The Chronicles of Elliott - 1 YEAR OLD!!!

Hi Everyone,

I have never owned a bearded dragon, Elliott will be my first. I have not even picked him up from the breeder yet. I will pick him up on July 3rd, when he is 8 weeks old and ready to come home. I have everything all set up and can't wait. I used to have an iguana, but he passed away 3 years ago at the ripe old age of 10. I have always wanted another reptile and after reading about the sweet and good-natured beardie I knew I found the right pet for me. In the picture you will see his brothers and sisters still in need of homes. I am so glad I found this wonderful site. I have been looking up all kinds of info already, I know I will be on here quite a bit.

 

[dolcedragon]

Look at those orange cheeks! What a lovely little beardie. Welcome to the forum. I know you'll enjoy your new baby.

 

[xxdragonflamesxx]

I know i'll enjoy him to. It sucks I have to wait another week to pick him up. I only have those 2 pictures to look at until then! I love his orange cheeks too! He's my pretty baby boy!

 

[herpfreak]

Hi! Welcome to the forum!!

Elliott has some amazing colors! :love5:

You'll have to show us some more pics when you bring him home!

~~
Maya

 

[xxdragonflamesxx]

Hi! Well I finally got Elliott on Saturday (July 4th) He seems to be doing fairly well so far, but is having some relocation stress. Saturday he would not eat any crickets or greens. Sunday morning a few hours after lights on I tried again, and nothing. Sunday afternoon I went out and got him some waxworms. I know these are like junkfood for beardies, but the breeder said they are his favorite, and I wanted him to eat something. He ate 4 of those basked for a while and then later pooped, but had yellow urates. I gave him a bath after he pooped thinking the yellow urates may have something to do with dehydration. He soaked for 30 minutes. He has not eaten anything since yesterday, I tried again this morning with the crickets and nothing. I left him some worms in his dish before I left for work, so we'll see if he eats those.

I have been reading a few people on here make the suggestion of feeding their beardie crickets in a separate container. This appeals to me because those crickets just seem to run and hide so quick. They are a pain in the butt to hunt down and get out of there. What type of container would work well?

One more question. At first I read so many threads and articles about how you should handle your beardie at least once a day to help make him friendly and calm. So that is what I have been doing. In fact we take him out twice a day. He seems to like it a lot. He'll just chill out on my chest or my arm. He doesn't try to run away or anything and yesterday he even fell asleep on my boyfriends arm all sprawled out (it was so cute) But now I have read in some articles that if they are experiencing relocation stress, handling should be kept to a minimum. So...to handle, or not to handle, that is the question. :lol:

Any info is appreciated! Sorry for being such a typical new worrying mom

 

[Agrannus]

I know the general rule of thumb at first is keep handling to a very minimum especially in the start. He is going thru some relocation stress let him get comfortable and relaxed in his new home. Also try to keep any changes to his viv at all for awhile , something as simple as relocating a branch or food bowl can often stress a baby out. Best thing to do at this point is observe, if it continues to be an issue with feeding you might want to intervene with a dropper and some first stage squash or other veggie. I have used pediolyte before in situation of ill dragons. In a nut shell how is the vivs set up he got the right basking temps the UVB anyone of a few things can have impact on the baby dragon.

 

[xxdragonflamesxx]

OK, today he ate a total of 6 more worms...still no crickets. I really gotta get him to start eating crickets...I don't want him to get spoiled on the worms, but I tried the crickets and he refused and I figured worms would be better than nothing. Right now I do not have an ideal light setup thanks to stupid Powersun MVB bulbs! I don't know if you read in another thread, but many many people were having problems with those bulbs since they reformulated. I happened to get one and had planned on using it, but then I thankfully saw the thread before it was too late. I currently have a regular soft white light bulb for basking and the Powersun bulb raised up 24 inches above him so he can get some UV rays, but not the damaging effects everyone else has been having with these bulbs. I get my Mega Ray 100 watt MVB Wednesday and I am hoping that helps to improve his appetite. I have his basking spot at 102-105, the warm side is at about 95 and the cool side at about 84. I have not moved anything in his viv since he moved in and I will not now that I know it can stress him out. I only handled him once today and that was just to put him in a separate container with some crickets so see if he would eat them like that. He didn't, he just spent the whole time trying to get out of the container. I am not too extremely worried since he did eat a little yesterday and a little more today. It's not like he's eating nothing, and I am hoping his appitite improves as he relaxes and gets used to his new home. Thanks for all the info! Here are some pictures, I know how everyone love pictures haha!

First Bath! (Well, first bath from me anyway)

He fell asleep right after I took this one, all sprawled out on his daddy!

 

[Agrannus]

I think the dragon will do fine just keep that eye on him and hopefully the UVB will help him eat better and you may want to take a look at his basking temps 95 still is a bit low.

