# do bearded dragons need a water bowl?



## kernix (Apr 2, 2009)

I have been told that beardies can become very sick if there is a water bowl in their tank and that you should spray them with water daily and bath them ones a week instead...

what is your opinion on this?


----------



## Erinaceinae (Mar 26, 2007)

yes they need a waterbowl, they drink from it, and sit in it should they feel the need


----------



## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

They don't "need" a waterbowl as such, but I'd always recommend providing a small one just incase they want to drink. They are capable of obtaining almost all of their moisture requirements from their food.

Spraying in the viv will likely raise humidity more than small water bowl will.


There's a lot more detail in this thread:

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizards/177301-your-bearded-dragon-its-habitat.html

It's an article that I was asked to put up by a breeder from Australia, and it explains things about water from a natural perspective.


----------



## bendaferrari (Jul 7, 2008)

weather they need it or not i put a bowl in with mine when we had some they loved it espauly my big male he loved playing in the water and would get upset when i tried to clean up this mess


----------



## miss_rawr (Mar 18, 2009)

I have heard the story about them geting sick with a water bowl as well =/

so i hadn't put one which is why i voted no but I've only had my beardies a few days lol

I think I'll be putting one now in though


----------



## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

I use a bowl and mine all drink from it and also play in it.. I also teach my babys to drink from still water from a very young age.


----------



## wacky69 (Apr 8, 2008)

we used to have a small dish of water in with our beardie only ever saw him drink from it once but the locusts loved their own little pool lol


----------



## miss_rawr (Mar 18, 2009)

wacky69 said:


> we used to have a small dish of water in with our beardie only ever saw him drink from it once but the locusts loved their own little pool lol


:lol2: least you had happy locusts


----------



## wacky69 (Apr 8, 2008)

miss_rawr said:


> :lol2: least you had happy locusts


 happy livefood is healthy livefood lmao


----------



## kaimarion (Dec 31, 2007)

HadesDragons said:


> Spraying in the viv will likely raise humidity more than small water bowl will.


I put one of those large exo-terra water bowls in my 4x2x2 cool end(84f) and the humidity hasn't changed in the past 4 hours, I think it is safe to assume that putting a water bowl in a large enclose won't effect the humidity. I'll keep trying this out for the next couple of days and see if the results change.

Anyway the water bowl is in the viv so my BD's can have a soak if they want to. It doesn't happen very often but occasionally my oldest BD has soak in it and my newest addition really seems to enjoy a soak so he will most probably be using it when he moves in.


----------



## Marinam2 (Sep 4, 2007)

You should always provide fresh water,

Marina


----------



## miss_rawr (Mar 18, 2009)

so where does the myth about them getting sick becasue of a water bowl come from?


----------



## Apropos (Nov 3, 2008)

Probably the same place all ridiculous myths come from; some jackass wanting to pretend they're an expert.

I'm gonna weigh on the 'yes' side. I've never seen the Beardies in my household (I don't have one but my roommates have three) actually drink from it intentional, but all of them love playing in it obscenely.

And just because I haven't SEEN them drink doesn't mean they don't.


----------



## Soulwax (Jan 6, 2009)

Never heard this but I feel that anything should have some supply of water, occasionally if its a desert species of something.


----------



## kaimarion (Dec 31, 2007)

miss_rawr said:


> so where does the myth about them getting sick becasue of a water bowl come from?


Depending on the size of the enclosure and the positioning of the water bowl it can effect the humidity and if the humidity is too high it can lead to an RI (respiratory infection).

Also I wouldn't say you need one.


----------



## spike n thorn (Nov 22, 2008)

i have water bowls in all of mine! and my largest girl Calipso loves to run round her extra large water bowl in circles and have a soak lol, plus i think it also helps keep the livefood hydrated cos im always finding them drinking from it too. when i saw my vet for phoenix, when she was poorly he said spraying beardies with water isnt advisable, unless you have a sick beardie and your trying to rehydrate it, as this can lead to Respitory Infection but then a bath is usually a better choice.


----------



## HadesDragons (Jun 30, 2007)

miss_rawr said:


> so where does the myth about them getting sick becasue of a water bowl come from?


