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We’re looking to adopt a beardie, and I keep reviewing what we need for their enclosure. We have a small tank for baby mode, so we’ll start with that. Does this shopping list seem correct-ish? - Thermometer(s) to check temps - UVA bulb - UVB bulb or strips - Lighting timer (in case we’re not home) - Felt carpet and/or sand with calcium supplements - Food dish and calcium-rich food - Water dish - Decor for hiding, climbing, being rad Probably a more useful question than copying online lists: when you emulate the day/night cycle, do you turn off all of the bulbs/strips? Should we include low/no white light heating elements at night? The conversation about feeding them up thread was immensely helpful, too!
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Sep 20, 2022 22:56
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broken pixel posted:We’re looking to adopt a beardie, and I keep reviewing what we need for their enclosure. We have a small tank for baby mode, so we’ll start with that. Does this shopping list seem correct-ish? Don't waste money on calci-sand poo poo; you want straight calcium powder for their greens instead. Playsand works well, but for a baby, stick with paper towels. For night cycle, use the nighttime red or purple lights, but be sure to keep a thermostat on them! If you go with live bugs, better to breed your own; not crickets, but mealworms and blaberus roaches (or other similar ones). My adult beardies loved pinkie mice but that was mostly for the gravid females.
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Sep 21, 2022 03:30
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My dragon pooped on me today. He really loves me!
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Sep 21, 2022 08:54
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broken pixel posted:We’re looking to adopt a beardie, and I keep reviewing what we need for their enclosure. We have a small tank for baby mode, so we’ll start with that. Does this shopping list seem correct-ish? That's what's up! I'm pretty new with mine as well, about 2 months. I need to get a pic up here. Do what Cowslips said about the calcium powder on the salad. I also use a timer with a standard (shatterproof) bulb in a dome + uvab striplight during the day and a blacklight in a dome at night. I do the mealworm thing. I'm not breeding them specifically/intentionally, but I bought bulk online. They keep so easily in a big tray of oatmeal with a couple of veggies tossed in every couple of days. I've considered replacing the night time bulb with a ceramic heat "bulb" controlled by thermostat, but haven't got the motivation to get that set up yet. BounceBanana fucked around with this message at 09:26 on Sep 21, 2022 |
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Sep 21, 2022 09:21
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So yeh, lizards can see the red/black/purple lights and it fucks with their day night cycle and will drastically shorten lifespan. Use ceramic bulbs at night and you want a day night thermostat with a second plug for a UVB if possible - habistat do a good dimming thermostat with this feature I’m now completely traumatised by Facebook and 100% less nice about these things than last I posted, especially when it comes to ball pythons wearing daisy chain hats.
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Sep 21, 2022 16:42
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Thanks for the feedback and thoughts! Mostly confirmed what I suspected on everything, and it’s good to get more insight on lighting. I feel deeply obligated to do well, because there’s tons of people with experience on how they can be cared for properly… I don’t want to be another person who adopted a cool lizard on a whim.
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Sep 21, 2022 20:53
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The whole culture is a mirror of Twitter I’m afraid. Internet advice in general comes from old dudes who have been doing it for a very long time but badly vs teenagers who can’t afford a reptile so also do it badly but with more shrieking about gatekeeping. My best advice is to buy a book that’s been published/had a new addition brought out in the last 5 years. Internet “care sheets” tend to be the same slightly edited out of date article that gets passed around. Be wary of “my vet said” it will be utter nonsense 100% of the time. Firstly 90% of the time there was no exotic vet. True Exotic vets are rare, and actual experience they have varies wildly depending on where they are, rural Alabama they may have only seen your snake/reptile in a book. On the other hand they may be very good and fully aware that they are talking to an idiot who will hear what they want to hear, so simplify to advice that will do the least harm without any idea this advice will be passed round the internet.
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Sep 22, 2022 08:45
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I suspected the Internet advice thing,considering how scattered and varied the advice has been so far.learnincurve posted:My best advice is to buy a book that’s been published/had a new addition brought out in the last 5 years. Internet “care sheets” tend to be the same slightly edited out of date article that gets passed around.
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Sep 22, 2022 09:17
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I realised that I never gave an update on the artist formally known as envelope snake/wee bastard who is a girl and called magnatrude.   Eating two pinkies, and struck for the first time today.
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Sep 22, 2022 18:40
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One of my baby ball pythons, that hatched in early july, has yet to eat. He's actually starting to look kind of skinny now. I'm not sure if force feeding is on the table yet, because everything I read has indicated that's one way to stressed him out more than anything else. On the other hand I don't want him to starve and it's looking like that's going to be a possibility unless I do something. Do something I mean, other than attempt feeding him in his enclosure, feeding him in very size deli cups, feeding him freshly killed pinky mice, live pinky mice, life pinky mice scented with adult mice, fuzzy mice, live pinkies scented with hamster, with Guinea pig, even with chicken. Feeding him a different times of the day, leaving him with the food overnight, over the day, I'm fresh out of ideas.
