I'm adopting a Beardie today!!!

[elevatethis]

Hey guys, I was at a friends house last night (this friend has all kinds of herps at his place, frogs, geckos, a BP, various insects, and a huge Iguana that roams the apartment) and this girl was talking about how she was looking for a new home for her Bearded Dragon. She said she was working 2 jobs now and just didn't have time for him anymore, and that she wanted someone to take him that would be able to give him more attention.

Well, she's dropping him off at my house later today. He's a 5 year old male, in a 40 breeder with all necessary bulbs and whatnot.

What I'd like to ask is if there is anything I need to do to get him settled in to a new house, new owner, etc etc. Any and all suggestions would be welcome, I want this to go without a hitch.

Also, what is the best way to transport the Beardie? I'm going to bring him by the herp shop I go to, so they can check him out and see if there are any health issues.

Thanks guys!!

[JLC]

CONGRATS for you! Seems like you found a real treasure here! It sounds like he was well cared for, so hopefully the transition won't be too hard to make.

I would ask her to give you as much detail as possible about his daily routine and care...especially feeding...so you can give him what he's used to, to the best of your ability. They definitely have favorite veggies and such. Was he eating crickets? If so, how many and how often? Find out as much as you can about that sort of stuff. Also, find out if he'll drink water from a dish, or if he must be misted or bathed in order to drink. (Some beardies only drink when it "rains.")

You can't really give them a full week to settle in without touching them like you can a snake because they poop a lot and it needs to be cleaned up. But you can still keep handling to a minimum until he's gotten over the stress of the move and seems comfortable around you. The handling issues really depend on his individual temperment.

For transporting, I would probably get a small sterilite and put some papertowels in it to keep him cozy and to give his feet something to hold onto.

Hope that helps some! Please feel free to ask more questions as they come to you! Welcome to the beardie family!!

[elevatethis]

Thanks Judy, I'm really excited about it...I had been thinking about getting one for a while now and this just kind of found me!

She told me last night that she had been feeding him mealworms instead of crix for the past 2 weeks, due to time constraints. I hope he can make the transition back. I also picked up on what could be a problem, just going on what I've read. She said he REALLY likes carrots a lot, and I've heard that they aren't good for them because of all of the vitamin A in them.

I'm also wondering what kind of supplements are necessary to use, I'm going to go to the herp shop today when I get out of work so I have all of this stuff in addition to some crix ready for him so I can make him feel at home as fast as I can. What do you use to gutload your crix? And btw, shouldn't an adult be eating mostly veggies anyway?

[JLC]

Oh I don't think you have to worry about "transitions" with a beardie. They're little garbage disposals...and they LOVE their crickets! (at least mine does!) I'm sure he misses them and will be quite excited to see some again.

Carrots are ok, but not an every day staple. And so long as you don't supplement with additional vitamin A, you should be ok.

I'm working with a juvie beardie, and am not sure if their supplemental needs change once they're fully grown like yours is. We should both research that a little bit more! But yes...they should be eating mostly veggies. The crix and worms should be more of a treat...but if she was feeding insects on a regular basis, you'll want to continue that at least for awhile until he's used to you and you can gradually switch him to a different feeding routine. (But don't hesitate to offer crix right away...I'll bet he thanks you for them!)

To gutload, I use this stuff I got at the petstore. Comes in a jar and looks like little beads of colored jello. You just spoon some into a little shallow container and put it in your cricket keeper. It provides both the nutrients they need and the water, as well as gutloading them for your beardie.

[elevatethis]

I guess I'm just in the Ball Python mindset, expecting every transistion to be like walking on broken glass like we do with our beloved ball pythons!

[gozetec02]

I want a bearded dragon so bad. I actually want to try my hand at breeding them. But am a little intimidated at their care. I dont think i could take care for a ball python, Veiled Chameleon, and a couple of bearded dragons. I probibly could but its a matter of having the room

[elevatethis]

I'm moving Amber into a 40 breeder soon, and the beardie on its way comes in his own 40 breeder. Theres this heavy duty shelving at lowe's that fits these cages perfectly, and can be stacked 4 high. I'll be putting all of these cages on these shelves as soon as I have them all in one place. Saves a lot of space that way, about the same jsut another dresser would. My room is 16x18x10 though, so I've got all kinds of space to fill.

[elevatethis]

Just heard back from the beardie's present owner....i'll post some pics up tonight after I get him settled in.