As kaimarion said, if you were to use a really large bowl and put it in the hot end (I've seen it done "to keep the water warm incase he wants to swim"), it would evaporate very quickly. If someone wasn't paying much attention to their beardie it could develop a nasty RI from the humidity before they realised. Something like a waterfall (or an uncleaned bowl) can harbour loads of nasty pathogens which can make a beardie ill as well. I doubt it's something that happens too often, but under the wrong conditions a bowl could cause a beardie to become pretty ill.


----------



## Adam W (Apr 21, 2008)

I reckon that any water in their natural enviroment would of evaporated due to the very hot temperatures so i dont think that a water bowl is needed, also i think that it would raise the humidity of the viv too much. Anyway i think beardies should get enough water in their salad, spraying or bathing if needed.


----------



## Antw23uk (Jan 12, 2009)

So is it true all of the unemployed Australians go around bathing and spraying beardies in the wild ... i heard that once ... :bash:

Hades is right, beardies are very well designed to extract there moisture from food and in the wild they would very rarely, if at all, come into contact with a pool of water!

However as captive animals, like any animal, its in a controlled enviroment which could potentially go wrong so i would always recommend putting a small bowl of fresh water in the viv, cool side to keep humidity low and only bathing your beardie if its having a bad shed, constipated or after brumation and egg laying.

As some have said there beardie seem to enjoy the water bowl which is typical of beardies and great fun to hear, lol 

IM(strong)O i say a water bowl is an absolutley necassary part of your beardies set up and bathing and spraying isnt.


----------



## morerepsthanazoo (Mar 11, 2007)

Been breeding these for over 25 years now and have never come across a sick dragon through drinking from a water bowl. None of my adult beardies ( all 39 of them ) will drink from a bowl or indeed choose to bathe in it. They walk throught it and defecate in it and thats about it , so i do not provide them with a bowl. They obtain enough moisture from their greens which are sprayed before offering them. Being as 75% of their diet should be greens then this amounts to plenty of moisture for them. My hatchlings and juveniles however do drink regularly from a water bowl and are given fresh water daily. When you think about it the adults are much more efficient at utelising any water as their body size and mass allows them to store better. The babies having a very small storage capacity but still living in the same fairly arid enviroment, lose water more rapidly. Have come across plenty of rescue babies over the years with dehydration problems.I would always advise providing Bearded dragons of all ages with a water bowl. Time and experience will tell you whether your dragons actually make use of it and you may then make an informed decision as to the continued use (or not) of the bowl. Hope this is of some help.


----------



## Adam W (Apr 21, 2008)

Antw23uk said:


> So is it true all of the unemployed Australians go around bathing and spraying beardies in the wild ... i heard that once ... :bash:
> 
> Hades is right, beardies are very well designed to extract there moisture from food and in the wild they would very rarely, if at all, come into contact with a pool of water!
> 
> ...


I mean its obvious that a beardie would not stumble upon a pool of water in desert like conditions but surely when reptiles are kept in captivity then we should try and make their enviroment in a viv as much like their enviroment in the wild as they were obviously adapted for the wild. I can see where you guys are coming from with the need for water bowls but to be honest ive never seen my beardie touch it unless he just turns it upside down making the viv more humid and more difficlut to clean.


----------



## morerepsthanazoo (Mar 11, 2007)

Adam W said:


> I can see where you guys are coming from with the need for water bowls but to be honest ive never seen my beardie touch it unless he just turns it upside down making the viv more humid and more difficlut to clean.


Sounds very familiar..LOL


----------



## paulab (Mar 26, 2009)

Mine as a small bowl of fresh water everyday. I have never seen him drink from it yet but i dont watch him 24/7.


----------



## rick01 (Apr 3, 2008)

> So is it true all of the unemployed Australians go around bathing and spraying beardies in the wild ... i heard that once ...


 and I know where from :whistling2: of course when we're not doing that we're cooking their pumpkin so they can eat it 'cos it's too hard otherwise:gasp:

On a slightly more serious note, I've seen and driven through the areas dragons inhabit and the chances of them having open water available at any one time is close to zero so they have adapted to a stage where they can obtain all the fluid they need from a good balanced diet without any need for baths, showers and pools of water. Having said that I still suggest that a SMALL bowl of water be available in the cool end of the viv.
Just as a matter of interest I completed a drice across Aus last Novemebr including a 2000 km section where there is NO water at all - in fact there are warning signs at the beginning and end of the section advising that you should carry your own water








yet half way across we came across this little guy 








He's a Painted Dragon and was chasing a mate through the rough scrub.

