Adopted 3 year beardie

[puffthedragon]

Hello Everyone, I am new to the beardie life, my fiance and I adopted/rescued a 3 year old beardie off craigslist last week. They told us they had "her" for about a year and a half and the person they got her from told them she was a male, but someone told them.. that she was a female.
We quickly realized that she was not taken care of the way she should have been, and we have come to the conclusion that she is more than likely a he by looking at pictures and comparing, we named him Puff, the magic Dragon.
He has been fed a cricket only diet since they have had him, so I have been introducing all kinds of yummy greens which he has really taking a liking to, especially sugar snap peas, he comes running for those!
I have a pet squirrel so every morning everyone gets a fresh bowl of fresh veggies and some fruits.
I know beardies need their insects to be dusted with calcium so that is on order.
On of my main concerns right now is his nails, they are soo long, that it looks like he broke one of his back toes from getting it caught on something. Any tips on cutting a beardies nails?
He isn't aggressive in any way, but he obviously hasn't been handled a whole lot, he shy's away at first when you start to pet him, but ive put him to sleep by rubbing his head.
Can anyone tell me what type he is based on his photos?

Nice to meet all of you!

 

[BrookeE]

Looks like just the "normal" beardie to me. No color morph from what I can tell. Mine is almost identical. Nails do look pretty long. I cut mine with baby fingernail clippers. You've got to be careful not to hit vein. Not sure if youve ever cut a dogs nails but its a similar process- youve just got to know where you need to stop cutting.

Just a little advice, looking at your set up, you'll be doing yourself and your beardie a favor if you get rid of that sand and put him on a solid substrate such as paper towels, newspaper, or even tile is the best in my opinion. Tile can also help keep your beardies nails trimmed down. Sand and similar substrate harbors a lot of germs, bacteria, and odor. Its much more sanitary and believe it or not, easier to deal with.

Congrats on your new kiddo!!!

 

[puffthedragon]

Looks like just the "normal" beardie to me. No color morph from what I can tell. Mine is almost identical. Nails do look pretty long. I cut mine with baby fingernail clippers. You've got to be careful not to hit vein. Not sure if youve ever cut a dogs nails but its a similar process- youve just got to know where you need to stop cutting.

Just a little advice, looking at your set up, you'll be doing yourself and your beardie a favor if you get rid of that sand and put him on a solid substrate such as paper towels, newspaper, or even tile is the best in my opinion. Tile can also help keep your beardies nails trimmed down. Sand and similar substrate harbors a lot of germs, bacteria, and odor. Its much more sanitary and believe it or not, easier to deal with.

Congrats on your new kiddo!!!

Thank you!
The sand is def going, haha. I hate the sand, its gets everywhere, and it stains everything. Ugh!
Thats what they had been housing him in, but because the tank is an odd size, we were having problems finding the right size substrate to fit. Hadn't thought about using tiles, do you just lay them in the bottom of the tank? Or does there need to be some type of sealant like grout?

 

[BrookeE]

Im sure some people might seal theirs, but I like for mine to be removable because I like to be able to take everything out and really clean it all good now and then. I wipe everything down daily, but sometimes I soak everything in a diluted bleach solution to hardcore clean it.

 

[Mom of blazey]

I agree with Brooke, I'm new to this forum as well, but I've been owned by beardies for 7 yrs. I use paper towels (white only)which come out daily I have 6 enclosures and 8 beardies, not by choice so I had to learn alot quickly, and also trial and error , everyone is doing good now, they're all 7 yrs old, been to the vet only 2X each, when I wasn't so sure of what I was doing. Healthy now, poop & pee at least every other day, crickets with dusting of calcium 2X wk, superworms 1x wk and greens every day . NO SPINACH very important. Good luck, just love him, take him out as often as you can. And feed daily. Love the pics☺

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[Hdrydr31]

Hello Everyone, I am new to the beardie life, my fiance and I adopted/rescued a 3 year old beardie off craigslist last week. They told us they had "her" for about a year and a half and the person they got her from told them she was a male, but someone told them.. that she was a female.
We quickly realized that she was not taken care of the way she should have been, and we have come to the conclusion that she is more than likely a he by looking at pictures and comparing, we named him Puff, the magic Dragon.
He has been fed a cricket only diet since they have had him, so I have been introducing all kinds of yummy greens which he has really taking a liking to, especially sugar snap peas, he comes running for those!
I have a pet squirrel so every morning everyone gets a fresh bowl of fresh veggies and some fruits.
I know beardies need their insects to be dusted with calcium so that is on order.
On of my main concerns right now is his nails, they are soo long, that it looks like he broke one of his back toes from getting it caught on something. Any tips on cutting a beardies nails?
He isn't aggressive in any way, but he obviously hasn't been handled a whole lot, he shy's away at first when you start to pet him, but ive put him to sleep by rubbing his head.
Can anyone tell me what type he is based on his photos?

