Des' Thread 03-24-12

Des' my first dragon. He is really a good boy. Great attitude, loves to come out and explore, sit on my shoulder, just all around the kind of dragon I wanted for my first one.
He grew up on my lack of knowledge, has always hung strong. Mostly ate crickets when he was young, with the occasional reptiworm or silkworm. After he hit 16 inches he wouldn't touch another cricket since he had a taste for superworms.

The last few months he had given me a scare, as he has been really picky on what he wants to eat. Some days it will be superworms other days he only wanted hornworms. Then I found butterworms. He will eat these worms almost any day of the week. He is still spoiled and thinks he is king as I went through allot, babying him by hand feeding every morning and evening. This is really the only way he will eat on a good basis. He had dropped a few grams from 335 to 325 when I tried to induce tough love.

As of today, on the beginning of his own thread, I am proud to state he weighs 350g. Still @ 17.75inches in length. I believe Des to be about 1 year ~2 months old.

Here are some pictures of my oldest boy Des-

:mrgreen:

 

[Beardednoob]

Awesome! But, all he really really REALLY want to do is cuddle the balloon animals.

 

[Mirthy]

Yeh, see...that's a bad idea. :shock: Better just get him a fluffy teddy bear and save him the grief.

 

[kmutter27]

what do you use for the bottom of the tank and on top of the log?

 

[Beardednoob]

what do you use for the bottom of the tank and on top of the log?

Zoo Med Repti Carpet.
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=26&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=5&SearchContext=YTozOntzOjg6IlNlYXJjaElEIjtzOjE6IjUiO3M6MTA6IkRhdGFiYXNlSUQiO3M6MToiMiI7czo4OiJLZXl3b3JkcyI7czo2OiJjYXJwZXQiO30=

 

[kmutter27]

I thought so but thought I would check.I use the carpet too. How did you get the carpet to stay on the log?

 

[Beardednoob]

I thought so but thought I would check.I use the carpet too. How did you get the carpet to stay on the log?

I cut it to fit, long enough so it would wrap to the base/sides underneath. I stapled it to the log so there are no staples present unless I lift the log up. I plan on getting another one this weekend, going to do the same thing to it. So I will do it in steps and take pictures then post this. I will send you a PM of this post when I have it done. :wink:

 

[kmutter27]

Thank you! That's such a great idea!

 

[Kalyn876]

Agreed! Genius, I'm so excited for less mess! I will be doing this to my Hoodoo's log tomorrow sometime! Thanks for the great idea

Kalyn

 

[Beardednoob]

Agreed! Genius, I'm so excited for less mess! I will be doing this to my Hoodoo's log tomorrow sometime! Thanks for the great idea

Kalyn

I made a thread for this process.
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=156382

It can help you along. :wink:

 

[Kalyn876]

Excellent, can't believe I missed it! I love the new removable version.
Oh and I love the before and after pics of Des. He was such a little cutie! Hard to believe they change that much in just a year...Well onto Gaulams thread I'm very interested in the Saharan Uromastyx... my local pet store has one but it would be a $200.00 rescue case...errr I've been haggling with them for him for ages and they just won't budge..Onto looking for breeders me thinks..

Kalyn

 

[Beardednoob]

200$? The pet shop I got Gaulam from charged me 99$. The one you speak of seems a bit overpriced.

 

[Kalyn876]

Agreed and thats what I told them especially because hes thin and has crusties on his eyes, nose and mouth and housed on crushed walnut.. I offered them half price they said no. That was 6 months ago and hes still there..poor guy. Now I'm looking into Deer Fern Farms, they seem a lot more reasonable and have much much better quality.

Kalyn

 

[Beardednoob]

DFF is a good breeder for Uro's.
Crushed walnut shell! I do not think this is a suitable substrate for any reptile. How often do you see on something like Discovery channel, "oh here is a prime sample of our native lizard, respectively he found a spot on our crushed walnut shell forest floor!" :? LOL Or.."this desert lizard is called a Uromastyx, they find and crush their own walnuts to make life in the Saharan more hospitable." :mrgreen:

The crustiness may be a build up of snolt. This happens when a Uromastyx is given live feeders in excess.

 

[Kalyn876]

LOL.

I'm glad that the crusties may not be a "health issue". I have actually boycotted the store and called their head office to let them know why and the reason is they house all of their reptiles on crushed walnut...makes me livid to see them suffer. That and I'm a big ole softie and would purchase the Uro for that ridiculous price just to get him outta there. I have lotsa extra tanks... :shock: NO! bad Kalyn!

Kalyn

 

[Claudiusx]

Actually, the salt extract shouldn't be even near the eye.

If there are crusties on the eye then that is most likely an eye infection, as they don't excrete their extra salt through their eyes.

They excrete it through the nose, and if you look at uro pictures you will see that the excrete is usually dried running down the face, not upwards to the eyes.

-Brandon