Rick


----------



## Reptilover (Jan 15, 2007)

I voted for yes, maybe they do get there water from there vedge but its may just one day want a drink.. 

Personally i have water avaliable to all living things in my house..

:2thumb:


----------



## paulab (Mar 26, 2009)

of course when we're not doing that we're cooking their pumpkin so they can eat it 'cos it's too hard otherwise:gasp:
This made me giggle. Are you saying that all the beardies don't have a BBQ and cook all there own food :lol2:.
I guess in the wild beardies do a lot of thing different and probably eat a lot of things that we wouldn't dream of giving them.
They are not in the wild they are stuck in a box, so there is no harm in having water to hand. Like i said before i have never seen mine touch his water but if he wants to it is there.


----------



## kernix (Apr 2, 2009)

cheers everyone for the help so far :2thumb:


----------



## Finch (Sep 14, 2007)

I use to have a water bowl in my dragons viv for him but he dint seem bothered about it. Now i just put a little bit of water in the same dish as his veg everyday so if he does wont a drink he can still and it keeps his veg freash.


----------



## bmth girl (Apr 18, 2008)

My beardy has never had a water bowl in the viv and never will...
:whistling2::whistling2::whistling2::whistling2:​


----------



## tegu66 (Mar 16, 2009)

mine all have small one i would never use a larger i have known alot of people have beardies that have almost drowned in large water bowls.

and we all know they arent the sharpest tool in the box lol


----------



## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

ive never used a water bowl for my dragons and never will.
the only time i have sprayed/bathed my dragons is when they have trailed through poo and needed their tails washed.

: victory:

yayyy rick!!! :no1::no1:


----------



## georgieabc123 (Jul 17, 2008)

my beardies havent had a water bowl for 10 months with no water bowl and all fine


----------



## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

mine doesn't have a water bowl, i give him a bath once or twice a week


----------



## ShibbyMan666 (Feb 23, 2009)

I always have a water bowl with fresh water avaliable, but for the 8 months I've had him he's never drank from it only sat in it lol. So honestly I can't see them as a vital issue but it certainly is nice to give them the option. As long as veg is nice and moist then shouldn't be any concerns with hydration.


----------



## Paprika (Mar 24, 2009)

daftlassieEmma said:


> mine doesn't have a water bowl, i give him a bath once or twice a week


I think that's a safer option in the long run


----------



## Cheeky-x (Feb 2, 2009)

All Mine And My OH's Beardie Have Had Water Bowls, And None Have Ever Had A Problem!! No They Wouldnt Find A Great Deal Of Water In The Wild, But We Own CAPTIVE BRED Beardies And They Would Of Been Acustomed To Living In Vivs, Not Big Ole Deserts..Wouldnt You Think??? xx


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Hi, 

I'm not sure if the people on here that say they have NEVER, and NEVER will provide their beardie with a water bowl, are trying to be clever, guess what... You're not.

Let's all climb off our high horses here, (and some are very high indeed), and apply some simple logic. A small water bowl like the one I will show in my viv, will NOT raise humidity, a Beardie will NOT drown in it, (if you have a tiny baby then only put in 2 mm of water).

So with these being the only two perceived dangers of water now removed, the only reason anyone would still insist on not providing a water bowl is out of shear pig headedness. There is absolutely no reason to not give any animal the choice to have water when IT chooses. And even the die hard amongst the no water bowl brigade can not ignore Finch's idea of putting water in the salad bowl, (nice idea by the way Finch, I might try that myself). So if we agree that the danger of a water bowl in the viv is none existent, and if only 1 in a 1000 beardies die from dehydration through lack of water, why take the risk, it just doesn't make any sense. 

