Disclaimer: this isn’t professional advice or a must-do list
— it’s just what I do to keep my animals happy and cared for.
Before I get into the routines, let me re-introduce my
animals for anyone new here or who hasn’t seen my Instagram page yet.
My first animal is a bearded dragon called Toothless. She’s
3 years old and hatched in August 2022. I’ve had her since February 2023 and
she’s brilliant. She loves to sit in her vivarium and judge me on a daily
basis.
My other two animals are my brother and sister’s cat duo,
Blue and Luna. They’re over a year old now and were born in 2024. I’ve had them
since they were nearly 3 months old. They’re moggy breed, meaning they’re mixed
breed cats.
Blue is very much a cuddly boy and will take any opportunity
to lie on me, whereas Luna is the epitome of getting attention on her own
schedule. They’re both mischievous at times, though Blue definitely finds more
trouble than his sister. They’ll also usually sleep anywhere except a comfy
surface — their favourite spot is on top of a plastic storage box.
So let’s start with the daily things I do for my animals. These can be split into three categories: AM, when I get home from work, and PM.
AM
My morning tasks start with making sure all the water bowls are emptied and refilled with fresh water. The cats have one large water bowl in the hallway (their preferred spot), and Toothless has one in her enclosure. I even keep bottles of water in the fridge specifically for the cats’ bowl.
They used to have two bowls — one in the hallway and one near their food — but since they only ever used the hallway one, I removed the other.
Next comes feeding time. I top up the cats’ dry food bowls (their dry food stays down all the time, so I only refill if needed). Toothless gets breakfast too — about five crickets based on her size. Two to three times a week, these are dusted with the vitamin powders she needs.
The last morning job is emptying the two litter boxes, giving them a quick clean, and refilling them with fresh litter.
When I Get Home From Work
These only happen on weekdays, as I work in an office Monday to Friday. After being gone for at least eight hours, I make sure everyone gets some attention.
Both cats get fuss (Blue will loudly complain until I apologise for leaving) and a treat. Usually this is around 6–8 Dreamies each, but sometimes it’s a stick treat or freeze-dried treat depending on the day.
Toothless doesn’t really do treats, but she does get attention — I’ll pick her up if she’s in the mood — and I do a visual check of her vivarium to make sure she hasn’t been to the loo and everything looks clean.
PM
Evening tasks are very similar to the morning. I start by checking all the water bowls to make sure they’re clean and topped up for the night (and in summer I’ll check again before bed).
Then comes dinner time — usually first, because the cats can get very vocal. About 90% of the time they get more dry food, topped up as needed. Twice a week they get a full pouch of wet food each, which they absolutely love. I’m slowly working towards possibly giving them wet food every night.
For Toothless, dinner means salad time. This might be kale with sliced carrots on top (her favourite) or other leafy greens. I’ll admit, most of the time I have to physically put her in front of it, otherwise she’ll happily sit in the same spot all day and ignore it.
Bi-Weekly Tasks
Every other week I sieve through the sand in Toothless’s enclosure to remove anything she may have buried, like old waste. This helps keep her environment clean and healthy.
For the cats, bi-weekly tasks are optional and only done if needed. This includes a dry bath using foam shampoo and a grooming session. I only do this if they’re starting to smell a bit — which thankfully isn’t often.
Monthly Tasks
Monthly tasks aren’t fun for any of us.
For the cats, this includes flea treatment, nail trimming, and occasionally a flea bath. I usually spread these across a weekend rather than doing everything at once. My routine is normally bath first, then nail trim, and while they’re still in a towel burrito, they get a Dreamies Creamy as a reward.
Luna tolerates baths fairly well. Blue absolutely does not, and he makes that very clear with his claws. I can’t blame him, but it has to be done. They both dislike flea treatments too, but treats afterwards are my attempt at damage control and future bribery.
For Toothless, monthly care varies. I try to give her a bath once a month, though this depends on shedding. When she’s shedding, I tend to be hands-off unless she needs help, in which case she gets a soak.
Every other month she also gets a full enclosure clean — everything comes out, surfaces get wiped down, the glass cleaned, and all the sand replaced.
So that’s my current pet routine. It will probably change in the future, especially as I’m considering adding another pet to the mix. Of course, I give my animals plenty more attention than what’s written here — this is just a snapshot of the basics I cover across daily, bi-weekly, and monthly care.
From my cozy corner to yours,
📚✨
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