Reptile Lover’s Thread!!

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Quailobsessed said:
I put water in because he drinks it. Maybe I have the weird lizards :)

I did a LOT of research recently when I was trying to find a good substrate to use and found positives and negatives on literally every substrate in existence. Some arguments were poorer than others but eventually I settled for desert sand as I used sand in the past and never had a problem and where he eats, I have medium sized pebbles to further avoid chance of impaction. Again, that is a personal choice, every beardie is different and some are more likely to eat sand than others.

I tong feed crickets to Sam, he's too lazy to chase them and it avoids having them living in his enclosure making a mess.

What veggies do you feed?

I really appreciate hearing other people's advice and experiences on owning reptiles. Thanks for sharing.
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I think when they're really young sand is the concern because young lizards put everything in their mouthes
 
Quailobsessed said:
I put water in because he drinks it. Maybe I have the weird lizards :)

I did a LOT of research recently when I was trying to find a good substrate to use and found positives and negatives on literally every substrate in existence. Some arguments were poorer than others but eventually I settled for desert sand as I used sand in the past and never had a problem and where he eats, I have medium sized pebbles to further avoid chance of impaction. Again, that is a personal choice, every beardie is different and some are more likely to eat sand than others.

I tong feed crickets to Sam, he's too lazy to chase them and it avoids having them living in his enclosure making a mess.

What veggies do you feed?

I really appreciate hearing other people's advice and experiences on owning reptiles. Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

I too am loving this discussion!

I had a similar experience trying to determine the best substrate for beardies. After extensive research on the pros and cons of various options I ultimately settled on play sand. No issues in the 11 months we have had Tad. But Tad was also 4-6 months old when we got her. I understand that impaction risk is greater in baby dragons. In Tad’s new tank (whenever we finish building it) she will have tile, plus a dig box filled with either sand or coconut fiber.

Tad refuses to poop in her tank so it is easy to keep the sand clean. I don’t feed crickets because of the noise, smell, and general bother. Her main bug food is dubia roaches. But we mix it up with other insects from time to time (mealies, supers, waxworms, hornworms etc.) We have a leopard gecko too so we keep a fair number of feeders on hand. When she hit about 1 year old, Tad sort of slowed down a bit. She was out of the rapid growth stage and therefore had less appetite. These days I don’t have a set schedule for Tad’s bug feedings, but she generally gets bus 2-3 times a week. If she has been eating her salad well for a couple days, then she gets bugs. If she is being picky and turning up her nose at veggies, then no bugs for her until she starts eating veggies again.

Her salad always has at least one hearty green: collards, mustard greens, kale, or turnip tops. Then I add other stuff based on what we have in the house that week. She likes sweet potatoes, winter squash, zucchini, bell peppers, and most other common veggies, except Swiss chard. That was a flop. Berries, especially blueberries, are a favorite, but I have to hand feed them to her. If I put them in her salad she picks them out and leaves the veggies behind.

Tad will not drink from a dish, and hates being misted, so I give her a good soak in the sink twice a week.
 
Last edited:
CSAchook said:
I too am loving this discussion!

I had a similar experience trying to determine the best substrate for beardies. After extensive research on the pros and cons of various options I ultimately settled on play sand. No issues in the 11 months we have had Tad. But Tad was also 4-6 months old when we got her. I understand that impaction risk is greater in baby dragons. In Tad’s new tank (whenever we finish building it) she will have tile, plus a dig box filled with either sand or coconut fiber.

Tad refuses to poop in her tank so it is easy to keep the sand clean. I don’t feed crickets because of the noise, smell, and general bother. Her main bug food is dubia roaches. But we mix it up with other insects from time to time (mealies, supers, waxworms, hornworms etc.) We have a leopard gecko too so we keep a fair number of feeders on hand. When she hit about 1 year old, Tad sort of slowed down a bit. She was out of the rapid growth stage and therefore had less appetite. These days I don’t have a set schedule for Tad’s bug feedings, but she generally gets bus 2-3 times a week. If she has been eating her salad well for a couple days, then she gets bugs. If she is being picky and turning up her nose at veggies, then no bugs for her until she starts eating veggies again.

Her salad always has at least one hearty green: collards, mustard greens, kale, or turnip tops. Then I add other stuff based on what we have in the house that week. She likes sweet potatoes, winter squash, zucchini, bell peppers, and most other common veggies, except Swiss chard. That was a flop. Berries, especially blueberries, are a favorite, but I have to hand feed them to her. If I put them in her salad she picks them out and leaves the veggies behind.

Tad will not drink from a dish, and hates being misted, so I give her a good soak in the sink twice a week.
Click to expand...

Sam is the same with the pooping, he doesn't like to go in his tank.

Sam also loves blueberries and would pick them out from his veggies too.
I put pansy flowers in his salad as he LOVES them and will always accept them. I put two or three in every so often and he digs around for them, eating his veggies in the process.
 
Quailobsessed said:
Sam is the same with the pooping, he doesn't like to go in his tank.

Sam also loves blueberries and would pick them out from his veggies too.
I put pansy flowers in his salad as he LOVES them and will always accept them. I put two or three in every so often and he digs around for them, eating his veggies in the process.
Click to expand...

Ooh flowers are a great idea! Thanks! Tad has tried rose petals a couple times and loved them. I should get her some pansies to try.
 
Not that it matters a ton but I wanted to correct this cause I just realized my mistake and don’t want to be spreading false info lol probably only matters to me but :lau :oops:

but I got the name of one of the snakes they had wrong. It was not a pit viper. Those aren’t in Africa. It was a Gaboon Viper. But still huge and super scary.
 

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