Welp, here is the babe <3

My new beardie does not yet have a name. He/she is just about 2 months old. Born on August 8th, 2016. He/she is just about 7 inches old. As soon as I put him/her in his/her cage he/she zipped away and it seemed like he/she walked all over before finding a hiding spot behind the log. He/she stayed there until about 3 minute before his/er lights came off, then slowly moved towards the basking spot, but then the lights went off. He/she didn't want to eat, but I think the breeder fed him/her already today, so I will give it another go in the morning. As soon as I put a phoenix worm in front of his/her mouth, the eyeballs were glued to it, but he/she wouldn't go for it. I hope he/she is sleeping well. I hope he/she turns out better than Clementine.

Well, I have narrowed it down to two names: Taro(from a song i like) or Pollux(one of the twin stars from my favorite constellation, Gemini) . The breeder says that he is a probable male, but at this age its really hard to tell as you all know. Which do you think? I'm leaning towards Taro because it's a little more neutral. I think I will start using male pronouns because he just looks like a little guy haha.

Anyways, here he is:

 

[Gyro]

You should submit that pic for the calendar.

one step ahead of ya! already did heh

 

[Gyro]

Exciting news: Today, i got him about 12 crickets from the petstore just to see if he would eat them, and lo and behold, he REALLY likes crickets. So, I went ahead and ordered 500 1/4" crickets and went back to the pet store and bought about 100 crickets for like $15 just to hold off for a few days until I get the 500 in. I am planning on keeping them in a plastic bin with a shallow water bowl and cricket feed (or would lettuce be enough for moisture?) then taking out about 30 or so and putting them in a "critter keeper" which is just a lil tupperware bowl with little breathing holes and put lots of veggies in there so they get a little loaded with nutrients since he doesn't like veggies yet. Im going to try to maybe injure a couple crickets so they cant move too much and put them in the salad bowl that way he maybe takes up some greens while he also eats a cricket. I'm still going to try to slowly get him on BSFL though.

 

[BruceLarryOzzie]

Hi. If you put lettuce in with the crickets, make sure it's washed and then intake out what they don't eat in 24 hours. They really like romain. They also really like butternut squash. Lol.
I have found that you have to clean the cricket keeper(the main box) once a week.

The key to keeping them alive is keep them hydrated with the water crystals, and feed them cricket chow.

If they start to smell, it means there are dead ones.

 

[Gyro]

Hi. If you put lettuce in with the crickets, make sure it's washed and then intake out what they don't eat in 24 hours. They really like romain. They also really like butternut squash. Lol.
I have found that you have to clean the cricket keeper(the main box) once a week.

The key to keeping them alive is keep them hydrated with the water crystals, and feed them cricket chow.

If they start to smell, it means there are dead ones.

Okay great!! Thank you so much for the advice! Im hoping to get him on black soldier fly larvae as fast as I can because crickets and roaches give me the creeps. But, anything for Helios haha

 

[Gyro]

So today he has eaten another 5 crickets, and I'm going to try to do another feed later today. This morning he had a little poop which I'm guessing were his crickets from yesterday, so I think he is processing them well. He finished shedding today so we will see if that let's him have a bigger appetite For the most part he lets me hold him and pet him, but sometimes in his cage if i just try to pet him while he's in there he'll open up his mouth but has never lunged at me. We will see how the little fella does

 

[Gyro]

Little fella is up to 15 crickets today total for both meals! He is doing very well and seems to be digesting well. Still no poop today, but he seems active and healthy. I need to measure and weigh him one of these days. The crickets im feeding are between 1/4" and 1/2" fed on vegetables before feeding them to him. He still hasn't eaten any veggies so that kind of worries me. I might try the freeze-dried crickets to get his attention on the veggies.

 

[SpacialCoogs]

He should be primarily eating insects at this point so I wouldn't get too worried. Keep offering salad but don't expect it to be his primary diet right now.

 

[Gyro]

Is it okay for them to not poop some days? He ate some crickets yesterday but there was no poop today :/ Man being a new parent sure is stressful

 

[BruceLarryOzzie]

Just make sure his basking temps are good. Then give him a nice warm bath. I always did 96-100 degrees. Worked all the time to get the poop coming. Many baby pooped twice a day but every lizard is different. Just be aware..... If he is packing in the food, he will have a big ol' poop. Lol

Don't recommend freeze dried anything.

They really like strawberries. You could pt some very finely chopped strawberries on the salad. They are attracted to red.

 

[Stormikins]

Is it okay for them to not poop some days? He ate some crickets yesterday but there was no poop today :/ Man being a new parent sure is stressful

Mine did the same thing when I got him home. Pooped one day then nothing for like 3 days straight. Freaked me the heck out. I tried hot baths ( 96-100F temp), nada, I tried giving him extra water, nada. So eventually I gave him a few drops of olive oil on a cricket or two, and some tiny bits of collard greens with olive oil.

Do I think that's what did the trick? I honestly don't know. But now, he is settled into a routine where he poops about once a day, sometimes twice, and runs from it.

I honestly think, from what I read, that new babies will sometimes take 2-4 days or so to adjust to a new schedule. As long as he is eating and is happy, I say just watch him, and watch his temps.

Mine is now grown over 1 inch in 1 week, and gained 1/6th of his weight.

 

[Gyro]

He actually pooped about a dime size today, which I think sounds right for just eating about 15 crickets. Not runny at all. Good, solid stools :mrgreen:

 

[Stormikins]

He actually pooped about a dime size today, which I think sounds right for just eating about 15 crickets. Not runny at all. Good, solid stools :mrgreen:

Awesome!

How big is he now? I measure my little pest once a week, and use a food scale to weigh him. He looks like a little leatherback, is that accurate?

 

[Gyro]

I measured him yesterday and he's at 7 inches i havn't weighed him yet but i should be able to this weekend

 

[Stormikins]

I measured him yesterday and he's at 7 inches i havn't weighed him yet but i should be able to this weekend

Awesome!
Can't wait to see how much yours grows. It's so fast!!

I love seeing the progress in mine, even though now, he is growing so fast and shedding so much. He is in perma b.i.t.c.h mood. BUT on the plus side, he likes his snuggles still.

 

[Gyro]

Mine will only snuggle when he wants to. Other times he will scuttle away as soon as i touch him, or open his little baby mouth and try to bite me, which he did once haha