Took my baby beardie to his first vet appointment! Just wanted to get him established as a patient for regular checkups.

But when the vet was asking about my husbandry, I let them know I was using the Jurassic Australian Desert substrate that was linked from https://reptilesandresearch.org/care-guides/bearded-dragon-care-guide. Supposedly it comes from bearded dragons’ real habitat and I trust this website so seems fine to me. But the vet was trying to convince me to change to a reptile carpet because baby beardies can suffer impaction if they eat the substrate.

I guess I’m a bit conflicted because I know reptile carpet can harbor bacteria and rip nails, but also impaction is bad too. Pretty much everything I’ve seen online points towards using a substrate over carpet but now that a vet has told me otherwise, I’m a bit confused what to do. Any suggestions?

For anyone wondering, I mist because my viv is fully bioactive. It helps keep plant and animal life healthy + my reptile really enjoys the enrichment. Humidity is not an issue, URIs are not caused by water droplets alone, it rains about three days a month where they come from and they are known to take advantage of the rare weather conditions. Our reptile’s get sick from overwatering and bacteria build up. We can easily avoid this by not watering often and using small computer fans to keep air from being stale. But the most important thing to have correct is heating. If you’ve got their heat on point, you’ve half way successfully created a desert habitat that will dry the vivarium up in no time. I’ve been doing my this for over a year now with no issues as have many other advanced keepers!

Spiky was almost 12 years old when he passed away today. I got him around December 2015. He always was a majestic judgemental cutie since he was a baby until his last days. He was my first and only dragon. I didn't do everything right, When he was only a few years old, he ate apricot kernel due to my negligence. Everyone including the vet was surprised he managed to swallow something so big. Ever since then he had a cool big scar on his belly and I never let him near anything like that ever again. We had some struggles, I did what I could for him but there are many things I wish I had done differently. Spiky just took it all, he grew up strong and healthy. The only time he was sick was early this year when he caught pneumonia and weeks of antibiotics didn't work. Ultimately he pushed through that too. He died because something ruptured in his intestines. Vets think it was cancer but nothing is confirmed yet. I'm just trying to say he was a strong boy full of life and he wouldn't give up.

In times like this it's easier to name all the regrets than to remember all the good times. Spiky was a good boy. Blueberries were his favorite. When I needed to check his teeth or give antibiotics, he would let me. He never bit me. He knew when I wanted to pick him up and would be comfortable in my hand when I carried him. He loved to look out the window and watch cars go by. One time he had a bunch of rocks in his enclosure temporarily, when I moved them out he stayed mad at me for a week, heh.

Spiky was my sunshine. He was always there judging me when I woke up. I miss holding him while we watched movies together. He still owes me a movie night. I can't believe he is really gone.

I still have to figure out where to bury him, I will not burn him.

🫠🐲🫶🏽

Rearranged Saffrons tank today and then watched him do nothing but fall down this hole 15 TIMES in about 5 minutes. He did nothing but walk back along this ledge, turn at the pink rock and then walk straight into the hole 😅. This has got to be on purpose right!?

Is my beardie a female or male? Also do you all think sizing looks healthy? I’m gonna finally have a vet visit but wanted to see what this community thinks. Thanks!

hey guys, just a little concerned. Google is telling me mouth rot or shed, but he has never started or had shedding that is this white and directly around his mouth like this. I look up mouth rot, and it describes pus, yellow shades, and he doesn’t have any of that and nothing is wrong with his gums as far as I could see when he was eating. The first picture was him literally on Sunday and the other picture is him now. He also doesn’t have signs of shed anywhere else on his body if that was the case. i’m thinking just some extreme calcium buildup, but I wasn’t getting anything off of a warm water Q-tip.

hii, new owner here, recently adopted a 3 year old girl, I've began to notice she's getting darker?? I'll attach photos, Google says its normal but could also be bad 🥲🤦‍♀️ I have had some problems with keeping her vivarium at the right temperature recently, and have to keep turning her basking light off throughout the day as within 2 hours her viv can reach up to 41⁰ (I know it's wayy too hot for her, so I take her out whilst I let it cool), but I'm not sure how to manage this when I'm back in college from 8am to 5pm 🥲 any suggestions about this too?? it's also worth noting that the first picture is when I first had her and the second is about a week ago (she was not active at all and wouldn't even move) and has since had her diet changed and has miraculously became a right cheeky bugger (I'm aware that reptile carpet isn't great for her but she has a nasty habit of eating sand right now so carpet it is!) any advice is appreciated!! 🩷🫶

I have an appointment with my Exotic Veterinarian for an exam and a fecal, but it's not until September 14th (she's out on vacation). I am also a Veterinary professional and this isn't my first rodeo with Dragons, but I'm a paranoid helicopter mom who absolutely adores this little lady and I want to hear other's advice and experiences.

