HELP! lost bearded dragon (outdoors)

[Andrais]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[jinin]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[Andrais]

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]

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]

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]

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.