# HELP! lost bearded dragon (outdoors)



## Andrais (Feb 6, 2010)

hi, would really appriciate some help 
I've stupidly lost my male beardie outside in our backyard and i have no idea where i could find him! is this a no hoper? he means the world to me i love him so much! i just wish i could find him. I've looked in trees, srubs, behind boxes, general crap thats been laid around, the ouside bar fridge, in the grass, almost everywhere i could think i could find him! I need to find him before dark, otherwise he will likely find a place to snuggle up for the night and then tomorrow it will be impossible to find him! There is no way he can really get out unless he finds this really dark, cold hole at the bottom of our fence, but i doubt he would ever go in there cause its just cold and miserable. Our property is really big for a suvillian garden ( like 1 acre) and my dad does building stuff so he has pipes, brick piles, and pallets lieing around all over the place. Do you think setting up alot of pit traps would work, and hide boxes around the place. Oh god this is terrible! i feel so helpless, and we have a dog that runs around freely all day! any help would be appriciated and plz dont ask how i lost him, its stupid and it shouldn't of happened and if u really want to know i will tell u once i found him. All you have to know is that he is somewhere in the garden and i have to find him, thankyou. :cry:


----------



## GeckoJosh (Feb 6, 2010)

The only advice id give u is tie up your dog and block the gaps in the fence and hope he shows up, id say hes bunked down for the night so u might have to wait for him to come out to bask tomorrow


----------



## gecko-mad (Feb 6, 2010)

Maybe even set up a mini habitat to attract him, a nice place to bask and maybe even a food dish and waterbowl.

And yeah, keep cooper away for the night, hey! i remembered his name! thats his name right? lol


----------



## Sel (Feb 6, 2010)

They can camoflauge well in gardens, rocks etc

Dont stress out, if its getting dark He/she will find a warm place to hide and sleep for the night, mine got left outside one evening and 2 hours later i realised and it was almost dark by then, Found her in the morning behind a big rock. She slept there coz it was warm

Bring the dog inside, go out first light in the morning and look for her. If the suns out it should bring her out


----------



## Andrais (Feb 6, 2010)

yeh thats his name (the dog) cooper.
Do u think he will even go back to his outdoor enclosure? like try and get in there, because his like female companion is in there too and its sort of his territory, and there is food and water there :S i think im being silly but im considering everything.
matt= will put out food and water tomorrow, i dont think he would be eating or drinking now


----------



## Andrais (Feb 6, 2010)

MzSel said:


> They can camoflauge well in gardens, rocks etc
> 
> Dont stress out, if its getting dark He/she will find a warm place to hide and sleep for the night, mine got left outside one evening and 2 hours later i realised and it was almost dark by then, Found her in the morning behind a big rock. She slept there coz it was warm
> 
> Bring the dog inside, go out first light in the morning and look for her. If the suns out it should bring her out


 
sel i think thats a great idea, im going to get out at first light and look for him. There could be SOOOO many places he could be hiding, i wish we didn't have such a messy yard  :shock:


----------



## ssnakekid (Feb 6, 2010)

just keep looking anywhere u can i had a water dragon get out of an avairy and found him 3 doors up in a ladys front lawn


----------



## jimbomma (Feb 6, 2010)

He may go back in his enclosure. Make sure the heat lamp is on and that he can see it from afar. the hot spot might attract him when it cools. definately keep food out. His favourite. i know mine would come out of hiding for some mealworms.
Keep looking. you may here him moving around. i've lost 'em outside before and heard them move. he'll definately hide. look thoroughly around the area you lost him. they don't usually go far, they bee-line for the nearest hide and usually stay there if they don't know the territory. 
If it makes you feel better i recently posted a thread stating that i lost a hatchy and recently found it 8 months later. if you're garden suits he will stay there. Pitty about the dog though. This is why i don't have one. Great animals but a pain in the butt in many ways.
Good luck. just think of it as herping in your own backyard.


