Can you tattoo a lizard?
 

My bearded dragon loves to be out in the back yard, but blends in so well that I have to hunt for hours sometimes for him. I would SO love to get him tattooed with some neon or glow-in-the-dark ink so I can find him easier.
Any suggestions?
And please don't say just keep him inside. He would go crazy. When I don't let him out he just sits by the back door for hours like a pathetic little puppy.

whoa how big is he?

maybe he doesn't like the outside so much as a game of hide and seek?

knit him a sweater

I am sure you could get something to add to one of the top scales. Or just apply some paint if you wanted and reapply every so often. Probably wouldnt do that myself as I am not sure if that could make it open to some other predators. Now could you not just get a small radio transmitter and make it a necklace?

On a side note, such a thing here would end up eaten by the other creatures.

He's 14 inches from nose to tail. And such a sweetie!

There are 5 bearded dragons in my house ranging from 10 years to 6 months old. My 20 year old son raises and breeds them.

I don't think it would be wise to try to tattoo a beardie. Many of them carry bugs (not bugs specifically), that might cause infection to set in on a tattoo site.

Beyond that, I've heart bad things about the glow in the dark tattoo inks.

What about something non-toxic like paints like the tempura paints they sell in craft stores? They are washable and come in some very bright colors.

PK

I had two bearded dragons as a teenager.. never thought of letting them outside to play lol. Of course I lived in the desert and my backyard wasn't fenced in, probably wouldn't have ended well. :winkwink:

I didn't know dragons actually existed.

He LOVES it outside!

Here's a pic of him just hanging out in his plant island:

http://extremefuck.com/Ivan/ivan1.jpg

And this is what he does ALL DAY if I don't let him out:

http://extremefuck.com/Ivan/ivan2.jpg

But I suspect his hiding is all a game to him as well.

This is the worst kind of predator he has to worry about here:

http://extremefuck.com/Ivan/ivan-snail.jpg

The pic didn't turn out good, but notice him getting attacked by a snail... lol

How long would something like this last? Would I just need to apply it every time he goes outside? This actually sounds like a pretty good idea...

The paints would last awhile unless you wash it off. It is just like poster paint and they do have some glow in the dark and or neon colors.

Here is one of him taking a nap after a hard day's work of sunning himself outside:

http://extremefuck.com/Ivan/ivan-nap.jpg

He's so cute and sweet... I just love him! He's also spoiled rotten, but he's an old man and probably won't live a whole lot longer, so he deserves to enjoy his life while he still can.

They are water soluble so anytime he got wet they'd come off. You could put it on him anytime he started getting light.

I've heard of people putting a stripe on turtles that way. My son uses dots of fingernail polish on baby beardies that he's able to sex, but I wouldn't suggest that for a full grown beardie.

PK

I am definitely going to try this method then. He usually only gets wet when he gets his bath, but occasionally he gets caught in the auto-sprinklers.
Let's just hope I can find him this time. This is the longest he's gone without showing himself and I'm starting to get worried.

They do find weird places to get (please note.. I don't keep house for my 20 year old son)..

http://207.114.239.80/pktemp/gorgon.jpg

While we're at the pictures, here's his favorite breeder male - Osky
http://207.114.239.80/pktemp/osky.jpg


And another of the various reptiles in my basement.. a gargoyle gecko (one of four)
They have ice blue eyes

http://207.114.239.80/pktemp/gecko.jpg

Put a little collar around his neck, and attach one of those key-finder things to it. Then when you can't find him you just press your keyfinder button and his collar will whistle.

badda bing badda boom, done and done.

Oh my! That's so cute! So typical of these crafty little buggers, but that's a great pic!

On a normal lizard, that might work, but not on a beardie. They (at least mine) doesn't even like his beard touched. That's one of their forms of defense, and to constrict it would not only be very uncomfortable for him but also just a bad idea in general.
Note the "beard" on the one of PK's pic #2.

