Pretty sure I am slowly killing this dragon

[DragonLadyTerra]

Okay, the subject MAY be a little dramatic. But maybe not. That's where you all come in...

This is Thunder giving me his "don't believe anyone who says we don't have feelings because I am OBVIOUSLY in love with you" look. Or his "I wish I could eat your face" look... Hmmm. Maybe I've been misunderstanding him all these years...

I got this dude from a local pet shop for my (then) 9 year old daughter. She has been deathly afraid of him ever since... The only other time she acted this dramatic was when she was begging us to buy him. Sigh. Now, I like to pride myself on being a good pet owner. And one of the main rules is to not get a pet for a kid and then get rid of it when said kid proves to be an irresponsible bundle of mess and germs. So I had already decided that I would happily take over care for this guy if she didn't.

Another "good pet owner" rule is to do lots of research. I did this extensively before we got a dog and, because I knew generally how to care for them, I was able to determine when advice was BS or when it was good. I could not say the same for a Bearded Dragon. So, I did what I thought was best and listened to the pet store guy. He was all "they're so easy to take care of" and "only feed him every few days and spray him down occasionally" and "why dont you get two or three so they can live and play together and wont be lonely?" I figured this was a pet who would fit right in with our lazy family. Now, I'm wondering why he is still alive. I don't do even half the stuff y'all do, yet he seems reasonably okay. Of course, how the hell would I know? And how can I get him to a less-neglected state of care for a reasonable price?

Here are some pics of the cage and the light.

He ate live crickets for a bit but I HATE the smell of them. Like, a big bonus to getting this guy was he is pretty stink-free, so those crickets were hated by me. I mentioned it when buying them and my trusty pet store guy assured me that live bugs weren't needed. So I got a blend of meal worms and crickets and then an expensive, dried crickets only to mix in. He doesn't always eat the meal worms so I figured he'd like more crickets. Of course, I stumbled across the need for calcium somewhere, otherwise I'm guessing my little Thunder-poo would be, well, deady-poo. But the ol trusty pet store guy said it was rare for them to need calcium, but couldn't hurt. I thought, only the best for MY baby... As far as veggies, their importance was seriously downplayed. Like, "throw some lettuce in there once a week if you want" kind of downplayed. Obviously food needs to change with a major addition of fruits and veggies. Maybe I'll eat them with him and we can both get healthy!! Yay! <--- lots of sarcasm and broken promises, I did mention I was lazy, right? But, do we HAVE to go back to stinky crickets? I mean, we've had him for 2 1/2 years so he's been out of the hunting game for a while. What if the insects ban together and eat HIM instead!!

The light is another area I am guessing is a concern... The bulb in there is some extra bulb we had in our pantry that fit. There is a thermometer on the side of the tank but it's never worked. No idea how hot or cold it is in there though.

As far as the cage, did I do SOMETHING right at least? The pet store guy said to use a smaller cage with sand on bottom. But I don't like eating sandy food and, again, I wanted to spoil my cute little guy, so I got a big cage thing (no idea of the size in gallons, but 3 ft across, 2 ft deep, and 1 foot wide). And the fake grass stuff is so much easier to keep clean than sand would have been! Ugh.

He has a water dish, which I try to keep water in but he doesn't seem to drink out of it unless he accidentally stumbles across it and realizes it holds water. He does enjoy pooping it it though, which has been a concern over the years... We all try to spray him at least once a day and that includes whatever he's sitting on because he licks the water off. But baths!! I had no clue!!

I think that's it, but if you have more questions let me know. He did have a funny (funny-weird not funny-haha) poop yesterday. Here's a pic a few hours later. When it came out it looked blurry or something, and in the pic you can see it now has little hairs all over it. I dunno, but that strikes me as weird

. My luck, now that I want to try to make my Inappropriate word removed by Moderator crappy ownerness up to him, he's gonna be terminal and his death will weigh on me forever... *sob*

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He looks pretty good in those pictures though. So you have taken over complete care of him?
The size of the tank is terrific, so I am sure that he loves all of his space. You are using fake
grass in the bottom, correct? How do you clean that?
As far as lighting, from what I can see, he will need a better UVB light I think. Are you using a
Mercury vapor bulb? I don't see a tube in the tank.
If you are using a UVB light, how old is it?
Calcium is important, especially when they are 1 year or younger, to support their bones just
like in humans & mammals. I would recommend getting him on a 3 times weekly, calcium
intake schedule. You can dust his insects or his greens/veggies, if he is eating those. Have you
tried superworms or calcium worms for him, since he is an adult?
What are the temperatures in the tank?

Tracie

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree he does look pretty good despite the poor advice given by the pet store (unfortunately a very common problem). We can certainly help you get everything in good order for him. The tank looks great. I like the branch you have going across it for him to climb on. The tank itself is a good size overall, but a little narrow for an adult. He is probably longer than the width of the tank. Taking him out of the tank to interact with him regularly will help offset this for now.

As far as lighting goes, you said you are using a spare bulb for his basking. Does he have a UVB light? That is pretty critical to his overall health so I'd invest in that first. Get a good one because it's worth it. A 22'' T5 with a reflector should do well in that tank. Something like this http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

It's also important to set a good temperature gradient for him so I would pick up a couple of digital thermometers with probes so you can measure the basking surface temperature and the cool side temperature. You don't need anything too costly. Something like these will do well https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017N8W90/ or an IR temp gun to spot check temps around the tank https://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK You want the basking surface to be somewhere between 100-110 and have a gradient down to about 75-85 on the cool side surfaces.

