Water? How do they get it?

[divinedimension]

My beardie is 7 weeks old and growing quite well, but the only way he/she will take water is by me spraying it in his/her face with a spray bottle, then she licks it up. I stop when she stops licking. We do this a few times a day.

How do I teach him/her to use the water bowl? Or will this ever occur?

 

[exile399]

from what i understand theres a few ways to teach them to drink water from a dish heres a vid on how to teach them how hope it helps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJAM5PzX364 dont know if they'll drink on there own tho lol

 

[lauraj1055]

dragons don't need to drink water out of a bowl, and shouldn't have a water bowl in their enclosure. This can raise humidity in the tank, and cause upper respiratory infections. You can hydrate your dragon by bathing him 2 - 3x a week.. Just full the tub, or a rubbermaid container with warm water (not too hot, the same temperature you would bathe a baby in) fill it up to his chest, or just above the 'elbows' they absorb the water through their vent. Bathe them for 20 mins each time, like I said 2 - 3 times a week.. they also get hydration from their greens, so spray their greens with water when putting them in the tank.

 

[divinedimension]

Many people I know have water in their tanks. I have a water bowl and close to zero humidity. Sucks for the salad bowl. LOL. But I doubt it would cause a respiratory infection at zero humidity. Mine won't eat greens yet, which was my concern. He does like it when I spray him in the mouth with a spray bottle, but is that really ok?

 

[Jess]

I have a big water dish, and my humidity is 20%... In fact, the reason I added it is because my humidity is so low, it wouldn't even register on the thermometer LOL! He has been shedding better since I added the dish too, but he won't drink from it.
Dudley will drink water if I spray his mouth too. It's fine, as long as you aren't doing it in their enclosure.

 

[divinedimension]

I'm actually worried..my humidity is less than 10 percent. Is that ok??

That's why I keep water in there, too. He gets pissed when his crickets die in there though. He stares in there and cocks his head like DUDE noooo get out I wanna eat uuuuuuuuuuuuuu. LOL.
But he won't crawl in there no way.

I do always take him out of his enclosure to water him. He normally does it twice a day but today he only drank once.

 

[valcash]

I don't have water dishes in the enclosures. When they have access to water they tend to go to the bathroom.
Daily misting, regular soaks in the tub, and fresh live vegetables and fruits help with keeping hydrated. One of mine really likes baby food from a syringe.

 

[divinedimension]

I don't have water dishes in the enclosures. When they have access to water they tend to go to the bathroom.
Daily misting, regular soaks in the tub, and fresh live vegetables and fruits help with keeping hydrated. One of mine really likes baby food from a syringe.

Ahh he won't drink it anyway from a bowl. But I keep it in there in case he does because the poor baby won't touch greens. Wonder why?

 

[RockyPlusBen]

Bathing them is a great way to keep them hydrated as they can soak up the water through their skin.
Rocky will take water from a dropper. Just drip drops on the tip of their nose and eventually they should catch on. It took Rocky a couple of weeks to finally catch on, and now he loves it.

 

[VooDoo]

Question.

Is it ok to use regular tap water for them to drink/bath in?

For my crested gecko I use spring water. Is this recommended for beardies too?

Thanks.

 

[RockyPlusBen]

It is preferred that you use spring water, but you do not HAVE to. Like using 9 bottles of water to give your beardie a bath each time 3x a week? no, that would be pretty obsessive. Regular tap water would not do them much harm.
I do use spring water, however, if i give him the water from a dropper, as I would not have to use that much water to give him a drink. So it's pretty much 50-50 of tap water and spring water.
Personally, I think this is the best route to go.

Hope this helps,
Ben

 

[RockyPlusBen]

I'm actually worried..my humidity is less than 10 percent. Is that ok??

The humidity should be between 25-40% but I think 10 percent at times would be fine. My cages humidity can fluctuate between 15-45% some days. Just make sure it is not TOO humid. It should definitely not be above 50%. It would be better if there were no humidity than say 80% humidity.