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Sep 22, 2022 19:18
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Cowslips Warren posted:One of my baby ball pythons, that hatched in early july, has yet to eat. He's actually starting to look kind of skinny now. I'm not sure if force feeding is on the table yet, because everything I read has indicated that's one way to stressed him out more than anything else. On the other hand I don't want him to starve and it's looking like that's going to be a possibility unless I do something. Do something I mean, other than attempt feeding him in his enclosure, feeding him in very size deli cups, feeding him freshly killed pinky mice, live pinky mice, life pinky mice scented with adult mice, fuzzy mice, live pinkies scented with hamster, with Guinea pig, even with chicken. Feeding him a different times of the day, leaving him with the food overnight, over the day, I'm fresh out of ideas. love the idea of you rubbing a pinky mouse on your other pets to scent it before sending it off to be sacrificed
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Sep 22, 2022 19:25
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Ok Comboomer posted:love the idea of you rubbing a pinky mouse on your other pets to scent it before sending it off to be sacrificed If I had access to gerbils or African softfurred rats, those are supposed to be good to be scented, unfortunately I have no access to either anymore.
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Sep 22, 2022 19:52
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I got snooty to eat with a f/t mouse the same width as his head in a pillowcase, might be worth a last shot. If that does not work I'd say this is the point assist feeding is needed, chicken thigh/heart is the one most people try first.
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Sep 22, 2022 20:33
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learnincurve posted:Be wary of “my vet said” it will be utter nonsense 100% of the time. Firstly 90% of the time there was no exotic vet. True Exotic vets are rare, and actual experience they have varies wildly depending on where they are, rural Alabama they may have only seen your snake/reptile in a book. On the other hand they may be very good and fully aware that they are talking to an idiot who will hear what they want to hear, so simplify to advice that will do the least harm without any idea this advice will be passed round the internet.
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Sep 23, 2022 04:04
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Oh I meant that the teenager posting will use “my exotic vet said” to justify something that’s nonsense to people who know about a particular snake, sometimes it will have come from a vet, mostly it will have come out of their own head. But yeh exotic vets are limited with knowledge on reptiles. I have one of the only captive bred blonde hognoses in the UK, if I took him to a exotic vet they would treat him like a western hognose, whereas he has more in common with African burrowing snakes - and it wouldn’t be their fault because the three Madagascan hognoses are barely mentioned in books. Yes there will be common disorders, parasites and sicknesses but with the blondes and speckled and hunger strikes you also always have to account for the fact that they prefer lizards to rodents and we force them to eat mice - they will not touch rodents other than mice, the giants will but LOUD HISS at everything else. (The snoot is a sound amplifier)
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Sep 23, 2022 08:13
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We’ve brought a new baby beardie home as of yesterday evening, and I’m a nervous wreck. Since we’ve taken him home, he has rarely opened his eyes when we’re anywhere nearby. He moves a little when we’re not. This morning, we gave him a bit to wake up with the lighting routine, then offered familiar food (dubia roach), but he seems disinclined to do much of anything still, much less eat. I’ve been checking temps: the basking spot is around 95F and the cool around 75F. I’m wondering if I should make another attempt later, after he’s heated up a little. I’m worried, but I also know that it’s a fresh transition. If there’s a deeper problem, the breeder will help us, thankfully, but if there’s something more I can do to encourage regular feeding behavior, I’d be happy.
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Sep 26, 2022 16:07
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That all seems a little strange to me, most of the beardie babies I remember having were always super alert and active. How was he at the breeders house?
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Sep 26, 2022 16:38
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Checklist. Husbandry. Cool end, hot end. Basking spot with lights. Thermostat. Hides. How hot is it where the lizard actually is? This means using a heat gun and may mean providing a platform. Are 3 sides of it’s house wood/blacked out? What food did it eat before and are you feeding it exactly the same? It could just be scared and confused after a journey, covering all sides of the enclosure so it has a chance to calm down could work. Bearded dragons are better than most reptiles for adapting to new environments but if this is it’s first move direct from a breeder then it could be a week before it fully settles.