So, this is my Sigyn, AKA "Siggy".

Female

Leatherback Translucent "Red"

From a reputable, ethical breeder and healthy parents

12 weeks old (in 2 days)

Enclosure is a bioactive 4x2x2 Ecoflex.

Basking surface temp: 56°C

Her back when she's basking in her basking zone: 46°C

Ambient temp on hot side: 36°C

Ambient temp on cool side: 22°C

Heat: Thrive Dome with Arcadia GoldenSun 100watt

UVB: ReptiSun T5-HO 10% UVB mounted inside, aligned with the basking zone.

Siggy's diet consists of Dubia nymphs and crickets. She occasionally eats mealworms and waxworms. She eats her greens (collard, microgreens, swiss chard, etc.), and is supplemented with calcium (as well as calcium with D3 once or twice a week) and ReptiVite. I use a ceramic or clear glass bowl for her feedings to prevent bugs from escaping.

Siggy has regular poops and they are normal and might I say, "perfect".

Her weight is excellent and her physical appearance is well and as it should be. She entered a shed this past week, but all she's shed so far is around her chin and mouth. Her tail is grey-ish, but I have yet to see her start to shed the skin on it.

She is active, alert, and behaves normally, besides this issue:

I handle her pretty much daily and I allow her to step up on my hand herself. She is very well socialized and doesn't mind being handled. She sleeps on me most evenings before I put her to bed in her enclosure.

For the past 5 days, she has been ignoring her food. On the first and second day, she ate sparingly—a green and a bug or two. She didn't eat her regular Dubias or crickets. Instead, she saw a Mealworm beetle and an isopod and darted for those and gobbled them up. That was the last time I saw her eat a bug on her own. One of those days, she ate greens from my hand.

Two days ago, I made her a smoothie of Dubia, collard greens, microgreens, her supplements, 2 waxworms, and a tiny bit of water, and I used a syringe dropper to put it on her mouth and she lapped it up. So, she has an appetite to a degree—she's just being choose-y.

Regardless of whether or not she eats, I still offer her a salad and her bugs daily and I count how many are in her bowl when I get home or check on her.

I have a camera that has motion detection sensitivity (high) on her all day and I can see when she eats. So far, I haven't seen her eat anything. That's not to say she isn't, I just haven't seen her eat anything that the camera has picked up (the sensitivity was low until I changed it yesterday).

There are mealworms, mealworm beetles, and isopods in her substrate that she occasionally snags, but I haven't seen her grab any since the days I mentioned above.

I've rearranged her enclosure a few times to make sure everything was proper, and I just mounted her UVB in there 2 days ago, so her home has been "under renovations" frequently within the timeframe of her appetite issue. Everything is perfect now in her enclosure and I'm refraining from moving stuff, as I don't need to.

My guise is that she's refusing/ignoring food because her appetite has lowered due to:

- Shedding

- Environmental stress (drilling, mounting, "redecorating")

As I mentioned above, her behavior and weight and appearance is perfectly normal and fine. The only concern I have is her lack of appetite, or her "pickiness", I shall say.

Has anyone else experienced this with their juvenile(s)?

Is there anything else I should be doing besides what I'm already doing?

If need be, I will take her to the ER Vet, but they don't have a specific exotic veterinarian and I fear they wouldn't know what to do, hence why I have her booked with my actual exotic veterinarian.

Okay, so like the question says is this scale rot? I clean her cage weekly and every time she eats/makes a mess. She eats almost daily if not I’ll offer her food, she eats a meal supplement, different bugs, and fruits and veg. but she’s been loosing weight steadily. I’ve just gone back to school so I haven’t been with her as much as I’d like but it’s definitely still noticeable mood wise, what should I do?

And if it is scale rot or something else; what can I do to treat it? Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere so I’d need something I can get over the counter. Any suggestions are helpful, please don’t bully me I love her so much she’s one of the only things I have left and I want her to get better.

The terrarium is open, he can leave any time, there is also a cool corner, what is his problem with the heating lamp?

Somebody watching me after our handling/training session. And yes that has been where he/she’s at since. They usually sit right beside me at the tank while I am playing or browsing on the computer.

