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Igneal&Jill

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
8
Location
California
Hello!!! Igneal is my first bearded dragon and I am "his" first human. He is I think a few months old we bought him from petco, very spontaneously. So we just got a kit... so far I have almost replaced everything. It had a hid/basking rock that igneal never went on so I took it out and replaced it with natural rocKS. And it came with two lights I believe mini halogen day and night, and it seems to be doing OK for now I was reading that it doesn't disperse heat very well. So to problem solve (while we have the small tank for him) I made "layers" I have made a branch running higher through the light zone and a flat basking rock lower. He will layout everywhere in the tank so I am assuming it's working for now. And we have no air conditioning and it has been well into the 100s lately so I was more nervous about making a uv areas that and "cooler" and warmer. I did get today a different light for a when we upgrade his enclosure. I think the name was something rapun, rapsun, rap something. (It's back to school this week my brain is not functioning on high lol)

I have a few questions on behavior that I cant seem to find an exact answer in scanning other posts ... one is that igneal licks me alot, where ever he sits on me he just licks and licks. and a few times nipped my finger (had I not actually saw it I would have never thought he did, it's so soft,he is so tiny) but I was hand feedin him so I thought it was more that he thought my finger had food but then he gaped at me the next day. I just put my finger under his chin and shut his mouth, lol I said nope that's rude, and he hasn't done it again. I also stopped hand feeding him, thinking he needed finger boundaries. But today I was giving him a bath and when he was done he sat and just licked my fingers. It was soo sweet. So I guess my question is did I make the right decision with stopping haND feeding or was I over cautious?

Also he is quite frisky during the day, he doesn't just chill he runs all over. @ first I didn't think of it as distress just looking around but as I have read online people put their dragons away if they are not wanting to stay with u. Does the running mean he is nervous?

And last the "stress lines" ? Some times my baby dragon has them sometimes not. He will have them and look totally chill and other times seams uncomfortable (still and rigid tail) and his tummy is clear.... can they mean something else?

Holy moly that was long ... sorry. I usually am good with reading dogs, cats and chicken behavior, and have good instincts with them but I feel lost with a dragon, when do I back down when do I "push", is he being chill or is he terrified? Lol thanks for reading through all that !
 

BeardedHippy

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
672
Location
Scarborough UK
Hi, welcome to the forum. Congrats on your new baby, I dont think its 3 months old yet, looks very young on your pic, trust me at 3 months it will be twice the size, they grow like weeds. There are a lot lot of very useful threads here about lighting and nutrition as they are important to get right for your dragons development. Sounds like you have bought a reptisun, which is a lot better than the one you have. Temps can be a problem , especially when its hot outside, make sure you keep your tank well away from windows and direct sunlight. anyway, any questions you have will be answered but start here:
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/threads/general-info-set-up-1st-timers.13863/

Licking is totally normal behaviour. Beardies taste their environment and you will see them licking everything in their tank. Just dont use a sand substrate as they can pick up grains of sand which can lead to impaction.
 

Hdrydr31

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Staff member
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
5,574
Welcome to the forum and to beardies, you have been given some good info so far and your doing great! Take a look under my comment and you will find resource links (a couple have already been given) and take a look at the info for new comers (it's also in the general care section here) as we have put together info on everything you will need and want to know on their care.. and ask whatever
 

PatsyB

Super Moderator
Staff member
1,000+ Post Club
Beardie Club
Messages
9,390
Location
Chicago
Yes, check out the links under our comments and you will get some great tips.

As far as the licking, it's perfectly normal. They have something called the Jacobson's Organ on the roof of their mouth. When they lick the air, they are taking a sample and touching that organ with their tongue and it's sending a message to the brain letting them know if something is safe.
 
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