Rusty, The Almighty Life Story
11/13/2019
Good Evening, Everyone.
About 8 years ago, I had a Bearded Dragon. His name was Checkers, and I had to give him to good family friend, since I was going to boot camp for the Marine Corps. I had him for about 5 years, and in that time, I was able to start a roach colony, and learn a lot of dragons. Sadly, Checkers suffered from tail rot, and had 3/4 of it amputated to save his life. I am unsure of Checkers' well being, because, honestly, I am too afraid to ask and hear the worst possible outcome.
I live away from home now, and my girlfriend and I are getting a new bearded dragon from a reputable breeder off Facebook. I have gone out and collected some wood and rocks from the forest around my house(check back for updates to see the wood and rocks I got), bathed them in a bleach and water solution, and baked them to get rid of any harsh chemicals left behind, and kill of any bacteria, and bugs.
I have purchased my roaches (from dubiaroaches.com) to start a roach colony, which should be coming in on Friday. I have the water crystals, and DIY roach chow ingredients (calcium (same stuff you dust your feeders with), dog food, and oatmeal). On Friday, the heat mat to keep the roaches warm will be in as well. Friday is also payday! I will be purchasing everything for the enclosure (40B, lamps and fixtures, substrate (slate tiles), and food/water dishes), 500 feeder roaches, and the dragon himself. I will have the dragon show up some time next week so I can make sure the entire enclosure is complete, and ready for a healthy dragon.
A good friend of mine used to breed dragons and used nothing but Steph's Dragons for his breeders, and never had an issue. She has an excellent selection of colors, and morphs. I have no doubts that I will be 100% satisfied with my purchase. According to Steph, this dragon is a Hypo Het Witblits Het Trans. I understand different morphs, but if some of you could explain what that morph means, I would really appreciate it.
So, this thread is going to be giving updates to Rusty's life in the Lillywhite residence. I will provide pictures as I get them, but in the meantime, please enjoy these pictures from the breeder of Rusty.
Feel free to leave questions, comments, and concerns with ANYTHING you see in this forum. I accept criticism (negative or positive) very well, so you won't hurt my feelings. It's very difficult to do.
11/15/2019 Update
Today, I ordered my bearded dragon, tiles, heating/lighting, and feeder roaches. I am picking up the 40 Gallon Breeder from my buddy on Sunday, and all the lighting/heating stuff, and the roaches will be here Monday. On Tuesday, Rusty will be home. Stay tuned for enclosure pictures!!
11/18/2019 Update
This morning, I went to my buddie's house to pick up the 40 Gallon Breeder. He gave me a ton of extras such as calcium (liquid and dry), a temperature probe, and roach chow. Yesterday, the UVB Fixture (Zilla desert 18in T8), UVB light (Reptisun 10.0), Heat Fixture (Zoo Med Deep Dome), and Food/Water dishes came in the mail.
I went out and bought a diamond angle grinder blade so I could cut my tile to fit, and man, does it look good. Have you ever done a DIY project, no matter how simple, then once you finished, you just end up looking at it for so long admiring your work? That was me with the tile cutting LOL. I layed the tile in, and put all the decor in the enclosure to get a feel for how it will look. The basking spot is sitting at 111°F, so I will probably move the basking spot down an inch or so and do another test. Let me know what you think!
I ordered 500 small dubias from ReptilianArts to feed to Rusty, but unfortunately, USPS' estimated delivery date is full of s***. They were supposed to be delivered today, but all I'm being told on the tracking is "In Transit, Arriving Late". I'm not too worried, because I have heard beardies sometimes don't eat right away due to relocation stress, but hopefully I can get them soon.
Tomorrow, the dragon will be delivered by noon, and the background for the tank will be delivered.
The roach colony isn't doing as well as I expected. Usually when I buy adults online, they are healthy and start having babies right away. I ordered 25 females, and 5 males, and already 3 males have died, and no females have had babies yet. I have only had them for a few days. I have contacted DubiaRoaches, in hopes they can help out. I have a heat mat under the plastic tote, and have them in a dark room where they don't get disturbed. I gave them oranges last night, and they haven't mowed through them, like I'm used to seeing. It could be since I only have about 100 dubias in the bin. Do y'all have any ideas as to why they aren't doing so well right away? Is it too soon to give any reason why?
I will post back tomorrow when I have Rusty, and he's in his new home. Stay tuned, and God Bless you all!
11/20/2019 Update
The update I've been waiting for!!
Rusty is home, and happy.
Yesterday, around 12:30, Rusty was delivered. He was packaged very nicely. A insulated box with a heat pack above him. He was in a bag, which I wasn't too keen about, but that may be what the norm is.
I tried feeding him yesterday, and he ate 2 roaches for the entire day. He has eaten 1 roach today. Probably just relocation stress. He is very active, which makes me happy. He is offered a fresh salad every day, but does not touch them. This is not the first beardie I have owned, so I know they can be a little stubborn with eating their salads.
His colors are a little dull in the pic because I had him out of his enclosure for about an hour before taking these pictures. When he's all warm, he is very bright.
He shows a very small amount of the witblit trait because the lower half of his tale is pure white. No pattern. Looks very cool. I can confirm he is a hypo because of the nails.
He was born on 9/26/19, so he is coming up on being 2 months old. He measures up at about 9 inches, and 19 grams. I would love if some EXPERIENCED beardie owners could take a look at some of the pics, and his size/weight ratio, and let me know what y'all think.
He's the cutest little guy. I am extremely satisfied with Stephanie Noeske on Facebook. She produces amazing dragons, great shipping, great customer service, and great prices.
Please enjoy the photos, and help me welcoming Rusty to the Lillywhite family.
