# Loving Brodie the Beardie <3



## Neecy (Feb 15, 2014)

Here's Brodie eating his dinner....the musical score really sets the mood 

http://s663.photobucket.com/user/DeniseAnnColon/media/brodiesdinner.mp4.html


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## BettaBabyBoo (Feb 25, 2014)

Beardies are so freakin' cute! My close friend has Marvin, and he's so sweet. Here's him, chilling on my scarf


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## Neecy (Feb 15, 2014)

Marvin is a cutie! I can't wait for Brodie to get that big!! Beardies are such silly little guys.


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## thekinetic (May 22, 2012)

Hehe beardies look awesome! They're so cute and tiny when young then grow into their namesake.


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

I have a question on beardies. I have a friend who happens to take care of his daughter's beardie. they're not the type that will upgrade the tank size nor feeding habits. he's being fed only fruits and veggies, he recently had (not D3 dusted) crickets. he lives in a 10g tank. I know there isn't much going for it as far as proper care but he and his daughter are the types that wont go the full 9 yards to spoil the lizard. he does acknowledge his daughter doesn't take the best care (ie 100% fruit/veggie diet.) he doesn't mind helping out to feed it better but its only in minor ways. I didn't even bother trying to persuade a larger tank for the beardie. he has moderate interest in beardie care at best rather than optimal care.

ive talked to him about some "hints and tips" to improve care, though he started to zone out 3/4 of the way through my advice. he does feed it bananas frequently. ive told him about the P:C ratios but he didn't really care much to reconsider the fruits to give the lizard. he did say that he'd look for D3 dust for when he occasionally sneaks in crickets behind her back. I did a quick search on the net for possible foods for beardies. apparently there are some pellet form food that can be safely fed longterm for beardies. he did seem interested in possible pellet form food for the lizard.


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## Neecy (Feb 15, 2014)

They do sell a pellet type food for beardies, but I don't know much about it. I do know its not the best option, fresh food is always optimal. How old is your friends beardie?...A 10 gal is small even for a baby 
A baby beardies diet consists of about 70% protein (crickets, worms, bugs) and 30% greens...after they are a year old its completely the opposite...being 70% greens and 30% proteins. 
Greens are very important (collards, endive, escarole, mustard etc) these should be fed on a daily basis....never iceburg lettuce or spinach. 
Most varieties of Squash are also a very good daily vegi. Fruits are not something that needs to be fed daily at all. There's plenty of charts available siting- "daily, occasionally or rarely" types of vegis and fruits.
And another VERYYY important thing is the proper heat and UVB lighting in the tank so that they can digest these foods. and these lights need to go off at night so that the temp drops. The tank should also have very low humidity. They should be given baths to soak in every once in a while (Brodie gets 2-3 baths a week) and misted a few times a day, as most beardies won't actually drink from a water bowl. 
I am far from an expert on beardies and still learning new info all the time.
There is TONS of info on plenty of beardie sites that hopefully your friend will take a look at and give the beardie proper care. 
I commend you on trying to get them to do the right thing, it breaks my heart when animals of any kind aren't cared for properly.
Keep trying to nudge him in the right direction, maybe it will get through to him eventually....Good luck ! :-D


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

ty Neecy for the reply. the lizard is atleast 2 years old. the daughter wont feed him any crickets and relies on 100 fruits and veggies. my friend still thinks the lizard isn't fed too well even with his occasional cricket scarifices. it may be from a prolonged diet or the fact it was already underfed from its previous owner. he looks normal shape from recent pics but apparently you could've seen the bones when they got the lizard from its previous owner. its current diet with him probably isnt helping too much either even if his new owners are giving slightly better care. I did have much more I could've told him but I doubt he'd still be tuned in even half way through.

I do believe he does have a heat rock or mat in the 10g. I guesstimated the tank size as comparative to my 5g fsh tank. I don't think I can nudge him very much at this point. he says he doesn't have any interest as he's "happy" in his 10g. he doesn't plan on changing the food menu nor paying attention to P:C ratios. he told me straight up he wont bother checking P:C charts. I did tell him bananas are to be occasional treat even if he said the beardie loves bananas. he probably gives bananas more often than he should under proper care. he didn't specify the exact veggies he feeds and just generalised it to the common veggies found in the fridge.

id love to try to nudge further but it probably would get a negative reaction. people who give proper animal care can usually sense those who are willing to give a decent shot to improve their animal care. I just don't get that vibe from him. its almost like trying to convince a diehard wine glass betta owner to get a decent size tank and heater. hopefully he does get the D3, I did offer to give him mine as my crestie has little to no interest in crickets. he said he'd get some if he sees it in the store, id probably trust a coin flip on that answer :-(.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

That malnourished beardie will be a very sad painful death . 
I'll point out though that calcium without D3 us safest unless rehabilitating a dragon with deficiencies . They make d3 naturally with the proper lighting .. However I'm guessing this dragon doesn't have proper UVA UVB lights ... And in that case it's safer to keep up the d3. But without the protein and proper veggies I'm sure he's a ticking time bomb of dietary and stress related health issues :-(
If he's willing to part with the beardie I work as part of a reptile rescue in the US and Canada.. We could rehome most likely .. 


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

At the very least try to prod him into using beardie bites.. It's a wet food.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Flint said:


> At the very least try to prod him into using beardie bites.. It's a wet food.



That'll help . Those are at pet stores . Would be good to toss them on salads with calcium dust . Some grocery stores and walmarts now carry a pre chopped collard green , turnip green and mustard green mix. 


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

ty everyone for all your responses. its actually his GF's daughter lizard and it doesn't make me feel good seeing how it being taken care of either. I do get the feeling he'd rehome the lizard if it gets too problematic but its not his descision. its either the daughter or his GF. I wouldn't mind taking it if I had any space. unfortunately 1 18inch cube terrarium, 2 3.4gKK, 1 2,5g tank and 5 g tank max out my available space as it is. 

I don't think I can do much more than hope he rehomes it to a good owner before the lizard gets too many problems. i'll try to find a way to tell him about beardie bites if possible but he leaves 90% of the care to his GF's daughter.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Where does he live ? Do you think if I find a rehoming situation from our database that he and his daughter will go for it ? 


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## nel3 (May 29, 2011)

he lives in the Montreal area. he doesn't live in the actual city but in the areas around Montreal. as far as I see it he's just a secondary party regarding the lizard. he and his GF are living together but not married. im more of a 3rd party in this situation. im more comfortable being a helping hand rather than a persuading force regarding the lizard. I don't like the fact im so far from the situation but i'll gladly help him out if he asks for help. the final decision would probably be either his GF or her daughter. the rest would filter through him. they don't seem ready to give up the lizard yet but ive done all the persuasion I could do from forcefully insisting he consider it seriously.

Im uncomfortable to ruin our friendship just over rehoming (regardless of its situation) a lizard before they're 100% ready for it. I will assist when they are ready for it. im not the type of person who is assertive in forcing people to face the facts. I may not like the situations im posed with but I wont force my full intentions on someone not ready for it.


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