It's been almost 2 years!!!

Status
Not open for further replies.
March 26th is the day we brought Spike home. My 7 year old son picked her out at our local Exotic pet store and named her Spike. She was in an enclosure with other dragons around her size and away from the smaller ones. We were told that the babies she was in with were moved because 'they were growing faster than the rest'. Spike ran right to the front of the glass and started scratching when my son walked by. Needless to say, she got his attention and we took her home. She had a full body shed 3 days off getting her home, too. ('She' does look female (I looked when we brought her home, but not since) Spike is now, roughly 3 months old and weighs 31g at 9 inches long.
We have had some set backs with her lights, which you guys have so graciously helped me with, and her lack of eating for a little while due to her relocation stress, but she is definitely a hearty eater now. BSFL being her favorite.

When we first brought her home:
17499359_10210358883347578_332575346169818304_n.jpg

17523252_10210385063322061_6813369091068616496_n.jpg

983931_10210435413020772_773791690978672422_n.jpg

17799384_10210451709148165_308228739806503351_n.jpg


Throughout the month:
17799331_10210500019755900_4238964479133843409_n.jpg

17904243_10210537170364642_3362213681614642143_n.jpg

17903412_10210572733533699_5230907043640217654_n.jpg

17903335_10210588552569165_4414864875088926493_n.jpg

18033371_10210589478872322_6695852117563149559_n.jpg

18010002_10210596330643612_6341179155527698034_n.jpg

18033175_10210613393910183_6439599438586978542_n.jpg

18057228_10210613394510198_1278867213253518270_n.jpg

18034158_10210627613505664_205127757735901057_n.jpg


New tank:
18056767_10210634381794867_1434776974392633570_n.jpg
18057077_10210634394555186_63046158408320239_n.jpg


Cuteness:
18157339_10210670887587489_6036091487541768646_n.jpg

18156918_10210670913508137_6658686394810874667_n.jpg

18057920_10210670913988149_7000139620192269101_n.jpg

18157458_10210676492647612_3673923360530063703_n.jpg


10 minutes ago, waking up and warming up:
18198251_10210685806800460_6879881126327811819_n.jpg


Sorry for all of the pictures! ^-^ :D
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
smackey2":3jdmrkxf said:
Hm. I looked on Amazon before I ordered the camo one. I am surprised I didn't see it.
Looks pretty awesome, though.

If you ever need another or wanted a change, this is what Richter (my youngest) just got:
https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Plax-Reptology-Lizard-Lounger-Small/dp/B013T6XPHQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493748270&sr=8-2&keywords=bearded+dragon+hammock
and the bridge
https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Plax-Reptology-Lizard-Lounger-X-Large/dp/B00XWWW4FC/ref=pd_bxgy_199_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00XWWW4FC&pd_rd_r=AM5EJY3NT7JK029TMHQS&pd_rd_w=6nX2a&pd_rd_wg=MRysO&psc=1&refRID=AM5EJY3NT7JK029TMHQS

They don't hold heat well but they like climbing around on 'em
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
She's such a little sweetie :)
I miss being able to snuggle them midday without them slapping me trying to get into the bay window. They know the window is right there and want it more
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thank you. ^-^ It didn't take long for her to grow on me though. She loves cuddles and likes to run back and forth or scratch at the side of the glass where my computer desk is until I take her out. She is her own little dragon and by far the sweetest reptile I have ever owned. (2 leopard geckos and a yellow albino python, years ago.) They weren't much for cuddles. Haha.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Most beardies seem to be all about heat and light, so windows are a thing. When mine gets tired of cuddling, he usually tries to get to the nearest heat lamp or window.

My snake likes to crawl up my sleeve and make himself comfy under my shirt. I suppose that's his idea of cuddling, or at least finding himself a nice warm dark place to hide.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Spike is definitely a nosy dragon. If the neighborhood kids are outside and she can see them from the window, she is all about it. Or even if the neighbor's dog is outside, she has to see. Sometimes I think she just KNOWS when something is outside the window and is a better watch dragon than my dogs are watch dogs. Haha.


