Beardie Shenanigans

Hello there. I'm Kate and I'm a new beardie owner. I have two boys "Dude" and "South Paw" I will post both of their stories as replies on this thread. Both of which I posted under introductions as well.
I'm posting in this section because they both crack me up so much and I want to share their "cuteness" with everyone. And that is what this thread is about, stories. I'm pretty sure my husband is getting tired of me telling him how cute they are. Maybe even a little jealous!! Lol. Whatever, he's got his snake!!!
My boys are housed separate from each other just so everyone knows. They can't even see eachother. My old man was bullied to the brink of death before I got him, so I don't want him to stress out seeing another beardie.
Well anyway, here's the first post, and I'm sure many replies will follow in time, due to my little guys personality.

 

[Katiedud]

My little guy is named South Paw aka black beard aka little dude. He's approximately 8 or 9 months old but who knows. He's missing his right feet(back foot is missing toes, front foot is about a quarter to a third gone) and some of his tail, but don't let that fool you. He's quick!!

I'm not sure if he's bipolar, or needy, or just a teenager trying to figure things out. He loves to be held, but he'll puff out and go all black for (what seems like) no reason at all. He does it when he's startled, but also sometimes just random. I won't worry about it though cause everything else with him is fine. I think he's just trying to let me know that he's tough. Yeah, right!!!

He's got an amazing appetite. He'd probably heat 100 small/medium crickets in one feeding if I let him. It's hilarious because he sits and waits for the crickets to come to him(i feed him in a rubbermaid container, and it has a groove like a race track that the crickets seem to use as one) unless he sees a bigger one that he wants and he'll go after it. But if one gets on his head, he'll literally jump or push up to wack his head against the lid of his feeding container to get them off of him!!

I fed him this this morning and I left the cricket container close to his tank, once he saw them, he was trying to eat them thru his tank! Lol, I couldn't believe it. I fed him "as many as he could eat in 20 min" and an hour later he was hungry again. Crazy. I just ordered silk worms and they are probably only a half inch long so I'll probably give him some. It wasn't my plan yet but I think he's telling me that he's ready for better.

I'm not sure what this means yet, but if I'm wearing a bright color he won't let me out of his sight. He doesn't seem agitated, or scared. Just alert and attentive. I can hold him, and even hold him against my bright color shirt and he's just chill. I put him back in his tank and all eyes are on me again.
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I added a real tree camo background to his tank, and when he's not trying to climb it, he's trying to eat it. It's kind of funny, but I feel bad for him.
It also seems that when he gets irritated or maybe even nervous/scared, he "tastes" things.. when I put the background on, I kept bumping his tank, not to mention the addition of the background had to be strange to him. So he kept licking the drift wood. Not lapping it. But a quick tongue flick like a snake. I thought maybe cause everything is new, he's testing it out, but he only does it when things are "chaotic" I'm still learning what everything they do means. Trying to, at least.

 

[Katiedud]

And the funniest thing happened. He decided to run off his basking log, and jump to his hide on the other side. Only he doesn't have two legs. So he couldn't get the projection he needed and missed. Kind of landed in his hide, and then looked at it with his head cocked to the side like "what just happened" I guess he got mad cause he licked it like he does when he's irritated. Or maybe he was just tasting it. Not sure. Either way, I laughed my hind end off for a while. And he scurried up his log like nothing happened.
(Disclaimer: his hide is small cardboard box. He didn't get hurt)

 

[Katiedud]

My other guy is Dude. He's old, approximately 7-9 years old I was told. And he had severe MBD. He was housed with another beardie who wouldn't allow him to eat.
When I first met him over 2 years ago, it was shortly after he was dropped off at a friend's house. I guess the original owner finally realized he couldn't take care of them. I figured it'd be the only time I met him. He was knocking on deaths door. Had to be force fed with a dropper and syringe. I met him again about a year and a half ago, and he was a totally different lizard. Was still pretty lethargic, and had minimal movement but he ate on his own.
Last week we got a phone call from the friend, begging us to take him because he could no longer house him. The next day, we had him.
Still very lethargic, hardly kept his eyes open, didnt seem to care. I fed him a few worms and gave him some water and some greens and let him be. Next day, I noticed he hasn't touched his greens or water. Hell, he didn't even move from the spot I put him in. So I gave him a bath. Within minutes of the bath he started to drink, and move all over (the best he could given that his legs are limited in movement) im guessing he was dehydrated. And I could only imagine the water lifting him up relieved the pressure on his joints. After that bath I noticed his colors are brighter, he's very inquisitive, he voraciously eats his worms and he poops daily!! Lol. He doesn't move around much because his legs are weak, but he does move some. Especially if there's a bowl of worms. He has bad aim so he lays IN the bowl if im not assisting him. Its quite funny.
I trimmed his nails too! He needed that badly. But he seems so much happier now. Its been a learning experience, but very rewarding to see his progress.
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I've had him for a week and a half, and for the first time, I actually witnessed him eating his greens!! It was an exciting moment. Lately I've been dropping his worms into his salad to get him to eat his greens. He's got such bad aim, it actually works quite well. But today he ate some without worms.
I think I'll go climb Mt. Everest now, because apparently I can conquer mountains!!!! :lol:

 

[Katiedud]

Here's some pictures of them. First one is Dude. He's about 16" long. Not sure his weight because I don't have a scale yet.

Dude on the rocks

Dude enjoying what was probably his first bath

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And this is South Paw ...most days I call him little dude. And hes 8 and 3/4 inches long. With a full tail I'm sure he'd be 10"

Being handsome


Being adorable


This was the day I got him.