Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know i have probably been really annoying. And i shouldnt ask the same questions over and over again. Its just that i want to make sure that nothin happens to my new beardie. I guess i am worrying too much. Sorry for the inconvenience. But thank you for the help you have given me already. I just keep worryin that something is gonna happen to my new beardie.

Look,, one thing your going to have to remember is,
These guys are living animals. Sometimes, even if you as a care giver, provide everything by the book, something can go wrong.
To be honest, there is still little known about reptiles in general. A lot of what is known, is based on guesses & passed on as fact!
All you can do is try to give them the best possible care. You've done a good job, trying to get as much info as you can. Now all you have to do is figure out what bits & pieces are going to work for you & your pets.

Before you know it, you'll be one of the ones answering all the same questions your asking now, only the answers will be modified out of your experiences of what has or hasn't worked for you.

Good luck.

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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

Thanks. So basically its my job to take all the information that people have been giving me and make MY OWN judgement on it. I guess i cant rely on what everyone else says, its their opinion. Its almost like you have to take a risk. I get it now. For istance when someone says "playsand" for substrate and another says "shelf liner" its not that one is good one is bad, its what worked for them, like choices. I just have to pick which once will suit me and my dragon best.

thanx

You've hit the nail on the head!

The best thing you can do is learn as much as possible and make educated choices based on what you've read and how well you know your beardie. There is never any one right answer when it comes to husbandry, but if you spend enough time learning about it you'll notice trends and majority opinions and you adapt them to what works best for you and your pet.

I'll tell you, I've been reading about these lizards for about 3 years and I still learn new things all the time. There is a wealth of information out there, and the more you know the better prepared you'll be for anything that comes your way.
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Amanda
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2.0 bearded dragons (Ocho / Domo-kun)
0.1 kingsnake (Rio)
1.0 ferret (Playstation)
1.0 cat (Wally)
0.1 dog (Tima)

thank you. I have a good bit of experience w/ reptiles. But i am used to monkeys, beard, tigers and exotics. I used to work at an animal park that had bears, monkeys, tigers, all sorts of stuff, i could tell u anything about them. But i am 15 years old and itchin to develop my own techniques w/ my beardie.

Just to touch on your example...
I successfully raised 6 clutches on sand last year, with no impactions. That's not to say it doesn't happen. You will find some dragons who think it's their job to eat all the sand in the world. lol
Another risk with sand that is way over looked is contamination or the spread of bacteria & parasites. Even if you scoop out the poo,,, all the wet stuff sinks right down & little nasties can start growing.
Once again,,, that's just what I think.

(I have since switched to paper towel for the young ones)

The thing that get's most people into trouble is bad quarantine practices. I would be willing to bet that it is responsible to about half of the problems you read about on this forum. I also bet that a lot of people change the story a bit so that they don't get bashed for not following a quarantine practice.
A lot of people think quarantine means just keep them in a different tank for a week or so. WRONG!!!
We are talking 6 weeks min.
You have to wash your hands every time you touch anything in the cage. Everything must be sanitized before & after use. Never put cage decor from one, into the other, especially wood stuffs. I could go on forever. lol

Sorry, I got on a roll. lol

Keep up the good work & don't quit researching.
I don't know if you've been here or not but it's a good source of info.
(a good example of taking what works,,, My old caresheet is on there, where I recommend sand.) I need to change that. lol
beautifuldragons.com

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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

Well i am gonna try sand and see if he likes eating it. But I started basically new. I used a cage that previously had another reptile in it, but me and a buddy scrubbed it down w/ antibacterial soap and rinsed w/ water. I bought new drift wood, new sterelized sand, and i used a rock hide cave that was in a cage w/ a gecko but i again cleaned it w/ hot water and antibacterial soap, so i think everything is clean, and the beardie i am gettin is very healthy. what do u think?

Give it a shot. I personally use Bleach to sterilize most things. I go through a ton of it. If you ever have to battle coccidia, alternate with bleach & ammonia. I have been told by several people, including a Vet. That some strands have come somewhat resistant to bleach.

I also use Novalsan for spot cleaning within the cages. It's safe to use while the dragons are in the cage. (if diluted as directed).

The quarantine practices come into play, when you get another dragon.

Good luck.
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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

O I C. lol. So when u get another one u keep it away from the one u have had to make sure it does not catch anything from the new one right??

Let's say you had your dragon for 6 months, it seems healthy etc.
Now you get a new dragon, you just can't stand it & put them together on the floor, just for a min. to see how they get along. It was just for a min. right,,, they didn't touch any of the others poo or anything. So you put them back in their own cages.

Now, about a week later, or less, the new dragon gets sick and dies.

Now, the problem is,,,, you don't know if that dragon came to you sick, or something almost no one thinks about,,, what if your original dragon has a virus or something that it's immune to ( a carrier)?????? You won't know. Most likely, you be calling the breeder of the new dragon, accusing them of selling you a sick dragon.

All of the above is some what hypothetical but I did have something like that happen to someone who bought from me last year. Keep in mind,, this person is an active cage hopper. (constantly changing cages/ cagemates, etc.) Only they had my dragon for over 2 months before anything went wrong.

Just something to think about.

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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

its good to c people that want to make sure there new beardies are happy and healthy

feel free to post any questions u have

glenn
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............................................................
1.0 Beardies (Spike)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes
1.0 Chineese Rat Snake (Chino)
2.3 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0 Eastern Chain King (Spot)
1.0 King Rat Snake
1.0 Tarantula

RIP Rusty(BD)....u were my favorite little girl

thats the time to really worry.

wish more people would worry about the animals they decided to be responsible for
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

I wanted to let everyone know I sent Kevin a private message telling him I was glad he got my message but apologized for the manner in which it was presented. I could have been more civil. I'm only a bad guy some of the times and I guess I had a moment.

Mike
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

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