The Long Wait is Over. Introducing...

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ComicBookMama

Sub-Adult Member
Oooh! I am late on the uptake, having been preoccupied with work and stuff, but a big congratulations on adding Zardoz to the family! Glad your DW if warming up to him, even if she isn't big on his feeders. My DH is absolutely astonished with how much Figment eats, and asked me today about the ratio of dubias to crickets he has been/ should be eating. I am now a regular fixture at Petco, to the point that when I went in to get the dog's nails clipped today, they saw me coming and bagged up a hundred medium crickets without being asked to do so...

Love the name and the reason behind it, and can't blame you for having issues with Petco over the UVB fiasco. That really is beyond the beyond. I love the whole SuperDragon identity! If I was a better artist, I'd make you a sketch. The hab looks awesome and I can't wait to see more pics of the little dude as he grows! Hope he's everything you've been hoping for and more!

~Chris :)
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
Thanks Chris,

All I wanted was healthy and as spikey/"wild looking" as I could find, but with all the cross-/in-breeding that's gone on with these fellers, the wild is getting rare. At least he's healthy & spikey.

DW should have been named Gail (she's not). Gale: A natural force to be reckoned with.
She's been as frustrated & PO'd as I have, but her gifts/talents are different. She got on the phone and manged to get the $15 for Next Day Delivery back from Petco, and free shipping to make up for the fiasco. She also got a shipping voucher out of Amazon for returning the T8 bulbs (they now claim our order was mixed up with a similar order) and got the money back for the defective T5 from the local pet shop (the least hassle of the bunch). We're supposed to get the T5s tomorrow, but the way things have been going we're not holding our breath.

It's getting about time to find a supplier & order more Dubias and some "treat"/variety feeders--I'm thinking small superworms, waxworms, not sure what else. The first tub of 100 Dubias actually had over 200 in it, and it looks like the 2nd will be similar. We got them quite reasonably ($5 for 100) at the reptile show, compared to prices I've been seeing online. Some purveyors are claiming there's some kind of national shortage on Dubias??? Makes no sense--others are having sales because they're overstocked (overbred).

Found this online...
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ComicBookMama

Sub-Adult Member
MrSpectrum":3fw3y00o said:
All I wanted was healthy and as spikey/"wild looking" as I could find, but with all the cross-/in-breeding that's gone on with these fellers, the wild is getting rare. At least he's healthy & spikey.

In the end, I guess that's the best we can all hope for! I thought of you today at the NY Metro Reptile Expo - I saw a couple of dragons who were very dark and wild looking in coloration; wish I'd taken a pic! But I bet your little guy will be the apple of your eye in no time, wild looking or no.

MrSpectrum":3fw3y00o said:
DW should have been named Gail (she's not). Gale: A natural force to be reckoned with.
She's been as frustrated & PO'd as I have, but her gifts/talents are different. She got on the phone and manged to get the $15 for Next Day Delivery back from Petco, and free shipping to make up for the fiasco. She also got a shipping voucher out of Amazon for returning the T8 bulbs (they now claim our order was mixed up with a similar order) and got the money back for the defective T5 from the local pet shop (the least hassle of the bunch). We're supposed to get the T5s tomorrow, but the way things have been going we're not holding our breath.

Yeesh, what a debacle. Glad your DW is the go-get-em type! You definitely deserve the free shipping, and more! Hope the T5 comes in as promised, and you can put all this behind you - and your mind will be at ease once you've got the UV in place.

MrSpectrum":3fw3y00o said:
It's getting about time to find a supplier & order more Dubias and some "treat"/variety feeders--I'm thinking small superworms, waxworms, not sure what else. The first tub of 100 Dubias actually had over 200 in it, and it looks like the 2nd will be similar. We got them quite reasonably ($5 for 100) at the reptile show, compared to prices I've been seeing online. Some purveyors are claiming there's some kind of national shortage on Dubias??? Makes no sense--others are having sales because they're overstocked (overbred).

$5 for a hundred???? I need to find something like that... dubiaroaches.com is one of the ones saying there's a nationwide dubia shortage, and the prices online for dubias all seem to be around the same (at least in the places I'm looking). The nice thing about dr.com is their variety packs... those seem to be nicely priced, and have some of the things you're looking for - my juvie pack came with 100 medium dubias, 50 small superworms, and 200 BSFL for $31 plus shipping.

Let us know when you find a dealer you like - I'll want to check them out, too!

Best wishes to you and the family -

Chris
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
I got up a little late this morning. Went to feed the zard, and found the l'il AH standing vertically in his bug dish (front feet on a rock next to the dish) taking a poop. I hope he wasn't trying to tell me something, because he only delayed his feeding further while I cleaned & sanitized the bowl.
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
MrSpectrum":1hufn6b4 said:
I got up a little late this morning. Went to feed the zard, and found the l'il AH standing vertically in his bug dish (front feet on a rock next to the dish) taking a poop. I hope he wasn't trying to tell me something, because he only delayed his feeding further while I cleaned & sanitized the bowl.
Another first... After running today's errands, we came home to find he'd pooped again.
First time he's done it twice in one day! He did eat more than usual yesterday, but at the time I thought it was because he'd been eating a little less the 2 previous days, or he was eating a few more because he's a growing boy...

