# Beardie....



## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

Hi all, after owning a red iggy for 6-7 years (before passing her on to a fellow member and good home), I have now been offered a Bearded Dragon and setup. Now the owner has followed the usual feeding.heating.watering etc etc including lighting and powders/..but has now told me the Beardie IS NOT growing (it the same size now as it was when boguht about a year ago)...is this an issue with the beardie or do some just stay small? Should i be worried and not take it on and refer him to a good Herp...

regards
Matt.


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## darrengodzilla (Sep 30, 2009)

How big is the lizard, length from tip of nose to tail end, and weight if you can get it?


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## Wizard (Jun 27, 2007)

Got any pics? If it's had an A1 up-bringing then it shouldn't stop growing until about 20-22". Could be a Rankins dragon maybe? Just a thought...


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

darrengodzilla said:


> How big is the lizard, length from tip of nose to tail end, and weight if you can get it?


the current owner cant get close enough as it scuttles away when u stroke him anywhere near the belly(along the back) the head is ok and it moves fast enough...
ill see what i can do...i may have to go myself and do the measureing lol


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## J0anne2403 (Oct 8, 2010)

Awww bless, I know I am a newbie Beardie keeper but this Beardie sounds like he needs love and attention, scuttling away scared, thats sad, my lil guy scuttles toward me rather than away, loves attention. I hope you take this one and make things good for it. :2thumb:


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi, how old is it? Also do you know if they have had any fecal samples tested? If it has a parasite of some sort this could explain the lack of growth and also why it doesn't like being touched around its stomach. 

My rescue boy is very small due to being infested with worms for the first year of his life. When I got him he didn't like being touched round his belly because of being in so much discomfort with the parasite.


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

i doubt hes been near a herp TBH. it went from a lad to his dad because his mum didnt want it in teh house and now only has interaction when being fed or changed i guess.. i think ill take him on and go from there...at least i know what im doin more than the present owners. well theyre a little different from iggys but not too much i cant figure out.


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

I believe they always have a certain amount of parasites already in the stomach and then these can multiply when the lizard goes through a stressful event (moving from home to home for example) or if they are not kept in optimum conditions. Also when a beardie goes through brumation the amount of parasites in them can multiply.
So it doesn't matter if they have been near any other reps etc or not. 
I would take him on if I were you and get him tested!
You can get plenty of advice on here on the care of beardies if there is anything you need help with


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## J0anne2403 (Oct 8, 2010)

mohikan22 said:


> i doubt hes been near a herp TBH. it went from a lad to his dad because his mum didnt want it in teh house and now only has interaction when being fed or changed i guess.. i think ill take him on and go from there...at least i know what im doin more than the present owners. well theyre a little different from iggys but not too much i cant figure out.


Pleased you said that you will take him on :2thumb:

Guess who I find to be a great help when I have a query... yep ... dickvansheepcake, so you wont go far wrong :flrt:


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

J0anne2403 said:


> Pleased you said that you will take him on :2thumb:
> 
> Guess who I find to be a great help when I have a query... yep ... dickvansheepcake, so you wont go far wrong :flrt:


 

:flrt: Aww shucks :blush: Thanks! I do try me best!


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

apparently this Beardie im getting is only about 4-5 inches long?!!?! and always has been......


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## faithnriley (Nov 27, 2010)

hi there are you sure its a b,d and not a rankins dragon as the rankins is a lot smaller then the b,d


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

I havent seen it yet, im only going by what i have been told. im due to get him/her this week i hope


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

Hi all. again  i have a question which IS really important... Is there anyway to tell a beardies age??? im just wondering if the current owners have it on the wrong diet!!! If it juvenile i read 80% insect/meat protein and as an adult 90% veg.... When to they become "adult"??
any help for this little guy so im well prepared. thanks all
Have a great day!!!

matt.


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

I would say when they are around a year old their diet should swap to around 70% veg/greens and 30% livefood. He should be given access to a bowl of veg/greens every day, regardless of age. If a baby he should be fed live food twice a day, as much as he can eat in 10-15mins. If he's coming up to a year old he should be fed live food once daily, same 10-15 minute rule. If a year/year n a half old I would start feeding live once every other day.
When you get him I would say take pictures of him and post them up on here. Generally they have different proportions and are more filled out when they are adult. From a picture I think I could probably say whether he is baby, juvenile or adult. But if he is adult I couldn't tell exactly how many years old he is.
It would definitely be worth booking him an appointment with a specialist herp vet, if he is the size you say he is then there may well be serious underlying issues. Hopefully if there is a health issue then it will be something manageable/treatable. Although if he is adult then I don't think he will ever get to normal size!


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

hiya. all noted  . i spoke to the "owner" today at work. the BD is a year old or just over... as soon as i have a pic i will post it 
matt.


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

Hi all. well the day has arrived and our little fella has arrived. and by little i mean TINY appx 4-5" long no more. and about a year old!!!! definatly underfed from what i hear and what i read he SHOULD be eating.. needs a bigger tank for sure. and temps need tweaking. Its certainly fast when hunting the crickets and runs from being misted lol. easy to handle and hold. literally never moved off my hand( nice and warm)

a pic or two for you


















and one from above for its patterning.


