Beardie in hiding over 12 hours now - can't reach him

[Rumplestilzkin]

We just got 2 young beardies this week (about 5 inches each). They were doing great - alert, calm, liked to be held, ate well, etc. One is still doing great, but I am concerned about the other one.

He is in the middle of shedding (his tail was fully shed and rest of his body was faded-looking), and he is now 'hiding' in one of his logs where we can't reach him. He has been there since yesterday evening and hasn't come out. I have read some like to hide when shedding, so at what point do I do something to make him get out? I'm scared he might be dead?? If he is, will he still be able to cling to the log or will he fall out?

I thought about lightly running water through the log. Will that upset him?

 

[zebraflavencs]

You can try to tempt him out with some worms, or some 100% pumpkin... Then stuff that log so he can't get back inside. Running water through that will only stress him out further...
I'm wondering... have you separated those two yet ?
Now might be a good time to do that, if you haven't yet.
Janie

 

[Rumplestilzkin]

thanks for the quick reply!

i'll go get pumpkin now to try that.

do you mean separate them for good - like separate cages? or hold one without the other?
just a little background on them (in case it makes a difference) - they are brothers and are in a 55 gallon aquarium. i got them from a breeder who said they can grow up together - is that not true?

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Nope they need to be separated for good!

 

[spurlee01]

Males will often fight to the death. It's only a matter of time.

 

[BaskingBaby]

Yes they should be separated into different cages. Beardies really are solitary animals and don't enjoy company of others. Most often it ends up with missing limbs or tail nips....ask people on here. It happens all the time. Even if they seem to be getting along great right now, eventually they will develop dominance problems (one laying on top of the other is NOT cuddling, its one taking the top spot for basking/UVB). It's best and less stressful for them to be in separate cages. My two dragons get extremely stressed being in even the same room as each other, so they're kept in different rooms. Good luck!

 

[LJean]

Is there a way to take the log out? I am not sure how else you would get him out of there if he is stubborn and enticing with food won't work.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[haleygirl272]

I hope he is okay. Have you tried the food?

 

[haleygirl272]

I hope he is okay. Have you tried the food?

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello... have you been able to get your beardie out of the log yet?
Can the log be turned on end, so that you can gently dump him out of the opening?

 

[Rumplestilzkin]

Thanks to all for the advice and concern. I am very happy to report all is well! yay!! Here's what happened...

I put worms and crickets in the tank, but it didn't entice him to come out; however, he finally made an appearance about 3 hours afterwards. I wasn't home, so my son fed him and he ate well - he was still out when I arrived home. I gave him his first bath and he seemed to really enjoy it - was really cute.

I completely forgot to stuff something in the log cubby hole and he is back up there now so I'll block the hole tomorrow.

Regarding the 2 males together - I read male-female and female-female combinations are okay together, but when the breeder told me 2 males would be okay, I let my son pick any 2 he wanted and he picked 2 boys. Now we love them both, so looks like i need to start shopping for another tank. I realize the sooner the better for the separation - is there a 'standard' time frame of how long until they become aggressive?

Thank you, again, for the help! Much appreciated!!!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Great everything is looking up! As for the separation the sooner the better!

 

[spurlee01]

I have seen babies only weeks out of the egg with nips from siblings. I personally do not believe that any combination of beardies is good to house together. Male-female leads to overbreeding and often untimely death of the female. Female-female can also become violent and stresses out both beardies. Even before violence appears, the beardies are stressed by having another in their "territory" and unseen dominance issues may be occurring. I am sorry that your breeder gave you bad info, but I would try to get a tank as soon as possible. You might check your local craigslist and see if you can find anything cheap.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

I agree with Lance and Sara... separation is definitely needed. There are no time frames on when two beardies decide to not cohabitate peacefully. It could happen overnight. It is seriously not worth the risks involved.
It sounds as if you really care for these two little guys and we know you will do what's right for them.
Enjoy your new beardies... they truly are wonderful creatures!

 

[Rumplestilzkin]

I'll get a new setup for one of them this week. I would not have purchased 2 if I realized they needed to be separated, but we really love both of them already and don't want to get rid of either (or risk them fighting).

Very strange how endearing these little guys are - we have a snake that we like a lot, but he doesn't seem too fond of us - kinda boring (no offense to snake-lovers out there). I figured these guys would be the same - kinda neat pets to have and hold ever so often, but they really have little personalities where you can't help but love them.

They were my son's Christmas gift, but we all are enjoying them so much. My brother, who is staying with us, instantly fell in love with them, also, and holds them as much as we do.

I need to start a thread in the introduction forum for the rest of my story...

thanks again!!!