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Bearded dwagon Anonymous
Right. I got a (dwarf) bearded dragon last christmas, and I have a few questions about him.

First thing is that he's terribly friendly with people, and eats out of hand. Now that's a sort of a problem, too. Everywhere I read is that the dragon should be fed protein (worms, locusts) twice a week and have vegetables/fruit readily available at all times. He has always had a small food cup with carrots, salad and stuff in it but he will NOT eat out of the cup. Or off the sand. Or off a rock. Or a tree. He ONLY eats off human hand. Is there anything to be done about it? I mean, I don't mind feeding him. It's just a little odd, maybe.

A second thing is winters. atm he seems really, really lethargic, like he did when I got him. He got active during the summer again, and is back to the Zzz-day around mode. I figured from the summer thing that maybe it's a winter thingie, you know, but I'm not sure. You guys got any idea? I mean he eats alot less and isn't as active. Mostly just changes the place he sleeps at, while during summer he was climbing vines and other crazy shit regularly.
>> Nyarly
=D
>> Anonymous
that is the most awesome thing i've seen this week!
any chance of more pictures?
>> Anonymous
Well, he's a reptile, isn't he? Give him a drink, then see how he responds after sitting under a heat lamp for a little while.
>> Anonymous
Your's is alot more active during the winter than mine, mine goes for 3 months with barely moving. Do not worry about it.
>> Anonymous
Mine will eat crickets when they're running around, and occasionally freeze dried insects on a plate. He prefers to be hand fed worms because he's a spoiled little bastard.

Also, mine never drinks water out of a bowl/bottom/etc. I have to give him a bath to drink.

Does yours wave? I want to teach mine to wave.
>> Anonymous
>>188182

Have you tried one of those dishes with the airstone built into it? I hear some reptiles will only drink if the water is moving.
>> Anonymous
I feel your pain. I had some leopard geckos who would only eat from a pair of tongs. They were so lazy they wouldn't even chase crickets, I had to hold the crickets in tongs and stick them right under their noses or they wouldn't eat.

Anyway, I gave them to a friend who wanted a classroom pet eventually, but he said he got them eating out of a dish again by at first feeding them with the tongs over the dish until they knew they'd have to go to the dish for food, and then gradually lowering the tongs until they were in the dish, and then losing the tongs all together. I think slowly backing away from hand feeding like that will work for you.
>> Anonymous
You know, I've seen those dishes but I've never bought one. It's worth a shot.

Back to the OP, maybe you should try giving him some variety... maybe he'll investigate the plate if there's something different on there.

For example, mine likes ZooMed's Grasshoppers, Caterpillars, silk worms, etc.
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/Search.php?Page=1&SearchID=1&DatabaseID=2&Heading=Terr
arium&ProductCategory=Food

He might be lethargic because he's getting sick... but repiles usually never show it if they are. Assuming he's eating and craping as usual, you're probably in the clear. Maybe give him a ceramic heat emitter at night if his cage loses temperature... mine is in a vision cage so it stays pretty damn warm.
>> Anonymous
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>>188115
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
i've got a Beardie and he's also really lethargic around winter, not changed anything about the tank but he somehow knows its winter and just wants to sleep all the time, occassionally getting up for a few hours a day and i have to herd the crickets/locust to his mouth for him to bother grabbing them

pic is not my beardie by the way, just an awsome picture ^^
>> Bearded dwagon Anonymous
OP here. Thanks a bunch for the info, and yes he's eating and crapping normally, although a bunch less than during summer, but I suppose that's related to not doing much anything else. :) I was just sort of worried, I got this one after my poor old leopard gecko died due to blockage from sand. :(

Anyway, for those wondering about drinking, I read somewhere that being desert creatures bearded dragons drink very, very rarely, and normally not by themselves. Meaning, they will not drink unless it rains, so according to a few people you can make your dragon drink by getting it wet, even if it's just a few droplets on it's head. Then it'll know to crawl to it's usual drinking place for fresh rainwater. Odd, huh.
>> Anonymous
bearded dragons should rest through winter, you should slowly everyday shorten the lighting in your tank until its off fully and don't turn it on again for at least 6 weeks.
it increases the lifespan of your dragons and is really good for them..
absolutely no feeding while winterrest though! only water should be in the tank, nothing else!
my darling is sleeping through winter right now.
>> Anonymous
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>>188513
oh and no heating of course, else it wont be relaxing for it.
try to have it's tank at 17-20 or 21° celsius (+62.6 °F - 68°F).
btw my dragon is a sandfire!
>> Anonymous
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this is how I keep my gecko warm during the winter
>> Anonymous
My bearded would eat anything but crickets, he would just refuse to chase the damned things. We made the mistake of thinking he would like them one time. One night I got sick of the incessant chirping and I smashed every last one with a wooden block. He had no problem eating them then.

He also wasn't a fan of most greens, but he really liked parsley. And one time we discovered that he loved raspberries.

I miss him :(
>> Viewtiful Elvis Henshin
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Posting my dragon in a dragon thread.
>> Anonymous
>>188525
ewh. clean your wall :<
>> Viewtiful Elvis Henshin
bumping a cool thread
>> Anonymous
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my beardie.
>> Anonymous
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Posting my beardie in a dragon thread
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
My bearded dragon also acts all tired and lethargic during winter, and he does every year. It's common, because bearded dragons go through brumation (like hibernation) every year during winter in which they eat less and are less lively. However, these are also signs that your bearded dragon might be sick, so be careful.

My bearded dragon isn't a big fan of eating his veggies from the bowl either, but if I move the bowl around in front of his face to get him to notice it and then just leave the bowl in the cage he'll eventually climb down and eat the veggies if he's hungry.