Mario's Super World

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Taking inspiration from other members, I figured this forum would be a good place to catalogue the life of Mario!

Obligatory picture of cuteness
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Background
Mario is my daughter's dragon. She has been wanting one since Christmas, but I did NOT feel comfortable about keeping a creature in a box for our entertainment. My wife and I agreed that if she could prove herself responsible from the new year until her 10th birthday, we would get her a beardie with the understanding that she would be the one feeding it, bathing it, and cleaning out its enclosure. In the meantime I would do the research to talk her out of getting a reptile.

How valuable research is! We discovered this amazing community of helpful folks that eventually changed my mind about these awesome creatures. The images of sad, sick lizards in tiny boxes that I remembered my friends having in school were quickly replaced by amazing tales of companionship among beardies and their servants (the humans!)

It turns out my daughter was serious about getting a BD. She cleaned her room without asking, did chores without complaining, and helped her younger siblings, all with a smile on her face. About a month ago I started the real research of husbandry and laid out the roadwork for our new family member.

Mario's 1st Friend
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Mario's 2nd Friend
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So we got him! Knowing that this was quite a lot to take on, my wife and I budgeted all the supplies over 4 pay periods. We slowly built a collection of roaches, building supplies, lights and fixtures, and other accouterment. It has all been worth it, as you can see!

Exploring His New Home
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He's starting to settle in nicely and doesn't seem the least bit phased about the chaos in our house. He lives on top of a bookcase in a highly traveled area, basking right near the window so he can keep an eye on us!

Keeping an Eye on His Subjects
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Mario has eaten twice. Yesterday afternoon, about 18 hours after bringing him home, he gobbled 12 Dubia roaches in about 1 minute! He went very dark, scrambled onto his rock, and basked there until the lights went out. In the morning he was in the exact same place! :lol:

Collard Greens, Squash, and Cucumber
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This morning my daughter started his regular routine. Again, he scarfed down 12 roaches in about a minute before climbing onto the hammock and eyeing the food bowl. After 5 minutes or so of this he decided he was full and scampered over to his basking spot.

Mario's "Murder Pit"
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Post-Feeding Posing
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That's all for now! My daughter will try bathing him tomorrow, and while he is out and about we're going to weigh him again. Let's see what the math looks like...6 grams + ~50 roaches = :?:
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
It's been a couple weeks, but Mario is growing!

He is 12g, 7.5 inches long, and about 16 weeks, if we figure he was 4 weeks when we got him. He's gained 2.5 inches and doubled in weight!

Can we talk about shed? IT'S CRAZY!! One time I walked by and thought his whole knee had exploded! He moved before I could snap picture, but my wife got this one:
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He loves his dubias and BSFL. Might start experimenting with other feeders soon. He likes most greens, especially kale and collards. The kids have been giving him dandelions and he gets squash every day, sometimes carrots. My daughter is currently frustrated because Mario will take a BSFL from my wife, but not her! :lol:

A while ago I was wondering when he would start eating more, and boy-oh-boy! He sure is scarfing bugs now! A few weeks ago he was eating 40-60 bugs a week. The last few weeks he has eaten over 100 bugs a week! Really glad I got that roach colony started...

He still sleeps funky, too! Can you spot the Mario?
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-Ian
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
It seems like Mario has been so little forever!!! :) But he is definitely growing---- and it wont be long and he WILL not be able to sleep in that plant!! :lol:
Karrie
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":81kb4lcm said:
It seems like Mario has been so little forever!!! :) But he is definitely growing---- and it wont be long and he WILL not be able to sleep in that plant!! :lol:
Karrie

No kidding! I’ve started wondering if he was actually a lot younger when we got him.
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Well, Mario gained 4g in one week! :shock:

He also had his first foray into the outside!
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I think we absolutely freaked his bean! He went perfectly still, eyes wide as dinner plates! When he finally looked around, the giant light bulb in the sky captured his attention for a solid 20 minutes. Look at the intensity of that stare!
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The funny thing is, he's still so small that the grass buoyed him up! My daughter picked him up and put him down in it to see if he would move at all...but he looked like a toddler dropped into a ball pit!

Of course I read about putting his outdoor enclosure near the door to let him acclimate to the wide world for a few days after I just plopped him in the middle of the yard. :roll: Oh well. We may have accidentally exploded is brain and his conception of reality, but it happens to us all eventually! :lol:

-Ian
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
I don't see no blackbeard or darkness so apparently it didn't stress him with his new adventure. ? I'm sure he'll adjust quickly, seems like they usually do. Can't believe how much he's grown. Adorable! ❤
-Dee
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
DragonPete":1vv4m840 said:
I don't see no blackbeard or darkness so apparently it didn't stress him with his new adventure. ? I'm sure he'll adjust quickly, seems like they usually do. Can't believe how much he's grown. Adorable! ❤
-Dee

He had another trip out yesterday and started exploring a bit. I think he'll really enjoy it eventually. And you're right, he's growing like a monster! We treated him with some meal worms this week and boy-oh-boy! :shock: I can see why people call them beardie candy! He was like a baby eating their first cake! Forgot to weigh him this weekend with everything going on... but I'll get around to it this week someday after work. He looks bigger every day...I wouldn't be surprised if he went from 16g to 20g this week...

-Ian
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
You're lucky that Mario's eating his veggies already. Not all beardies are so good at eating greens, especially when they're still young, and some adults too, even though they're supposed to eat more veggies than bugs when they get older. BTW, collards are better than kale for beardies.

Our beardie doesn't go outside because the temperature here is rarely warm enough to take a reptile out, even in the summer. So the few times we did take him out, he got stressed out and turned all black -- it was just too much for him. Mario is lucky that he can go outside. I suppose he'll get used to it, but when he does, just be careful that he doesn't run off. Beardies don't usually run faster than you can catch them as long as you can keep track of them, but they can sneak away if you don't keep an eye on them.

Cute little guy -- nice color and markings.:love10:
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
SHBailey":3iw2v7jj said:
Cute little guy -- nice color and markings.:love10:

Thank you!

I got lucky and guessed correctly about Mario's weight! He is now about 4 months, 8 inches, and 20 grams.

He has taken to sleeping up in his tall bush for the last 3 nights in a row. Same spot, same position. :D
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
BTW, one of our reptile vets compares mealworms to potato chips -- not really nutritious, but it won't kill them. They make good salad croutons.

Glad to hear that he's growing nicely. :)
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
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Mario is becoming a chonky boy! He is loving going outside, and we even have an indoor area for him when my daughter cleans his enclosure!
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He is eating a lot of BSFL and dubia roaches, with the occasional mealworm for a treat! He keeps eating his salad, too. Don't know how we lucked out with that! I have some videos on IG of him munching. I also got a WYZE camera for $24 (Thanks for the idea, DorgEndo!) and put it in his enclosure. It's so much fun to watch him when he thinks nobody is looking!
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He is 27 grams, or more likely over 30 now, and coming up on 9 inches! Bug munching is getting crazy, as you can see in the chart. As you can tell, I've given up on keeping perfect records! :lol:
he poops almost everyday, and has started hangin out with us a lot more. No more running away when we go to grab him, either!
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-Ian
 
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What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
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