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Beardies Need Water.
I have just read a post from someone who had been misting and giving their Beardie a water bowl, but followed the ridiculous “minimum risk” advice of not misting or allowing their animal a water bowl. Lo and behold, the vet later diagnosed it as being raaaather dehydrated.  This water bowl thing is a MYTH. A myth perpetuated by the internet, based in a gross misunderstanding of respiratory infection epidemiology. In reality, a water bowl has ZERO effect on humidity. I have a bioactive enclosure with a big ol bowl. Humidity stays around 35% between the spikes when I water the viv. Furthermore, in Oz.humidity is actually very variable. Your Beardie is only going to get an RI when a range of poor husbandry factors are met and humidity is consistently very high indeed like in a tropical viv. People who keep tropical species do not maintain humidity by leaving a water bowl in there. Why? Because it has no discernible effect on humidity.  Free access to water is one of the Five Freedoms. To deny them that freedom because some misinformed people who are blindly spewing out misinformation that has been repeated by so many people it has become fact in the Beardie community is nothing less than neglect.  So person whose post I just read on an advice page, please listen to your vet and give your Beardie its water. Misting won’t hurt either. If a water bowl has no effect on humidity, misting won’t. Baths DO NOT hydrate them, that is a myth too. They DO NOT absorb water through the cloaca, this myth came from the fact that some lizards may absorb tiny amounts of water through the vent during brumation. Plus, even if he did drink from the bath, I would not like my dragon drinking water from the hot water tank........ Minimum Risk is BULLSHIT through and through and bad for the animals it’s inflicted on in a number of ways through misinformation and total lack of environmental enrichment and opportunities to display natural behaviour. It leads to inexperienced keepers thinking it’s ok to provide animals with only the bare minimum of survival needs.... leading to bored, chronically stressed and chronically dehydrated animals. Do some research of the science and you will find no veterinary basis in any of these silly, fear mongering minimum risk movements claims.  Try it now guys, give your beardies a water bowl in the cool end and see how much nothing/fuck all/jack shit your humidity does! Don’t be sheep people! Don’t be fooled by loads of brainwashed people peddling out the same bullshit they sourced from some self proclaimed expert on the internet! If a piece of advice seems to fly in the face of commonly accepted welfare knowledge it is probably misinformation! Have you ever noticed that the only animals kept in minimum risk enclosures are the hardiest species? That is because living in such a sterile environment is too stressful for more delicate species. That should tell you all you need to know. Research bioactive. Join Reptile and Amphibian Bioactive Setups on facebook and learn about this fantastic way of keeping them which is better all round for your herps. 
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Eldrick seems to have some strange, archaic writing etches itself into his hide when he is at Level 10 Orange.............
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Hello! I also have a bearded dragon and I was looking into making his terrarium into something like you have for yours. Could you give me any tips or some steps I should take to get the process started?
I have used a mixture of playsand, coco coir, and humus from the woods (the layer of earth just under the dead leaves, packed full of life), with dead leaves strewn over the top as a moisture barrier to keep the air humidity low. (although honestly, I have no issues with humidity at all. I have even done that big no no and given him a water bowl. It has done jack shit to the humidity contrary to what they’d have you believe). Added to that, I have springtails, millipedes, pill bugs, dubia roaches, banana roaches, compost worms, woodlice, morio worms and their adult counterparts, and a big fat slug called Sir Frederick Lancelot who comes out every night and drinks from the waterbowl. You can find out a variety of ways of doing bio by going to RABS on facebook, which is full of experienced members and great files! https://www.facebook.com/groups/bioactiveherps/?fref=ts
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Can you give me some type of outline of your dragon's tank so I can use it as a guideline to try and replicate it myself? Thanks
I have used a mixture of playsand, coco coir, and humus from the woods (the layer of earth just under the dead leaves, packed full of life), with dead leaves strewn over the top as a moisture barrier to keep the air humidity low. (although honestly, I have no issues with humidity at all. I have even done that big no no and given him a water bowl. It has done jack shit to the humidity contrary to what they’d have you believe). Added to that, I have springtails, millipedes, pill bugs, dubia roaches, banana roaches, compost worms, woodlice, morio worms and their adult counterparts, and a big fat slug called Sir Frederick Lancelot who comes out every night and drinks from the waterbowl. You can find out a variety of ways of doing bio by going to RABS on facebook, which is full of experienced members and great files!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/bioactiveherps/?fref=ts
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Hello! I love your blog and the way you eloquently say the things that I can barely make into more than rageful gibbering. Thank you for adding your voice and Eldricks glory to tumblr.
Cheers illgottengoats, I’m glad you like my blog! :)
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Hello! I have a bearded dragon named Krogan and I'm currently building her an enclosure and I'm actually really interested in this boactive stuff. But I honestly have never heard of it until now and was wondering if you could either explain or give me some links where I could read about it. Thank you in advance! Also, Eldrick is so freaking cute!