Nice to meet all of you!

Welcome! Have you done the flashlight test to see if it is a male? can you see the hemipene buldges? If your not sure what the flashlight test is...go in a dark room, place dragon on a flat surface and gently lift tail back towards head (over back) not too far shine light down thru base of tail looking at the underside of tail you should be able to see the ovals for male on each side, if a bump in middle that is female.

Nails: I trim mine at night when they are asleep yep they are long that's for sure I use a regular nail clipper and just take the hook part off, little bits at a time if you look at the nail you should see where the nail bed ends.. another reason I do them while they sleep so I can really look and move the nail around to see what I'm doing.

 

[puffthedragon]

Welcome! Have you done the flashlight test to see if it is a male? can you see the hemipene buldges? If your not sure what the flashlight test is...go in a dark room, place dragon on a flat surface and gently lift tail back towards head (over back) not too far shine light down thru base of tail looking at the underside of tail you should be able to see the ovals for male on each side, if a bump in middle that is female.

Nails: I trim mine at night when they are asleep yep they are long that's for sure I use a regular nail clipper and just take the hook part off, little bits at a time if you look at the nail you should see where the nail bed ends.. another reason I do them while they sleep so I can really look and move the nail around to see what I'm doing.

We have tried the flashlight test but couldn't see anything, however, we do see 2 buldges at the base of his tail, so that led us to believe he is a male for sure since that's what the original owner told the people we got him from.
I haven't attempted to cut his nails yet as he is still adjusting to his new home but he is definitely coming along socially. He already lets me pick him up and put him back without panicking. He's even fallen asleep in my lap to me rubbing his head. Huge accomplishment considering he would scurry away at first. We are really enjoying this little guy, his personality cracks us up. And he loves his greens and veggies!

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[BrookeE]

They are quite hilarious. Glad to hear youve made progress with him and youre enjoying the beardie life!

 

[Mom of blazey]

Sounds like you're on your way to becoming a great beardie parent! They are wonderful creatures with individual personalities, I love mine❤

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[Mom2Dovakiin]

I think he's adorable! But I really have to mention UVB here since I noticed with your set up either there is no UVB or you are using the bulb type and it should be the tube style. I'd look into T5 HO bulbs and a fixture. You can find these at Amazon and several other places.
Welcome to the forum!

 

[puffthedragon]

Had to upload this because it made me laugh...Walked past him last night on the way to bed and found him asleep, with his face resting on the glass. He slept like that all night. I've cut his nails, changed the substrate to the carpet, and we're still adding and changing things. He's a much happier beardie.

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[Mom of blazey]

Aren't they just too cute when they sleep like that! Mine used to do that when they were small. You've done an excellent job with puff, welcome to beardie life. Love the pics keep em coming ☺

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[puffthedragon]

Aren't they just too cute when they sleep like that! Mine used to do that when they were small. You've done an excellent job with puff, welcome to beardie life. Love the pics keep em coming ☺

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Thank you!

 

[puffthedragon]

Mr. Handsome

I keep the sides of his tank covered with blankets, it seems to help him alot with reflections and such, I just take them off for photos.

So cute!

 

[PatsyB]

He's gorgeous!

 

[Mom of blazey]

He's lookin good!

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[puffthedragon]

Proof we are making progress with him...cuddles with dad! Normally when I bring him out, hes trying to run away the entire time. So I've been getting him out pretty consistently and he finally laid down with us! He also had to sport his fancy new harness...that he hates...

 

[Dragnmum]

Had to upload this because it made me laugh...Walked past him last night on the way to bed and found him asleep, with his face resting on the glass. He slept like that all night. I've cut his nails, changed the substrate to the carpet, and we're still adding and changing things. He's a much happier beardie.

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Oh my! Mine is still a baby, only about 3 months old. The first time I caught his sleeping like this I was worried he was going to break his neck! I couldn't help but move him. Lol



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[Mom of blazey]

I reread your 1st post, you're doing a great job! Puff is lookin nice and healthy

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[puffthedragon]

Caught Puff waving for the first time on camera. What does this mean?!

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_RN_16y_gDAQmRONXphR3ZYZ2M

And some updated pics of his shed. Gave him a bath this morning and he layed with me for a bit after. His coloring underneath
Can't wait to see more..

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