Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So on Saturday, I got a new Rankins at the San Diego IRBA show. She is very cute and little and everything. My concern is that she was dehydrated. I know they require a lot more water than a bearded, and I am thinking that she probably hadnt had any in a while. Today I sprayed her and she lapped water for minutes.
I am just curious, what works for those of you that have them? Like how often do you mist them, give them baths, etc. I have a big water dish in her enclosure for her. What do they prefer to eat? What kind of things work for you? Any advice at all would be appreciated! Of course everyone knows I currently have a sub-adult and a juvenile bearded dragon, but I was just in search of any advice I can get on the Rankins. Thanks!!

hi. i give my rankins a bath every other day (sometimes every two,) and i mist his veggies. i never mist him. he never drank when i misted him, so i figured he wasn't thirsty and the baths and the veggies were enough. it was just soaking down my cage for no reason. if you can get yours to drink out of a dish, then that's great!

glad you got hold of a rankins finally! good luck to you,

amanda

When my Rankins, Avo, was small, she would not drink if I misted her...but if I dripped water off my finger onto her forehead she would lap it up. And i did that every day because it is important to keep them hydrated. I would also bathe her every day when she was little. she too fond of it at first, but if you keep the water level just right, they don't mind and actually grow to love swimming. Avo loves swimming every other day now. She's gonna be 2 years old in July. As to having water in the tank, I wouldn't do that when your rankins is little, unless it's a huge enclosure, because if it gets too humid, it can cause your rankins to have respiratory problems.

good luck!

P.S. It's nice to meet aother Rankins owner.

Also, in regards to feeing and the like, Rankins eat a lot like regular bearded dragons, except on a smaller scale. Crickets are a hug favorite and I love watching Avo zoom and jump around the tank trying to nab all the crickets. Mealworm are also a favorite. Romain lettuce, carrots, etc..(sound familiar?).

The one thing though, is that Avo never liked pinky mice. She had one once, but since then she just never even looks at them.

And thinking again about the water dish in the tank, I guess if the tank is a decent size, and the water level is low int he dish, i suppose it's okay to have your rankins drink from it. And if you can get her to drink form it, more power to you, but the main water for her should come from greens and from bathing. I know Avo swims a round a bit, then laps up water for maybe a minute or two, the continues swimming around. Very fun to watch!!

Anyways,
good luck!

-ROberto

Thanks for the info. I actually have two other beardies. This is my first Rankins and I was looking for any info and ideas that work well raising them.
I keep water dishes in all my beardie enclosures. Puff drinks from his water dish on a daily basis and Jackie washes her feet in it (Which is silly since she then tracks her feet through her sand). I have heard that most people dont give their dragons water dishes, but I have found it benefits them. The tanks are all large enough to eliminate any humidity from the water dish.
Anyways, thanks for the input..much appreciated!!

Hey, sorry guys about my spelling. It's just been horrible today