Acclimation Guidelines
Make sure to read our care sheets and have all the enclosure, lights, and food ready prior to receiving your new beardie.
We ship our smaller babies in plastic containers (with breathing holes) and larger juveniles and adults in tied cloth bags. When receiving your new beardie, open the box and container/ bag carefully without spooking out the beardie. The beardie has been travelling overnight and undergone some crazy turbulence during transit. Imagine being trapped in a shaken box for hours, you would be stressed out yourself ^_^ Therefore, be as gentle as possible.
Turn on the basking and UVB lights in the enclosure before the arrival to make sure it’s all warm and cozy. Prepare a “luke warm” water for the beardie to soak in after the long journey. The idea is not to have them drink (they might not be thirsty). But to acclimate their body temperature. After 5-10 minutes, dry them and place them gently in the enclosure.
Feeding and handling come a bit later. Let your new beardie explore and adapt to their new enclosure and surrounding. Give them space – do not stare at them constantly. It is best to place them in a secluded area in the house, away from everyone and other pets (especially cats!).
A good indication of a happy beardie is the color/ marking of their belly. If their belly is dark with markings, then that means they’re stressed out. If the belly is white without any marking, then they’re happy and adjusted. When they’re stressed out, they would be hiding or staying in a corner. A happy beardie is out and about and quite curious and active. Depending on the temperament and personality of the beardie, some may adapt faster than others.
After 3-4 hours of receiving them, offer insects in small quantity (one or two at a time) and make sure that they chase after them. If there is no reaction to food item at this time, try again in a few hours or may be the following day. Depending on their size, beardies typically can go for up to several days without food. So don’t panic thinking that your beardie will die of starvation after only a day or two.
Important Note:
When using glass tank as enclosure, the breaking in/ adaption period may take longer and harder to do. Our beardies are raised in fully enclosed melamine cages. Placing them in an exposed glass tank may be too much of a sensory overload for them. One good trick is to cover all sides of the glass tank with plain white papers to limit their visuals.
If everything is performed correctly during the adaption period but your beardie is still not behaving normally, then please contact us immediately for further assistance. Together we will figure out how to fix things.
