Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know most of them (including mine) don't take to drinking from bowls of water at all. I only had a problem with him getting dehydrated once, and that was because his cage temperature went up dramatically (so the basking spot was somewhere around 130 at least). I usually just drip water onto his nose either with a little ear cleaner thingy, or similar device, but I was wondering if there was anyway to get him to drink out of a water bowl, and whether or not I should even try. I'm not sure I should even try because he has little enough room as it is without a water dish (here's a pic of his tank further down the page). I was thinking it might be a cool idea to put a small plan on the cool side of the tank so maybe he would drink the droplets off of it when I spray it? I'm going to petco next weekend to look for some stuff for him (I don't like supporting the chain stores, but this petco is very good about giving their animals good living conditions...plus the other petshop near me charges a fortune for everything). I know they sell small terrarium plants there so I might get one. I'll have to do some research though to see what will work best for the enclosure.

I also am going to start bathing him at least once a week since they take in water through their anus (sounded wierd at first but I guess it makes sense). What are your watering methods, and have you been able to get your beardie to drink from a bowl? I think I might get a large bowl (like big enough for him to get his entire body into), and just put that in once a week for him to play around in. I should get a place mat or something though to put down under it so he doesn't cover himself in sand.

So basically, what do you do to maintain a properly hydrated bearded dragon? I think I might also start bathing him whenever I have time to, because he has very infrequent bowel movements and I would like it if he went at least every other day.

My dragons do not drink from standing water at all. I don't think they register it as liquid unless they see it move or drip. I keep most of my dragons hydrated by highly moistened their greens. I just spray the greens/veggies heavily with cold water throughout the day. The cold water helps also in keeping the greens crisp and fresh longer. Most of the time I use the syringe though to drip water onto their mouths or spray their heads with a spray bottle. Adults I give water with the syringe mostly and young babies get misted 1-2 times daily. One of my females will let the water drip off her chin and put her head down and drink from the puddle that forms on the liner. You could try to get them to drink from standing water by keeping it moving. A fish aerator or just a cheap pump with tube bubbling the water might help them see it. I also bathe each one once a week or more if they get dirty sooner. Never had a problem with dehydration doing these things before. If your going to keep a plastic plant wet all day for them to drink you mine as well just direct the water on the snout like you have been doing. This seems to work best for all of them.
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my dragon never drank from a bowl either , all he ever used it for was running through and quite often as a toilet so i removed it

I think that most people have a hard time getting their dragons to drink water. I used to have bowls of water in each of their cages but they seemed to dirty it up to the point that I didn't want them drinking it. I then worked with one of the dragons to get him to drink from a hamster water bottle which works fine for him but the other two did not like it one bit. I know this all sounds bizarre but what I am going with the other two is I turn on the kitchen faucet to a drip and they plop on my hand and drink from the faucet. They just sit there and suck up all the water they want and when they are done they just turn their head away from the faucet and that is my signal that they have had enough. Also alot of them will drink while they are in the bath water to. I would put little drops on their noses and before long they would just drink from the bath water. Hope some of this helps.