Your Bearded Dragon - Its habitat and Water!

[Aconite]

I found this thread really interesting. Thanks!
I got my beardie when he was about 5 months old. He had been kept without water and given a weekly bath. He was in great condition, had all his toes, good weight and alert and active. So it obviously worked for his breeder.

But I have decided to keep him without water in the viv and I dont bath him or give him any water drops etc.
I have now had him for a few months and he has doubled in size, sheds perfectly each time and is very fat and active.

I think everyone does things in different ways, but it is good to experiment a bit and take advice from the locals where the animals come from.

It is very hard to get into the mindset of a country you have never visited and so it is hard to imagine life thriving in a place where there is no water, no humidity and not much plant life. But somehow it does.
I think it is very important to look at the place the animal comes from and replicate it as much as possible.

I am lucky in that I come from africa, so I have seen animals in places you could not imagine anything existing.
The fact that an animal not only survives, but thrives, in this hostile climate indicates that it is designed to cope there and might actually struggle in an environment we think of as ideal.

My beardie gets loads of water from his gut loaded locusts and his fresh veg. I think water in a bowl, or water in a bath, or drops on his nose would be overkill.

[Kingkillclone]

very interesting article it has enlightened me a lot, when i brought my beardy i was given a massive hide and a huge water bowl, he does like to sleep in his cave though and he always comes out to bask, but i did wonder why he never drank much and he hates bathing so thank you i now know why!!

[oliwilliams]

well as all are different our 7 month beardie spends like an hour a day in a water bowl big enough to lie down in and gets a warm bath once a week sure she is a water dragon cross1

[lady medusa]

great post, i worked in a reptile shop that never kept water in the vivs & all the beardys were fine with that, i do keep a little water in with my babies, but they get most of their water from their veggys.

[Faceman]

great thread. I am extremely new and green to keeping a beardy. Only had him 2 months, that is certainly something to bear in mind, I bought this huge Exo-Terra water dish that does take up considerable room I'll be off to the shop tomorrow to buy a smaller more adaquate dish.

Cheers!

[Will-2k9]

Originally Posted by Aconite

I found this thread really interesting. Thanks!
I got my beardie when he was about 5 months old. He had been kept without water and given a weekly bath. He was in great condition, had all his toes, good weight and alert and active. So it obviously worked for his breeder.

But I have decided to keep him without water in the viv and I dont bath him or give him any water drops etc.
I have now had him for a few months and he has doubled in size, sheds perfectly each time and is very fat and active.

I think everyone does things in different ways, but it is good to experiment a bit and take advice from the locals where the animals come from.

It is very hard to get into the mindset of a country you have never visited and so it is hard to imagine life thriving in a place where there is no water, no humidity and not much plant life. But somehow it does.
I think it is very important to look at the place the animal comes from and replicate it as much as possible.

I am lucky in that I come from africa, so I have seen animals in places you could not imagine anything existing.
The fact that an animal not only survives, but thrives, in this hostile climate indicates that it is designed to cope there and might actually struggle in an environment we think of as ideal.

My beardie gets loads of water from his gut loaded locusts and his fresh veg. I think water in a bowl, or water in a bath, or drops on his nose would be overkill.

Exactly, i dont give my beardie water either, just the odd bath when he gets dirty and he's fine... The crickets drink enough water to ensure there nice and packed with water for him. Iv always tried to make his lifestyle the same as it would be in the deserts although that is hard due to the fact im english and we have a lot more humid climate. I still try and replicate it as much as possible, because after-all that is why they live there and there designed to live there.

Changing that would be like us trying to live on mars or something.

[dexterslab]

Just read through every page from the start, glad I did!.

I, like a couple of others have said, am going to reduce the size of the water bowl (it was in the cold end anyway right in the corner but is pretty damn big) after reading this thread. I would take it out but his prey loves drinking from the bowl which is a major plus as the beardies will then get that water.

There is mis-leading conflicting information all over the place and everybody has their own opinions and ways but this thread here makes complete sense to be honest, so their lives are going to be slightly changed, for the better

Much Appreciated!

[pezza]

Fantastic thread

[julie king]

i bathe my dragons at least once a week as they seem to enjoy it. i also always leave a shallow dish of fresh water just in case, i have only twice seen them drnk out of it.

Originally Posted by sparkle

excellent thanks x


i also advise not to use a hide.. but to build up rocks or java woods to form climbing and shade where there is stil heat..

I was once told a baby beardie had to have a hide on t thread from a newbie scared their beardie was hiding in its hide al day not eating or basking....and a mod delted my post saying it could be detremental to the baby as it would hide if it was scared and then go too cool to be active..

im glad theres some sense being made of this now

i also dont bathe my beardies or have a water bowl in all the time

they have fresh blueberries and other types of fruits and vege sprayed with water daily so they intake that way and twice a week i pop a water bowl in for a few hours to allow them to drink if needs be

I only bathe my beardies IF they have managed to get dirty from any poop in their vivs before i have spot cleaned.. but its not a regular occurance

I guess everyone has their own way... and some work whilst some dont..

[fuzzzzbuzzzz]

Thanks