 

[bbschempf]

Great looking dragon and i love all the pictures.

 

[xxdragonflamesxx]

No, no his basking spot is right around 102-105, the warm side of the viv is 95.

 

[xxdragonflamesxx]

Well, today is the 5th day I have had him. He's still not a big eater, but eats a little everyday. He will only eat the wax worms...about 3-6 a day. I know its not much, but i figured since he was eating some I would not try to force feed him or use baby food. I ordered some phoenix worms and a little bit larger crickets today, they should be here tomorrow. I originally got the 1/8" crickets. I think I was so worried about getting ones that are too big that I ended up getting ones too small! I don't even think Elliott can see the little guys. I ordered some 3/8" ones. I measured the space between his eyes and 3/8" should be OK. I also got the phoenix worms since he seems to like worms the best and they are more nutritious than wax worms. He gets his mega ray bulb today. Hopefully that may improve his appetite a bit too. I gave him a bath yesterday and Sunday and he has been drinking drops off his nose from the spray bottle about 3 times a day. He has not had stress marks for a few days now, so I think he's getting more comfortable, now if I can just get him to eat a little more.

 

[herpfreak]

I'm glad he's starting to eat some more. Wax worms are very unhealthy, but PWs are great. I can't guarantee it will be the same with Elliot, but Budo seems to like the larger crickets (still appropriately sized) than the teeny ones.

Horn worms are also something to try. They are high in fat, but are also loaded with calcium and they are bright green to stimulate appetite. Budo has had some rough times with his parasitic infections; he will occasionally go for several weeks refusing crickets, roaches, and even mealies, but he has never ever refused a horn worm. He loves them!

MegaRays are great. However, they need a few days to "burn in". For the first 48 hours, they will fluctuate dramatically, easily overheating. I just got a MegaRay in the mail today. I have put the bulb in an extra ceramic hood lamp and hooked up up to my bedside table, where it can't burn Budo.

Good luck! Keep us posted!


Maya

 

[xxdragonflamesxx]

OK, one day shy of him being home a week. I was so happy, on Wednesday he ate 9 worms! I know...not much, but still the most yet. He had 3 in the morning and 6 in the evening. Then of course yesterday he didn't eat anything I get my PWs and 3/8" crix today so hopefully he will like those. I got a little bit bigger and deeper feeding container too. Maybe he will not be so anxious to try and get out and actually pay attention to some of the crix. Get that predator instict going :lol: Although, being that every worm he's ever eaten with me has been hand fed to him, I have not seen much of that predator come out of him. He hasn't touched the greens at all. When I try and offer them to him by hand he just turns his back on me. He's not havin' it! I got my Megaray Wednesday and am burning it in using a separate fixture. I think I will start using it Sunday or Monday. He pooped again yesterday for the second time since I got him. His urate was half white and half yellow, so I'm thinking that means he's getting more hydrated considering his first one was all yellow.

Oh yesterday during his bath he swam! During his first 2 baths he just stayed in 1 spot only moving his head to look around. This time he must have been in an energetic mood or else he's just getting more comfortable with the whole thing cause he kind of scuttled over to the deep end and then swam with arms and legs at sides and swished back and forth like a snake all the way across the tub. He even had his head all the way under the water. I know, I know, you guys with like 10 dragons at home are probably like so what I see that all the time, but it was the first time I ever saw it and it was soooo cute!

Well, I'll update more later...maybe I'll be able to say how he ate 10 crix and 20 PWs and a whole bowl of greens (wishful thinking).

 

[xxdragonflamesxx]

I DO HAVE GOOD NEWS! I got the 3/8" crickets and boy I must have been right about him needing a bigger size. He ate 18 Crickets! The PWs all came dead . I know this is probably my fault though, so I can't be too mad. I live in Las Vegas so the weather here this time of year is obviously really hot. I got the warning that Ghann's was going to cancel my order due to high temps, but signed the waiver and had them ship em anyway. Half the crix were dead and all the PWs. Obviously I am not going to be able to order from them or probably anyone else all summer. It doesn't get back to below 90 temps till September usually. I am going to have to find some place local to get my grub. Gotta do some searching. If anyone knows of a good place in the Las Vegas area let me know. I checked out Petsmart, but they sold these pre-packaged boxes of 25, but they look like mostly all dead. I haven't check Petco yet.

 

[herpfreak]

Hooray! Congrats! Sorry about the PWs. At my local PetCo they sometimes have butterworms in stock, which are great staple feeders besides the fact that they are high in fat. For such a little guy, they should be fine to use as a staple.

The only thing I can suggest is if you go out of town (or probably out of state, I'm also in NV, it is sooo hot here) you get a bunch and breed them on your own.