Now hot chicks have man eatting pets? I'm so screwed.

Tag him. (like they do on dogs)

I would build a big outside cage, He would get lots of sun and be safe from predators.

Funny funny. I'd be more afraid of my cats than of my dragon. He's so sweet and mellow... 100% hand fed, loves to snuggle and nestle himself into long hair.

The closest thing I've ever had to a man-eating pet was a rose-haired tarantula name Dementia, and even she was totally mellow. As with any pet, if you treat it with respect, it will treat you the same.

"tag him"

You can pierce them somewhere, perhaps their tail, I don't know. There has to be a way though, because you have to admit my key-finder idea is downright ingenious. :D

That collar I mentioned doesn't have to go around his neck. What about putting a small comfy elasticized collar around him just behind his front legs? Animals are reslient, trust me he'd get used to it.

wouldn't it be great to just clap and hear that electronic beeping and know instantly where that critter is?

you can get lizard leashes that would probably work alright on a full grown beardie. i've never tried one, but they seem reasonably priced. you coudl perhaps put him on the lizard leash and tether him with 20 feet or so to play.

Yes, I do have to admit that WOULD be downright ingenious... IF I could figure out a way to keep it on him. I have a feeling that if I used some snug elastic anywhere around his body, he'd snag it right off the first time he crawled through the underbrush. If I could figure out how to make it work, that would be awesome. Maybe you need to invent something like this? I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem.

Yeah I've tried those (with a leather body harness). They seem like a really good idea, but on both my beardie and also my iguanas, they freaked out, started slashing and flopping around until they were out within 20 seconds. With my iguanas I was actually afraid they were going to injure themselves... they freaked out that bad. You'd think the leashes could contain a lizard, but these critters can be extremely flexible when then want to be.

In case anybody cares... I found my lizard. Well, I still have no clue where he was hiding, but he came out when the automatic sprinklers came on and I found him standing in the middle of the yard all disgruntled.
That's the longest he's ever been missing... something like 28 hours. And the little bastard is not going outside again until I get some of that non-toxic neon paint (or until CD invents a lizard clapper). But for now at least he's home safe and sound in his tank :thumbsup

that thing looks scary , i would run away if i saw it

You can tattoo him however you like, but it would be cruel and considered animal abuse.

Animals get tattooed all the time, especially expensive pedigree dogs. Also cats, horses, etc. I just wouldn't know if it would even 'take' on lizard skin.

And no, it wouldn't be considered animal abuse... at least not in terms of the legal system. Some people might consider it abuse, but some people would also consider letting a lizard out to run free in the yard abuse too. I love my animals, and anybody who knows me knows that I would never abuse them.

Tie a balloon to it's tail

this is the way to go
http://www.pet-shop.net/html/repleash.html

dont use a leash if he freaks just the harness.
Dragon's are very smart and can be trained mch like a dog.
If he knows freaking out will get him to get the harness off it will always do it.
Leave the harness on and comfort or distract him if he starts to freak out.
He will eventually become tired of throwing a tantrum and embrace the harness.
A treat after you put his harness on is a good idea as well. He will associate being rewarded
while wearing it. Be patient, 3-4 days max hes trained I bet.

Then just die the harness Safety Orange or sew on the key finder thingy.

Yes I've tried the leash... in fact, the one I have is exactly the same, just a different brand. But that's some very good advice. His treats (and by far his favorite things in the world) are crickets, so maybe if I were to put him in his harness just before giving him some crickets he will give in and eventually come to accept it.

I think that if I could get him to do that, I would then try attaching that key finder device. I would rather do that than tether him, which would only end up restricting him and also allow him to get tangled too easily.
Thanks for the info :thumbsup

the high pitch might hurt his ears though..

I don't have to say much about the toppic, but the pics are really nice.

(I Also want a bearded dragon, but now sure if it's legal in Mallorca - Island Spain)

can you not just get it like an ankle band? something bright orange would be best imo..