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Sep 26, 2022 17:46
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Cowslips Warren posted:That all seems a little strange to me, most of the beardie babies I remember having were always super alert and active. How was he at the breeders house? The breeder described him as active, but I’ve only seen him see a human, close his eyes, and assume “ignore people” mode myself. learnincurve posted:Checklist. I temp checked the platforms with a gun and they’re roughly 95F-100F on hot side and 75F-80F on cool side. The food is exactly the same, so he should recognize it and know what to do. I also made sure to get roaches that were smaller than the distance between his eyes, since I’ve seen that advice a lot. I didn’t think about covering the sides, so I went ahead and did that! Thank you for the tip. Before I did it, I “caught” baby with eyes open looking around. I approached with my body low, speaking softly, and we were able to coexist for a moment. As soon as I made a move toward the enclosure, he shut down. I hope covering the tank sides helps encourage movement. I placed another gently powdered roach in the enclosure afterward. Based on everything I’ve read, he otherwise looks/feels healthy and uninjured, so I think we have an understandably frightened little guy.
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Sep 26, 2022 21:44
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Was he previously housed with 20 other little guys? I think he may feel exposed just because of the lack of his accustomed environment of lots of other baby beardies. Not that I'm suggesting you get another, just that's another factor for how his environment has suddenly changed in a way that could create some caution.
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Sep 27, 2022 00:59
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Leperflesh posted:Was he previously housed with 20 other little guys? I think he may feel exposed just because of the lack of his accustomed environment of lots of other baby beardies. Not that I'm suggesting you get another, just that's another factor for how his environment has suddenly changed in a way that could create some caution. This is a great question that I should’ve asked. I’ll call tomorrow and see what they say!
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Sep 27, 2022 01:34
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I guess it can't hurt to ask, but I'm not sure if there's anything you can do about it either way. It is good to talk to the seller and let them know your guy doesn't seem to be doing well anyway, if they're a responsible seller they will want to know.
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Sep 27, 2022 22:09
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Realize I didn't update here. He was steadily improving through the week, albeit acting odd: more and more he'd look at me, but only with his left eye. Friday, his right eye began to actively swell. We already had an appointment for him nearby next week, but we managed to find a vet with a reptile opening Saturday morning. The vet wasn't able to do much for such a young little guy, but she noticed he has some sort of respiratory or related infection that's affecting the inside of his mouth and behind his eyes. She created the world's most diluted antibiotic and gave us a ton of syringes with instructions to help him eat and drink as much as possible, including force feeding. It's been really, really hard. The vet was able to help with his mouth, but it's pretty clear he hates opening it. We were shown ways to encourage him to open his mouth, but since giving him (minuscule) amounts of antibiotic, he's more lethargic than he's ever been and resists our gentle prying with a tiny plastic syringe of roach guts. He hasn't tried to eat or drink on his own since the vet. I was encouraged earlier this week when he ate a few bugs/bits of leafy greens, drank from his bath, and started moving around his tank more, but that's all gone away with the eye/mouth issue persisting. He's maybe 4 weeks old and might have an abscess in his face—is it even possible to treat a beardie this small? He's clearly exhausted from being sick, medicated, and prodded. I'm going to contact the vet and the shop/breeder tomorrow. I don't know what to say exactly: I'm torn between the emotional "I really want to help our little guy but feel helpless doing it" and the practical "I don't know if we have what it takes to do this, supply-wise, skill-wise, etc." It'd break my heart to give him up. 
broken pixel fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Oct 2, 2022 |
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Oct 2, 2022 22:21
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broken pixel posted:Realize I didn't update here. He was steadily improving through the week, albeit acting odd: more and more he'd look at me, but only with his left eye. Friday, his right eye began to actively swell. We already had an appointment for him nearby next week, but we managed to find a vet with a reptile opening Saturday morning. The vet wasn't able to do much for such a young little guy, but she noticed he has some sort of respiratory or related infection that's affecting the inside of his mouth and behind his eyes. She created the world's most diluted antibiotic and gave us a ton of syringes with instructions to help him eat and drink as much as possible, including force feeding. Wait wait wait. The breeder sold him to you at THREE WEEKS old? At the very least I wait until 4 weeks, preferably longer, to sell my baby leopard tortoises because weird poo poo can pop up.
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Oct 2, 2022 22:43
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Cowslips Warren posted:Wait wait wait. Wait, I meant 4—I'm sorry! Still, young as heck
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Oct 2, 2022 22:50
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Return him, to be very cold and blunt. You are going to spend thousands of your own money when this wasn't something that happened under your care and he would 100% have been showing signs before you picked him up "yeh sure he's eating lovely". This was caused by bad husbandry, and because it presented so soon after you got him you can threaten them with all the vets bills unless you get your money back or an exchange.
