It's been almost 2 years!!!

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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:
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Throughout the month:
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New tank:
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Cuteness:
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10 minutes ago, waking up and warming up:
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Sorry for all of the pictures! ^-^ :D
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I know their shed has to be uncomfortable, but I find it adorable when she rubs up against things like a cat or something, but I can heard her scales in the process. Does that make sense? Haha. I think she is working on her belly as she keeps crawling across her rocks and rubbing her tummy too. Every time she rubs against something, it reminds me of like a sandpaper kind of sound.
So far, she has shed everything but her belly, back, and tail. This will be her second shed since I have had her.

I definitely have to admit that I enjoyed my visit to Petsmart. It was quite different than Petco, that is for sure. I could tell that their animals were a lot better cared for too. Plus, they had a few amazing isles dedicated to lizards, which was a little overwhelming compared to what I am used to. And I had to go down the doggy ones, too. My pooches love cow hoofs, so I brought them back some too.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Yep -- it sounds like dry leaves crackling (or sandpaper) when they crawl over something with their shedding skin, or when you pick them up, unless they've just had a good soak.

"Daddy" gave Puff his bath today and when he was in the water I was able to slip a finger under the shedding skin on his back where it was coming loose at one edge and cut it in half down the middle with a pair of blunt tipped manicure scissors so the water could get in under there and help it come off at the sides where it's still firmly attached. I tried to be very careful not to pull on it too much and not (of course) to cut anything other than loose skin, but I hoped it would help make him a little more comfortable a little sooner. Now he looks like he has "wings", but the new skin underneath looks very nice.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Sorry I have been MIA and not replied. Sadly, my laptop is no more due to a cup of coffee in my keyboard. (Ugh.) So, until I can hopefully get another one, I am borrowing the Hubby's, which, compared to mine, I do not like too well; but at least it still works and is SLOWLY doing what I need it to.

My oldest son got 4 different awards from school on Friday (his last day of first grade), so for a reward from us, he chose to go to Kennywood, an amusement park about an hour and a half away. Needless to say, Spike is NOT a happy dragon today.
My mom agreed to come and feed her for me since Spike is now used to her. However, she refused to eat at all yesterday. This morning, since we are home, she ate 30 small dubias for me, but is still sporting her not so happy colors and stress marks. (SLOWLY fading)

Haha. Every dragon needs a set of wings! :)

Spike loved having me gently rub under her chin and along the side of her mouth, around her spikes when she was shedding. She'd close her eyes and fall asleep on me though. Lol
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
You and me both -- we recently had a "death" :wink: in the family -- old computer. First the graphics card went out and my husband found an old one to replace it with, but then the internal power supply died and that pretty much put an end to it. It was 13 years old -- pretty geriatric for a computer. My husband can keep them running for a long time, but there are limits. Fortunately, we have another somewhat newer one and I was able to "move in" without too much disruption, and he has a laptop, so we still have "his and hers" computers for the time being. I've told him that since he's so good at making a "silk purse out of a sow's ear" (in other words, he can get a couple of old computers out of a trash can, take them all apart and put together one that works), our place in the electronic ecosystem is not to have the latest and greatest, but to use up last year's models until they're ready for the recycle bin. :mrgreen:

Congratulations to your son for doing so well in school. Hopefully Spike will forgive you for not including her in the celebration. :roll:

One of Puff's "wings" came off during his bedtime cuddle the other night, and the other one came off in his bath the next day, so he's all done with his latest shed except for a few odd scales here and there, and his new skin looks very nice. :)
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I haven't decided if I want to get another one or not. I can obviously use the Hubby's, but I am not a huge fan. On the outside it looked identical to mine, but once you actually open it, it is build differently.

I bet he was adorable with his little scaly wings!

