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Reptiles/rescued a beardie
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Question
we got two bearded dragons from a friend at work. he couldn't take them with him while moving. they are male and female about 15.5 inches long. the guy said that they fed them only lettuce and crickets and no water. they obviously didn't know what they were doing because we gave them a container of water and they love to drink out of it and bathe in it. anyway, we got rid of the male because he was too mean to the female and my kids. i could chance him biting my kids. somebody said that they were just mating and i shouldn't had gotten rid of him. So my first question is;
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should i get a another friend for her? I don't want her to be lonely because shes never been alone before. will this make her depressed?
Now we've tried feeding her lots of things; green beans, raspberries, super worms, crickets, cilantro lettuce, apples, bananas, pears, carrots, peaches, broccoli. She will only eat super worms and outdoor plants suck as grass (leafy grass), dandelions, and other white and purple flowers (which she loves). She tries to eat crickets but is too slow to catch them. i don't know how to get her to eat anything else. We feed her about 15-20 super worms every three or four days and in between we try to feed her fruits and veggies but she wont eat them, she wont even eat beardie foods; we've tried bearded dragon bites (nature zone). So my next question is;
How do we get her to eat fruit and veggies? Can I grow plants at home and have her eat them as live plants?
she seems to like eating them from the ground only. ive tried to give her dandelions in her dish but she will only eat them outside unpicked.
Ok last thing can we put live cactus in her tarium? I have fake cactuses in her tarium and she love to rest on them especially the prickley ones.
We only like the best for our zoo of animals and want them to be as healthy as possible. Thank you for your time and i look forward to hearing from you!
Jessica and family!
You only like the best for them...but you "got rid" of the male who needed a caring home? Was that best for him? Separating him from the other he has been raised with for who knows how long? He has to go through yet another move? I am an animal rescuer by profession, so frankly, spare me the insincere compassion.
The first thing you need to realize is that if you are going to say you "rescued" an animal, then you need to play the part and not "get rid" of them at the first sign of trouble. That is number one. I think your verbiage to "get rid of" is kind of telling, and I don't like it. It reveals a mindset that says maybe you aren't cut out for keeping a reptile. You treated him as if he were a useless old sock, and took him away from his girl, and him away from her. The most basic reptile keeping 101 should have told you that these problems are often transient, and often caused by moving a reptile to a completely new environment. It stresses them. His problems could have been corrected.
Don't get a second one for her until you know what you are doing. This is not like just replacing a tire because you feel badly now. The deed is done, and you shouldn't make the mistake of taking on another one until you do more research. I get bit by unsocialized 4ft. Iguanas, trying to save them and socially rehab them for adoption...so I have little sympathy for getting rid of a little Beardie because he "may" bite. Easy solution to that would have been just don't let kids jack with them until he was settled in his habitat. They are not toys.
I recommend you see htpp://www.beardeddragon.org and http://www.anapsid.org for more information. The questions are too broad for me to address in one answer, and can more easily be obtained if you would do your own research.
Make sure you do have quality UVB lighting. I recommend Mega-Ray. http://www.reptileuv.com
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Answers by Expert:
Mick
Expertise
NO PRIVATE QUESTIONS! YOUR QUESTION WILL BE REJECTED IF YOU DO NOT PROVIDE THE INFO REQUESTED IN THE INSTRUCTIONS!. I can answer questions related reptile husbandry, field ID (esp. in Texas and the SW), legal aspects, and intermediate-advanced level medical care. I am the director of Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue (TX), a founding member of The Society for Horned Lizard Preservation, a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Assoc, and a subscriber to the International Veterinary Information Service. I do most of my own veterinary care in-house, including minor surgery and necropsy. I am most experienced in Chelonia with box turtles and common smaller tortoises; and in Squamata with everything from Anoles, Geckos, Beardies, and Monitors, to venomous snakes. I am most known for my expertise with horned lizards (Phrynosoma). With snakes, my primary expertise is in Crotalids (rattlesnakes), but I can answer a broad range of questions about various species. I am not aware of any reptile related question that I would not be able to provide some reasonable answer for. I have a direct style and may tell you something you did not want to hear; but the welfare of the animal comes FIRST with me, and I will always reflect that position in my answer, despite how it might make you feel.
Experience
I am a non-academic herpetologist with 25 years experience with reptiles. I am a reptile rescuer, rehabilitator, and subscriber to the International Veterinary Information Service. I have medical and scientific resources available, and I perform in house reptile veterinary care for my rescues. I am not a vet, but I read from the same materials and have had to correct a few in the past. The average vet is not well versed with reptile physiology and medical treatments.
I am currently the caretaker of 11 Horned Lizards, 22 Box Turtles, 30 aquatic turtles, 7 fire Bellied Toads, 3 Green Iguanas, 1 Spiny Lizard, 1 Bullsnake, 20 Eastern Ratsnakes, 1 Albino Great Plains Ratsnake, 1 Massasauga Rattlesnake, 1 Leopard Gecko, 8 Fox Squirrels, 7 Deer Mice, 2 Hispid Pocket Mice, 4 Merriam's Pocket Mice, 1 Cotton-Tail, 1 Former racing pigeon, and 1 Budgie. Previously: Leopard Geckos, Golden Gecko, African White-Spotted Wall Gecko, Mediterranean Geckos, Bahama Anoles, Ca. Kingsnake, Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, Gartersnakes, Long-Nosed Snakes, Russian Tortoise, Savannah Monitor, Chinese Water Dragons, Bearded Dragons, Jeweled Curly-Tailed Lizards, Long-Tailed Grass Lizards, Asian Forest Scorpions, and Eastern Cotton-tail rabbits.
Organizations
Co-Founder: Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue
Founder: Horned Lizards YahooGroup
Member: National Wildlife Rehabilitators Assoc.
Founding Member: The Society for Horned Lizard Preservation
Publications
The Horned Lizard Husbandry Manual - self published 60+ pages of care information on genus Phrynosoma.
Wikipedia entry "Horned Lizards" - contributed to a majority of the content.
allexperts.com, and various reptile related forums and email lists under the handles "fireside3" and PhrynosomaTexas".
Education/Credentials
My hands-on field and husbandry experience beats a PhD any day of the week.
Past/Present Clients
I was requested to provide my care manual on the Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos), for the Montreal zoo. My manual is also used by several other zoological institutions in N. America.
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