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Oct 2, 2022 23:00
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Cowslips Warren posted:Wait wait wait. Longer with beardies - they have to go through a shed, poop, and be established on both vegetables and live food before you even think about selling them. Tortoises escape this but a lot of reptiles and all snakes have fatal problems with digestive systems if they come out the egg too early, and because they can live up to 2 months on what they absorbed in egg so you have to separate them out (which very very few beardie breeders do, which is why so many of them have missing toes) so you can check if they have pooped. With snakes most people move to a different container when they see lump in tummy and the hatchling waddling like it's just ate too much at Christmas
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Oct 2, 2022 23:10
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learnincurve posted:Return him, to be very cold and blunt. You are going to spend thousands of your own money when this wasn't something that happened under your care and he would 100% have been showing signs before you picked him up "yeh sure he's eating lovely". This was caused by bad husbandry, and because it presented so soon after you got him you can threaten them with all the vets bills unless you get your money back or an exchange. I appreciate your thoughts, truly. I'll have to discuss it with my partner. I feel completely out of my depth and don't know if we can do anything at all for a baby who refuses to open their mouth for anything but trying to catch their breath.
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Oct 3, 2022 00:00
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It's not your fault and you're doing your best, but if this is too much for you, then it's completely okay to return the baby to the breeder.
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Oct 3, 2022 03:43
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It’s happened to me before and I’ve got the baby, made the plans for a tropical wonderland and then realised that the crack in it’s shell would most likely be fatal and then had to really go to town on the breeder to get my money back. (In the end I managed to source a dwarf tortoise and have the turn living room into one big statement room with a custom viv plans under way, want wall of tiny lizards, owing to a lack of tiny lizards in this country will probably get green tree boa and/or a carpet python)
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Oct 3, 2022 11:05
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He’s been watching me like this for about an hour. The Madagascan blonde hognose aka the dinosaur creeper
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Oct 7, 2022 15:18
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Btw we tried him in several different enclosures and set ups but he wouldn’t eat, turns out my man there wants a reptile radiator, a bowl of water and 8 inches of aspen. He picks up anything else with his snoot and tries to move it out the viv, there is no decal, only tunnels.
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Oct 7, 2022 15:24
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So it’s getting cold and the tree frogs here are getting ready to go dormant. From what I was reading, it’s not exactly hibernation. Also, from what I’ve read, winter can be tough for small frogs. Several months ago, while I was making tree frogs nervous by staring at them because I don’t remember them living in this area when I was a kid and they are neat, a tiny 1 eyed frog crawled up on a bucket. Not a missing eye. Just that only 1 developed. I figured it was probably not going to make it through the next month since it was not nervous about me like the other frogs and a single eye must make it tough to hunt. I’m pleased to say I was incorrect. I kind of want to adopt it, since it seems to be smaller than most of the other frogs still hanging around at night. But: 1: It is still alive and doing ok without human interference. 2: in order to give it an appropriate and comfortable habitat, it looks like it will cost around 200 bucks and I’m poor. It is a grey tree frog, so is pretty hardy, but not, like, handleable ‘cause frog. Anyway, here is a picture of the eyeless side. 
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Oct 10, 2022 18:16
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 salazar  lady aberlin Daniel Tiger didn't get a photo shoot today because he was being too grumpy.
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Oct 11, 2022 00:49
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oh okay he got jealous i guess and started acting the idiot
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Oct 11, 2022 01:18
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Bored posted:So it’s getting cold and the tree frogs here are getting ready to go dormant. From what I was reading, it’s not exactly hibernation. Also, from what I’ve read, winter can be tough for small frogs. Where are you? Any goons by you who can send some supplies? I mean, even a plastic shoebox with BedaBeast will probably help him over winter.
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Oct 11, 2022 02:27
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Will being indoor and exposed to controlled temps mess with his dormancy at all?
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Oct 11, 2022 02:35
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Cowslips Warren posted:Where are you? Any goons by you who can send some supplies? I can probably scrounge that. I just don’t want to bring him in if I am detrimental to his health. (Might be a her. I don’t actually know, but call it Jack). I’m in Kansas. This is one of the tree frog species native to Kansas, they’ve just apparently increased recently. my cat is norris posted:Will being indoor and exposed to controlled temps mess with his dormancy at all? From what someone else said about bringing in a couple to winter somewhere else online, no. Edit: what I thought might be a toad but is also a grey tree frog was pokin’ out of its hidey hole in the old porch swing when I went out a little while ago. It changes its color ALL THE TIME. I think it’s pretty healthy.  It has decided I am not very threatening, so sometimes hangs out in the chair next to mine after it takes a dip in the cat water dish.  That picture was taken with my tablet. But even though it’s a lovely picture, it still captures that frog’s,”’sup” expression. Bored fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Oct 11, 2022 |
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Oct 11, 2022 05:19
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“Quote” does not equal “edit” goddamnit Sorry for the double post. Bored fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Oct 11, 2022 |
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Oct 11, 2022 06:06
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Food is one thing, you are probably going to have to get a box of whatever live food frogs eat if he’s not bruminating. What kind of snek is Daniel Tiger?
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Oct 11, 2022 09:47
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