Hi reptles. If you go to RABS on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/bioactiveherps/?fref=ts
That is where I started out and it has loads of experienced members and a wide range of files to read :)
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Hi! I'm really impressed by Eldrick's bioactive setup. I got scared off loose substrate a few months ago by the minimalist fanatics you've mentioned, but my beardie Scalene used to love to dig, and I want to give that back to her. I used to use a sand-peat loam mixture with some dead leaves and bark, but do you have any suggestions, or links to advice/guides on setting up a bioactive enclosure?
Check out Reptile and Amphibians Bioactive Enclosures (RABS) on facebook. That has loads of files and was where I started out. I’ve used coco coir, playsand, humus from the woods (which has a natural bioactive kick start already there) and a bit of leaf litter. I also have some dried sphagnum moss strewn through it to help aerate :) I have a “rainfall” with a watering can once a week, and whilst that can cause spikes of humidity up to about 70%, it settles back down in a day or so to between 30/40%, which far better replicates wild condiitions. 
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That’s as good a place to sleep aas any I suppose Eldrick.
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It's often said that reptiles can sense air pressure changes and today I saw evidence of that. Eldrick was acting like a crazy lizard this morning, doing laps of his viv, trying to attack his uv, clambering up and down over his branches. Eventually, he retreated into his hidey hole where he dug himself a massive hole, which he is sitting in here looking pleased as punch as you can see.
Shortly after that there was a  short lived but violent thunderstorm, so I am wondering if he had sensed it building and had been trying to get himself into cover.
I was very happy to see him digging away like that. He came up with a face covered in dirt, it was brilliant. I moved him from tile onto bioactive about two months ago now and as yet I had not seen a great deal of changed behaviours. The fact he suddenly seemed to realize today that digging and sculpting his own environment is a thing he can do now, makes me very happy :)
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Minimum Risk = White Torture
Nothing makes me sadder as a Beardie owner to see an animal in a bare tile/lino floored box, with nothing but a piece of slate, a stick and a hide. As someone who has studied animal enrichment, I see it as emotional neglect on a gross scale, but the scary part of this is that we are not dealing here with willful neglect. We are dealing with a mass brainwashing thanks to internet experts who admin bearded dragon facebook groups. These owners all have the best interests of their animal at heart, so I am not judging them, I started off with minimum risk myself until I discovered bioactive and started thinking and researching evidence to back up the claims of min riskers. The brainwashing spreads like a wildfire as your see new owners posting their horribly bare enclosures on facebook groups, asking “is this OK?” to which everyone enthusiastically responds by agreeing that it ticks all the boxes of correct lights, no loose substrate, no water bowl and minimal decor so it’s easy to clean. Then they tell the new owner their enclosure is wonderful and off the newbie owner goes into the sunset to blindly subject their poor animal to a life of white torture. White torture is a type of psychological torture that includes extreme sensory deprivation and isolation.  Minimum risk as a concept attempts to ensure the animal will not come to any physical harm, yet fails to address any of the animals mental needs because the more “risks” you remove, the less interest there is left in the animals environment. Too many people are stuck in an outdated paradigm in which animals are nothing more than automated robots. Where as long as their physical needs are looked after, they will be happy...... People forget along the way that mind and body are inextricably linked. That the head must be happy for the body to be happy and the head is only happy when the body is doing all the things it evolved to do in its day to day life. Animals evolved in complex environments and sense all of that complexity in a multitude of ways. When your sensory apparatus is hardwired to be sensing stimuli all day long and you live in a bare box with a slate and a stick, to be so deprived of sensory input must be torturous..... it must be like having a constant itch you can't scratch. Sensory deprivation drives the victim quite literally insane. That is why white torture works.
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“You can’t see me!” Eldrick, I really can see you.  This is one of the reasons bioactive is great. He wouldn’t be able to use his own initiative in hiding himself whilst stuck on the great lino plains of sterile boredom.
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Oh wow this is what I want to do with Eldrick. I’ve got him on bio, but because I’m using the T5 system for his UV I can’t use much of the height and he really likes climbing and perching up high. 
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Before and After : The Pepper Edition
Every time I try and post this I turn into a ranting windbag. I’ve spared this time around, though may put those lizard opinions up on their own some day.
Anyway!
Pepper started off in a 4x2x2 crossfire enclosure with the “standard” kit - solid substrate, shop light for the UVB and a few things to sit on.
He now lives in a 4x2x4 partly planted (wheat grass, clover, collards and mustard greens) bioactive setup. Bioactive is absolutely the most fun and enriching thing I have done for my reptiles and I believe the second best husbandry choice I have made for them. The first being larger cages.
The ethos behind these setups is to provide a natural and instinctually familiar environment for the reptile. Loose substrate (despite its portrayal in mainstream husbandry) can be enriching and beneficial for them. It allows for digging burrows, provides humidity and thermal gradients, and supports a small ecosystem including plants, invertebrates and microorganisms. It allows me to have what is probably several hundred pounds of furnishings in the enclosure and I don’t need to break my back or my enclosure to clean it.
