Natural sunlight question

[BrookeE]

So its warming up here in Texas finally (YAYYYY!!!!!)
Fortunately for me and my girl, I have a fantastic backyard for her to run around in. Totally secure, no way to get out, no other pets to worry about bothering her, plenty of sunlight and shade for her to go, pots plants for her to jump up and down in. She has a blast. I know how good natural sunlight is for these guys so I try to let her outside any time the weather is good for it. Question is, is there any limit to how long they should be staying outside? Should it be limited to 30 minutes to an hour or would it not do any harm to let her run around for most of the day?

 

[Resa]

From what I understand it's not the sun you need to worry about, it's her temperature. My knowledge is limited but I have been told that you really don't want them out of their enclosure for more than 2 hours if your weather isn't close to their natural habitat.

So I would say just keep checking her to make sure she doesn't get too cold but I'm curious as to what long time beardie owners say as I'm sure they are better equipped to answer this question better than me.

 

[PatsyB]

You want to make sure she doesn't get too cold or too warm. Unfortunately, they don't always go to the shade when they should and cAn overheat fast.

 

[KrissyLeigh]

Omg I am WAY to paranoid to let my baby do that. I would worry that he would ingest something he shouldn't and get impacted, be exposed to a pesticide by eating a bugs that have been exposed to pesticides from a neighboring house / yard, or eat something poisonous, or wedge into some nook and escape or get stuck, etc.

I will admit that I'm a worrywort about my babies though... I thoroughly sweep and disinfect my free range room EVERY DAY before I let him out. The other day there was half a sunflower seed shell on the floor from my rats, he ate it, and I just about had a heart attack. He passed it with no problems, of course.

 

[PatsyB]

Omg I am WAY to paranoid to let my baby do that. I would worry that he would ingest something he shouldn't and get impacted, be exposed to a pesticide by eating a bugs that have been exposed to pesticides from a neighboring house / yard, or eat something poisonous, or wedge into some nook and escape or get stuck, etc.

I will admit that I'm a worrywort about my babies though... I thoroughly sweep and disinfect my free range room EVERY DAY before I let him out. The other day there was half a sunflower seed shell on the floor from my rats, he ate it, and I just about had a heart attack. He passed it with no problems, of course.

That's a smart idea. I let Luci out last summer without checking the floor real good and out of the corner of my eye I see him lift his head all the way back and start tuning his neck real funny. He ate something on the floor and he was trying to swallow it. I did everything I could, I gave him some water thinking that would help it go down, I gently rubbed his beard. When he opened his mouth there was nothing in it and he his breathing wasn't obstructed. You could see whatever it was in his jowl. Eventually he swallowed it and was fine afterwards. I checked his poop for a week and there was nothing in it so I think he must have eaten a cat treat. Needless to say, now I vacuum before I let him out!

 

[BrookeE]

Luckily my backyard is escape proof, trust me I've gone through every inch of the fence to make sure. And theres not really anything to get stuck in or anything. Just a couple of pots with plants, a tree, and a small garden. I make sure she eats all her veggies and I give her a nice big meal of bugs a couple hours before I let her out so she's not tempted to eat anything. I work from home and have a kitchen table that looks out to the back yard so I can keep a pretty close eye on her while she's out. Its a joy to watch her out there having fun and the natural sunlight seems to give her even more energy than she already has, which is a TON. She never wants to come inside.

 

[KrissyLeigh]

That sounds like fun! I take my beardie outside sometimes, but he just seems confused hahaha.

One other thing to consider - not trying be be a negative Nancy, I promise - is to make sure there are no predatory birds or stay cats in the area. What part of Texas do you live in? I also live in Texas and we have a lot of hawks, falcons, and I osprey where I live. I'm building a bird proof enclosure for my little tortoises right now, because hawks have been known to carry them away. And I used to let my aquatic turtles out for exercise on the patio until a stay cat attacked one. My dog got attacked by large blue land crabs in the back yard. My parents cat got carried away by an owl and never came back - though that won't be an issue for you during the day. And now that I'm recounting all these stories, maybe for my area my worries are justified and not paranoid at all hahaha!

PS - I also found a small dead rattlesnake on my doorstep a couple years ago. Gotta love Texas, it keeps you on your toes!!!

 

[BrookeE]

Oh my.. yeah I don't really have those kinds of issues. I live in a suburb just north of Dallas. Not a whole lot of dangerous wildlife here. Ive spent my fair share of time in West Texas so I hear you loud and clear on the birds and snakes, but the worst we have is those pesky black birds and even those are scarce these days.

 

[Canicke]

watch for overheating - I lost my first boy to the heat. now im scared to let my kids out. along with pesticides and predators and foreign bugs.

 

[BrookeE]

Ill definitely have to exercise caution when it starts getting really hot. Those 105 degree days are rough out here. For now it hasn't gotten above 85 and today its gotten back down to 60. So heat isn't a huge concern quite yet but here in a few weeks Ill have to be extra careful. Thanks!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Yep watch the heat for sure...I would worry about foreign bad bugs that would happen along from neighboring areas..
I have zippered up net enclosures that I put mine in while they are outside to protect them from anything while allowing them to get that good ol natural Vit D!!
I hope that your beardie stays safe and sound