I've officially been a beardie owner / slave for a week now... Figment came out of one of those "big box" pet stores that I know we're not supposed to buy from, but there was just something about him that overrode my logic and caution. He was in the "premium dragon" tank with another more brightly colored beardie, but the other dragon was considerably smaller and like I said, there was just something about Figment right from the start. He was a lovely terracotta color, despite being in shed on his tail, and was remarkably mellow when I asked to hold him. After giving him a thorough once-over from snout to vent, I knew he was coming home with me.
This is Figment the night I brought him home and placed him on his basking log.
Apparently he was so happy that he finally had a proper basking spot that he wanted to break into song! (Yes, I know he's gaping because he'd reached his optimum basking temperature and might have been overheating... I kept an eye on him and made sure he was able to navigate down to a cooler branch.) Honestly, I'm surprised that any herps in pet stores are healthy when they don't get to bask... but I digress, and know that we could fill several threads with reasons why pet stores are awful places to get beardies. I'll get my next dragon from a reputable breeder, I promise.
So we settled in for our first week together, Figment and I. Not holding or handling him for a week was hard! I had to content myself with watching him as he got into his routine. He tested out all the potential basking areas, from the hammock under the UV tube to all the multi-temperature branches. Feeding him is the best. I love the way he launches himself after crickets, and while he isn't crazy about his salads, I'm still offering them to him daily. Sometimes he takes a mouthful, sometimes he takes a few, but he's clearly more of an insectivore dragon at this point in his life. The pet store guy said he was about three months old... I'm not sure whether to trust his judgement or not, but it's all I've got to go on at this point. Because I haven't been handling him much yet, I can only guesstimate that his length is about 8-9 inches long.
The highlight of my week was when Figment let me hand-feed him carrot slices. He took each piece daintily, then scarfed it down. Carrots are now on the list as treats... no more than once a week, though. We tried yellow squash today, and while he didn't take it from my hand, he did eat some from his dish a bit later. I've also determined that he likes dandelion greens better than collards, and that he isn't as keen on Phoenix Worms as I'd hoped he would be (though why I want my dragon hooked on an expensive feeder is beyond my comprehension).
I also tried my hand at photographing him in his hab... you'd think it would be easier, given that he's right under the basking light, but the shadows don't really let his colors show through.
I really want to get a good shot of his back, so I can see what color folks think he is... but I get a feeling he's going to be shedding soon, since he's shed his tail skin and head skin this week, so I'll wait until after that. I did try to give him a bath, more to help him hydrate than anything else, but he absolutely hated it. I keep thinking that I'll try him with a misting bottle, but I really don't want to get the hab all wet. Doing some reading on this as we speak... I bought The Bearded Dragon Handbook, the new edition, and found it much more readable than the first edition was. I'm also reading as many care sheets as I can, in addition to being a pest on this forum.
My resident critters have been very curious about Figment. The dog, a Pom-Spitz mix, keeps coming in and whining as she looks up at his hab, raising up on her hind legs to try to get a better look, and Figment just looks down as beardies do, deigning to give this interloper the grace of his momentary attention. The cat Skimble and I have had words regarding why the top of the dragon habitat is NOT for cats to lie on, the end result being that I keep the door to the room closed a good amount of time. You can't really convince a cat of anything once he's set his mind to it, and Skimble - though being more interested in the skittering crickets than in Figment himself - still maintains that anything that warm must have been made for cats.
And that brings us to the end of the first week. This week, since his stools are still runny, I'm going to try him on small rather than medium crickets and see if that helps things any. We'll also start handling time, a little bit at a time, to get him accustomed to it in small doses. And I'll try misting him, since I'm getting a little worried that he may be dehydrated.
I managed to get a much better picture of Figment's head just now, one that shows some of his coloration, so I'll close with that. I'm just so thrilled and grateful for this forum, since it's prevented me from going into full panic mode over a myriad of small things this week... you folks are great, and Figment thinks so, too!
~Chris
This is Figment the night I brought him home and placed him on his basking log.
Apparently he was so happy that he finally had a proper basking spot that he wanted to break into song! (Yes, I know he's gaping because he'd reached his optimum basking temperature and might have been overheating... I kept an eye on him and made sure he was able to navigate down to a cooler branch.) Honestly, I'm surprised that any herps in pet stores are healthy when they don't get to bask... but I digress, and know that we could fill several threads with reasons why pet stores are awful places to get beardies. I'll get my next dragon from a reputable breeder, I promise.
So we settled in for our first week together, Figment and I. Not holding or handling him for a week was hard! I had to content myself with watching him as he got into his routine. He tested out all the potential basking areas, from the hammock under the UV tube to all the multi-temperature branches. Feeding him is the best. I love the way he launches himself after crickets, and while he isn't crazy about his salads, I'm still offering them to him daily. Sometimes he takes a mouthful, sometimes he takes a few, but he's clearly more of an insectivore dragon at this point in his life. The pet store guy said he was about three months old... I'm not sure whether to trust his judgement or not, but it's all I've got to go on at this point. Because I haven't been handling him much yet, I can only guesstimate that his length is about 8-9 inches long.
The highlight of my week was when Figment let me hand-feed him carrot slices. He took each piece daintily, then scarfed it down. Carrots are now on the list as treats... no more than once a week, though. We tried yellow squash today, and while he didn't take it from my hand, he did eat some from his dish a bit later. I've also determined that he likes dandelion greens better than collards, and that he isn't as keen on Phoenix Worms as I'd hoped he would be (though why I want my dragon hooked on an expensive feeder is beyond my comprehension).
I also tried my hand at photographing him in his hab... you'd think it would be easier, given that he's right under the basking light, but the shadows don't really let his colors show through.
I really want to get a good shot of his back, so I can see what color folks think he is... but I get a feeling he's going to be shedding soon, since he's shed his tail skin and head skin this week, so I'll wait until after that. I did try to give him a bath, more to help him hydrate than anything else, but he absolutely hated it. I keep thinking that I'll try him with a misting bottle, but I really don't want to get the hab all wet. Doing some reading on this as we speak... I bought The Bearded Dragon Handbook, the new edition, and found it much more readable than the first edition was. I'm also reading as many care sheets as I can, in addition to being a pest on this forum.
My resident critters have been very curious about Figment. The dog, a Pom-Spitz mix, keeps coming in and whining as she looks up at his hab, raising up on her hind legs to try to get a better look, and Figment just looks down as beardies do, deigning to give this interloper the grace of his momentary attention. The cat Skimble and I have had words regarding why the top of the dragon habitat is NOT for cats to lie on, the end result being that I keep the door to the room closed a good amount of time. You can't really convince a cat of anything once he's set his mind to it, and Skimble - though being more interested in the skittering crickets than in Figment himself - still maintains that anything that warm must have been made for cats.
And that brings us to the end of the first week. This week, since his stools are still runny, I'm going to try him on small rather than medium crickets and see if that helps things any. We'll also start handling time, a little bit at a time, to get him accustomed to it in small doses. And I'll try misting him, since I'm getting a little worried that he may be dehydrated.
I managed to get a much better picture of Figment's head just now, one that shows some of his coloration, so I'll close with that. I'm just so thrilled and grateful for this forum, since it's prevented me from going into full panic mode over a myriad of small things this week... you folks are great, and Figment thinks so, too!
~Chris
