Otto!

Hi everyone,

1st time beardie owners here. My wife and I got Otto "Ot" at a local Petco and have been scouring the site for tidbits of wisdom to keep the (not so little anymore!) guy happy & healthy. I have to say, I wasn't thrilled when she suggested we get a lizard as I'd always had furry pets. "What the heck are we going to do with a lizard?" I think was my comment. Yeah... Well, needless to say she was right--Ot's awesome, and I'm not just saying that because he prefers to snuggle with me when we're watching TV (just sayin')! I honestly never would have guessed that he'd have such a distinct personality or enough smarts to do more than just sit there, but he's intelligent, curious, and just all around adorable. Whether he's snubbing his greens with that "where are my crickets?" look, cocking his head when we talk to him, or just laying there like a flounder soaking up the UV in his viv, he seems to exude dragon cool, and we're so glad we brought him into our lives.
We don't know exactly when he hatched, but it's about his 1st birthday, so as good a time as any to introduce him to the community. So on behalf of "the lizard of happiness", we wanted to say thanks to everyone who has posted about their own "Ot"s! We learned a ton from the forums before we got him, and it shows. The pics are slightly old, but happily his 1st vet checkup had him earn an 'Ideal' rating from the reptile vet on health, body weight, etc.

-Dan

I'm glad to see he is doing so well under your care. It really is amazing how much they have to offer us. I still remember the day I got Cooper at Petco. Little guy definitely changed my life. Does Otto get to go on lots of fun adventures with you?

He’s kind of a home dragon, but he did enjoy the trip to the vet, which was :40 mins each way. Sat on my shoulder the entire trip, so we’re thinking he might like taking a road trip as long as we can manage temps. Too cool in AC and we’d never leave him in the car at the destination, so options might be limited.

Some of them like road trips, some don't. My guys have liked road trips and we do them often. They don't tend to have any issues at normal car temps on the drive. On really long trips it's nice to stop at a rest area to give them some time to bask.