How to Train Your Dragon

October 18, 2015 1:29 PM

I recently came into possession of a juvenile bearded dragon. I realized, despite precursory research, I don't really know how to care for it.

I really did think I did adequate research about beardies, until I realized the differences between carrying for juveniles and adults.

Research tells me he/she will eat 20-50 crickets A DAY...!! Where does one get this many live crickets? And where do I keep them without dealing with cricket noises and smells? At the first cricket feeding, he only ate about 6 after 20 minutes. Should I offer crickets 3 times a day? He hasn't touched the commercial beardie food (pellets that I soaked) or the salad (greens, squash, a smidge of banana) I've offered.

And then I read about dusting and gut loading the crickets, which all just seems way more complicated than I thought this would be.

I want to be a good pet owner. I'm not going to mistreat or underfeed this little guy - I just feel overwhelmed and need help figuring out the simplest way to care for his well in his youth!

P.S. His habitat is set up well, I think - he has a reptile carpet, water dish, food bowl, hide, basking spot, basking lamp, night heater, and UVB light. I am comfortable handling him and know about cleaning and baths. It's mostly the feeding that I feel overwhelmed by.

posted by raspberrE to Pets & Animals (4 answers total)

You need a beardie forum stat, or the knowledgeable people on the subreddit. You're going to have ongoing questions about raising this guy because it is actually hard to, you know, not kill them. (Everything can seem like its fine or improving and then they just... drop dead.)

Do you have a specialist reptile vet near you?
posted by DarlingBri at 1:54 PM on October 18, 2015

The main things to watch out for are impaction. I've nursed several babies through impaction from people feeding them much too large a crickets or from keeping them on sand substrate (which they ingest with their food) so you are one step ahead of a lot of people by having them on a carpet. I tend to avoid sand until they are about a year old.

I've heard that you should keep any food smaller than the gap between their eyes, I have no idea of this has any scientific backing, but it is has stood me in good stead, so chop up those veggies super duper tiny. I've had good luck soaking pellets in a little apple juice to get them interested.

Make sure to gut load the crickets (feed them a special diet you can buy this at pet stores, it's a good way to get extra nutrients into your beardy) & lightly dust them with calcium powder. I fed crickets twice a day, removing uneaten ones (I would feed in a bowl & lift out what wasn't eaten in say 10 minutes, yes some escape, not only in the cage but into your house. A trick to help with the escaping is to put the cricket in the fridge for a short whiole as it will make them sluggish & easier for the babies to catch while they get the hang of hunting. Do not put them in for more than a little while or the crickets die. You may need to experiment a little to find the ideal times. Keeping crickets at a cooler side 65-70F will slow development if you are trying to keep them smaller.

Fresh well chopped veggies I offer every day, avoiding lettuces, kale spinach & beet greens as they bind with calcium & these guys need all the calcium they can get. They tend to eat more veggies as they get older but it's good to offer some everyday after they've had some crickets. Avoid mealworms as they are very chitinous. Veggies are say 10% of a babies, 25% of a juveniles & 50% of an adults diet. A trick I found to get them eating veggies, is when they are eating crickets to tip the crickets onto the veggies or soaked pellets, they are such bad shots they would often eat veggies/pellets by mistake.

I am basing this on experiences in Australia. You guys in the USA, have a wider selection of worms & food products etc you can feed so you may want to check a good US forum for info on these.

I am paranoids & like to avoid under heating if possible, beardies are less sensitive to heat coming from below & can get burnt. I also had am acquaintance have half half her lounge room burned & lost her carpet python because she didn't use a thermostat for heat lamps in her snake tank, so you may wish to invest in one.
posted by wwax at 7:05 PM on October 18, 2015 [4 favorites]

I'm not sure where you live and what your financial situation is, but I would consider trying to find a good veterinarian that has experience with reptiles and make an appointment. Even if your beardie has no apparent health issues, a reptile experienced vet can give you advice on diet, habitat, enrichment, etc. Plus, then you have a professional in your corner just in case your friend gets injured/sick/needs emergency care.

Good questions to ask when you try to make an appointment at a clinic (most likely you'll be speaking with a receptionist on the phone, and not the vet themselves): does your practice have many reptile patients? How many years of experience does [particular vet] have in treating reptiles? Do you see bearded dragons often? Is your clinic AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) accredited?

Here's some options to get you started in your search.

The downside of this can be cost - a lot of veterinarians will charge more for an "exotic" examination than one for a dog or cat, and this is usually because they will spend more time with you and ask you more questions in order to make solid recommendations for your dragon's diet and husbandry needs. But if you don't mind spending a little more money (as you have likely spent some already setting up the habitat, etc) a vet visit can be invaluable.
posted by aspenkf at 1:35 PM on October 19, 2015

Research tells me he/she will eat 20-50 crickets A DAY...!! Where does one get this many live crickets? And where do I keep them without dealing with cricket noises and smells? At the first cricket feeding, he only ate about 6 after 20 minutes. Should I offer crickets 3 times a day? He hasn't touched the commercial beardie food (pellets that I soaked) or the salad (greens, squash, a smidge of banana) I've offered.

You can order crickets through the mail from reptile feeder breeders, or many petstores, especially smaller local specialty stores, will have them available for you. Unfortunately there is nothing to be done about smell and noise (this is why I own only whole-rodent-eating snakes - I can't stand insects). You could switch to dubia roaches - no noise, less smell (so I'm told) and they are nutritious too, but they will be more expensive, I think. Note that any kind of feeder insect must be gutloaded and dusted. This is one reason why I find it hard to recommend insectivorous lizards as pets - it's not simple work! The commercial foods are more or less useless, but definitely keep offering dark green leafy greens (except spinach, other oxalic-acid-containing greens) and so forth.

P.S. His habitat is set up well, I think - he has a reptile carpet, water dish, food bowl, hide, basking spot, basking lamp, night heater, and UVB light.

Consider switching from reptile carpet (which harbours bacteria and is difficult to get wholly clean) to slate tile, which can be purchased at hardware stores and possibly cut to fit for rather cheap. As well, he should have a bunch of hides and climbing spots to help him stay healthy and feel secure. Make sure you are measuring temperatures with a digital thermometer or infrared gun (the guns are usually available from hardware stores) - dial or stick-on thermometers are terrible products. Keep in mind the UV lighting will need to be replaced every six months. And the heating elements do need to be controlled with a thermostat.

It's hard to find good beardie care information. Be wary of anyone directing you to anapsid.org, a parasite on the reptile world's behind with outdated, distressing information. That includes "exotic" veterinarians, who very often will source all their husbandry information from that. bleeping. website and charge you $300 for it. If you would like to pick an exotic vet's brain, check the ARAV website (but to be perfectly honest, I'm of the school that believes if the animal isn't showing physical trauma or illness, an extremely stressful vet visit that takes it out of its environmental parameters is FAR more harmful than otherwise).

Disclaimer: I am not a beardie owner, I am a multiple snake owner, and also a crested gecko owner - I feel like those guys are far more suitable as first lizards, but c'est la vie.
posted by Nyx at 12:42 PM on October 20, 2015