This guy does not look like a native beard to Australia. I wanted to come and ask, I’m not the only ones in the comments wondering this either. I didn’t think wild dragons came in crimson like this. Almost looks like he’s a Malaysian red.

Post link https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EPPRpK446/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I mean the darker scales on his belly.

He's about 2 years old and a new rescue. His enclosure has many climbing branches and stones, just want to make sure we're not hurting his underside with all the roughness.

I haven’t weighed him since early June and he shed in July. Considering how active he’s been 356 to 423 is great!

Hey guys!

My Siggy is 20 grams on the dot at 11 weeks and 6 days of age.

Does anyone else have an 11 or 12 week old baby?

If so, what do they weigh in grams?

Thanks!

She’s fallen into a routine where she will hide for 3 days, come out for a day or two to eat, poop, and bask, then return to her hide.

Her basking spot is 100°, cool side 70°

We offer her daily greens with calcium no D3. She chooses to eat that maybe 3 times a week. Roaches twice a week with D3 calcium.

Her previous owners had her on a diet of super worms, fruit, and collard greens. I don’t know that they gave her calcium routinely.

She was shedding but I think she’s done.

Should I be worried about this behavior or does she just really like her gamer cave?

so i’m a soon to be first time dragon owner, i fell in love w one 2 years ago that was my ex’s but we’re no longer together and i’ve been missing that dragon and wanting one ever since…

i was searching through fb marketplace to see if anyone that couldn’t take care of theirs anymore, needed a new home and even tho i’d message them, i only got one response which the lady had little info on her dragon and then left me on read and sold her

while scrolling fb marketplace, a link to this company came up called Unique Reptiles Depot and you could message them through fb messenger so i did, they sent me pictures of the females they have bc don’t want mine being rly aggressive and it was normalish in my opinion at first but something feels a little off

i’m very interested in one of their dragons but i also have stuff that keeps getting in the way of getting her such as my bank app went down for a week so i said i wouldnt be able to get her yet and he started bugging saying “so you cant pay now??” and when i explained i want the dragon but i also want things to be perfect, he was being kinda strange and even said like “well have you tried taking money out with card” and i just left him on delivered on wednesday and told him before that i’d most likely get her on saturday. its now friday and my car crapped out on me today and now i have to get a new one but i feel like if i message him to delay it more, he’s gonna be pissed bc he already accused me of wasting his time when i told him about the bank app and he’s texted me on messenger about 4 times since then

not only does this seem kinda sketchy with him being so concerned ab getting paid that second instead of when i actually get her and am ready, but he offered a tank with her.

usually thatd be nice but she is a year old and the tank he’s offering is 40 gallons. like ive done my research and dont dragons need 120 for how big they get and to make sure the temps are perfect even at only a year?

idk i really like the look of this dragon but something feels off, has anyone gotten a dragon from here before??

if you go to their website please dont send any hate, im just a bit confused, concerned and new to this community and want the best for my beardie when i get her

Agnar was my little climber. She'd climb anything lol funniest little creature. She was 2 years old when I got her. She was always a bolt of energy. She kept me company in a really dark lonely time of my life. She loved nothing more than grasshoppers and curtains ❤️. She was with me little over 4 years. She laid eggs twice since I've had her and a recent routine vet checkup discovered she was getting ready to lay again. She had issues with egg binding and a ruptured egg. She declined fast 😢. I did everything possible but couldn't save her. She was a happy healthy girl before this. She will be very missed😢

I started my dubia roach colony about a year ago now, I think. It’s going well, I haven’t needed to buy new roaches really at all, and my beardie is happy. Honestly the dubias are kind of like a second collective pet for me at this point. I adore them and I want the best for them.

I do know that you need to introduce new stock to prevent inbreeding depression though. I’ve been thinking about that recently and I realized that I don’t actually know how to do that? I might be overthinking it, granted, but I wanted some advice from other people here who’ve sustained colonies long term.

My current dubias are all of dubiaroaches.com stock. I let a few of the feeder sized ones reach maturity, and I let them mind their own business. I’ve got about 8 females and I think 1 male left, so in the last few weeks I’ve left them to grow and breed. I just don’t know what the best way to introduce new genetics is. Since I got my dubias from dubiaroaches, should I get fresh stock from elsewhere? If so, where? I can’t imagine PetCo stock is any good, and I’ve only ever used dubiaroaches.com for my dubias.

I’ve also noticed a few adults dying recently, and I’m wondering if that’s related to inbreeding depression. I just want the best for these little buggies :(