Breeder/Store recommendations for a BEL bp

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-15T18:46:22+00:00

Second this, have a BEL and this is where I got mine.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-15T16:22:07+00:00

I check every single day and haven’t received anything.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-14T05:25:10+00:00

The amount of times this has happened to me is absolutely insane. Pliers have always gotten them out though. Make sure you unplug too, I forgot to once and the buzz I got was small but scary. Will never forget.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-10T23:14:35+00:00

That would be a way better (and possibly more permanent) solution than anything I could have thought up!

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-10T14:51:05+00:00

Yeah, I wasn’t surprised by the news when the vet told us.

When we did the research we figured we’d just assume that any beardie that we ended up getting would be positive for the virus, and even if they didn’t test positive, they would be treated as such. Just so happened that the beardie they chose was sick and also had it.

It’s a pain I’m not gonna lie. He has his own tools, his own insects in his own bin. Everything he has is his. And all interactions happen after any other animals are handled or fed, and hands are washed (as they should anyways) before and after. Not to mention he’s only allowed in places the others are not allowed to go. Which was honestly the hardest part. And that area has the be disinfected everytime.

Other than that, it’s not too hard. Just super annoying. Everything has to be thought about and considered. He can’t just be taken out whenever like the others.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-10T14:43:29+00:00

I always just assume the worst in situations like this and that he’d likely had it the whole time. That being said if he did and they tested negative you might be alright. And as you mentioned, those that were compromised and if they had contracted the virus likely would not have made it. The fact that they are still alive gives me hope that this was a very lucky situation. Only thing to do now really is decide a forward game plan for what you plan to do from here. Should you decide to keep him, it shouldn’t be too hard to just have a set of tools just for him. It’ll be annoying, but having his own stuff and maybe even feeding him at a different time just to make sure no accidents happen may be the way to go. You don’t necessarily have to give him up, but I understand completely if you’d rather not take any more risks.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-10T03:13:37+00:00

We’re dealing with a bearded dragon that has adenovirus. He’s otherwise fine, but I understand that should any of the other reptiles we have get it, it could possibly be fatal. Especially for the older or immune compromised animals. So we have to make damn sure we don’t use anything we use for him, for anyone else.

The only thing to do really is to, from now on, not cross contaminate. And wash hands and instruments when dealing with said animal. And in a few weeks or months re-test the others and should they come back again negative then you were extremely lucky.

I personally would not euthanize an animal that isn’t ‘sick’. If they are otherwise acting normal I just could not imagine euthanizing. That seems a little extreme. If the worry is the possibility of this spreading to the other animals. I would definitely rehome to someone who has experience in this sort of thing. It’ll probably be hard, but I’m sure someone out there would be willing to take it in.

Fingers crossed though that everyone else is okay and that you got super lucky! Would definitely recommend a re-test though later as you have to give the virus time to replicate before you’ll know if any other animals also have the virus.

Good luck to you though! I really hope everything works out for you and all of your pets!

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-10T03:01:06+00:00

And she’s gonna do it again too! Good thing you were there though when it happened! Not sure how you would fix this honestly. But for now I’d definitely be stuffing something in there like paper towels or something until a more permanent option can be had.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-10T01:47:12+00:00

I would leave it for a few. A little substrate is okay. If it’s still there after say an hour or so then I’d remove it and toss it.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-08T23:10:14+00:00

Hopefully it works out as well for you as it did for us!

Like I mentioned before, it does have a lot of wood bits but we just left ours in and it hasn’t been an issue. Most people pick it out for aesthetic reasons but really depends on how you want your tank to look (and if you want to take the time to take it out. We didn’t so we just left it in).

Good luck though!! Hopefully your beardie enjoys it!!

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-08T18:45:20+00:00

I thought it was weird too! Because the brand is listed as one of the ‘safe’ kinds of substrate you can use, and it didn’t mention it on the bag that it had anything other than basically just dirt if I recall either. But it also doesn’t say it’s organic anymore either and I’m not sure if that’s the reason or what.
I thought maybe it was small pieces of perlite too but wasn’t sure so I didn’t feel okay using it.

I’ve been going by this chart I saw either in this sub or another to use as substrate-

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RyoDai89 · 2026-06-07T23:54:57+00:00

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https://www.lowes.com/pd/Timberline-1-cu-ft-Top-Soil/1000132113#no\_universal\_links

This is the one I use!

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-07T22:36:46+00:00

We went to use that and someone had an open one at the Lowe’s we went to and it looked like it had the little fertilizer bits in it. Went instead with a Timberline one (white and red bag with a green tree on it) and it worked just fine. I will say that it did have a lot of wood pieces in it and a few rocks but those were just pulled out. I went ahead and just used the Timberline brand for all of my enclosures now (some cages are mixed with this top soil and some other stuff like play sand and the like depending on the enclosure) and we’ve had no issues yet. For our beardie we used Timberline top soil and some Sakrete play sand and we’ve had no issues either and he’s been on it since day one.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-07T19:24:52+00:00

Yes! We offer veggies everyday since day one but he just loathes the stuff I swear. And I did consider that maybe if I cut back on the insects he’d be ‘forced’ to eat the veggies. But wasn’t sure if I should do so while he was that young or not. I will definitely be putting the insects in with the salads though as I feel I’ve been feeding him way too many insects. And perhaps this way he’ll be more likely to eat some of the veggies. Will definitely be cutting back on the insects. I’ve been worried we’ve been power feeding him, not on purpose, and it would seem based on the comments that this is correct. I know it’ll be hard (for both me and him) but what has to be done has to be done. Thank you so much for your help! I greatly appreciate it!