----------



## Andrais (Feb 6, 2010)

just put out flyers into nearest neighbours letter boxes. and im continuing to look around the garden  so far nothing


----------



## jinin (Feb 6, 2010)

Ahh that sucks, i bet you feel so sad! well....you could try this in addition with matts theory of making a Mini-Habitat for him, is get a see through tub(Chinese Container) and fill it with woodies. Make sure they cant escape out of the tub and if the dragon see's them moving, he will have no choice but to run up and have a feed. 

Leave the woodies in the tub for as long as it takes to find him.


----------



## shellfisch (Feb 6, 2010)

Just a thought, but if you put your dog on a lead and let it sniff around, would it possibly be able to find it for you??

Maybe that's a stupid idea, and your Beardie would run and hide in fright....


----------



## Hooglabah (Feb 6, 2010)

its amazing when an animal escapes just how many hideing places you suddenly notice and just how many of them seem impossible for you to get to.


----------



## jinin (Feb 6, 2010)

shellfisch said:


> Just a thought, but if you put your dog on a lead and let it sniff around, would it possibly be able to find it for you??
> 
> Maybe that's a stupid idea, and your Beardie would run and hide in fright....



Lol, i was thinking the same thing.


----------



## Andrais (Feb 6, 2010)

jinin said:


> Ahh that sucks, i bet you feel so sad! well....you could try this in addition with matts theory of making a Mini-Habitat for him, is get a see through tub(Chinese Container) and fill it with woodies. Make sure they cant escape out of the tub and if the dragon see's them moving, he will have no choice but to run up and have a feed.
> 
> Leave the woodies in the tub for as long as it takes to find him.


 
thats an idea, but i dont know if he likes woodies (have some trouble with him regarding veges and mealworms) the only live food he likes is crickets :S Im going to set a pit trap s up tomorrow along the fence (4 traps) and one in the middle of the garden. i will also try and hire on of those trapcage things that like they use to catch possums ect (not the ones that kill the animals).


----------



## Andrais (Feb 6, 2010)

lol my dog is useless at finding stuff, he is no bloodhound. You will make him look but then he gets bored and just stands there looking at u of wht to do next


----------



## jinin (Feb 6, 2010)

Lol, picky eater. Well then put a lid on the Container?


----------



## Andrais (Feb 6, 2010)

jinin said:


> Lol, picky eater. Well then put a lid on the Container?


 then how would he eat them? he is pretty stupid sometimes when he trys to eat the crickets thro the container


----------



## shellfisch (Feb 6, 2010)

Aussiebluetongue said:


> lol my dog is useless at finding stuff, he is no bloodhound. You will make him look but then he gets bored and just stands there looking at u of wht to do next



LOL...Yeah, we lost a gecko once in the rep room - luckily it turned up 4 months later...still in the rep room! 
We took our dog in to have a sniff around and she was hopeless! 
Just kept looking at us and wagging her tail, like 'I'M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE, NOW WHAT!!'

Don't give up hope. Try all the things people have suggested. It certainly does complicate things that he escaped outside, but you never know. I have my fingers crossed for you


----------



## Andrais (Feb 7, 2010)

had a good look this morning in the garden with dad as the sun was coming up  nothing. Quiet as, couldn't hear anything at all, i doubt he was moving around anyways. Im out of ideas, today im going to build some pit traps and lay out food for him. The problem is the weather is going to be hot the next couple of days and then its raining and thunderstorming the next.


----------



## jimbomma (Feb 7, 2010)

He'll be fine in the weather. if my hatchy can survive down here outside i'm sure an adult can. He probably won't come until the suns nice and warm. he won't have the energy. he'll need the hide to warm up so he does. but by midday he may be up and about, so stay vigilant. nice day to spend outside though.


----------



## sk17zn (Feb 7, 2010)

Don't give up mate think postive and just keep trying you will find him he will turn up.


