I have a 2 year old and I finally built him his custom cage, I found out his favorite foods, crickets, collards, strawberries, squash, bell peppers and blue berries. I have the lighting and temperatures all figured out he is on a timer everything is going very well. There seems to be one issue that I havent figured out and thats water, I offer him baths a few times a week, I have tried leaving a bowl and doing the eye dropper training but he has never seemed to be a big drinker. Does any one have water suggestion? I was thinking of a small fountain but then the issue of upper respiratory and humidity issues can occur. Let me know what you guys think.
Thanks
Joga's not a big drinker either (not like her Grandma anyway :shock: ) LOL
Putting a fountain in the tank does raise humidity and might cause a risk with URI...I bathe her 3-5 times a week and splash water all over her (I believe they take water in through their vents as well), plus i drizzle water on her nose and sometimes she'll lick the water while I'm doing that. And then recently she's started to drink in the bath, but seems to be prompted by running water or the water draining out (I think it's the sound)...so I fill the tub, empty the tub, splash the water, and generally cause a lot of commotion and she seems to respond to that and get half a clue that it's water. We do this for about 10 minutes until she poops or starts crawling on my hand to get out.
They will absorb water through their vents so the bathing will help keep him hydrated. His veggies and feeders also give him fluids as well. If you're worried that he's thirsty, try misting him or a small part of his cage with water. In the wild, bearded dragons use the groove between their eyes to catch the morning dew and direct it into their mouths if they need the extra water or they will lick the dew from bushes. Misting will either cause him to drink from the drops on his head or lick the water from his environment. They live in an arid area and don't recognize still water as a source to drink from. As long as he seems active and is getting regular baths, he is probably fine.
Mine doesnt like the running water, if I put him in the tub and fill it up to his armpits he puffs up and doesnt move so I have to put water in a tuperware and put it in his tank and put him in it. I have tried filling the bath tub then putting him in, not even filling it close to his arm pits, I dont know, I am also assuming the fruit and veggies he eats are giving him enough water, I usually freeze the veggies other wise they go bad so when they thaw they are nice n wet.