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My First Beardie

Hello

Hello Amber,

WOW what great pics of Tobias! He is really growing. Yes I can see the changes on his little head. What a cute little boy he is!
He likes having his neck rubbed? How sweet. He loves attention then. :D
Well, as long as he is getting his crickets, however he wants them is fine! I am sure that he will start eating on his own more & more. He is still dependent on his mommy! LOL
Great job! Thanks for posting the pics for me. He looks very happy. :D

Tracie
 
He's gotten smarter. I have tubes that I let the crickets crawl into, to make transport to Toby's cage easier. I normally shake them out one at a time close to where Toby is perched at the time, and he'll chase them, or I do and feed him from hand. I stuck the tube full of crickets into the cage, and before I had a chance to shake, he was attacking them before they got out. He got a very easy and big meal for lunch. haha...I eventually had to take the tube out. The crickets got smart and came swarming out all at once, freaked him out.

I caught him eating back and forth between his commercial dragon food and his veggies yesterday. He stopped within a min. of me going inside and seeing though. Little brat.

I plan on measuring and weighing him again middle of next week. So I will post that when I get done. How often do you think I should do that? Once a week, every other week, a month? And how much do you think he should be growing/gaining right now in that time period?
 
Hello

Hello Amber,

That is so hilarious what Tobias did! He got a huge meal then, good for him! Those crickets never had a chance, did they? Poor things. :D Yes, they are very very smart, that is for sure. He will learn plenty more, too.
Great he is eating the dragon bites, & the veggies & greens, but only when you aren't watching! That is so funny. He will eventually get used to you being around when he eats them though! LOL
You can measure & weigh him weekly if you want to. Right now with him growing so quickly you will most likely see changes on a weekly basis. It will slow down, but definitely not yet. Just keep it in a little notebook or journal & it will be interesting for you to read later on, as well as keep a picture book too.

Tracie
 
No, they had no chance. It's funny watching him. It's like watching a dog waiting for you to throw the ball. He gets as flat as he can on his belly, has his head cocked, and crawls around until he sees a cricket get ready to come out. Very amusing!

He eats his veggies EARLY in the morning I've learned. Once again, because nobody is watching and what not. So, now I have a pattern I can work out with it.

I have a huge picture book already of him...haha...I'm a photo fanatic!
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Yeah that would be great to watch, very entertaining!
I bet he is going through another growth spurt! He is going to eat you out of house & home.
He eats his greens & veggies when no one is watching. You should record it if you can that is so hilarious! Great you already have tons of pictures, too. They are precious. :D

Tracie
 
I'm going to have to do that one night/day. It's just a matter of getting up out of bed and remembering to do so. The only recording device I have is on my camera, it only lasts for about 1-2 hours tops. So it would have to be set pretty early on.

Hopefully, when he's bigger, I'll be giving him roaches instead of a lot of crickets. I might just use roaches as an occasional treat for him since hubby is growing less fond of the idea as the days go by. :p He's afraid one or more might get loose.

I have to make another cricket order for him here again shortly....some of the ones I had ended up trampled and dead....*yikes*

Anywho, I will post his measurements tomorrow sometime. :D
 
Hello

Hello Amber,

That would be so hilarious to catch him eating his greens & veggies early in the morning! It would be like, Busted! :D
My hubby is the same way, afraid that one roach would get loose, so, it is crickets for us, too. As long as the bin is kept clean, there really isn't any smell.
Where are you buying yours from?
I am anxious to see measurements. :D

Tracie
 
I get my crickets from Ebay, from a seller that has had excellent feedback with it. He even has a guarantee that if they arrive more than 1/3 dead he will send you the same order a second time. It's only happened once where the order ended up here almost a week after it should have, and he sent me out another batch...to make up for it.

His Measurements:

Length: 9.5-10 inches long
Weight: 1.2 oz (34 grams)

:D....he was VERY jumpy today. After I weighed and measured him, I brought him over to the desk like I normally do so I could record it on the paper. He jumped out of my hands, onto my desk, then jumped from the desk to the tower, from the tower down to the printer (too long a jump, but would have been ok, if he didn't land in the paper loader *sighs*), then I grabbed him up, and he did it all over again, only this time, instead of going to the tower, he jumped off t he back of my desk and caught himself on some wires and hung there until I was able to reach him. Such a daredevil he is.