The cleaner crew is a mix of springtails, isopods, worms, dubia roaches and morio worms and beetles. The smaller bugs mostly keep to them selves doing their chores and keeping up the place, but the larger ones also add to an enriching hunting experience for the dragon. I still spot clean turds, but I don’t find poo crusts or emaciated roaches under the tiles anymore. Any stray poo gets cleaned by the bugs and any stray roaches earn their keep as custodians, continue to eat well and can be a meaningful source of food should they be dumb enough to wander about durning the day.
Pepper has dug burrows for himself, I catch him hunting his custodians, he grazes at the plants and has become an excellent jumper and climber. He happily basks at his platform where it’s about 110-120F, he hides in, behind and under things. All in all he just does important lizard business. He continues to test clear of parasites and has the entire year he’s been on bioactive. Dragons are not delicate fragile flowers - they can be (and all too often are) compromised by inadequate husbandry (dehydration, malnutrition, lack of exercise etc) but if a bit of dirt with dinner was as fatal as typical caresheets and forum advice would preach the species wouldn’t have made it. Simple as that.
This method is not that hard, nor is it expensive. It is different, and it does take a few of the mainstream “facts” and chucks them out the window. In the end, it’s not for everyone but loose substrate is not always a boogey-man eother. Read about it, learn about it, talk to other folks who use it for their animals and make your own judgements rather than hop on the caresheet train and never look back.
As per usual, the disclaimer being : I do not encourage the use of sand, bark, walnut shell, calcium sand or other man-made substrates. That’s no more in the spirit of this than tiles or paper towel are ;)
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He doesn’t dig as much in the taller cage but Pepper was getting to be a pro. He hollowed out under his basking rock pile and made it into a
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REBLOG IF YOU'RE AN ARTIST!!!
Professional or not, no matter what art style, I wanna see how many artists are out there.
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Plant your lizard in direct sunlight for best results.
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Ehhhrmagaaah that sand and that water bowl will kill your Beardie!
Reading posts from “Minimum risk” people and thinking “Yep you’ve been brainwashed. Oh ye minimum riskers, may you soon awaken from your brainwashed slumber and realize it’s all unsubstantiated bullshit spewed out by self proclaimed experts who attack everyone who disagrees until people follow them obediently and unquestioningly........ following their lino leaders by dispensing the same misinformation to everyone else without ever stopping to check if there is any REAL SCIENCE behind the minimum risk claims of camp lino (There isn’t by the way). May you wake up like I did and give your poor Beardie the oppurtunities to express natural behaviour, the enjoyment of proper enrichment and the free access to water that is the right of every living animal.  Down with sterile boxes! Down with minimum risk! Down with misinformation about impaction! Down with slowly dehydrating your animal because you genuinely believe it drinks through its arse and a water bowl will bump up the humidity to lethal levels! Down with joint issues from forcing your animal to scrabble about on slippy surfaces all day because you believe that particular substrate causes impaction. LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT RIGHT NOW.  Particular substrate DOES NOT cause impaction. Poor husbandry on a multifactoral level causes impaction. Too low temps, mixed with dehydration causes impaction. A healthy, well hydrated dragon kept at the proper heat for proper digestion can pass ingested substrate without issue.  The only time substrate can be called a cause of impaction is in the case of calci sand, which if ingested frequently acts like an antacid, neutralizing the stomach acid and thus preventing the digestive system from working properly.
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Here is my bioactive setup for Eldrick. In providing enrichment for your animals it’s really important to give them the freedom of choice in how and where they spend their time. The more complexity and imaginative use of space you can add to the enclosure..... the more varied their sensory experience you can offer, the better your Beardie’s life experience. Please don’t be brainwashed by all those Beardie groups on facebook who make out a sheet of lino, a hide, a basking spot and a food bowl is good enough. It’s really really not. Your animals mental stimulation is a crucial part of its care. Simple, sterile and easy to clean is for mass production breeders who are looking for efficiency. NOT general pet keepers. We owe it to them to give them more. In my set up I have a range of hides incorporated into the cool end, middle and hot end. I have branches both on the floor and spanning the depth of the viv off the floor so he can take advantage of a more 3D use of space. He has a range of substrates....a rockery, the bioactive soil, leaves and wood, so his little feet and belly can experience a range of textures and he can dig, burrow and forage as he chooses and as nature intended. It also means he can access a humidity gradient we deny them in “minimal risk” set ups, which aids to help shedding. I have a colony of Dubia roaches living in there who also aid the clean up crew and I have a wide range of species in my clean up crew. There are so many myths we are brainwashed to believe unquestioningly in the Beardie community. But since learning about bio I have realized most of it is rubbish and Bearded Dragon keeping can be a lot more interesting than keeping the poor thing in a featureless, boring box.
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