nighttime temp is around 70 degrees. We live in Maine, USA.
(The smaller one was shaking until last week when we found out about this stuff and did what this site told us to do. Also, found a good vet. She stopped shaking pretty fast after we got the UV light and also found out how to make them drink more water.)
They do have a heat rock that the little one likes to use. Is that ok????
The big one eats pretty much anything. Lots of the right veggies and crickets. Also, some of those worm things that you mentioned.
The little one hates all veggies, you can try to wiggle them around her, put them on her mouth. She just won't go for them. She eats only when she is good and ready. She will go from almost nothing one day to eating 20 or 30 small crickets the next day. I guess they get "dusted" with protein powder. Also, the crickets are gut loaded.
Also, I think that the vet gave some type of vitamin supplement.
The two lizards were together until a week ago Sunday when I told my daughter to seperate them. The little one shook when we took the bigger one out, like separation anxiety. They can see each other. The vet said that this might be a good thing.
They hate their baths but we keep trying every few days. Also, they do get misted and have water in their dish at all times. Also, we do the drop the water on the nose thing and they tend to drink at that time.
They both love to be held. They both like to cuddle, especially the little one.
The little one is very thin and that does worry my daughter. The vet says that her eyes look clear and she may not have been born as healthy as the bigger one.
The pet stores know nothing about these little animals. Probably, less than nothing. We have had just about every animal, from hermit crabs right up to horses. We baby our animals and they are very much family. I hope we are doing the right things, it's tough when we get information that is not accurate from pet dealers.
I know that this is long, but I so appreciate your helping us out. If anything happened to one of them, it would be extremely sad at this point.

 

[shortygirl]

Toss the hot rock, those things kill more beardies than I care to think about.

I'd remove the little one from the view of the big one. Dominance can come in many strange forms, even just *seeing* another dragon can throw one off.

What brand/output UVB light is it? Some lights don't put off enough & since there are no regulations on herp specific products, any light can be labled "UVB".

How are you measuring your temps?

Babies aren't that interested in salads, that's normal. They're protien hogs, so feed them all they can stuff down their gullet. I feed my girls 2-3 times a day, they can each eat over a 100 approprietely sized crickets (no larger than the space between their eyes). What are you gutloading the crickets with. Also, what supplements are you using (brands) and how often? What salad items are you using?

Given they are pet store dragons, unforatunately it wouldn't surprise me if the little one WAS born unhealthy. The pet store trade has resulted in "mass breeding" (think puppy mills....only beardie mills) and weakened the genetic lines. Also, Adeonovirus has reared it's ugly head again. It may be in your best interest to get them both tested. I have the testing information if you would like it.

~Michelle

 

[Julie Beans Mom]

The bigger one is around 10 inches long, the little one is a good inch shorter. We have been told that they are most likely siblings. Also, if we let them run around the floor together, they are fine. We are in the process of getting a 60 gallong tank and dividing it in two, for now. I did get to hold both dragons today and they are very lively and also very loving animals. The big one will go after as many lizards that we put in front of him. The little one will go after a couple and she's had enough. My daughter has a special inside heater that is showing 105 in the basking area. I think that I will have her log into this site since she is the main caregiver. Can a smaller dragon who eats less but seems otherwise healthy make it and live a decent life????

 

[Chris]

The big one will go after as many lizards that we put in front of him. The little one will go after a couple and she's had enough.

i'm guessing u mean crickets,..!! :lol:

dragons dont let on that their sick untill its almost too late, something about needing to appear healthy so predators are fooled into thinking theyre ok, so if its having eating/growth issues it might have soemthing to do wtih temps being to low, the UVB being inadequate, parasites or stress. if stress is possibly a factor it would be best that they cant see each otehr @ all, even if they cant get @ each other,...

Roaches are a better feeder than crickets if ur not too grossed out by them, crickets are known to carry parasites, plus roaches have a better meat to shell ration and promote faster growth. aslo, my girls refuse crickets, but will chase a roach across teh loungeroom with their tongues hanging out,..its very cute,...btw, thats feeder roaches, not ur ordinary house ones,..!! :wink:

 

[Julie Beans Mom]

Both Beardies have been to the vet twice and they didn't seem to have problems except that they both have parasites. They got their shots and have to go back in two weeks. They are also on medication. We have separated them for the most part except for a little time together. They seem to like each other but we are keeping them apart almost all of the time now. Also, the bigger one will eat anything, greens, any size crickets and is growing real fast. The smaller one is now eating about 40 medium crickets every day and is pooping just fine. She won't eat anything else but at least she is eating. Hopefully, we will see some growth soon. They both love to be held, even the vet commented on how they enjoy being handled. I guess this is a good sign. Who know that two little reptiles would be so fussy to raise and so expensive. But, thanks for all of the help. We put tile in the bottom of their house, we took out all of the sand, we have the proper UV lights, we have them separated, we bought proper thermometers, we bath them, we watch their poop, and all this for two "easy" little pets, at least that's what the pet store told us. But, they are little loves. I got to put them under my shirt on the drive to the vet and they just loved it.