My First Beardie

Hello Amber!

Great you are going to breed roaches, huh? Good Beth helped you out with that. I did not know your hubby would let you do that or not. Oh you can do it. They are not any harder to breed than crickets are.

Oh that will be plenty of UVB light to use 2 tube bulbs along with a basking bulb. How did the trip to the zoo go? What type of reptile displays did they have there? I hope you got some good ideas for your tank then.

Tracie

The zoo trip went great, if you exclude the nasty burn I got on my shoulders and chest....thing STILL hurts! Plus, it keeps me out of the tanning beds for however long it lasts. *sigh* :P

Toby got to go outside yesterday for the first time since it got cold! His eating habits have also started to pick up a good amount too, which is GREAT because his crickets and worms came in today! Whoo hoo! I just gave him some crickets and he's chomped them all down except for like 2 or 3 which were able to elude him for the time.

I went into the other room for a few minutes, came back in, and was looking through t he mail. I turn around, and he's sitting here puffing his beard in and out. When he saw I was paying attention he stopped. haha....him and his antics for attention..gotta love it.

He's going to go outside again Friday....I had errands to run today otherwise I'd have taken him out. And now, I have to start preparing dinner and cleaning then I have classes, otherwise I'd take him out now.

Yes, he's allowing me to breed roaches. I figure, if I buy 100 of them and keep them in the cricket bin (crickets will be gone by then) let them breed for a bit while buying crickets at the pet store or bait shop every couple days, then by the time he gets his new home, I can move all the female and baby roaches into his soon to be old cage, with a couple males, and leave all the males in the soon to be old cricket container so I know which one to take feeders out of. Thus not taking the chance of running out of roaches.

So 2 lights is good, not too much....*jots it down in notebook* I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I'm going to set up the inside. I've decided to stick with the "rock wall" since my dad and I are going to build it. He can put the extra coats of tile adhesive onto it every day for the week and I won't have to worry about him forgetting. This way, it gets done faster. I'm also thinking, instead of textured tile, will granite tile work too? I figure I need roughly 8 sq. ft. of tile. I'm also going to try and do a den area for him under the cool side of the tank. I thought about the warm side, but I don't want to boil him to death during the day if he decides to stay down there. I've also thought of just putting a small tub into one side of the tank to keep filled with water now and then that can be removed if liked without messing up the decor. Just not completely sure what I want to do with the decor though. It's going to be made out of plywood, a thick, smooth plywood. The cost is still roughly the same as particle board, and I wanted a bit of a step up from particle if I was able to do so. Unsure of what color I want to paint the outside though. I know the inside will be a sandy color...but the outside, might be a rust color or something. Just not sure yet. I am also thinking of putting stenciled lizards and what not across it just for show. haha

I would have to say to Kelly that roaches are so MUCH MUCH better and easier than crix....I have to say to harmonysmom...pm me and let me know what you want to do. Go to this site for caresheets....easy...easy...easy...and they don't eat their babies, LOL....
http://www.nyworms.com/roaches.htm Take good care Beth

LOL at the "they don't eat their babies" well, that def. IS a plus. That's the site I went to..... I'm giving it about a month before I buy any though, this way I can have an enclosure for them to go into and I'll get them from that same site as well. Thanks so much for the information!

Hello Amber!

How is Toby doing now?
So he enjoyed going outside the other day when it was warm outside? They usually love going outside!
That is good you had a nice time at the zoo, other than getting sunburned.
I am sure that he was very excited about getting his crickets & worms in so did he eat alot then?
Yeah sometimes they stop what they are doing like puffing their beards out when you watch them. However, if he gets more attention when he beards then he will do it more when you go talk to him & encourage him to beard! LOL
That will help out alot to breed the roaches. It is not real hard, & they are good protein.
The granite tile will look great, at least I think so. So you are going to stick with the rock wall then? Your entire tank will look very good. I like the idea of a den area, that would be a nice thing for him. Plywood is durable as well. I am sure you are glad to have some help with it too.

Talk soon.
Tracie

Very glad to have some help. Also glad to be able to help build it. The first guy that I had asked to help, I wasn't going to be able to be there and help. So it was a bit of a bummer, but now that my dad is going to do it instead due to the both of us being out of the job, I can help and also, be like our first real "Father daughter" thing in a long time.

I got him to eat from a spoon really well the other day. I was very impressed with him.

He has been chomping down the crickets. They are a bit bigger than I expected, but as long as he eats them like he has been, I don't think they'll get too big for him before I run out. He loved his worms though. I have to give him some more later tonight before I leave again. Have a class/group project to do and it's the only day in the 2 weeks we've had that we can get together for more than a 1/2 hour before class to work on.

The den area was an idea I had gotten off another forum....and then also by looking at some of the reptile cages at the zoo. The only problem I see with them is when I drop in his food, they could possibly hide in his little den area and I won't be able to get them out.

His hammock still won't stay up, so I've been leaving it down on the ground, and he crawls under it and sticks his head out like a little blanket. It's cute.

The morning of the earthquake, before I had left, I put in a small mouse (was sposed to be a cat mouse with the bell inside) and he stayed curled to it for a few days. Then Harmony wanted her mouse back, so ran to her room and grabbed this pink bear in a ballerina outfit and told me that he could have it instead of the mouse. haha

Well, police man is here to take a statement from me (chick backed into me at Wal*Mart parking lot, so making my report now) so I have to hop off here.

Hello Amber!

That will be nice to have your dad helping you. A nice little project for you two to do together.
Toby actually ate out of a spoon? That is cool. How neat to watch! What a spoiled baby he is huh? It sounds like he is having another cricket & worm feast extravaganza! LOL I am glad he still has such a great appetite most of the time.
I think the den idea will look really good & he will enjoy that part of it, too.
OH how sweet, Toby was snuggled up to a stuffed animal for comfort. The earthquake probably bothered quite a few animals that day too I suspect.
I hope your car wasn't damaged too much.

Talk soon.
Tracie

The car doesn't look like it has a lot of damage, but I think even so, my wheel bearings got compressed a bit....I take it to the shop first thing tomorrow morning and they are keeping it until all repairs are done. I like the shop it's going to too, I have a friend who works there. Usually only does the towing, and I know the guy who actually does the body work, he does paint too and is AWESOME!

I just hope I don't have to pay a deductible...it was her fault, and it's bogus if I have to pay out anything at all.

Anywho, Toby is on his rock right now. Just got done eating a kale, green bell pepper, calcium dust, vegetable chicken, and phoenix worm meal (looked like cheesey broccoli or something when it was mixed). Didn't eat much, he was more worried about running around, I'll try some more again later, may have been too cold for him too. I've noticed he will eat room temp. foods, doesn't like cold. haha now THAT is spoiled!

I think he wants out again though cuz he's looking at me. I guess I could give him a bath in a little bit

Hello Amber!


Good luck with the car repairs! I hope that you don't have to pay out anything since it was her fault. What a pain. At least you have a friend who works there & you know it will be done right.
Well, at least Toby ate a little something anyway. Eating foods at room temperature is better for them than eating it cold though. It tends to go down better when it is warm.
Did he get a bath after he ran around for awhile? I hope he got some exercise today.

Tracie

He's doing really good. He's moving about a lot more, he even tried his hand at catching a bug that was on the OUTSIDE of his enclosure. *sighs* I'm ordering roaches in the next couple days because these stupid crickets keep dieing off quickly. I go through once a day to clean out dead crickets and it just doesn't seem to matter, a week later there's a mass amount of dead crickets. They are fed and watered frequently, I just don't get it! So I'm done with them.

I have been heating up his food just a bit lately, he seems to like it better.