I do believe Spike has forgiven me, for the most part.
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I took her outside yesterday in the amazing weather we had. She wasn't keen on me holding her this time like I usually do when outside with her, but I used one of my big plastic tubs and put one of her favorite rocks in with her. She was pretty content for the hour we were outside. And, I noticed that while in the sun, she has a lot more bright orange on her head than I ever noticed inside the house; not that I am complaining. Haha, just something I found quite interesting.

P.s.
the 26th has made exactly 2 months of Spike being with us. (Late, I know.) She is sitting at 48 grams and just hit 10 inches! That really doesn't seem all that big to me, but look back to when I first brought her home, she has grown a lot!
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
We meant to take a picture of Puff with his "wings" before they came off, but never got around to it. Oh well. There will probably be other opportunities. He tends to get pretty artistic with his sheds. :laughing6:

It's getting almost warm enough around here to take him outside, but there are usually so few warm days that he doesn't get out often enough to be used to it. I don't see the happy colors when we take him outside -- he usually turns all black. I think it's just all too strange to him ("See that big bright thing up there in the sky, Puff? That ain't no Reptisun 10.0 fluorescent tube -- that's the real deal." but he's like "Ok -- whatever. Can we go back inside now? I don't feel safe out here...") But some of them do enjoy being outside and get brightly colored when they're out in the sun.

I've never raised one from a baby, but I understand that they can eat a ton of bugs and grow really fast when you're not looking.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
And my laptop is up and running again! Haha. It is actually working just fine, other than my one shift key sticks a bit, but hey, at least it is working! ^-^

Spike is turning that pale yellow color on her belly and underneath her tail. I think those will be the next things she works on shedding.

I have had Spike for a little over 2 months now. She is 48 grams and 10 inches. I am almost wondering if she wasn't as old as initially thought when we got her, but the local pet store never got back to me with her age and the guy working could only tell me that she was one of the fastest growing babies they had, hence she was in a separate tank from the smaller ones.

I think I spoiled her. Little booger won't eat unless I hand feed her. (Which is why I think she wouldn't eat for my mom the other day.) I tried putting her in a plastic tub to feed her, thinking she would just go after the bugs and eat, but that never happened. Unless I hold it up to her nose, she won't eat. The hubby says I spoiled her from the get go. :/

She doesn't really eat as much as I thought she would, honestly. I buy the 500 count of Jumbo BSFL from Symtoms and they are just the perfect size for her and she loves them; in about 10 minutes she will normally eat 15-25 of them before running off (needing a few small breaks here and there). Now, I also buy her the small dubias, to which she normally eats about 20-30 of, depending on the size, some are bigger and some are smaller. And I tried feeding her three times a day like is suggested, but that was a no go, too. Heck, just after she is finished with her normal 2 feedings a day, her little tummy always looks like it is so full. Lol. She is quite the cute, little fatty dragon after feedings.

I am not sure how much she weighed or how long she was when I first got her, but I can honestly say, she was quite small, basically only being the size, length wise, of my out stretched hand, finger tips to my wrist. So, if I would have to guess, or measured my hand, I would have to say possibly 5-7 inches when I got her. She is growing nicely, though. I find it hard to imagine what size she might be once she becomes an adult. Right now, I am going to assume she is possibly 3-4 months old. Possibly. Somewhere around there, at least.
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
I actually just got done posting about my new baby's stats after her first month. You'll have to edit your title to its been two months!!

When I got Alucard I'm guessing she was about two months old, was 8.5" and 32g. She's at 10.5" and 72g after her first month. I think she's going to be a big one.

5"-7" I'd guess to be about a month to a month and a half old. Richter started at 6.75" and I'm guessing he was probably about a month and a half old and that's how I'm judging his age. I didn't start weighing him until months later.

The danger of hand feeding is too real regarding spoiling them, but I totally do it, too...
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Haha. I guess I do need to update the title.

Oh. Now, I must go be nosy and read your thread.

I know it is probably a bad habit to start, the hand feeding, I mean, but that is just me. I am a very hands on kind of person and always have been. I did it with my kids; I did it with my dogs, and now I am doing it with Spike, too.

