Our new bearded dragon!
Discussion
After setting up the starter Viv a couple of months ago, we've been waiting for some decent quality babies to arrive at our local reptile shop.
Picked one out last week, just a regular beardie, but with orange side spines. Ready to be picked up next weekend.
However, got a call this morning saying they've just arrived back from a trip to a breeder in Germany, and they've got some stunning hypo (red) babies ready to go - and we have first pick!
First, the Viv, just a three footer for now (big Viv being planned already):
Arrived at the shop, they brought out a dozen babies to choose from - everything from a barely red baby to a stunning female leatherback with the darkest red I've seen - even online.
After much umming and ahhing, we picked our one - a boy going through a shed, but with the signs of a really nice pattern, and stunning colour on the bits we could see properly.
Meet Ember:
Already eaten half a dozen dusted locusts, which is great considering his trip over the last 48 hours. Settling in nicely and checking out his new home.
Can't quite picture him being full size, he's just so small and skinny in comparison...
Picked one out last week, just a regular beardie, but with orange side spines. Ready to be picked up next weekend.
However, got a call this morning saying they've just arrived back from a trip to a breeder in Germany, and they've got some stunning hypo (red) babies ready to go - and we have first pick!
First, the Viv, just a three footer for now (big Viv being planned already):
Arrived at the shop, they brought out a dozen babies to choose from - everything from a barely red baby to a stunning female leatherback with the darkest red I've seen - even online.
After much umming and ahhing, we picked our one - a boy going through a shed, but with the signs of a really nice pattern, and stunning colour on the bits we could see properly.
Meet Ember:
Already eaten half a dozen dusted locusts, which is great considering his trip over the last 48 hours. Settling in nicely and checking out his new home.
Can't quite picture him being full size, he's just so small and skinny in comparison...
Thanks.
I'm guessing he's really quite happy in his new house - in the last two hours he's puffed up a couple of times, turned pure white, then scratched against the driftwood and pretty much completed his shed - I was under the impression it took a few days at least...
Lights are now out, so he's chilling. Will snap more pics when he's looking at his best.
I'm guessing he's really quite happy in his new house - in the last two hours he's puffed up a couple of times, turned pure white, then scratched against the driftwood and pretty much completed his shed - I was under the impression it took a few days at least...
Lights are now out, so he's chilling. Will snap more pics when he's looking at his best.
KarlMac said:
I'm sure the shop told you this but make sure (once he's settled) to handle him at least once a day, they can get quite agressive when older if not handled enough when youngsters.
The set up looks great, when your beardy grows out of it you could use it for something like a skink
Yep, between me, the missus and kids, he'll get a good amount of handling...The set up looks great, when your beardy grows out of it you could use it for something like a skink
Thinking of something low maintenance and easy for nipper once he's grown out of this Viv - not had much experience of reps apart from a leopard gecko I had in the pre t'interweb days, I'll do some reading.
Seems between you, me and Simon's love of things that can eat gingers, there's a high correlation of petrolheads that shoot each other and keep reptiles!
Sway said:
KarlMac said:
I'm sure the shop told you this but make sure (once he's settled) to handle him at least once a day, they can get quite agressive when older if not handled enough when youngsters.
The set up looks great, when your beardy grows out of it you could use it for something like a skink
Yep, between me, the missus and kids, he'll get a good amount of handling...The set up looks great, when your beardy grows out of it you could use it for something like a skink
Thinking of something low maintenance and easy for nipper once he's grown out of this Viv - not had much experience of reps apart from a leopard gecko I had in the pre t'interweb days, I'll do some reading.
Seems between you, me and Simon's love of things that can eat gingers, there's a high correlation of petrolheads that shoot each other and keep reptiles!
You could have a few leopards in a 3 footer, or its perfect for a royal python/corn.
If you get stuck give us a shout, I bred cold blooded stuff for years before the little one stole the spare room!
Looks great OP. They make superb pets, except people won't quite believe how attached you can get to a beardie. Here's a couple of pics of mine. If you have any questions just ask 😊
http://s710.photobucket.com/user/Heathwood74/media...
http://s710.photobucket.com/user/Heathwood74/media...
Lovely Heathwood.
Will try and keep this thread up as a diary of the newbie tales of beardy keeping!
Have had a massive variety of pets over the years, but always mammals or aquatics. Leopard gecko was shared with a flatmate, and I was working away lots so wasn't massively involved in it's care.
Karl, will be hitting you with loads of questions in a fortnight!
Will try and keep this thread up as a diary of the newbie tales of beardy keeping!
Have had a massive variety of pets over the years, but always mammals or aquatics. Leopard gecko was shared with a flatmate, and I was working away lots so wasn't massively involved in it's care.
Karl, will be hitting you with loads of questions in a fortnight!
