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
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
I bet that tape measure feels a lot better for her, too. I never even tried with the stiff tape.

I have to weigh and measure Alucard when she's sleepy, she's too scrambly otherwise. As soon as I plop her down it's like trying to catch a wet bar of soap sometimes. She isn't out of the enclosure much when awake because Richter harasses her from a distance.
I'll need to create a curtain of some sort so he can't see her out and about.

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He went full blackbeard yesterday he was so upset she was out looking through the window.
That's his window
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Aw. Poor guy. I don't blame him for being a little upset, but he does need to share sometimes, too!

I was helping my Dad do some major cleaning of is house yesterday, so I missed weigh in. I'll probably end up doing it tonight once Spike gets sleepy.

I ended up buying a 'no escapee' feeder dish for Spike. I haven't been to the pet stores or anywhere to buy anything new and the bowls I had weren't tall enough to keep them roaches inside.
I am TRYING to get Spike to eat from a bowl. I do not mind hand feeding her, but in the near future I won't be home and my mom is going to come and feed her for me. She refuses to touch the roaches so hand feeding is a no go. So far, Spike is taking an interest in watching the bug from her basking spot, but hasn't actually attempted to go down and eat them... not even if I hold the bowl out to her. Bleh. I feel like such a bad slave right now. I just want to pick them up and feed them to her, darn it! >.<

**EDIT**
I look over and this is what I see.
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I think she might have attempted to get one, which is why it is upside down, but I am not sure. I only seen her sitting by the bowl, not actually in action. The darn bug, for all I know, could have just fallen over. Also, I have no idea why those roaches look so big, cause they really aren't. Must have been the way I had the camera. You can also see the smudge on the front of her tank where Xander keeps putting his nose. Haha.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Haha. She does look quite happy with herself.
Unfortunately, once I noticed her, she stopped whatever it was she was thinking about and decided the bugs weren't worth it.
I have a feeling this might be a little harder than I thought.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
That harness looks like it's pretty sophisticated, and she doesn't seem to mind it. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that you had lousy weather the day you got it because it gave you a chance to try it out indoors and see if it was going to work before you took her outside with it.

Good luck refereeing the window wars, Traildrifter. :lol:

Our beardie has been having a heck of a time catching his roaches in the plastic storage tub we'd been feeding him in, so I tried putting them in a little dish and just letting him eat them on his basking platform, and that seems to work better as long as I can keep track of all of them because the dish is shallow enough so they can escape, but they're pretty easy to catch. (I don't like to leave live bugs running around in his tank.) Puff has always been a pretty lousy shot with his tongue, but it's been getting worse lately. The dish is actually a plastic lid from one of those large jars of nuts like you get at Costco, but it seems to make it easier for him.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
It actually wasn't so bad to put on her. I like the little bead on the front, too. It makes it very easy to adjust around her beard. I didn't want that part too snug as I didn't want her to puff up all the time, so the part behind her front legs was decently snug, but not overly, I kept checking to make sure.

She had a field day outside.
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And when we came inside and I put her back in her tank, she came over to the cool side, by my desk, and this is what I got:
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I am pretty sure her smile says it all. :D

Spike eating out of the new bug dish is... a work in progress. She obviously 'bullied' the one (haha!) but that was as far as it went. I am hoping if I wait her out long enough she will get hungry and just start eating out of the bowl. I am hoping anyway!
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Weigh in!
Sleepy dragon = compliant dragon :D

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Only gained 6 grams this time. Hm.

I definitely didn't realize this didn't START on 0.... I couldn't figure out how she LOST an inch... then I realized. Haha. She is still 12 inches. She was laying with her nose directly on the 0 mark, but moved when she saw the headlights outside the window. :p

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Now it is bed time and she is more than ready!
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SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Aww-w -- such cute pictures. :love5:

So did she try to eat any of that giant salad she got to run around in?
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
There was one random dandelion that she managed to find in the yard, but it didn't last long. Haha.
My boys started picking them for her about a month or so ago and she absolutely loves them. Since she is still little veggies don't interest her any, but those definitely do.