----------



## Jazza369 (Feb 7, 2010)

Keep Lookin Mate Hes Gotta Be Somewhere


----------



## shellfisch (Feb 7, 2010)

Search, and search again places you have already looked. He may not have been there 10 mins ago, but he might be now? 
Also, can you get together a few people, spread out and do like a grid search?


----------



## jinin (Feb 7, 2010)

Aussiebluetongue said:


> then how would he eat them? he is pretty stupid sometimes when he trys to eat the crickets thro the container



Haha, Yeah that's what i meant, mine does the same thing. Once they see it moving they will go for it, then they will continuously lick the side of the container.


----------



## mike72 (Feb 7, 2010)

Make sure your looking up, once mine escaped from his outdoor enclosure and i found him 3 meters up a tree. Very difficult to spot, I only saw him because he was moving at the exact moment I glanced up the tree.


----------



## spongebob (Feb 7, 2010)

Go to the spot he escaped from and stand there 'thinking as a beardie would'. Which is the closest cover, where are the best perching places, where are there fence lines/walls that he may have followed. Using this method I've retrieved both an ackie and a beardie. With beardies they are likely to go upwards ie find somewhere to perch.


----------



## Chris1 (Feb 7, 2010)

mine tend to bury themselves in the mulch under the ground covers or low shrubs, i'll often just find the tip of a tail or a little orange nose poking out.

do u have any females u could lure him out with?

see thru tubs of roaches as already mentioned and sunning cages with females should lure him in if its a nice day and hes still in view,....or it'll at least inspire big head bobs,..!!

good luck, hope u find ur man.


----------



## jimbomma (Feb 7, 2010)

spongebob said:


> Go to the spot he escaped from and stand there 'thinking as a beardie would'. Which is the closest cover, where are the best perching places, where are there fence lines/walls that he may have followed. Using this method I've retrieved both an ackie and a beardie. With beardies they are likely to go upwards ie find somewhere to perch.


 
yes good advice, i used the same techniques to find beardies and water dragons


----------



## Rox.n.Lix (Feb 7, 2010)

good luck andy!


----------



## jinin (Feb 7, 2010)

Wow, Sponge that ackie would have been lucky to find.


----------



## Andrais (Feb 7, 2010)

spongebob said:


> Go to the spot he escaped from and stand there 'thinking as a beardie would'. Which is the closest cover, where are the best perching places, where are there fence lines/walls that he may have followed. Using this method I've retrieved both an ackie and a beardie. With beardies they are likely to go upwards ie find somewhere to perch.


 
heheh thinking like a bearded dragon  i tried this just now and i thought to myself 'post' as like that was a place i wanted to go, but nup i looked on all the fence posts and my patio post but i couldn't find him still. Im going out now in the afternoon and the dog is coming with us so hopefully he will come out when everything goes quiet and he will fall into one of my pit traps....


----------



## Andrais (Feb 7, 2010)

Chris1 said:


> mine tend to bury themselves in the mulch under the ground covers or low shrubs, i'll often just find the tip of a tail or a little orange nose poking out.
> 
> do u have any females u could lure him out with?
> 
> ...


 
yeh we have our female beardie who lives with him, and she is in a bird avairy thing for he can visibilly see her if he wanted too. Im thinking that im going to go down there one morning and find him sleeping on the outside wire.


----------



## Lollypop (Feb 7, 2010)

Hi, have u found him yet??
If not, did u physically pull the bar fridge out & have a good look in the back of it? Also all those pipes of your dad's, check all them. Any bigger rocks, & around tree roots, have a look for fresh digging, not a hole, as they cover the hole as they dig.
Let us know.


----------



## spongebob (Feb 7, 2010)

jinin said:


> Wow, Sponge that ackie would have been lucky to find.



Yes I'd nearly ripped the garage apart, when I did the 'think like an ackie' meditation......it was cold wet weather so it he got out of the garage where would he be? Under the garden gnome just out side of the garage silly and yes there he was!

Have you found the beardie yet?