As far as I am aware it is part of the licensing terms for pet shops to have water all ways avalible for ALL animals, although I could be wrong, any pet shop owners here?

As a final point, for thoughs who say they never see there animals drinking from water bowls, just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. My girlfriend has worked with reptiles and amphibs. for over 12 years, and she still sees things that suprise her. About two weeks ago we came home from a night out, (so it was very late), and she looked in on her Kenyan sand boa just in time to see it drinking from its water bowl, needless to say she was gob smacked that a desert snake that is suposed to not drink, was doing it.












Jay


----------



## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

just because some of us are saying we will never use a water bowl doesnt mean we are on our high horses.
its a poll and we just replied.

my beardies all drink from syringes if i feel they need a drink,which is very rare.
all the water they need comes from the veg they eat.
you dont see folk out in the simpson desert going round putting wee bowls of water down for the desert species there do you?

surely keeping reptiles means making their habitats as close to natural as humanly possible?

i know for a fact none of my beardies will drink from a bowl,if i put a water bowl in any of my desert species vivs all that would happen is that the lizards would make a right mess of it and id have to be changing it every 2 mins lol 

if you look at the weather for the simpson desert you will see it doesnt rain or have any kind of oasis or puddles etc etc(i think average rainfall is less than 200mm a year)...so why put a puddle in a viv?

i could also be quite anal here and say the viv in your picture with the adult beardie is far too small,but ill not climb on my high horse cos it is quite high lol


----------



## rick01 (Apr 3, 2008)

> Are you saying that all the beardies don't have a BBQ and cook all there own food


 Regretfully they are not allowed BBQ's. As you may be aware they can't read and open BBQ's are illegal on Total Fire Ban days, this means that if they had BBQ's and couldn't read the Fire Ban notices we'd need extra police to patrol an area some 3000 km x 1500 km in case one of them decided to have a cook up on a fire ban day. We've just had a big enough couple of bloody fires in Victoria this year we don't need any more!!!!

Rick


----------



## Mattsetback (Nov 14, 2008)

weeminx said:


> i could also be quite anal here and say the viv in your picture with the adult beardie is far too small,but ill not climb on my high horse cos it is quite high lol


It is? It looks like a 4x2 to me, surely that's ok?


----------



## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

id say it was 18 ins

it looks like an 48x18x18 viv exotic 

could be wrong tho : victory:

i was just being anal because the whole water bowl thing is anal lol


----------



## Juzza12 (Jun 12, 2008)

Doesn't look like a 4 x 2, think it is a viv exotic one, they're the only vivs I've seen with silver runners. In my opinion those vivs are too small. A 4 x 2 has floor space of 8ft, the viv exotic only 6ft


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

weeminx said:


> just because some of us are saying we will never use a water bowl doesnt mean we are on our high horses.
> its a poll and we just replied.
> 
> my beardies all drink from syringes if i feel they need a drink,which is very rare.
> ...


To clarify, I am all about giving animals the choice to decide what they want for themselves, you are not, in short you are playing god with your animal, (high horse reference needed?).

I have also got clarification on the pet trade liceince law I mentioned befor, I was right, so in other words, if you was to keep any of your animals without water avalible at all times in a shop, you would be braking the law. But as they are in your home, and you have skills beyond all others...:whistling2: 




weeminx said:


> id say it was 18 ins
> 
> it looks like an 48x18x18 viv exotic
> 
> ...


Go to the top of the class here though, maybe you are some sort of demi god...: victory:



Juzza12 said:


> Doesn't look like a 4 x 2, think it is a viv exotic one, they're the only vivs I've seen with silver runners. In my opinion those vivs are too small. A 4 x 2 has floor space of 8ft, the viv exotic only 6ft


I have always been led to believe 6 ft sqr viv is adequate?


Jay

P.S. It's not about being anal, it is about taking the guess work out of the husbandry of your animals, the O/H made a very good point to me last night, she asked me how many of the enclosures at Durrell wildlife trust do not have water in them. NONE is the answer, These guys are the worlds experts in the presivaton of some of the rarest animals on the planet, and even they don't have the balls to proclaim they don't need to leave water in the desert species enclosures.

How many people want a stepladder to help them off their horses?