On the plus side, my mom just came to the house. She said she couldn't take all the 'cute' pictures I keep putting on FB of my lizard. She told me that the pictures make Spike look so huge. I am surprised she even gave her back to me! I am sure if I would of let her, she would of taken Spike home with her!
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
At least you know Spike is well loved, even by her "grandmother". Your little signature picture at the bottom of you posts is especially cute and pretty, too.

BTW, we have "curtains" on some of our windows (actually bedsheets -- quick and easy and usually cheaper -- open up the edges of the hem, slip the curtain rod through, and you're good to go, except for maybe needing to cut it and hem it to the right length). They let a lot of light through while still being opaque enough for privacy, so our bearded dragon will go over and put his nose up to the curtain, but when I open it up so he can see what's going on out there, it seems to get him a little agitated. Apparently there are too many strange scary things going on outside compared to what he's used to in the house with only two adult humans and one other reptile which he hardly ever sees and is never allowed to interact with. We older humans and middle-aged bearded dragons (and snakes) tend to like our peace and quiet and privacy, except for my husband, who hates to be indoors on a nice summer day.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
She is quite loved, that is for sure.
And thank you. That is the picture I took of her after she refused to give back one of my dish rags. I had her in my hand when I went to set her food bowl in the sink to be washed and she went for the rag. She even puffed up at me when I tried to get her off of it. Needless to say, after I washed it, it became her first 'blankie'. She won. :p

Spike bypasses the curtains. Haha. Especially if she is in my room, lounging on the bed, she makes a beeline to the window and under the curtain, chilling in the window sill. She moves so darn quick and is so small, if I wasn't watching closely, I wouldn't have a clue where she went. You can barely tell she is behind the curtain. :)

Our house is noisy. Two kids, 3 and 7, both boys- constantly running around and wrestling with each other; Two dogs who love nothing more than to run and romp with the kiddos; and then a pretty darn big hubby who makes most people look like small fries when next to him.
Spike is always at the edge of her tank, watching everyone closely. I am pretty sure she knows everything that goes on in the house. Haha. She reminds me of the nosy, little old lady who always likes to peek out her curtains to see what the neighbors are doing.

Plus, her tank is adjacent to the window. My computer desk is right beside her and in front of the window. I love pulling the curtain to let the sunshine in while I am working. Spike sits perched on her log, peeking from the corner of her tank, watching.


On a different note:
April 18th: 21 grams
April 25th: 26 grams
May 2nd: 33 grams
May 8th: 36 grams

I have absolutely no idea what her weight was when I got her on March 26th, but she definitely has a nice, chubby little tummy now. :) She is slightly over 9 inches now, but honestly looks like she has doubled in size, just not length wise.

This picture doesn't do her chubby belly justice, Haha.
18403136_10210776518828204_1203304728758208530_n.jpg
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Well, it's a very pretty dish rag that goes well with her colors. Maybe that's why she claimed it? :mrgreen:

With her small size (so far -- she's growing nicely), her tendency to dart around, and the boys and the dogs in the house, I hope you will be able to watch her very carefully when she's out of her enclosure. Sound like she could easily get lost, stepped on, or injured in a fall or some other way. :shock: Just saying -- I know you'd feel awful if something like that happened, and you're probably doing your best to make sure she stays safe.

I'd probably go nuts if I had that many bouncy boys and dogs in my house. In fact, I once lived with my sister and my 3 teenage nephews for several weeks and I almost did go nuts... That was over 20 years ago -- they're mostly all grown up now, one of them with a house full of kids and pets of his own.

And pardon me for getting mathematical, but every increase in length counts for an increase in volume and possibly mass by up to a factor cubed (if a bearded dragon were a sphere), because they grow in all three dimensions, not just length. So your beardie probably has at least doubled in size since you got her. (21 grams - just 3 grams = 18 grams and 18 grams x 2 = 36 grams) :)

Our beardie's tank is in the living room with the computers and the largest windows in the house too. When the blinds are open he can see out the window from his tank, but usually seems more interested in what's going on inside the house. In the bedroom from the bed the window is closer than what he's used to and the sheet/curtains are usually closed, and I only let him hang out by the window in the summer because in the winter the glass gets really cold. We had our house "weatherized" but you can only do so much with an old house and this is Alaska... :roll:
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
That is very possible. Haha. She goes to bed every night with her 'blankie'.