Right now I am in a stand off. I and trying to get her to eat on her own without me hand feeding her. So far, she is being quite stubborn and refusing. Yesterday she didn't eat anything and today so far, nothing.
I think I am slowly winning, though. She keeps eyeing the bugs in the bowl and licking the air a few times, but then looks at me like, "Why aren't you bringing my food to me!" Even if I hold the bowl up to her nose, she eyeballs the bugs, looks at me, then sticks her nose in the air. So, yeah.
I even tried tempting her by throwing in a butterworm. I and TRYING to stay strong!
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
You're lucky there's at least one green thing she's learned to like. Dandelion greens are very good for them. :D

I think I would have given in and kept hand feeding her a long time ago...
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
She seems to enjoy them. Plus, the boys like to twirl the flower part of it real slow for her, just to watch her eyes light up. It is quite cute.

Well, I tried, and I failed. Literally. I even left the house to run a few errands, leaving the bugs in the bowl, but it was a no go. And I gave in, last night to be exact. I just couldn't anymore. While I was out with my Dad, helping him, all I could think about was whether or not she ate. And when I got home, the bugs were still in her bowl.
I am going to buy a pair of feeding tongs. Mom REFUSES to actually touch the roaches, but said she would still feed Spike for me if she could use tongs. Now, the question is, can I get her to actually eat if I use them. I suppose I shall find out.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Spike has been quite the character today.

Staring at the hornworms on my laptop screen (I was ordering more bugs):
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Being proud of taking over my laptop:
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Defeated the evil egg crate!:
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I couldn't even clean out the bug bin without some assistance.

Floor time in the computer room:
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And because SOMEONE didn't want to go back in her tank, she thought she had an escape route, UP!:
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(No, I didn't let her stay on the screen to her lid. I did remove her and was careful of her little nails and toes!) Also, what Spike failed to realize, is if I had let her climb all the way up the screen, she would have ended up right back in her tank as the lid is leaning against the side of it.

Oh! And I am pretty sure Spike is attracted to the color blue. I painted my nails today to a metalic blue. They were a pink/sparkly color before. She never once licked the pink color, but today she is all about trying out every one of my nails. Haha. And with the hornworm picture on my screen, she licked it a few times, too. (I ordered more bugs today; roaches and small hornworms.)
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
After not wanting to go back in her tank after floor time, SOMEONE pooped on their purple camo hammock so I put in her jungle gym log so I could wash her hammock.
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And now, it is cuddle time since I seem to have such a sleepy dragon. Floor time must have worn her out!
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She is out! I even moved around in my chair, answered and talked to my Mom on the phone for 30 minutes, even shifted my legs (I sit indian style all the time), and she never budged, not even to peek her eyes open! Spike did her little wiggle and that was it. <3
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I went to the pet store today as I needed a few things. My youngest was with me and he was quite fascinated with the birds. Well, right across the isle is the aquarium/reptile decor. He saw these two pieces of logs, riverwood, so the tag said and they were only $9.99 a piece. The tag also had a picture of a bearded dragon on it. He tossed them in the buggy and said, "For Spike." Needless to say, I gave in and she now has two new logs in her tank.
She had two other logs and a branch like thing but didn't seem to like them. I think they were grape vine and she wouldn't even sit on them, so now there are tucked away in the shelves below her tank because I have no idea what to do with them. :/

Also, while we were out, she decided to poop and then apparently play in it, which is quite odd for her. She is a little perturbed at me right now because she got a nice, long, warm bath and then a gentle scrub with a tooth brush to get her clean.
This is the result and her two new logs that she actually seems to like. (I moved her basking rock over to see if putting them under her basking light would get her to want to use them and so far, it has.)
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(For some reason the flash on my phone made this picture have a red tint to it. :/)
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Last night before bed I got all kinds of cuddles!
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And once a week, normally on Mondays, I take everything out of her tank so I can scrub it down. Her tile are little 2x2 squares as Home Depot didn't have anything else that would easily fit her size tank, so I pull them up as well and scrub those, too. This is the look I got this morning as I was getting ready to start cleaning.
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