First week in, and he's a cool little dude! Really interested in what's happening in the room.
Feeding has been a little trickier. Other half is freaked out by locusts jumping around, and the cricket keeper we got to house them makes it very tricky to transfer them to the Viv without them getting everywhere. Thinking of moving to either crickets or dubia roaches - any tips?
He doesn't give a toss about the veg in his bowl!
Shed is virtually done, just a couple of tiny patches in areas he can't scratch.
Some pics:
Feeding has been a little trickier. Other half is freaked out by locusts jumping around, and the cricket keeper we got to house them makes it very tricky to transfer them to the Viv without them getting everywhere. Thinking of moving to either crickets or dubia roaches - any tips?
He doesn't give a toss about the veg in his bowl!
Shed is virtually done, just a couple of tiny patches in areas he can't scratch.
Some pics:
Empty bog roll tubs are best thing moving crickets. I used to keep crickets in large sandwich tub style things then take the tubes out with feeding prongs and leave it in the Viv. Remove it when all the crickets have been eating.
If you really struggle with crickets/locusts then theres always meal worms, bear in mind these are low energy/high fat though.
They tend not to eat much veg when younger, so make sure your calc dusting live food. As they get older (and lazier!) they'll eat more veg.
Big of spagphum moss or a rough rough rock is great for stuck shed. No need to worry unless its still there after the next shed.
If you really struggle with crickets/locusts then theres always meal worms, bear in mind these are low energy/high fat though.
They tend not to eat much veg when younger, so make sure your calc dusting live food. As they get older (and lazier!) they'll eat more veg.
Big of spagphum moss or a rough rough rock is great for stuck shed. No need to worry unless its still there after the next shed.
Cool, the cricket keeper thing has removable tubes which the crickets we bought today are loving - the locusts didn't really bother hiding in them, making feeding tricky.
How much dusting should I be doing? Have reptivite and nutrobal, at the moment using them alternate days, on one of his three feeds - is that enough/too much? For some reason he likes biting at the rocks in the viv!
How much dusting should I be doing? Have reptivite and nutrobal, at the moment using them alternate days, on one of his three feeds - is that enough/too much? For some reason he likes biting at the rocks in the viv!
Sway said:
....pretty much completed his shed - I was under the impression it took a few days at least...
No word of a lie, I read that and immediately scrolled back up to the pics to see the "shed", thinking that it sounded cool - ie I took it to mean in the way a bird builds a nest.It dawned on me when I couldn't find the shed
He really doesn't give a toss about any form of hide/den/etc.
At night, he climbs up the back wall and pretty much disappears.
Looking to start handling him, but he's really anti the whole idea. Any tips for getting a beardie used to being handled? Lots of info around on how to hold etc., but not much on the steps to get to that point!
Yeah, they're pretty much not into the whole 'giant picking me up' thing until later in life. Going top down is never a good idea (birds of prey are there natural predators) so a treat on your palm normally works best. Or try and get him into a smaller Really Useful Box (9l is ideal, RUB have lockable lid too) and pick him up out of that(less room to escape). RUB are useful to put him in when cleaning the Viv too.
KarlMac said:
Yeah, they're pretty much not into the whole 'giant picking me up' thing until later in life. Going top down is never a good idea (birds of prey are there natural predators) so a treat on your palm normally works best. Or try and get him into a smaller Really Useful Box (9l is ideal, RUB have lockable lid too) and pick him up out of that(less room to escape). RUB are useful to put him in when cleaning the Viv too.
Cheers bud.What sort of treat would appeal? Can't see the missus or kids putting a cricket/locust on their palms!
wax worms! only use as a treat as v fatty but they generally go pretty mental for them
very regular handling i believe is what's needed - mine is still a grump bugger and she's prob 5 now, but then i rarely handled her when young. As Karl says; they're very nervous about big things above them - mine REALLY hates going into the conservatory where she can see the sky - but will relax when on a person on somewhere familiar
Someone on here has one which seems to happily come out and then sleep anywhere
very regular handling i believe is what's needed - mine is still a grump bugger and she's prob 5 now, but then i rarely handled her when young. As Karl says; they're very nervous about big things above them - mine REALLY hates going into the conservatory where she can see the sky - but will relax when on a person on somewhere familiar
Someone on here has one which seems to happily come out and then sleep anywhere
Belated update...
Five months in, and he's a beaut. Great personality, and always interacting with whichever human is looking in.
Also knows how to pose!
Loves his veg now, especially dandelions (of which there are no shortage at home!), but still eating a small fortune in locusts every day. Not getting fat, so happy he's not just a greedy pig.
Project for the last couple of weeks has been his Viv. Outgrowing the three footer he came with, we've gone up to a four foot, but a lot deeper front to back so a massive increase in floor space. Would have loved to get a nice big five footer, with some extra height, but haven't the space for it.
