Rocky has arrived!!

[bonnie]

well, FINALLY got my beardie! just got him a couple of hours ago. he's 10 mos old, and already winning me over lol. found him on craigslist. he's very alert, and apparently this guy hand raised him from around 3 weeks old. he "hisses" when i first pick him up (i know, he doesn't know me yet and i know the car ride had to be freaky!) but soon as i start rubbing under his chin he chills out and "slenderizes" himself down again (only word i can think of for it lol). he's about 15" long the guy said (ain't measured him yet lol). got him some juvenile beardie food from the pet store since the guy didn't give me the food, he kept it for the female that he kept. also bought 26 crickets...EWW lol....but if that's what rocky needs i will get used to them little suckers.
ok.....questions!!! how do i keep these crickets alive? can they only be fed alive? is there a reliable source for mailorder on them? he's been fed mostly crickets and kale, but i do want to give him a varied diet. also, can i put a climbing thing in there from outside for him? or does it have to be bought from the pet store?? right now he is in a 20 gal tank, and i know i will need to upgrade him, but at least i got a little bit of time so i can hopefully find one cheap. how many crickets a day, how many times a week to dust with calcium? (yes, i have a print out, but right now my mind is going nutty lol, i wanna make sure i do things right).
also bought him a harness from the pet store so i can take him out. how long does it normally take before i don't really have to have a grip on him so he don't bolt on me? asking because i really don't wanna have him get loose on me and not be able to catch him lol.
well, guess that's it for the moment anyway! thanks to all in advance for any advice and help! looking forward to getting to know everyone!!!
oh yeah...one more thing...bathtime....how often and just room temp water?

 

[BlueDragon09]

Welcome to you and Rocky (nice name by the way).
Well first to make sure those ugly bugs are alive ( I hate them too)
is to give them a potato (this is what I used) or cricket food at the
pet store. They will suck the water out of those two and stay alive.
Just change it when it looks dry.
15" long..I'd say dust the calcuim like 2-5x's a week depending how much
he needs it, some need it 5x's some need is 2x's. just check his droppings
if the urate (white thing) if it ever gets yellow cut back it will turn white just don't
wanna give wrong info...
make sure you hold him and he if he is comfortable with you try putting the leash on and see how he reacts.
and the bath should be lukewarm water not too hot or too cold just right.
I give mine a bath once a week some others might do it 2 - 3 times.


I hope I helped a little bit.

 

[morphmom]

Lol! Congrats on the new baby! Wow they do bring up alot of questions eh? My fave food chart is a link from this site. Go into the care sheet section ans click on the 'beautiful dragons' link, then food chart. It breaks everything down and even colour codes foods! Love it. Other people could tell you more about the life of crickets, I just buy enough for the week and gut load them. I don't have em' long enough 2 die. I mix it up with silk and horned worms. I like them better as they don't escape the way crickets do. And yes, feed them alive, healthy food item, healthy dragon. If you choose to use something from outside, it's best to pop it in the oven and bake it to kill paracites. I dust all of the food with a calcium vita D powder, Lightly though. A multi vitamin 2x's a week is also a good Idea. Give Rocky some time to adjust B4 you handle him too much or worry about the outside world. He'll relax in his own time. Every dragon is different. Bath as much as he likes. Everone has their own idea on this one but I say atleast once a week and up it from there. Make the water the same temp you would bath a small child in and only enough water to come up to or cover the shoulders. It's less about swimming and more about soaking. I'm new too so feel free to take and concider many opinions. The food and temps are the most important aspects though. Welcome to our world. Post updates and pics.

 

[bonnie]

thanks for the info! ok, what is the urate (white thing)??? i got lost on that one....
went and bought some kale for him just a bit ago, and my friend's roommate has a 7 year old beardie she raised from a hatchling (i just found out about this when she saw the pics i posted on facebook of him). she said spring mix is good also, so got a bag of that too. got some natural juvenile food from the pet store, pellets, also. so he can have a variety.
got the crickets, bought a couple dozen to start, wasn't sure...guy told me he ate crickets a few times a week, and had already been fed for the day. well, i gave him one to see if he was hungry, and he went nuts! OMG lol. ended up eating 10 of them, then i said ok gotta save some for tomorrow. will give him the veggies and crickets tomorrow then will have to get more. wish i had bought more, pet store is in the next town! live and learn lol. but was a trip watching him eat them!! he is FAST!
he is so very alert! my one concern is that the basking light gets so hot (the end where the plug comes out). i thought there was something wrong with the light that the guy gave me, so i bought another and it does the same thing. oh well, i have a spare now lol.
Lucky (my dog) doesn't know what to think of him lol. made sure to put the tank on top of the tv entertainment center out of doggie reach!
am so wound up lol, it's 8:30, normally in bed by now since i'm up at 4am for work, and i haven't even had supper yet! need to unwind here lol
he is so cool i love him already! just will be glad when he gets more used to me and doesn't do the hissy thing lol. bought him a harness too
ok, need food for me and sleep lol. talk later!

Bonnie

PS any pages on facebook i could get on that u would recommend?

 

[BlueDragon09]

Just to let you know, urate is the first thing that comes out when they start going to the bathroom.

 

[bonnie]

first night went good! freaked me out tho, sleeping UP against the side of the tank lol. ate 9 crickets this morning (all i had left, 3 died), and i put some greens in for the day. gotta pick up more crickets tonite. think am gonna order some live online, LOT cheaper the way he loves them! oh well off to work, already can't wait to get home to see him lol.

Bonnie

 

[morphmom]

Upload some pics We'd all love to see the lil' guy.

 

[bonnie]

how to upload pics on here??

 

[BlueDragon09]

use photobucket and copy the IMG code and paste it on here.