Thank you for viewing, and God Bless You All!! I will update once a month with length and weight updates
11/13/2019
Good Evening, Everyone.
About 8 years ago, I had a Bearded Dragon. His name was Checkers, and I had to give him to good family friend, since I was going to boot camp for the Marine Corps. I had him for about 5 years, and in that time, I was able to start a roach colony, and learn a lot of dragons. Sadly, Checkers suffered from tail rot, and had 3/4 of it amputated to save his life. I am unsure of Checkers' well being, because, honestly, I am too afraid to ask and hear the worst possible outcome.
I live away from home now, and my girlfriend and I are getting a new bearded dragon from a reputable breeder off Facebook. I have gone out and collected some wood and rocks from the forest around my house(check back for updates to see the wood and rocks I got), bathed them in a bleach and water solution, and baked them to get rid of any harsh chemicals left behind, and kill of any bacteria, and bugs.
I have purchased my roaches (from dubiaroaches.com) to start a roach colony, which should be coming in on Friday. I have the water crystals, and DIY roach chow ingredients (calcium (same stuff you dust your feeders with), dog food, and oatmeal). On Friday, the heat mat to keep the roaches warm will be in as well. Friday is also payday! I will be purchasing everything for the enclosure (40B, lamps and fixtures, substrate (slate tiles), and food/water dishes), 500 feeder roaches, and the dragon himself. I will have the dragon show up some time next week so I can make sure the entire enclosure is complete, and ready for a healthy dragon.
A good friend of mine used to breed dragons and used nothing but Steph's Dragons for his breeders, and never had an issue. She has an excellent selection of colors, and morphs. I have no doubts that I will be 100% satisfied with my purchase. According to Steph, this dragon is a Hypo Het Witblits Het Trans. I understand different morphs, but if some of you could explain what that morph means, I would really appreciate it.
So, this thread is going to be giving updates to Rusty's life in the Lillywhite residence. I will provide pictures as I get them, but in the meantime, please enjoy these pictures from the breeder of Rusty.
Feel free to leave questions, comments, and concerns with ANYTHING you see in this forum. I accept criticism (negative or positive) very well, so you won't hurt my feelings. It's very difficult to do.
11/15/2019 Update
Today, I ordered my bearded dragon, tiles, heating/lighting, and feeder roaches. I am picking up the 40 Gallon Breeder from my buddy on Sunday, and all the lighting/heating stuff, and the roaches will be here Monday. On Tuesday, Rusty will be home. Stay tuned for enclosure pictures!!
11/18/2019 Update
This morning, I went to my buddie's house to pick up the 40 Gallon Breeder. He gave me a ton of extras such as calcium (liquid and dry), a temperature probe, and roach chow. Yesterday, the UVB Fixture (Zilla desert 18in T8), UVB light (Reptisun 10.0), Heat Fixture (Zoo Med Deep Dome), and Food/Water dishes came in the mail.
I went out and bought a diamond angle grinder blade so I could cut my tile to fit, and man, does it look good. Have you ever done a DIY project, no matter how simple, then once you finished, you just end up looking at it for so long admiring your work? That was me with the tile cutting LOL. I layed the tile in, and put all the decor in the enclosure to get a feel for how it will look. The basking spot is sitting at 111°F, so I will probably move the basking spot down an inch or so and do another test. Let me know what you think!
I ordered 500 small dubias from ReptilianArts to feed to Rusty, but unfortunately, USPS' estimated delivery date is full of s***. They were supposed to be delivered today, but all I'm being told on the tracking is "In Transit, Arriving Late". I'm not too worried, because I have heard beardies sometimes don't eat right away due to relocation stress, but hopefully I can get them soon.
Tomorrow, the dragon will be delivered by noon, and the background for the tank will be delivered.
The roach colony isn't doing as well as I expected. Usually when I buy adults online, they are healthy and start having babies right away. I ordered 25 females, and 5 males, and already 3 males have died, and no females have had babies yet. I have only had them for a few days. I have contacted DubiaRoaches, in hopes they can help out. I have a heat mat under the plastic tote, and have them in a dark room where they don't get disturbed. I gave them oranges last night, and they haven't mowed through them, like I'm used to seeing. It could be since I only have about 100 dubias in the bin. Do y'all have any ideas as to why they aren't doing so well right away? Is it too soon to give any reason why?
I will post back tomorrow when I have Rusty, and he's in his new home. Stay tuned, and God Bless you all!
11/20/2019 Update
The update I've been waiting for!!
Rusty is home, and happy.
Yesterday, around 12:30, Rusty was delivered. He was packaged very nicely. A insulated box with a heat pack above him. He was in a bag, which I wasn't too keen about, but that may be what the norm is.
I tried feeding him yesterday, and he ate 2 roaches for the entire day. He has eaten 1 roach today. Probably just relocation stress. He is very active, which makes me happy. He is offered a fresh salad every day, but does not touch them. This is not the first beardie I have owned, so I know they can be a little stubborn with eating their salads.
His colors are a little dull in the pic because I had him out of his enclosure for about an hour before taking these pictures. When he's all warm, he is very bright.
He shows a very small amount of the witblit trait because the lower half of his tale is pure white. No pattern. Looks very cool. I can confirm he is a hypo because of the nails.
He was born on 9/26/19, so he is coming up on being 2 months old. He measures up at about 9 inches, and 19 grams. I would love if some EXPERIENCED beardie owners could take a look at some of the pics, and his size/weight ratio, and let me know what y'all think.
He's the cutest little guy. I am extremely satisfied with Stephanie Noeske on Facebook. She produces amazing dragons, great shipping, great customer service, and great prices.
Please enjoy the photos, and help me welcoming Rusty to the Lillywhite family.
Thank you for viewing, and God Bless You All!! I will update once a month with length and weight updates