Started off building the cabinet and the base and sides, then used leftover kingspan like so:
Started carving, tools included a breadknife, dessert spoon, junior hacksaw plus sandpaper in various grades.
Then smoothed out, and watered down floor grout brushed on. Extra thick layers on all horizontal surfaces. Four coats in total.
Better half, who is vaguely artistic, and with the added benefit of not being colour blind took over the next stage, painting. Aiming for a layered sandstone that fit in with his colouring.
Tricky to photo, so with flash:
And without:
That brings us to today. Left for a few days to let any gasses vent (shouldn't be much as regular acrylic artist's paint used). Took a drive over to Emsworth Aquatic and Reptile who supplied Ember after a trip to Germany, for the fittings needed. Aiming for a setup that gives him everything he needs to live as close as possible to his natural environment.
Arcadia T5 37W luminaire (nice aluminium enclosure, starter built in, 12% UV bulb), 150W basking lamp with ceramic holder (massively overpowered but designed to allow me to take advantage of a feature of the next item), plus a really nice piece of British design, engineering and manufacture:
A Microclimate EVO thermostat. The basking light and UV plug into it, then using the touchscreen you've got full control over the Viv.
Timer for the UV, plus a multi period setting for the basking lamp. Set to prevent any dangerous nighttime temps, it then switches on in the morning to the 'standard' Viv temp. Around midday, the temp kicks up to scorchio levels in order to stimulate his natural chilling in shade behaviour through the hottest part of the day. After all, some of the areas beardies come from are regularly 38C at midday. The afternoon then goes back to 'standard' then slightly cooler just before lights out. The temp probe has been drilled through the background in the basking corner, just above the shelf (visible in a couple of later pics) for as clean as possible an install.
It's not finished, but Ember's in his new home...
Testing setup before putting him in:
Exploring:
Still to come is some driftwood from his current Viv (just drying after being washed), and need to order and fit some airplants online as the shop had run out. Looks like in a couple of days he may be in one of his rare periods without any shedding, so I'll make sure I get some pics of him (and his Viv) looking his best...
Cheers for reading!
Five months in, and he's a beaut. Great personality, and always interacting with whichever human is looking in.
Also knows how to pose!
Loves his veg now, especially dandelions (of which there are no shortage at home!), but still eating a small fortune in locusts every day. Not getting fat, so happy he's not just a greedy pig.
Project for the last couple of weeks has been his Viv. Outgrowing the three footer he came with, we've gone up to a four foot, but a lot deeper front to back so a massive increase in floor space. Would have loved to get a nice big five footer, with some extra height, but haven't the space for it.
Started off building the cabinet and the base and sides, then used leftover kingspan like so:
Started carving, tools included a breadknife, dessert spoon, junior hacksaw plus sandpaper in various grades.
Then smoothed out, and watered down floor grout brushed on. Extra thick layers on all horizontal surfaces. Four coats in total.
Better half, who is vaguely artistic, and with the added benefit of not being colour blind took over the next stage, painting. Aiming for a layered sandstone that fit in with his colouring.
Tricky to photo, so with flash:
And without:
That brings us to today. Left for a few days to let any gasses vent (shouldn't be much as regular acrylic artist's paint used). Took a drive over to Emsworth Aquatic and Reptile who supplied Ember after a trip to Germany, for the fittings needed. Aiming for a setup that gives him everything he needs to live as close as possible to his natural environment.
Arcadia T5 37W luminaire (nice aluminium enclosure, starter built in, 12% UV bulb), 150W basking lamp with ceramic holder (massively overpowered but designed to allow me to take advantage of a feature of the next item), plus a really nice piece of British design, engineering and manufacture:
A Microclimate EVO thermostat. The basking light and UV plug into it, then using the touchscreen you've got full control over the Viv.
Timer for the UV, plus a multi period setting for the basking lamp. Set to prevent any dangerous nighttime temps, it then switches on in the morning to the 'standard' Viv temp. Around midday, the temp kicks up to scorchio levels in order to stimulate his natural chilling in shade behaviour through the hottest part of the day. After all, some of the areas beardies come from are regularly 38C at midday. The afternoon then goes back to 'standard' then slightly cooler just before lights out. The temp probe has been drilled through the background in the basking corner, just above the shelf (visible in a couple of later pics) for as clean as possible an install.
It's not finished, but Ember's in his new home...
Testing setup before putting him in:
Exploring:
Still to come is some driftwood from his current Viv (just drying after being washed), and need to order and fit some airplants online as the shop had run out. Looks like in a couple of days he may be in one of his rare periods without any shedding, so I'll make sure I get some pics of him (and his Viv) looking his best...
Cheers for reading!
Edited by Sway on Sunday 1st November 15:24
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