:lol2:

Jay


----------



## Juzza12 (Jun 12, 2008)

I've always read 4 x 2 minimum. Maybe 6ft floor space is fine for some, it wouldn't be for my beardie as he uses all of his space in a 4 x 2, but i think the width of the viv exotics is too small anyway, i wouldn't keep a beardie in one.


----------



## mask-of-sanity (Dec 27, 2006)

my beardies both have a large exo terra water bowl on the cool end, they both use it to drink from and have a paddle in, my female is now 8 or 9 and has always had a bowl


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Juzza12 said:


> I've always read 4 x 2 minimum. Maybe 6ft floor space is fine for some, it wouldn't be for my beardie as he uses all of his space in a 4 x 2, but i think the width of the viv exotics is too small anyway, i wouldn't keep a beardie in one.


Yeah, but mine has an extention, 17'x10' lounge, he's running around it now, :2thumb: If I hear him scratching at the glass I open it and he can come and go as he pleases.

Did I mention it's all about choice. :lol2:

Jay


----------



## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

jabba1967 said:


> So with these being the only two perceived dangers of water now removed, the only reason anyone would still insist on not providing a water bowl is out of shear pig headedness. There is absolutely no reason to not give any animal the choice to have water when IT chooses. And even the die hard amongst the no water bowl brigade can not ignore Finch's idea of putting water in the salad bowl, (nice idea by the way Finch, I might try that myself).


but the question is 'do the NEED' a water bowl?'. you're saying yes and then saying that you might try water in with the veg, which isn't a water bowl so they don't actually NEED a water bowl. They just need access to water / moisture whether it's through a waterbowl or their veg.



> So if we agree that the danger of a water bowl in the viv is none existent, and if only 1 in a 1000 beardies die from dehydration through lack of water, why take the risk, it just doesn't make any sense.


they is actually a thread on here about somebodies beardie being found dead in its water bowl. The beardie was ill though so to be neutral it may have either drowned, died when it was in the water bowl or became weak from it being ill and couldn't get out which resulted in drowning.


----------



## carciady (Apr 2, 2009)

I dont have water bowls in with my adults as they get a bath every week and they drink from that if they want to, But as for the hatchlings I put a small amount of water in with them and they do drink quite a bit.


----------



## iXXo (Mar 8, 2009)

my beardies all drink from syringes if i feel they need a drink,which is very rare.

That is prehaps the stupidest thing i have ever heard.......

i know for a fact none of my beardies will drink from a bowl

I stand corrected......

you dont see folk out in the simpson desert going round putting wee bowls of water down for the desert species there do you?

Circular logic anyone? Think before you post.....please...


----------



## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

:lol2:

my beardies get a drink when i feel they need a drink,by this i mean if any of them havent eaten any veg for a while,like i said which is very rare.

the veg we feed our beardies is dead your quite right.but after washing veg lots of water drop lets are left on the veg,a bit like dew,:lol2:

yes the veg does dry out after being in a hot enclosure for some time but whats wrong in replacing dry food?..doesnt take two mins to add fresh food with more water droplets on it. 

these bearded dragon and waterbowl threads are funny...

Durrell wildlife trust (whoever they are ,never heard of them) could well add water to desert enviroments and only they can say as to why they would do this,i know edinburgh zoo desert enclosures do not have water bowls.

the point im trying to make is why have a water bowl in a desert species viv? it doesnt make sense.

oh and as for being a demi god??....thank you: victory:

the lino remark was also funny,as im a firm believer in not using lino :lol2: 

i do know for a fact my beardies dont drink from water bowls ,cos they drink from glasses









i was going to get a picture of a high horse,,,,but i couldnt be arsed:lol2:

:lol2:waterbowl threads are great


----------



## iXXo (Mar 8, 2009)

Thats so cute ^^ I would however like to add...as my post didnt state it..that im not against not putting bowls in beardys vivs.  i was simply pointing out your arguments made no sense. 

The second opint is now mute  again cute pic ^^

Although why the syringe`s? watter bowls are easier lol. seems silly to me. 

