Reptile & Amphibian Forums

going away for the weekend, and my g/f's roomates don't really want me to bring monty with me. he's about the size of my thumb and gets 3 meals a day.
how have you guys managed when having to leave them?
do i put in a bunch of salad
or throw in a lot of crickets and hope he's ok for hte weekend?
or do i really need to get someone to come in and watch him?

crickets left loose in a tank can stress out a lizard and can even injure them especially while the lizard sleeps...that is why you should remove any uneaten crix after each meal...veggies will not stay fresh at all for long in the heat...your best bet is a well informed sitter...
-----
1.0.1 Bearded Dragons - Smaug and Little One (for now, till I know the sex for sure)
3.1 Bettas - Jason, Ori, Fishy Fishy Fishy, Faith (R.I.P.)
1.0 3 Legged Bullfrog - Jeremiah Sim Choy
1.0 Leopard Gecko - Spike
0.1 Guinea Pig- Oreo

if this happens in the future, i'm not always going to have a sitter available?

i'm going to ask my roomate, but what i'm really hoping for is a suggestion on an alternative?

there really isnt an alternative. I mean I dont want it to sound ignorant, bu there is really no other way to say it..

you took on a responsibility of caring for this little creature and if it means that you have to either take it with you, or have someone to come in and take care of it then that is what you have to do.. Its just like a child as it cant take care of itself know what I mean?

and yea the crix thing is a very bad idea.. I had a dragon last year that had a small piece of skin missing from cutting its leg on a sharp piece of slate that had worn down in its tank and there were apparently a few crix hiding in there and in the little bit of time that he slept overnight, the crix had gone to town chowing it all the way down to flesh while he slept.. so its definately not a good idea to leave them in a tank, or even feed them in there own tank as there is always a chance that one can get hidden somewhere..

My dragons are eating pellets right now as well as their fare share of bugs and greens. Its nice because if my usuall sitter cant do it I can load them up with a bowl full of pellets and put the lights on a timer. Taking a young dragon with you on vacation can also stress it out.

peace,
nate

for very young dragons, as your sounds like ,if he is only the size of your thumb (length wise, I hope, not thickness), you do need to find somebody reliable to come in 2-3 times a day and feed him. If you have small silkworms, you can leave them safely in the cage (on the cool side of the cage) in a low container that is high enough the silks can't easily climb out and low enough for your dragon to get into it to eat. The silks can be left in there with a few days worth of silkworm chow. They won't hurt your dragon while he sleeps and he can snack on them whenever he's hungry. However, as the chow does dry out, this is only really good for a day or two, deffinitely no longer than that.

the only real alternative is not to go anyway till your dragon is 8 months old or older, where they can go a day or two without eating, without having any risk to their health.
-----
PHLdyPayne