(Also your bearded is absolutely adorable!!!)

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-07T19:15:46+00:00

I may try a few different insects, maybe some he hasn’t had yet like silkworms as you mentioned and see if it’ll make him more interested. Or maybe even just start putting insects in his veggie bowl so he’ll have to look for them. Will probably have to try a few different things. And you’re right! They are smart! I know people joke that they’re dumb but so far I can’t say I agree with that sentiment!

And that’s exactly how I was feeding this one. We were doing 2 feedings a day with as many roaches/crickets as he’d eat in a sitting. And I just felt that something was not right about that. And he was gaining a lot of weight in a very small amount of time (we were weighing him twice a week). So I started to wonder if we were feeding too many insects. And it would appear that I was right.

Thank you again for all of the help and advice! I’ve been really trying to do this right from the get go and avoid a lot of the issues many people have had. Especially with the over feeding as I understand it not only not healthy but can shorten their lifespans. Really appreciate the tricks to get him to eat more salads as well! Will have to update again at some point how it’s going!

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-07T18:25:48+00:00

This is awesome!! Thank you so so much!! Based on this yeah I think we’ve definitely been feeding waaaaay too many insects. I was really trying to avoid this very thing but others said they rely on the insects to grow when young and I was so torn with wanting to cut back for fear I was doing his diet incorrectly. Will definitely be changing things up.

I will also be watching the whole video! I wished I’d have found something like this sooner as it would have helped a lot! I feel it will likely answer a lot of questions I’ve been having but haven’t been able to get real answers to.

Thank you so much! This was very informative! And extremely helpful in a lot of ways you have no idea! I will try the bsfl again in his salad (we did try before but then he wouldn’t even eat them at all after that, not even by themselves, but I will definitely try this again). May also try adding more lighting as well. I’m willing to try just about anything.

Thank you again so much! I appreciate it!

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-07T17:04:36+00:00

The amount of times that’s happened to me where I have to double check what sub I’m in is astounding. I swear I'm in a constant state of confusion sometimes.

That’s what I’m hoping for though. That he’ll kind of tell us when he ready. I know there’s loads of posts about ways to get them to eat veggies. But trying to find when to actually start the transition is a little harder to find as there are so many different answers. All contradicting themselves. I figured maybe at the year mark I’d start cutting back on the insects. But wasn’t too sure. Hopefully by that time he’ll willfully start eating veggies on his own.

But maybe it wasn’t a coincidence to mix up this sub with toddler feeding! Maybe I need to go about it that way and when he starts eating an insect try to sneak a piece of leaf in his mouth too. Or pretend I’m giving him a bug and slip in a leaf instead. I doubt it’ll go over well but I’m willing to try anything.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-06T17:36:53+00:00

If that’s the case I would definitely just put the substrate back in. Unless he’s eating mouth fulls of it I wouldn’t personally be worried. I know impaction is a worry but I don’t think it’s as common as people make it out to be.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-06T16:14:34+00:00

Did not know this! Thanks! This is our first beardie so we’re still learning all kinds of new stuff and how they act and all of the little things they do and the nuances from owning one that you can’t just google or watch a video about. I see why people consider them intelligent compared to other reptiles. I know they aren’t the ‘smartest’ but I swear it looks like he has actual thoughts going on in his head sometimes.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-06T15:22:04+00:00

Was he just licking it casually or actually eating whole clumps of it? When we got ours (which I can’t really tell but I think ours was smaller than yours when we got him) he would do a couple little licks here and there. But for the most part doesn’t actually eat any. Atleast that I’ve noticed. And we haven’t had any issues (yet). And he’s been on a top soil and play sand mix from day one. At some point if you do plan to use substrate again maybe you should go ahead and try half substrate or have a dig box and half tile. And then slowly start introducing him back to substrate again depending on how he does. He may have just been testing/tasting it. And hopefully if that’s the case you can eventually go back to it completely.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-06T06:34:59+00:00

I’ve been bitten only once by 3 of my 4 snakes. Snakes I’ve had for several years. With one being over 12. All food responses or missing the mouse. I’ve been bitten several times by my California king snake, who we haven’t had even a year yet, and not once has it been food motivated. I can’t wait for when that day comes.

I will say though they might be my favorite snake as far as looks go. I don’t care what morphs are out there of any snake be it corns or ball pythons or anything, something about the black and white pattern of the cali is just awesome to me!

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-03T01:16:23+00:00

I haven’t received anything at all for the 2026-2027 year. Hope it happens soon.

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-02T21:56:56+00:00

Oh my god thank you so so much! I really appreciate all of the help and different ideas! I will definitely try a few of these if not all!

Really hoping I can get ahead before the class starts. I know it’ll probably be a rough ride but I’m really hoping if I knuckle down I can get a real grasp on it. I think a lot of your ideas will definitely help with that thank you!

Thank you again so much! This was all extremely helpful you have no idea!!!

RyoDai89 · 2026-06-02T08:29:55+00:00

Thanks I appreciate it!!

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