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## faithnriley (Nov 27, 2010)

hi there looking at the pic it look more like a rankins dragon more than a b,d if you pm me you email addy ill send you a few pics of our rankins for you to take a look at


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

hello all. pls forgive my pestering... Having a dragon is nothing like when i had my iggy  this little dragon is turning into a right little cow!!! she wont let me touch her (gently stroking the head with a finger) and skitters off to the otherside of the tank trying to escape the glass; Even when i try to hand feed her some greens she will open her mouth as wide as poss and posture to look bigger... THIS is nto how i read about dragons,""They are a popular species among children, because of their friendly and calm nature, along with the relative ease of caring for them""
what ROT!
This one wont be here very long if i cant figure out whats wrong...... temps are fine food is spot on light day and night are right (red light at night as its her heat lamp too for night)
the only thing i dont have is a UV bulb at present as it broke. i am however (once a week as label stated ) uvb drops (d3).
any help would be appreciated..
matt.


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

You need to gain her trust first before she will be happy and at ease with you. Any pet needs time to get to know you and know you don't mean them harm. You shouldn't give up on her just because she isn't all cute and cuddly! 

Why have you got a light on at night? They can see the red light and it will be disturbing her sleep. In the day their basking bulb should be white not red so that it replicates the sun. If you really need heat over night (if it drops below 60f in the viv) then get a ceramic heater or a heat mat stuck to the wall of the viv so it acts like a radiator.
Also you need to get a UV tube asap. It is essential, drops are no substitute in my opinion. How long has she been without UV?
An Arcadia 12% UV tube is by the superior product. This is the cheapest place I have found them and there is free delivery! Reptilekeeping The Online Reptile Shop, Selling Livefoods Reptile Accessories and Equipment. They should have the length you need if it's not 36"
I'm sure if you turn the light off over night and get her a uv asap her mood will change for the better.
At the moment her day and night cycle will be all messed up and the lack of UV will be affecting her behaviour too.


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## ex0tics (Jun 9, 2009)

did you say misting?
never mist a beardie :|


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

ex0tics said:


> did you say misting?
> never mist a beardie :|


It isn't a beardie, it's a rankins. I know they need more moisture than beardies, a bowl of water they can climb in. Not sure on misting to be honest though.


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

the lights are seperate.. she has a red one for night which provides her heat as it gets REAL cold in the glass tank of hers.. at 8 am i turn on her white heat bulb too. so both are on to raise the heat for an hour then its just her "sun" lamp. until 8pm. The uvb bulb has been broke for a week. as for using D3 ... there no proof either way which is better nor worse . Or i wouldnt of given her some. The uvb bulb wouldnt fit anyhows atm she has a 2ft tank as thats what she came in (for now) i do plan to move her but with xmas and all.......She sleeps well with her red lamp on overnight. in ehr tree as normal. nochanges to her sleep pattern which i can see.
regular as clockwork.


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

The drops are not as good as using a light. There has been a study done on iguanas, giving some the drops and no uv light and giving some light and no drops. It came out that the iguanas that were only given drops were unable to maintain proper 25-hydroxyvitamin D level in their blood. So no, the drops are not a suitable substitute for UV light.
I believe they can also cause liver problems.

The red light may well be disturbing her, unless you sit up and watch her all night you won't know! She may be getting less deep a sleep because of it which will affect her behaviour and mood.
Wooden vivariums are the best enclosure to keep them in as they hold heat better. If she were in a wooden viv then you probably wouldn't need heating over night, or just a heat mat on the wall. How cold does it get in her glass tank at night?


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

without the light about 10c its not a ncie warm house at night in winter im afraid.


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

I really would use a heat mat on the wall of the viv or invest in a ceramic heater if I were you. Or better than that, get a wooden viv! Up to you though obviously


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

the heat mat i have i took out A: it didnt fit right in the tank its too big but B: i was told its not good for such a small lizard as if it sleeps too near it will cook from the inside out. as for a wooden cabinet... i have been looking but i dont have £69 right now for a new unit..... after xmas more than likely...


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## dickvansheepcake (Jul 8, 2009)

mohikan22 said:


> the heat mat i have i took out A: it didnt fit right in the tank its too big but B: i was told its not good for such a small lizard as if it sleeps too near it will cook from the inside out. as for a wooden cabinet... i have been looking but i dont have £69 right now for a new unit..... after xmas more than likely...


Who on earth told you it will cook from the inside out?! lol You shouldn't have heat mats on the floor of the viv as dragons sense heat from above so if the heat is coming from below they will not sense when they are too hot and may well burn their stomach. A heat mat fixed to the wall of the viv is fine as it heats the air not the floor.


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## mohikan22 (Jan 18, 2010)

the local herp shop told me not to use the heat mat. for bigger lizards and snakes they are fine but not small reps like mine.... Now today she has gone and scraped away the substrate and sleeping in the cold end.....temps no different either,.. random dragon .


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## sasha199112 (Nov 13, 2010)

if its a glass tank im gussin the vnts are on the top. so could you not wrap 3 sides of her tank with bubble wrap or somethin similar just for now to help keep heat in? i hope this doesnt sound rude but if you wanted another rep it really would of been a good idea to make sure you had spare cash first to buy the essentials


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