...More stones to scrub & sanitize.

Speaking of sanitizing... At first, I was scrubbing the "stained" stones under running water, then disinfecting w/ 91% Isopropyl, then a couple of spray squirts with Natures Miracle for Small Animals (including reptiles). Recently, I've switched the order, using the NM followed by the Isopropyl. I'm thinking about trying one of the veterinary disinfectants, e.g. F10sc, Rescue One-Step, Biosentry, Betadine, etc. There are so many! Guess it's time for a chat with some veterinary friends/acquaintances...
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
ZaRDoZ in all his sexy-legged glory...

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Now his tail is bright, and the rest of him is hazy, except for the very tip of his nose--probably skinned off diving at dubias in his bug bowl.... (And still got that attitude/look...)
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
Put ZaRDoZ in his new (5x2x2) enclosure this morning, after warming it up all night. It's not quite finished, but we have the tub he's been living in for when I need to work further on the enclosure. He seems to be taking to it well--no stress spot darkening. He scampers back & forth, checking everything out multiple times and tasting everything.

I was watching a Boston Dynamics vid on YT, when DW said, "He's head-bobbing, and I think he's trying to display his beard." I immediately paused the vid and got up to check it out. Sure enough, he'd climbed up on one of the planters and was bobbing his head at the echeveria in front of him. It also looked to me like he was trying to display his beard (but no darkening). I have no idea at what age this behavior might begin, but as he didn't seem stressed, I just kept watching. I figured he might be getting ready to destroy the echeveria, but that didn't happen (I know... just wait). Pretty soon he jumped off the echeveria and scampered to the far side of the enclosure, checking out the rest of the plants/planters and darting in & out behind each one he could fit behind.

DW just called that he found his basking rock, and he just pooped over the side, so (for now) all is right with the world.

..Or not; this movement was pretty watery. Not diarrhea, but watery. Maybe a little stress.

Gave him some salad for breakfast (hoping the change might get him to try some). :dontknow:

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MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
OK, we just found a pebble (from one of the planters) on the enclosure floor, so he's at least been in/on a planter. Can't tell if it was accidental or intentional. Stay tuned...
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
Everybody Sing!...


  • I'm too sexy for my rock
    Too sexy for my rock
    So sexy it hurts...
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Still a little flaky from the shed, he got his first bath...

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A look that could kill. He tried really hard to puff up & flash his beard, but still (I think) too little.
Still darkened his shoulder stress spots though. He calmed down after a few minutes in the warm (105°F) water. I didn't know it before, but temp guns work on water! 8) Taking a read on ice is used to calibrate them.

DW found a super-soft toothbrush (she says it feels like brushing your teeth with a sponge)...
After being in the nice warm water for a few minutes, just touching the remaining flakes of dried dead skin and they came off on the brush--no brushing/movement required.

After his bath, pat-drying in a soft paper towel, and a few minutes of basking, he's glorious again--'tude & all...

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MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
Caught him in the act! (Maybe there's hope)

So far (as far as I can tell) Zardoz hasn't touched any salad, except the one small piece I tricked him into by putting it in a forceps and wiggling it in front of him, and he isn't falling for that one again--I just get dirty looks.

But yesterday I caught him jumping up on one of the planters and eating a leaf off of one of the beardie-safe plants in the enclosure. Sneaky.
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
_
Success!

After an epic battle of wills yesterday (offering only salad all day, getting dirty looks, and the ol' "lizard eye"), Zardoz broke down this morning and ate some salad. I didn't see it, but DW called in saying, "he's eating that plant again." When I came in to see, it appeared there wasn't as much salad piled up in his bowl, and there were some greens draped across the rim of said bowl. He was indeed eating some of the Jet Beads (Sedeveria x hybrida) he'd sampled a couple days ago. Hopefully, I'll be able to persuade him to prefer the salad and dissuade him from the Sedeveria--we'll just have to see.

I disinfected some bricks I had in the basement, but the bleach smell hasn't dissipated yet. When it does, I'll build a structure to allow him to climb closer to the UVB.
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
He's Growing!

Well, the rest of his shed went well. He was stunning for about 3 days, and then his tail started getting cloudy again. I guess he's going to be one of those... :roll:

He is growing (not too sure at first--postal scales aren't as accurate as it takes, and length is hard to get due to squirminess. But looking at his journal entries...

Date: November 2, 2019
Age: ~5 Weeks (according to breeder)
Weight: ~15 mg. (too light to weigh accurately)
Length: ~7 in. (too squirmy to measure accurately)

Date: November 10, 2019
Age: ~6 Weeks (according to breeder)
Weight: ~20 mg. (too light to weigh accurately)
Length: ~7 in. (too squirmy to measure accurately)

Date: November 16, 2019
Age: ~7 Weeks (according to breeder)
Weight: ~20 mg.
Length: ~7 ½ in.

Date: November 23, 2019
Age: ~8 Weeks (according to breeder)
Weight: ~30 mg.
Length: ~8 in.

I think he's doing OK(?) For this age(?)
Anyway, he acts good! Now if I could only get him to eat his greens/veggies... KIDS! :lol:
 
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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.

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