I am very careful with her. I keep a locked screen top on her tank just for that reason. My youngest liked to stick his hands in her tank a little too often when I wasn't at my desk. >.< Children. He never hurt her or anything, but did stress her out a bit.
Spike is NEVER aloud out in the house. Never. The only time she is aloud out is when she is in my room with me and the hubby, the door is closed, the dogs are up for the night, and the kids are already asleep. Unless it is feeding time, but she is still always in my room with the door closed so there aren't any intruders- dogs or kids. Or, if the sun is shining through my bedroom window and it is too cold to take her outside, she sits on a pillow in my bedroom window sill while I, or me and the hubby, depending on if he is home, relaxes and watches some Netflix or amazon prime.

Oh trust me, there are plenty of times where I think I am going to go crazy. The kids chase one another, the dogs chase them, the kids chase the dogs.... sounds like a herd of cows making a stampede through my house sometimes. But, I wouldn't have it any other way... quiet means they are up to something they shouldn't be...kids AND dogs. Haha.

I couldn't imagine living in Alaska... I DO NOT like the cold and REALLY do not like when it snows where I am, so yeah.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
It sounds like you are taking VERY good care of Spike. :)

Alaskan winters are overrated. You just stay indoors with the heat on and no big deal. There is this weird disease that lots of people get called "cabin fever", but it doesn't last forever. The summers are very beautiful but very short, and this is the time of year when all the trees leaf out almost overnight and start photosynthesizing all over the place and packing away their sugars for the winter because they know they haven't got very long to do it.

Snow is beautiful just as long as I don't have to go out in it. Out the window, sitting in front of the heater with a cup of hot chocolate, yeah.

Also the time of year when it gets very hard to get the beardie to settle down at bedtime. "But mom, I don't want to go to sleep -- the sun is still up!"
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thank you. :)
I am definitely over protective of her, that is for sure.

I hate going anywhere unless I absolutely have to. I am not much of a people person nor am I all that sociable unless it is someone or people I have known for quite a while. I am quite content staying indoors with my animals, kids, and playing some WoW. I don't think I would ever have 'cabin fever' but I suppose anything is possible.

I love looking at the snow and think it is quite beautiful as well, just as long as I don't have to be outside in it. When I was younger, I wouldn't of had a problem, but I seem to be getting 'picky' in my 'old age' as my kids remind me. Both my boys love the snow and would turn into popsicles if I didn't make them come inside.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Just something that I feel good about now:
A co-worker I used to work with became my best friend. We worked together for almost 2 years. To this day she is still my best friend and we talk constantly. Well, a package came for her today at my mailbox and she stopped to pick it up. (her and her family used to live here until they bought their new house and we took this one over.)
She is highly scared of reptiles, mostly snakes, but we live in West Virginia so we definitely don't have any wild lizards running around. I post pictures of Spike on my facebook and she is always commenting about how cute they are. Surprisingly, she asked if I could bring her outside. I did. Not only did she pet Spike, but even held her. She couldn't get over how 'cute' and 'friendly' Spike was.
I know, Spike isn't like a snake and honestly isn't anything to be scared of, but to her, that was a huge step and I am glad that I was able to give that experience to her. :)
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
So Spike gets to be a "good will ambassador" for people who are squeamish about reptiles. :D

Reminds me of a field biology class I took in California (long ago and far away in another time and another place and another life :roll: ) -- lots of wild lizards and snakes in that area. The instructor had a permit to collect and keep wild animals, and he had a number of snakes, some of which had become tame enough for the students to handle. We found a "rosy boa" on one of our field trips and brought him back to the lab. They tend to be docile, even the wild ones, so someone described him as a "nice little snake to fall in love with" for people who were afraid of snakes (just don't watch him go after a live mouse :shock: ).

Lots of people have a problem with reptiles -- I think human beings are predisposed to that by evolution because there was a time in the old cave man days when there were lots of reptiles around that were really dangerous, especially venomous snakes.

So maybe bearded dragons could be described as "a nice little lizard to fall in love with" for people who have a problem with lizards. :wink:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest profile posts

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

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,683
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom