The Sweet Life of Kobe

And...we have a JUMPER!

It's been over 10 years since I've had such a young beardie. My last dragon, Rocky, was adopted as a young adult. He was an easy keeper. This guy? He's keeping me on my toes. I have totally forgotten how fast these little guys are and how high they can jump.

I put a small box in Kobe's tank for him to use as a hide. He had other plans. He'd rather be on top of the box than inside of it. He jumped from his basking spot onto the top of the box - about 6 inches. Fortunately, I saw it happen and was able to quickly remove the box before he jumped again. I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

I promptly removed the box and rearranged his tank. Again. Apparently, that will be my new hobby - rearranging the dragon's tank.

Yep, full-on dragon slavery going on over here.


Day 2: Double Sexy Legs

I'm glad he has his own thread for you to share his stories. The little guys certainly are a bit different than the adults. Unfortunately they are more likely to think they can fly... :roll: If he has branches and vines etc to climb around on he should be a happy camper.

Heading out tonight to get some vines/branches. He definitely needs a safe way to climb.

Glad to see that he arrived safe and seems to be settling in so well -- and keeping you busy already. Eating and pooping (no matter where he does it) and even jumping so soon after arriving are all good signs. Apparently the trip didn't stress him out too much.

That salad is bigger than he is. :lol: And he color coordinates very nicely with the hammock if that's what he's sitting on in the one photo. :wink: -- Beautiful little guy. :love10:

SHBailey":3o7lle8j said:

Glad to see that he arrived safe and seems to be settling in so well -- and keeping you busy already. Eating and pooping (no matter where he does it) and even jumping so soon after arriving are all good signs. Apparently the trip didn't stress him out too much.

That salad is bigger than he is. :lol: And he color coordinates very nicely with the hammock if that's what he's sitting on in the one photo. :wink: -- Beautiful little guy. :love10:

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I could not be happier with this guy! Today he ate an entire salad in addition to his 3 scheduled feedings. So far, all of his poops have been on his hammock (ugh!) but I'm not complaining. Just a few more trips to the laundry room. He gives me a sweet little stink eye when I take down his hammock. He truly looks pissed.

When I turned his lights out last night, he walked from his basking spot over to his new hide and promptly crawled in and curled up to go to sleep. I hadn't even shown him the hide. Such a little genius.

I went out last night and bought him some branches and vines to climb. I've caught him a few times climbing and jumping so hopefully that will fill his need to "fly" around his tank. Only thing I have left to do is get his basking spot just a tad bit closer to his UVB. I'll work on that tomorrow.

This beardie mama is exhausted!

Sounds like he needs an extra hammock or two so he can still have one while the other is in the wash. Just one more thing for your to-do list... Otherwise, he seems to be settling into his new surroundings very well and making himself right at home... And wearing out his new beardie mama is part of the deal. :mrgreen:

Day 4: Exploring and climbing his new branch

Kobe is on day 2 of a hunger strike. I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that this is just a pre-shed thing. He's making this mama nervous.

They go through those phases sometimes. As long as he's still pretty active I wouldn't worry about it.

CooperDragon":2shvdr3j said:

They go through those phases sometimes. As long as he's still pretty active I wouldn't worry about it.

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Thanks for the reassurance. I definitely need it from time to time.

You would think that after 11 years as a beardie mama, I would't be so anxious about these things.

Yesterday afternoon he had a BIG poop and then ate like a pig for dinner. He ate so much that he finished up all of his crickets. Lucky for us,( not! ) we had an ice storm coming overnight, so I made the decision to go on a late night run to get more crickets for him. Never a dull moment around here.

Once his lights went out, he snuggled up under his branch and dug a nice, little place to sleep. Such a sweet little guy.

That looks nice and cozy =). I certainly understand the worry. I still worry about Darwin all the time too. Just comes with the territory. Last night I had a dream that he was eating gel capsules/medication that spilled on the floor. I was trying to put together the activated charcoal but couldn't follow the directions and they kept changing while I was trying to follow them (they are quite simple in reality) so I kept losing precious time. Crazy lizards will be our undoing :lol:

CooperDragon":1r0wwj3w said:

That looks nice and cozy =). I certainly understand the worry. I still worry about Darwin all the time too. Just comes with the territory. Last night I had a dream that he was eating gel capsules/medication that spilled on the floor. I was trying to put together the activated charcoal but couldn't follow the directions and they kept changing while I was trying to follow them (they are quite simple in reality) so I kept losing precious time. Crazy lizards will be our undoing :lol:

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And my doctor wonders why I have an ulcer. She doesn't understand the whole "beardie slave" thing.

Kobe spent part of this icy/rainy day chillin' with daddy. 20 minutes in the same spot and didn't move an inch. But with me? Forget it. All he wants to do is run and jump. I hope I get some snuggles soon. I miss my Friday night "dragon snuggle sessions" in front of the fireplace that I had with Rocky.

Kobe is quite a beauty! And such a little spitfire, too! Ha, ha! I love to see such a spoilt and happy little one. You sound quite smitten... As I have been with my big boy, Dezi, for three years, and still completely in love! Thank you for sharing this adorable little guys story, it will be fun to watch. Kobe has his daddy totally wrapped around his tiny fingers, and that is exactly how it should be. ?? He will become a better snuggler in a month or two...Dezi was not the least bit interested in snuggles for the first few months. Now, he wants that all the time!! If he isnt on me, he wants near me, always. These guys are the best companion animals in the world. I am so happy for the both of you!

Kobe is now weighing in at 55g! Eating (and pooping) like a champ.

Over the last few days, I've noticed that when I put raspberries or blueberries on his salad, he picks them out and ignores his veggies. Will have to withhold the fruit for quite a few days and try to get him back on track with his veggies. No complaints, though, as I know how lucky I am to have a 4 month old that will even touch his veggies.

From day 1, I had Kobe in a big tank that had a divider to make it smaller for him. As of yesterday, he now has the whole tank to himself. He figured out to get over the divider and explore the side of the tank that was off limits. Of course, he waited until I left the room to do it, so I'm not exactly sure how he managed to get there. And...he did it twice in less than 20 minutes. Since I had to leave for work, I wasn't taking any chances and decided to give him the whole tank.

He's been very busy the last few days.

Working on his tail shed.

Showing off his sexy, left side.

Not happy that I'm taking pics while he's trying to hide.