Obligatory Salutations

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IvoryNatalia

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If that image doesn't work.... I have absolutely no idea how to post images. That aside....

Greetings and salutations! I'm Ivory, not my real name obviously, and my hubby and I recently (a month ago, after 6 months of contemplation and research and gathering items, just to find out we still did bits and pieces wrong) acquired a little charmer. We originally thought that our newfound baby was a she, and named her Zelda, but he is officially old enough for all the signs to be showing that she was always a he, and he's now named Vash the Stampede. Vash, for short.

We have no idea how old Vash is, but he's roughly 9 inches long. He was a PetCo beardie, so we're happily surprised there's nothing wrong with him. We hadn't intended to purchase a bd that day - we were there for lighting, the last piece in the puzzle other than food. But he had such a personality! He followed us from one side of his tank to the other, poked his tongue out, and was incredibly interested in us. He was also the big boy on campus - more than twice the size of all the others except one.

He did have a quarter inch of tail rot starting up. That scared us. There were two layers of unshed skin. Thankfully, we didn't have to have anything amputated.

He's currently in the middle of his second (with us) shed. Both sheds so far have been legs, body, head, and then tail. I really hope it stays this way, but from what I've read, they change it up over time. The legs popped today, and he's been running all over his enclosure trying to get free. Last time, the funny moment was the "Shrek ears" coming from his nose, this time, he's a got Michael Jackson glove on his front, right paw. Thankfully, while he doesn't like baths, he sits still while we gently brush him with a baby toothbrush in slightly warm water. For about five minutes. Then he climbs me, soaking wet. Or as wet as beardies get - he dries off pretty quick.

We'd love a female, at a later date, but I have a strong feeling that PetCo and PetSmart probably just sell males. I don't think we have any local breeders, at least none that I've seen. Given the temperatures at which the eggs need to develop to determine sex, it's probably easier for breeders to control outgoing sex to these larger stores, therefore eliminating many would-be/wannabe/potentially horrible breeders. Personally, I'm so in love with Vash that I want to experience the quirks of both sexes, many times over. I hope, one day, to find a local breeder who would be willing to call me as they start to hatch so I could see everything in person from day 1. I don't personally want to be a breeder, though - incubators are expensive, and babies require a lot of love and attention I'm not sure I can give at this point in my life. (Hubby and I work full time jobs, and aren't home for twelve to thirteen hours of the day. One car, different start times. Plus commute.) It's one of the reasons we were okay with a larger bd - we wanted a larger one from the get go as they eat insects less often.

Though, I can't say that he eats less than I expected.... We're going to the pet store every other day for a new supply. Twice in the last month, they've been out of crickets, and once out of superworms. Each time, we've driven all over town to four stores until we've found them. So... I'm very interested in a reputable online source. I'm probably going to have to end up breeding crickets. Which... ick on so many levels. I barely like buying them (hubby really wanted a bd after our hedgie passed at 7 years old last year), and I think they're hopping things of nasty diseased doom. Like fleas, but with bigger legs. Icky ick ick. Thankfully, he loves his kale and squash. He hates pumpkin, though. o_O And strawberries and carrots. (We printed out a list of things they can and can't eat, and even after editing to condense size and remove obvious "will never buy" things, it's still five pages long. So much longer than I expected!)

So. Anyway. Hello. This was probably too long of a post. That's okay, I'm a lurker. I've been reading all the new posts for over a month, and I'll probably do the same thing again until I have something else to say or something to contribute. Just... felt like as much as I've been reading from all of y'all, it was probably time to step out of the shadows and wave.

Now.... *smokebomb!*
 
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I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

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