New Dragon in NC!

[tayloranne]

Hi all! I had been wanting a companion for a pretty long time, and ultimately settled on a bearded dragon. I had never cared for one before, but I did extensive research (including reading a lot of posts from this forum!) and did my very best to get everything bought and set up properly before actually getting the dragon. After browsing the websites of several different breeders, I ultimately decided on a 9 inch male from Draggintails. He was too adorable to pass up — and is just as adorable in person! He arrived safely yesterday, and has been settling in nicely. I call him Hawke (a reference to the Dragon Age games!)

He won’t eat much, just a few bites of greens/vegetables and the occasional phoenix worm/cricket. He pooped today, and it looked perfectly normal. I’m assuming/hoping the lack of eating is just relocation stress.

I figured that the relocation stress would also mean that he wouldn’t want to be handled, but it seems like the opposite is true. He was pretty skittish at first, but today he seemed to really warm up to me. I had taken him out to spot clean the tank and when I tried to put him back in, he crawled further up my arm and seemed to want to stay there. I had read that it’s best to not handle them more than absolutely necessary in the first week or so, so I was wary to keep him out with me, but in the end he seemed to love it — and even fell asleep on me when it got to be near time for lights out. As long as he seems content with it, is it okay to continue handling him and taking him out of the tank to hang out with me?

I’m dealing with a 40 gallon tank, a Reptisun 10.0 tube mounted inside of the tank, and a 100 watt halogen floodlight on a dimmer to provide basking light/heat. I measure my temps with the digital + probe thermometer I had seen referenced a lot on this forum. I also have a regular house bulb (an energy saver, I believe) on the cool side, to provide extra light without upping the temps too much. Right now I’ve got reptile carpet down, but plan on getting tile as soon as I can.

I'm looking forward to using these forums! They were truly an incredible help in getting everything set up and making me feel confident in taking care of a new beardie.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Welcome to the forums!
You are definitely off to a great start. Most people aren't nearly as prepared as you are for a new beardie.
Like you said, your beardie is probably just stressed from the move. No reason to worry about that just yet.
I don't know this for a fact, but you are doing fine if your beardie is already that comfortable with you. My beardie also was very cuddly and accepting of us pretty quickly as well. Sleeping on you generally shows that they trust you, so I bet he loves you already.
Never actually got to play Dragon Age yet. I actually named my beardie after a video game character as well, though (her name is Diablo (named her before we knew it was a she and stuck with it)).

 

[tayloranne]

Thanks, that's great to hear! I won't lie, I was pretty obsessive about researching! Reading all the advice here was super helpful, and made it all seem a lot less overwhelming.
That's pretty much what I figured, but it's awesome to have the reassurance. I figure if he's just as willing to be taken out and handled tomorrow, we'll keep at it. It's too cute when they cuddle up and fall asleep on you.

Another video game name, that's fantastic! I'll have to check her out sometime if you have a thread or pics up here. And I'd definitely recommend the series sometime, they're totally fun and addicting

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Here are a couple of my threads if you want to see her. viewtopic.php?f=44&t=221915
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=222281
Probably going to add some new pictures to the photo thread pretty soon to show her recent adventures.
It really does look like a great series, I just have trouble fitting in new games what with all the new releases and the other games I've been catching up on.
Also, I'll offer you some suggestions on eventual upgrades for your cage.
The thread where I am making her current terrarium viewtopic.php?f=34&t=222061
The big thread of tanks viewtopic.php?f=34&t=189370

 

[tayloranne]

Hahaha I completely understand. I can't even tell you how many recent games I'm dying to play (and in most cases, haven't gotten to yet because I've been spending so much of my money and time on beardie setup).
Diablo is adorable! Looks like she enjoys her hammock -- mine does too, he's slept there both nights I've had him. Thanks for the links, I'll keep the big thread bookmarked and scroll through for some inspiration soon. The tank that you're building looks amazing, that's a really impressive job!

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Thanks! I don't use the green hammock anymore (was suggested that bearded dragons can get caught in it and hurt themselves). I now have a pretty big one now that's made of a really soft material (can't remember what off the top of my head).
We actually finished the tank a couple of weeks or so ago, and it is amazing! Just as a heads up, though, this thing is really heavy and needs 2 people to move it. I highly suggest if you make one that you add handles on the side like we did.
I think I will just go post the new pictures now! Keep an eye out for it!

 

[tayloranne]

That's not something I came across when I was researching, so thanks for the tip! Since you've said that I've been looking into the fabric ones available online and I'll try to order one in before long since he does seem to like them in general. Definitely want him as safe as possible!
I'll keep an eye out to see your updated photos, and I'm glad to hear it worked out so well for you! I'm sure she loves it, too. I'm not a super crafty person myself, but a custom cage would be awesome, especially in the future when he starts to get a little bigger.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

I actually already updated them. It shows off my setup a bit. We changed up the placement of the items every once in a while, but the latest photo is pretty much her setup now.
Yeah, its hard to find quite a bit of information on everything for beardies because there are so many people that make assumptions based off their experiences or just don't look into it or share it, and its so hard for someone who doesn't devote to studying and caring for beardies to determine if something is working or not. Even those who do can miss things that are pretty important, so its always a good idea to keep an open mind about what others might have to say, though you should always try to confirm these facts in some way.

 

[Betty53218]

HI Tayloranne,
Welcome to the forum and your new job of being a beardie slave! I just wanted to mention that it sounds like you are doing a great job so far. I also had a regular hammock, but instead of getting a different one, I just covered mine in flannel. I also made some small blankets with the flannel for my guy to wrap him in while I snuggle him at night.

 

[tayloranne]

Thanks for the welcome and the input, Betty! I definitely feel like a slave already, the little guy is just too cute. That's pretty much what I've been doing for the past couple of nights with the hammock. He has gotten into the habit of falling asleep on me every night, and I'll just scoop him up in a shirt or a little blanket and set him on his hammock. He pretty much doesn't move at all once lights are out, so I figure he'll be just fine!