Also i stand by my circular logic bit  rephrase please


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Meko said:


> but the question is 'do the NEED' a water bowl?'. you're saying yes and then saying that you might try water in with the veg, which isn't a water bowl so they don't actually NEED a water bowl. They just need access to water / moisture whether it's through a waterbowl or their veg.
> 
> What Finch was on about here I believe is putting a couple of mils. of water in the veg dish, thus making a veg/water dish. Although at the time I thought this to be a good idea, it has since been pointed out to me that having the veg sitting in water in a hot viv prob. isn't such a good idea. :bash:
> 
> ...


Yeah, read that one, I would say it died of something else, but that thread did point out how people will have knee jerk reactions, beardie found dead in water bowl = remove water bowl, there can be no other explination...:whistling2:


Jay


----------



## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

i use a syringe cos its the easiest way to get water into them if you feel they need water.like when they havent been eating veg.

all it takes is a few drips of water on the nose and then the beardies will drink from the syringe.chameleons do it as well,my yemens see a syringe and bite the end to get a drink: victory:

the point i was making is that beardies do not NEED a water bowl. hence you dont see people going round the simpson desert placing waterbowls for the dragons: victory:


----------



## Redhill Reptiles (Feb 22, 2009)

i taught mine to drink from still water so they have one, but they dont *need* one. They are a must for me when breeding as my female will drink alot then especially after laying.


----------



## iXXo (Mar 8, 2009)

hmm thats a good idea! i might have a to get one just in case  

Also i agree you dont NEED one actually  

But your going round the desert bit is circular logic. i dislike circular logic...eg: a = b = c does not always! mean c = a. Unless c has! to = a. The logic is flawed.


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

weeminx said:


> :lol2:
> 
> my beardies get a drink when i feel they need a drink,by this i mean if any of them havent eaten any veg for a while,like i said which is very rare.
> 
> ...


They are, but again on a serious note, reptiles like the beardie will put up with a lot of abuse, you can treat them very badly indeed, and they will survive, (beardies have been around for 25,000,000 years, so they've seen some sh*t in their time), but it doesn't make it right, you have to be very confident in your husbandry skills to take basic needs of an animal away, and to make all it's decisions for it. To put it in human terms, a human can survive on a couple of hundred mls. of water a day, but what we realy need is a couple of ltrs.

I suggest you google Durrell, You might not know who they are, but I can tell you this, they train keepers and consavationists from all round the world, these guys know more about reptiles than you, even if you lived to be a million. But what you're saying is, you know more than them. You've got bigger balls then me, I can tell you.


We all know where beardies come from, we all know how they get their water, the point is, having a water bowl in the viv does no harm what so ever, where as your husbandry methodes are very...How can I put this...Ah arrogant. 

Some logic for you, for every peace of infomation you think you know about the animals you keep, there is a million things you don't know. Why make it a million and one :2thumb:


Jay


----------



## weeminx (Oct 28, 2006)

i never once claimed to know more than your friends at durrell,or anyone else for that matter.

all this from a simple thread about the "need" of a water bowl in a bearded dragon viv :lol2:


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

Good to see a thread go on this long, I had my photobucket account open and ready to give this an airing, 













Maybe there is still time.


Jay


----------



## bushy515 (Apr 11, 2009)

even tho i dont keep beardies i do feel that they need a water bowl , because it is there if they need it.


----------



## Finch (Sep 14, 2007)

jabba1967 said:


> What Finch was on about here I believe is putting a couple of mils. of water in the veg dish, thus making a veg/water dish. Although at the time I thought this to be a good idea, it has since been pointed out to me that having the veg sitting in water in a hot viv prob. isn't such a good idea. :bash:
> 
> 
> 
> Jay


I keep the veg dish at the very end of the cool end of the viv so the the little bit of water he has in with his veg does not effect the veg at all.


----------



## Conn (May 20, 2008)

My BD doesnt understand water.
I spent a lot of time dropping water on her nose and splashing the water to try and educate her during the first 6 months I got her. Not interested. I gave up. 
She's happy enough though and I keep the water bowl in there just in case.

She seems a bit more aware of whats going on when I give her a weekly bath and does seem to enjoy a bit of swimming though.



Anyway, in my humble opinion, a water bowl is not needed but anyone with a sensible bone in their body would put one in.