My boys are pretty independent now, being 7 and 3, almost 8 and 4 (other than cooking, obviously), my dogs are 3 and a half and 2 and a half, so Spike is really the only baby baby I have left. Haha. I don't mind hand feeding her, especially since that way I know she is actually eating and how much is being eaten. Once she is a little bigger and older, I am probably going to try and stop hand feeding as much, but knowing me, it is going to be difficult and I am still going to want to all the time.
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
What started it for me was Richter was a very scrawny baby and had mobility issues, so after a week of him not eating on his own I had to start syringe feeding him critical care. Once his appetite kicked in, I was still afraid he wasn't eating enough and began offering by hand, or even placing him at his food bowl and poking the roaches to make them run. Eventually the roaches got big as he grew up, and were able to escape the bowl and hide, so to prevent this I started hand feeding again. oi.
I'm better about it with Alucard but I feel the main reason I do it is so that the bugs don't run and hide. She's really good about chasing her food, but some are super quick.

I'm not a parent so my pets are my kids, but the dragons are really the only ones a spoil
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I know what you mean about the bugs running really fast. When I was still using crickets, Spike had a very difficult time catching them and then eventually she just gave up trying, even though they were super small.
Then, once I gave up on crickets and started using dubias, she wouldn't even bother to try and chase them. It was like she had no interest. Then, went through a period where she wasn't eating at all for about 4 days. Me, worrying like always, said screw it, and just started offering them by hand. I figure it was probably due to being hungry that she finally ate, but it made me feel better knowing she was willing to take them from my hands. And I just kept doing it and still do as she has no interest in them unless I am holding them.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
So, just something interesting I wanted to share.
On the 31st, I weighed Spike, she was 48 grams and 10 inches long.

In one of my earlier posts, I stated that I have never been able to get Spike to eat 3 times a day. Yesterday, she made a liar out of me; she ate 3 times a day and stuffed herself until I thought her tummy was going to pop! I thought I had a chubby dragon before, but boy was I wrong.
The new order of dubia arrived yesterday morning, to which she had to perch up on her log, and watch as I took them out of the box and put them into their new home, licking her lips the whole time.

She ate 3 times for me yesterday and left a giant poop before bed time. I woke up this morning to an active, spunky, chunky dragon, running back and worth, waiting for breakfast. As I was getting her bugs ready, she pooped again. So, figuring her stomach was probably empty, I decided to weigh her before giving her breakfast.

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In basically 4 days, she has gained almost 10 grams. I am slightly shocked. Her appetite is going crazy! (Not that I am complaining!) Growth spurt, maybe? I don't know, but I am curious to see if she will eat 3 times for me again today, too.

Edit:
Someone doesn't like to hold still, but this is as good as it gets, haha.
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traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
She must have heard your backsass about her eating habits and thought she'd catch you off guard! Little piggy :)
Alucard gives me the "OMG food time" stare when I grab the roach bin. She also loves to poop in her food bowl which forces me to have to bleach it clean, and feed her by hand. I think she does it on purpose!

Spike could definitely be in a growth spurt, or maybe this batch of roaches are just extra tasty.

I always weigh and measure my team at night so they basically just plop in place, all sleepy. Neither of them can sit still sitting the daytime
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
She definitely caught me odd guard, that is for sure! Lol.
They must be extra tasty or something.
I used to take her out of her tank and into the bedroom to feed her in peace, but since yesterday, she has been perching up on top of her one basking rock and holding her mouth open wide as soon as she sees me grab the bin of roaches. It reminds me of a child waiting on their next bite. As soon as she is done chewing and swallowing, she opens wide for me to pop another one in. Haha. I probably find it more amusing than she does. And once full, she just climbs off her rock and goes about her business. I am not sure what sparked this change, but whatever floats her boat, I suppose.
 
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