----------



## jinin (Feb 7, 2010)

spongebob said:


> Yes I'd nearly ripped the garage apart, when I did the 'think like an ackie' meditation......it was cold wet weather so it he got out of the garage where would he be? Under the garden gnome just out side of the garage silly and yes there he was!
> 
> Have you found the beardie yet?



Haha, lucky. Found him?


----------



## Andrais (Feb 7, 2010)

nope no luck  just got home now and did a nother lap around the garden and the shed, but nope nothing  i cant search tomoz as i've got school. Any of u adelaidians want to do some backyard herping this week for a missing bearded dragon? there is a 100 dollar reward to who ever find him


----------



## reptiledude1 (Feb 7, 2010)

are u a good herper.


----------



## Andrais (Feb 7, 2010)

reptiledude1 said:


> are u a good herper.


 
no i am terrible at it seriously, im blind, as well as deaf, and i cant track things for crap  i get excited if im lucky enough to find a skink that someone pointed out to me and i stood there for 2 mins asking 'WHERE IS IT!!!!???'  i dont know why, im just not good at it...


----------



## Bretsta (Feb 7, 2010)

jinin said:


> Lol, i was thinking the same thing.



worked when i lost my spotted python in the house. my house mate bought his dog over (dog didn't live with us) and noticed him sniffing a draw and acting weird. check in there to find snakey. lol


----------



## Jazza369 (Feb 8, 2010)

any luck? yet


----------



## Andrais (Feb 9, 2010)

hey everyone, unfortunatly there is no luck in finding him  we tore our whole patio out yesterday in 38 degrees! looking for him and checking everything, but we couldn't not find one trace of him 
I've decided to let it go 4 a while and the next days here in adelaide will be raining and there will be no luck in finding him. I come home every day from school for the last 4 days, in oven heat looking for him, but its like he dissapeared off the face of the earth. U would think he would be sunning himself out on a 38 degree day, but i look everywhere he would be but i cant find him. Where ever u are Mo Jo, plz come back home .......


----------



## tadpoles (Feb 9, 2010)

Hey 
I let my girl out in my backyard all the time. In fact she is there now. Several times i haven't been able to find her but i just leave her for the night, get up at the crack of dawn and there she is wandering around.
The hardest part is spotting them as they blend in VERY well.
They can hide in many strange places and they climb very well so don't just look on the ground. I've often find mine in out standard rose bushes and wondered how the hell does she manage to get there?
Did you often let him out? I've found if i let my girl out every second day she certainly doesn't wander very far but if i've left her 'locked up' in her tank for a few days she wanders more.
I really reccomend getting up at sunrise and having a good look then as he will be basking or moving to a basking spot then. 
Best of luck.
If you want some help having a bit of a search, I'm more than happy to help


----------



## maanz641 (Feb 9, 2010)

thats not good to hear ,keep your head up thou ,i lost one of my spotty hatches and found him in the yard 3 months later


----------



## tadpoles (Feb 9, 2010)

by the way I find at the moment (i'm home all day as uni hasn't gone back yet, and yes my lizard is my company) they bask during the morning and the late afternoon, as its too hot during the middle of the day. Curling up to sleep right now around eightish.


----------



## babba007 (Apr 26, 2010)

Did you ever find him?


----------



## Andrais (Apr 26, 2010)

hi babba,
nope we have still not found him  it still worries me alot of the time and every time i hear a noise in the garden i will watch and search for him. Maybe he might turn up next spring now, but im sure he will be thriving somewhere.


----------



## ohhsweetness (Apr 26, 2010)

that sucks i had a hatchling water dragon fall into my pool and i looked after hom for a while cause his tail had abig kink in it and a few scales missing 
i looked after him for about 3 months let him go and then the next spring came when i was cleaning my pool and he ran and sat on my foot it scared the crap out of my but he had the same kink in his tail hes was huge big red belly ....
i hope you find him he might pop up in the next coming weeks if you kep trying to put woodies in a small container ..
but its up to you keep trying you might succeed in finding him ..


----------

