Community Watering Hole

Kreature went on a walk-about tonight and discovered the dogs' water dish. He made great use of it.

He must have been quite thirsty because he went back for seconds.

He sniffed the dog food, but wasn't interested.

I realized how many photos I have of different reptiles making use of the water dish. The tortoises use it frequently too. I couldn't find pics of any of my iguanas using it, but I'm almost positive they did. I made a quick collage.... realizing, of course, that I don't have any pictures of my DOGS using the DOG bowl because apparently that is too mundane and boring. LOL! 

Top left: Lil Foot. Top right: Otis. Bottom left: Tuga. Bottom right: Kreature. 

Dash, rescue 162

Dash is a 9 year old Beardie! NINE!! 

He's an old gentleman. I am so surprised that someone could let him go after that many years! Poor guy! 

He learned to drink immediately! I loved it! 

He is loving the heat lamp in his tank. He spends most of his day flattened out underneath it. His caretaker said he didn't eat greens, but he ate some for me. He needs some good food in him to help him put on weight. He's a bit too skinny. 

Beardies usually live (normally) between 8 and 13 years. I've heard of a 15 year old Beardie and that's a record. Sadly most are poorly cared for and live less than 8.  Dash will be needing a forever home- somewhere he won't be bounced again. I'll let ya'all know when he's ready to go. 

Morning Drinks

I teach all my beardies to drink out of their water bowls. 

I set them right by their freshly filled water dish and then I start flicking my finger in the water to make it move. 

Sometimes I have to scoot them so they are halfway in the bowl while I am flicking the water. 

If they don't start drinking, I will put a drop of water on their nose. If they don't lick that off, I will take my fingernail and lightly scratch their lips to trigger a licking response. Then while they are licking, I will put another drop of water on their noses for them to lick off. And then I'll start flicking the water in the bowl again. 

Those few steps are almost always enough to get them to start the tongue flick required for drinking. Their bodies will flatten out into a pancake shape and they will duck their heads. Sometimes I'll gently push their heads into the water if they are trying to drink too high above the bowl. 

Once they are flattened and drinking, they can drink for up to 8 minutes. Their bodies will stay flat and their eyes will half closed. It's adorable! 

It took me over 18 months to train Ziggy how to drink. I kept repeating the process over and over again both with his water dish and in the bath. He finally learned and drinks immediately when he sees me filling up with water dish. 

Usually once you get their tongue flicking triggered, their instinct takes over and they'll drink. The key is moving water. Instinct tells them stagnant water is bad. That's why most beardies will drink in the bath-- because they are moving the water around them. 

Oh and it's very common to see them gasping for air for a couple minutes after they've been drinking. And the next few poops will be very runny. 

And usually my beardies drink good once a week. In the wild, they store up water when they find it. It's okay if you don't see them drinking every day. 

Here's Drake who was a little confused and was trying to drink in the corner of his tank. Silly boy! 

Next time I "teach" a beardie to drink, I'll try to get a video of it. 

Drinking from a Water Bowl

I have successfully trained all my beardies to drink from the water bowl in their tanks using a trick I learned having chameleons. 

The key? Moving water. 

A friend told me that chameleons will only drink moving water. That makes sense. In the wild, stagnant water is more likely to be bacteria or predator filled. Most bearded dragons will drink in the bath because the water around them moves as they move. 

When I get a new Beardie, I fill up their water dish, set them near it, and then flick my fingers in the water to make it move. The movement catches their eyes and, almost always, they will lick their lips. For some of my stubborn beardies, I will drip water on their lips to help them. 95% of the time, they will start to drink on their own from the bowl. 

It took me almost two years to train Ziggy to drink water from his dish. He was my most stubborn guy. He wouldn't ever drink-- not even in the bath. I finally trained him to drink from a syringe and then transitioned him to his water bowl. Now he drinks on his own whenever I refill his dish. 

A drinking Beardie will flatten himself like a pancake, close his eyes, and slowly drink. In a bath, they will puff up and then flatten. It's all instinct for them. They can drink for a minute to 7 minutes. After they are done, you will often see them breathing heavily with their mouths open. They may even spit up extra water. This is all totally normal. Try not to handle a Beardie that has just drank a lot because they will easily spit out the water. 

I make sure to fill up all my beardies' water bowls once a week with them watching me. That is almost always enough to trigger a drinking reflex. 

Oh, and after drinking water, the next few poops will be very wet and squishy. Totally normal. 

Any other questions? 

Water Drinking Reptiles

I love watching my reptiles drinking.

Bath Time Baby Steps

Most my beardies get in the bath and look like this: 

As soon as they start drinking, their bodies puff up, they flatten their heads down, and partially close their eyes as they enjoy the drinking. 

Can you see Max's happiness? He almost never drinks out of his bowl, but he did two weeks ago. 

 

Ziggy has been the only beardie I've ever had who refuses to drink. For almost a year, I have tried to train him with NO success. 

Finally, last week, he drank water off my fingers and yesterday, he drank out of the bath! 

I had to use a syringe, but he drank!! 

Some beardies need a LOT of patience and training. A LOT!! So keep doing the good things because eventually they will get it.