----------



## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Finch said:


> I keep the veg dish at the very end of the cool end of the viv so the the little bit of water he has in with his veg does not effect the veg at all.


 
stick it in the bottom of a waterfall and it'll keep getting washed too..


----------



## cooljules (May 20, 2008)

bushy515 said:


> even tho i dont keep beardies i do feel that they need a water bowl , because it is there if they need it.


you admit you dont keep them so you cant comment...just like i do not comment on stuff i havent kept and know nothing about


----------



## Babycakes (Mar 6, 2009)

So, is this the beardie equivalent of the keeping leos on sand thread...?:whistling2:


----------



## cooljules (May 20, 2008)

Babycakes said:


> So, is this the beardie equivalent of the keeping leos on sand thread...?:whistling2:


not really, lep gex dont actually come from a sandy area.....were as BD's come from a place that can have no rainfall or v v v little in a year

i have never had standing water in mine in 12 years, only time is gravid females what wont eat or cooled adults that have very little food


----------



## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Although Jabba has done a rather smashing job of trying to put forward some good ideas (not that I'm biased much!!!  ) it seems to have been a little wasted on some.

I think the clincher should have been Rick's comment, you know, the guy from Aus, the guy who wrote the Bearded dragons and water sticky...

This guy knows the habitat, he's been there (and for the record one of my immediate colleagues is from Queensland and she'd say exactly the same as him on the subject having spent plenty of time in the outback...), so if he says that _*despite*_ all the information on rainfall levels and zero standing water etc, he'd still offer a small bowl of water, wouldn't you take some advice?

Weeminx; do you know someone behind the scenes at Edinburgh to be certain that those exhibits and the animals in them 100% never have standing water available? Or does it just look that way when you visit? 

Zoos and petshops are held to the same basic conditions on provision of water, that it should be available "appropriate to the needs of the species". 
We all agree Beardies need water from somewhere, we're all agreed that wild beardies are exceptionally well adapted to maximise their water conservation and utilise a low intake, how does this translate to not giving them any option in captivity?

Assumptions make an ass of you and me. 
It's poor logic and shortsightedness to assume that we know just how much hydration our beardies are getting from the veg we provide them in comparison to those in the wild, or to assume that because an animal wouldn't naturally see open water, that it therefore wouldn't benefit from it. An animal that is highly adapted to low water intake is done no harm by a higher intake.

A little musing.
We have no choice but to feed our beardies nutritionally substandard insects, with incredibly low variety (compare a handful of commercially bred livefoods to hundreds if not thousands of invertebrate prey available to a wild beardie.) 
We also have no choice but to feed our beardies nutritionally substandard vegetation, with comparatively miniscule variety. We know that many of the greens we can offer our animals are either vastly deficient in essential minerals and vitamins or worryingly high in a raft of negative contents such as Oxalates, Goitrogens, Saponins etc.

The result is increased strain on internal organs, kidneys and liver especially are going to play a large role in trying to process the unfortunately less than ideal foods we have no choice but to use. 
Kidney damage and stress can be reduced or alleviated by increased hydration... Hopefully, a conclusion i blossoming.
Captive beardies may require greater hydration than wild beardies for a number of husbandry related reasons and perhaps at that point "there is no one to give them waterbowls in the Simpson Desert" becomes a little void.

At work, we have a couple of hundred habitats, ranging from exhibits, to enclosures, to paddocks, to small pal pens. Every single one of them has water provided 100% of the time. A number of the exhibits have hidden water bowls, for instance in the _Cyclura_ you wouldn't see the bowl, but it's certainly there and changed daily. Of the species I work with (and have worked with over the years) many different types from both arid and humid habitats have visibly sought water and many have never ever appeared to actively drink water at all. It would be ridiculous to believe that observed water intake equals desired or needed intake.

I don't believe that baths, or syringing or spraying is needed for healthy adult bearded dragons and I feel that in any case it's all rather longwinded compared with offering a receptacle of water should the animal need it.

Just my £20 worth!
Lotte***


----------



## debcot1 (May 13, 2008)

I dont usually have a water bowl in with my beardies as they eat a lot of veg so they get their moisture from that and they drink when I bathe them. However when my female is gravid or has just laid I provide her with water for a couple of weeks after.