Once lighting is set, I would focus on his diet. Since he is an adult, his primary diet should be fresh veges. Offer some dark leafy greens like collard, turnip, dandelion, kale, or bok choy greens among others. These are naturally calcium rich options. Mixing in some chopped green beans, chopped or shredded squash, chopped bell pepper etc along with occasional fruit will make a nice balanced salad. There is a good chart to reference here http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html Just rotate what you offer based on whatever looks fresh at the store. Variety is key so just offer as much as you find and over time you'll discover what his favorites are so you can put those in more frequent rotation.

As far as live bugs go, they are important but not as important as with a young growing dragon. I agree with you about stinky crickets and I don't use them although they are a decent option. I prefer dubia roaches because they aren't smelly and are much easier to care for. They readily eat the leftover veges from salads which is nice. I also offer on rotation silk worms, horn worms, and black soldier fly larvae (Phoenix Worms). I offer my adult dragon a bug meal once or twice per week while he gets a nice big salad every day. The bugs are dusted in calcium powder (light, even coat) at every feeding. This may take time to move him to a schedule like this if he isn't used to it, but be patient and give it a try.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Okay, the subject MAY be a little dramatic. But maybe not. That's where you all come in...

This is Thunder giving me his "don't believe anyone who says we don't have feelings because I am OBVIOUSLY in love with you" look. Or his "I wish I could eat your face" look... Hmmm. Maybe I've been misunderstanding him all these years...

I got this dude from a local pet shop for my (then) 9 year old daughter. She has been deathly afraid of him ever since... The only other time she acted this dramatic was when she was begging us to buy him. Sigh. Now, I like to pride myself on being a good pet owner.
<<< I feel compelled to correct you ….. you do not own that bearded dragon, he owns you .
You are his private trained Hooman / Hoowoman and slave ….. and don't ever forget it.

And one of the main rules is to not get a pet for a kid and then get rid of it when said kid proves to be an irresponsible bundle of mess and germs. So I had already decided that I would happily take over care for this guy if she didn't.

Fortunately , unless mum or dad go and get a native animal keepers' licence …. such situations don't happen here in Australia ….. no keepers' licence (on hand to show the shop / breeder) no sale.




Another "good pet owner" rule is to do lots of research. I did this extensively before we got a dog and, because I knew generally how to care for them, I was able to determine when advice was BS or when it was good. I could not say the same for a Bearded Dragon. So, I did what I thought was best and listened to the pet store guy. He was all "they're so easy to take care of" and "only feed him every few days and spray him down occasionally" and "why dont you get two or three so they can live and play together and wont be lonely?" I figured this was a pet who would fit right in with our lazy family. Now, I'm wondering why he is still alive. I don't do even half the stuff y'all do, yet he seems reasonably okay. Of course, how the hell would I know? And how can I get him to a less-neglected state of care for a reasonable price?

Here are some pics of the cage and the light.

He ate live crickets for a bit but I HATE the smell of them. Like, a big bonus to getting this guy was he is pretty stink-free, so those crickets were hated by me. I mentioned it when buying them and my trusty pet store guy assured me that live bugs weren't needed. So I got a blend of meal worms and crickets and then an expensive, dried crickets only to mix in. He doesn't always eat the meal worms so I figured he'd like more crickets.

<<<< pet shop gave bad advise …..surprise surprise ….
mealworms are at best an occasional treat / bribe for a bearded dragon.

Crickets only smell if you leave dead one's in the keeper ….. then you the rotten prawn smell when the dead crickets "go off".
Dried insects are a very poor food source.
He's an adult : this is what I consider the best guide around for setting up his feeding and supps schedule and diet - viewtopic.php?f=18&t=236074

Of course, I stumbled across the need for calcium somewhere, otherwise I'm guessing my little Thunder-poo would be, well, deady-poo. But the ol trusty pet store guy said it was rare for them to need calcium, but couldn't hurt. I thought, only the best for MY baby... As far as veggies, their importance was seriously downplayed. Like, "throw some lettuce in there once a week if you want" kind of downplayed. Obviously food needs to change with a major addition of fruits and veggies. Maybe I'll eat them with him and we can both get healthy!! Yay! <--- lots of sarcasm and broken promises, I did mention I was lazy, right? But, do we HAVE to go back to stinky crickets? I mean, we've had him for 2 1/2 years so he's been out of the hunting game for a while. What if the insects ban together and eat HIM instead!!

The light is another area I am guessing is a concern... The bulb in there is some extra bulb we had in our pantry that fit. There is a thermometer on the side of the tank but it's never worked. No idea how hot or cold it is in there though.

As far as the cage, did I do SOMETHING right at least? The pet store guy said to use a smaller cage with sand on bottom. But I don't like eating sandy food and, again, I wanted to spoil my cute little guy, so I got a big cage thing (no idea of the size in gallons, but 3 ft across, 2 ft deep, and 1 foot wide). And the fake grass stuff is so much easier to keep clean than sand would have been! Ugh.

He has a water dish, which I try to keep water in but he doesn't seem to drink out of it unless he accidentally stumbles across it and realizes it holds water. He does enjoy pooping it it though, which has been a concern over the years... We all try to spray him at least once a day and that includes whatever he's sitting on because he licks the water off. But baths!! I had no clue!!

I think that's it, but if you have more questions let me know. He did have a funny (funny-weird not funny-haha) poop yesterday. Here's a pic a few hours later. When it came out it looked blurry or something, and in the pic you can see it now has little hairs all over it. I dunno, but that strikes me as weird

. My luck, now that I want to try to make my Inappropriate word removed by Moderator crappy ownerness up to him, he's gonna be terminal and his death will weigh on me forever... *sob*