What would be some good things for me to buy for him that he can climb on when he's not in his cage? Like mice have their mouse balls, ferrets have tunnels, cats have posts, dogs have balls....what can I get for him that he'd enjoy? Any ideas? I've almost thought about one of those cat posts since he likes to climb, and the carpet on it would give him something to grasp when he goes up...it's just, the trip down, that worries me. :p
 
Hello

Hello Amber,

Well, that is good as long as he stands on his word for the crickets, no problems there. If I was breeding on a larger scale, I would sell some for you. :D

Tobias is growing, that is great! I bet you can't wait until he hits 100 grams.
Wow he sure was active after his weighing & measuring, & it sounds like he had a blast too!
Hm, I think a catpost sounds like a good idea, or one of those other cat tunnel type things, would be neat. Does he have a hammock or something like that hanging in his tank? They like those things, to hang out on.
At least he gets some exercise though.
I am happy he is doing so well now. Great job!

Tracie
 
No, he doesn't have a hammock yet....I'm not going to get him one until he's in his permanent tank. Something me and hubby talked about. We are doing a waterfall type thing in his permanent too. Lots of ideas for it. So, I know I'll have to get it set up a bit before he completely out grows the one he is in now.

He is still small enough to sit on the fake leaves in his tank, which is a good thing.

Yeah, I haven't had any problems with the crickets he's been sending. I've been getting my phoenix worms off Ebay from another guy as well. He sells baby beardies too, don't know if I will go through him next time, or this other person I found not too long ago though. They are all too cute and reasonably priced!

Where can I go to get silk worms and butter worms from? Haven't been able to find them.

He ate some of his veggies today. I know what he's been doing. He LOVES carrots...I guess because they are orange. But I made him up a whole mix of stuff then stirred it in with squash baby food. He picked out as many carrots as he could without getting the greens. It was funny. I got him to take a HUGE bite of the whole thing, but after he swallowed, he gave it this real funny look, tilted his head all the way to the side, stared at it, then looked at me, back at the food, and went to his rock. I don't think he was too happy. :rofl:
 
Hello

Hello Amber,

Great story! Yeah, you should go ahead & plan now for the new tank, design it etc, so you wont have any problems when you move him into it. A waterfall sounds good. Just keep the humidity 50% or under.
He is still light enough to sit on one of those fake leaves, that is so cute.
Hm, I would be careful buying beardies off of Ebay. I don't think that they are supposed to sell live animals off of Ebay though. You don't want to take a chance on them not being healthy though.

The link below is for silkies & a few other things there. I wouldn't buy silkies from mulberryfarms.com right now because they have had problems with the grassiere virus. As far as I know, coastal is doing pretty well.

https://coastalsilkworms.com/catalog/index.php

Butterworms can be found here:

http://www.butterworms.com/
or:
http://www.wormman.com/

This place has both for sale:

http://www.thereptilecenter.com/Insect-Feeders


That is just so funny that he gave you a funny look when he realized that he got greens in his mouth along with carrots, too! LOL Crazy dragon.

Tracie
 
Oh no. The guy isn't selling the beardies on Ebay. He has his own site that he sells them through, along with his worms. He just puts some of his worms on Ebay too in order to somewhat corner the market. I'm guessing his site itself is fairly new, so he's trying to attract people to it through Ebay.

One of the places I was looking for beardies was actually advertising somewhere on this site. But, it's only to keep in mind for some later time down the road.

I picked him up some more crickets, hopefully they will last until his others come in. These are WAY small though and I don't see it happening since he'll eat more in one sitting. Might end up having to buy more later tonight just to be safe.

I was thinking about making a custom tank. I saw this one on Ebay, but it was a coffee table. The top opened up and the lights went in on one side, and everything else on the other. It was very neat looking. Might talk to my dad or somebody like that to help me build one. Alls it would take is a bit of plexi glass, wood, some hinges and some mesh wire to hold the lights from what I saw. Then it'll have multi-purpose, and he'll be in the living room with the rest of us and can have all the attention he wants. :D
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

OH that is cool. As long as his quality is good, no problems then. Ebay is definitely a good place to get business, everyone goes there!
That is an awesome idea. Alot of people do tanks that look like furniture. He would be so spoiled with being the "center" of attention. I think you need to look into that, he would absolutely love that! You all could make a really nice looking tank.
He is eating you out of house & home now! :D That is super. He must be doing so well now.
Great job! Talk soon.

Tracie
 
I'm thinking instead of a coffee table, because I wouldn't know how to hide all the cords, I'm going to do a knick knack shelf. I was going to do a book shelf, but my hubby doesn't think it would be a good idea to have books on top of his cage. So, I will make it similar to a bookshelf, only we'll have pictures and little decorative things on it...along with 2 small cabinets to put Toby's supplies in. This way, the cords will be hidden in the back, I won't need a top to the cage, just a screen in the front and plexi-glass on 3 of the sides. Put a door in the front of the cage, or the side, so when it pulls out you can take him out from the door or from the top.

Not sure though, it'll take some time and thinking on my end before I figure out something I like.

Not eating us out of house and home yet....hopefully his crickets arrive today otherwise I have to make a stop after the kids I'm babysitting go home.