----------



## reptiles_galore (Aug 13, 2008)

Never ever spray the beardies. they come from the desert!!! think ppl.

most of the time beardies will get all the water from the veg you put in there. which you should be spraying with water before putting it in there. 
but if you feel for saftey you would like a small bowl in there then this is fine provided its kept as far away as physically possible from the heat source.

beardies can get respratory infections from high humidity!!


----------



## durzer (Mar 3, 2009)

A water bowl isn't just for drinking but can help with shedding too. May just be fun for them to run through it.

Whichever is the case it would seem daft to me not to do so! Stick it in, it's only a bowl :whistling2:


----------



## Conn (May 20, 2008)

Very well put Saedcantas, a very intelligent post.


----------



## cooljules (May 20, 2008)

durzer said:


> A water bowl isn't just for drinking but can help with shedding too. May just be fun for them to run through it.
> 
> Whichever is the case it would seem daft to me not to do so! Stick it in, it's only a bowl :whistling2:


oh god another newbie..


----------



## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Saedcantas said:


> Assumptions make an ass of you and me.


 
well you nearly got it right..


----------



## The Roach Hut (Mar 29, 2008)

Hi its a fact that they do not need a water bowl and if u look at some of the research into this it will show u how dry and arid the land is where they come from in ozz. that saying that i do keep a bowl as i do have a few beardies that will drink directly from it. anything to stop dehydration is all good as long as it doesnt cause any humidity in the viv. I can do this as my has a ventilation system built in so no chance of humidity building up.

Just a note spraying yopur beardie only needs to be done when they are young to stop dehydration and bathing beardies not needed. it will cause fungal disease especially if your doing this on a regular basis. The only time you should be required to bath a beardie is if he is having problems shedding.

Dragons should get all the fluids they need from their foods this should be sufficent if they are fed correctly to provide enough water and to aid in shedding.

I know there will be many people who will agree and disagree with me and this is a subject that will be debated for the rest of eternity. so what i will say is its down to you. like i said even though i know they dont need it i do keep a bowl

Tony


----------



## Jay30 (Mar 18, 2009)

I have water bowls in both of my beardies vivs, the male sits in his when he's hot. The females stay away from the bowls, I spray them everyday and they drink when they are being sprayed. I have never seen them drink from the water bowl, but that does not mean they don't.


----------



## Pendragon (Dec 8, 2008)

FireDragon said:


> Hi its a fact that they do not need a water bowl and if u look at some of the research into this it will show u how dry and arid the land is where they come from in ozz. that saying that i do keep a bowl as i do have a few beardies that will drink directly from it. anything to stop dehydration is all good as long as it doesnt cause any humidity in the viv. I can do this as my has a ventilation system built in so no chance of humidity building up.
> 
> Just a note spraying yopur beardie only needs to be done when they are young to stop dehydration and bathing beardies not needed. it will cause fungal disease especially if your doing this on a regular basis. The only time you should be required to bath a beardie is if he is having problems shedding.
> 
> ...


Posts like this don't help anyone, those of us with brains know the conditions in which beardies live, we don't need to be told, giving conflicting pionts of views are pointless, you say they do not need water bowls, but put a water bowl in anyway!?

People like me are concerned for the well being of the animals in captivity, so with that in mind, I air on the side of caution, why would a person of your experience give the less well informed an easy get out clause?

Use the weight of your experience for the good, if you believe that a water bowl should be used, then for the love of god just say it!

Jay


----------



## cooljules (May 20, 2008)

Jay30 said:


> I have water bowls in both of my beardies vivs, the male sits in his when he's hot. The females stay away from the bowls, I spray them everyday and they drink when they are being sprayed. I have never seen them drink from the water bowl, but that does not mean they don't.


if the BD is sitting in it when its hot...something isnt right there at all


----------



## smurple (Mar 4, 2009)

I dont generally provide a bowl, but I do bathe him every 2-3 days and if he's thirsty he can drink from that - Majority of fluids come from fresh fruit and veg though.
he seems very happy with this


----------