I ordered him more worms as well. hee hee...he's going to love it. I bought some Sweet Potato baby food as well. He didn't like the squash, so I'm hoping he likes this.
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

That sounds really good. That way like you said you can hide the cords in the back & have a place to put his supplies in too.
So the top will be completely open? Will you hang a mercury vapor lamp over him then?
It sounds like it will look very nice & he will have a great home in there, too. How large are you looking at making it?
Did your crickets come in I hope? What type of worms did you order him, the phoenix or butter worms?
Picky thing, he didn't like the squash babyfood. Hm, maybe he will like the sweet potato instead.

I hope he is having a good weekend. :D

Tracie
 
Phoenix worms.....they are WAY small though. I should have gotten him medium sized ones. I'm not even sure if he's going to notice them mixed in with his veggies. There is a plus side to their size though, he can't just pick them out, he'll end up with a mouth full of veggies every time.

I'm looking at a 75 gallon smallest. It just depends on how much it's going to cost to make it, it might be a bit bigger.

I might do a mercury bulb, it all depends on how well it's going to hold it's heat and what not....it's just a matter of what will and won't work with the design.
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Yeah, I guess you will have to see what type of setup you are able to do. I highly recommend a mercury vapor if you have the opportunity to use one, especially if you have an open tank. They are so much better than the flourescents are, & they last longer, too.
How is Tobias, still eating tons? Yeah, that is a good thing, he will have to get a mouthful of veggies trying to get to the phoenix worms! The small ones are very small, so you could get the mediums next time & he will be fine with that. :D

Tracie
 
I just weighed him, and he's still the same length as last time but he's gained 8 grams. He now weighs in at 42 grams.

He's eating very good. Bell Peppers did the trick. He eats his veggies like a champ now. I just have to make sure they are in there. I started him on red and yellow ones the other day. So now he gets a mixture of red, yellow and green bell peppers, parsley, kale and the occasional cucumber. Along with his dragon bites.

He's running around now. I felt bad that he hasn't been able to get out lately. It's been raining a lot here and the temps. are dropping. It's about time to look into upping his lighting for winter.

Is it normal that Toby doesn't like dark places? When I let him run around, he stays out of those areas where I wouldn't be able to get him. He still goes under things, but he stays out from behind the book cases, and the sides of the comp. desk...etc.

Is it also normal that he's been waking up a 1/2 hour before his daytime lights come on? I got up at 5:30 one morning and he was walking around his cage waiting to be fed. I had to laugh because I don't feed him his first meal until around 10 am....so he'd have to know it wasn't time.
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Great to hear that the bell peppers worked in enticing him to eat his greens then. He must love the flavor, but they are attracted to color as well. That sounds like tasty mix to me! LOL I am happy that he started eating them now. Plus, the dragon bites, so he is getting a bit of extra protein too.
Wow, he gained some weight, too! Don't worry, he will grow & shed plenty more.
That is totally normal, for his age, not to want to hide & to stay out in the open right now. Yes, for the wintertime, you will need to up his lighting since you can't take him out much if any right now. Which UVB are you going to get right now, until you get the other tank built? Reptisun 10 or reptiglo 8 or 10 are the best flourescents out there.
That is great Toby is waking up before his lights come on wanting to eat. He must be hungry & growing. Awesome. You are putting out the veggies & greens so he has them when he wakes up? It sounds like he is doing very good right now!! :D

Tracie
 
I will go with whatever is available in my budget, I know that much. I will make sure it's a reptisun...and I might invest into a mercury bulb if anything.

His permanent tank, I was wondering if this would be big enough as far as measurements go.

It would be 2ft H x 4ft L x 2ft D.....it's a foot longer in length than the one he is in now, and it's a foot more in depth than the one he is in now. The height is about the same, but I'm debating on if I want to hang the lights inside or outside of the enclosure then I might have to make it taller.

I'm making his background, and I'm going to put small "cliffs" on it so he can use those as his basking areas, and get to climb a lot. It saves me trying to find driftwood the right size or gathering enough stones...etc.

I was also wondering if mouse bedding would be good to use in his cage. It's like little wood chips, and absorbs water pretty well. It's soft so it won't hurt him, big enough so he can't ingest it at the moment. Not sure how well it holds heat, but, that's what his new grape vine and basking rocks are for.

He LOVES his grapevine. My mother in law gave it to me to give to him. She's into the whole lizard thing and reptiles too. She'll be getting his tank when he's moved to his permanent home.

He's eating a LOT. I put him in his travel case to feed him his crickets. It saves him the frustration of them getting away, and it saves me the trouble of having to clean out his cage every time one is able to get behind the background. :D He nabs about 20-30 of them at a time. On top of eating his veggies and he's still munching here and there on his commercial food too. Such a piggy! :D
 
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