Darunia the Fire Sage beardie!

Hi all! I've been a long time browser of this site and I must say I've been using it more than ever the past few weeks as I awaited the arrival of my newest addition to the family. I finally decided to make myself an account, a choice I won't soon regret, i'm certain!

On May 21st, I got my very first bearded dragon after years of wanting one! He is a Red x Orange Hypo from Capital Dragons in Toronto, and they were great to deal with and I highly recommend them if you are in Canada, as they do deliver to all provinces. This is the photo from the breeder that made him steal my heart:

Such a cutie, right? After many delays[including a hurricane] he finally arrived on the 21st and was very quick to adjust for the most part! He began eating on the 22nd and is getting used to the daily noises of my house, and my dog, who is constantly in my room.

Here are some photos i took of him when he first got here:

He's got that little spot on his head still, what is it, anyone know? is it just a weird marking?

climbing up his back wall on the 3rd day here, which is when he started exploring his surroundings

basking[note the sexy leg, i love it!]

combining this wink with the sexy leg, i think hes hitting on me

heh heh. his little eye markings looked like 3 white eyelashes so i had to give him some blush!

I have a few more but i will save them for a separate post. I look forward to posting more and asking questions. Thanks for viewing!

 

[zandi202]

And this is why ordering online freaks me out. Make sure to get it checked by a vet asap though

 

[littlegoron]

we dont have breeders where i live, and i did not want to get the frighteningly small 3"[tail included!] dragons at pet smart, and they were the only canadian breeder i could find!

they told me he was a hypo too but he actually has black nails?

ps. his tail doesnt look infected but i am keeping an eye on it every day and i will continue to do so to be sure.

 

[zandi202]

Maybe he's a hypo carrier but not a hypo himself? I looked at some of his earlier pics and as far as I know, the black doesn't go away.

I hear you, PetSmart babies scare me. Between Petco and PetSmart, I always prefer Petco though I wish both would clean up their acts a bit.

Have fun with Darunia. I don't know if the tail will come off itself and might need to be amputated by a vet. :study: Something you may or may not want to look. Good luck!

 

[littlegoron]

what does that mean, hypo carrier? Sorry, im a bit of a newb haha. The breeder told me he was hypomelanistic and explained theyd have clear nails, i checked this morning more closely and his nails are clear with a tiny black line at the front of them. From what i've read any black at all means they cant be hypo? His 'shoulder pads' are also black, hm. I did not pay extra for that hypo business so its not a huge deal but it is misleading! I'm not very educated on that aspect of beardies so if anyone reads this who can clarify feel free, or maybe i'll make a thread about it.


today i let Darunia go on his first adventure - to the window! It is a not warm enough yet so unfortunately i couldnt open the window to let all that glorious natural UVB in but he did really enjoy the warm natural sunlight, and the view! I will definitely be doing it regularly, and opening the window when it heats up more around here.

 

[littlegoron]

when i put him back in his tank he was the lightest i've ever seen him, he looked so beautiful! and his oranges are really coming out today too.

ps. i measured him this morning and he is 7 1/4" from snout to stump, or about that. tomorrow i'll measure again and will also be weighing him for the first time.

 

[littlegoron]

Darunia just did his first eye bulge, and it was terrifying! haha. I was lying on the edge of my bed and he had his eyes closed, i closed mine and when i opened them his were bulging.
I think he is going to shed his head soon, yesterday i caught him rubbing his head against his basking rock a couple of times.
I also noticed he has two toes stuck together on his left hind foot, so hopefully bath time tonight will help with that.

 

[zandi202]

Hope the bath helps. Don't be alarmed if his appetite drops during shed, that's normal. Make sure he gets a bath every day while shedding because it makes them very dehydrated.

Hypo carrier means they carry the gene but it doesn't show. I don't know, though, this breeder seems iffy. Did you google any reviews about them to see if anyone had any similar experinces?

 

[littlegoron]

Thanks. Im finding his appetite has increased the past few days, he's eating 25-30 more crickets than usual, though not in one sitting - ive added in a third feeding, which he usually rejects. i know there may be a point where he shows the opposite, so thanks for the advice, i know i'll worry about him if that happens!
- His legs are starting to become paler now, especially his back legs, so i think they're gunna shed, and his head should follow too. it looks pretty weird to see the rest of him looking light and his back is still normal, its going to take some getting used to!

- His tail fell off today completely, i cant find it so i believe he ate it. It looks okay so far, will be keeping an eye on it until it heals completely and watching for infection and stuff. He looks pretty cute with his little stub tail. I will love him no matter what, a little tail gone wont change my mind about him, he's the baby of my family.
-He seems to really prefer temps around 102-103,i know guides suggest 105-110 but i notice if it goes as high as 107 in one spot he opens his mouth a lot. i know this is normal though and he is just 'panting' but he also avoids his basking spot too, what a fussy little guy! His rock has fluctuating temps[nothing major! just between 103-106f in various spots,one corner will be 103 the other 107] so he can pick the amount of heat he wants. his hammock is 94-99 f and he likes going over there to cool off too.

Heres some pics from last night on his hammock:

The hammock brings out his colors a bit i find, just the contrast i suppose since its the only dark thing in his tank really.

Here he is tonight, he's all plump from his big ol' feeds today - he had 74 crickets today!

he's about ready for bed i reckon.


I realized today how he has grown since i got him. I see him all day every day so i miss it i guess but looking at photos he has gotten fatter at least, and i think he's gotten longer too, cant believe it. He'll be grown up in no time, its unbelievable!

 

[zandi202]

Sorry to hear about the tail but it probably for the better that it dropped instead of spreading like tail rot would...assuming that this was tail rot. What are you using to take the temperature with? He's a little cutie!

 

[littlegoron]

his tail was like that when I got him, i think the box he came in squat his tail or something. It's healing nicely and isnt causing him pain, thankfully.
I use an infrared therm. aka a temp gun to measure his temperatures. i had a walmart brand therm. with a probe but i knew it was inaccurate, over 10 degrees off on his basking spot. The gun is incredibly accurate, I even used it to make candy! haha

today he met my border collie lab mix, lil bean, who loved him:

[please note this was supervised i had a hold of my dogs collar just in case he scared Darunia. my dog is very gentle with all my other animals.]

i put him in the window today, the blanket warmed up to 93-97f, so i let him lie there again today for 20 minutes. he really loves it and hates to go back. he paws at the window to get out but its not warm enough yet, and i dont have a harness for him yet until he is bigger!

 

[littlegoron]

After having a pale tail for like 10 days, it is finally shedding! its his first shed in my company, so proud! :')

watching him wiggle around to get it off is freaky, though. i cant wait to see how it looks! Heres hoping the tip/nub sheds with no trouble.

 

[littlegoron]

Updates:
- ran out of crickets, someone on here who lives in canada suggested some other things and turns out pet smart did have wax worms! I know theyre supposed to be a treat but they'll do until they get crickets in on wednesday.
- he tried apple today and liked it
- he tried meal worms yesterday, [they were the tiny ones you get in every batch]and he was able to digest them[checked his poop closely today]
- he does not like the suggested basking temps for babies. he seems more content with 95-102f, is this okay, you think? I'm worried about his digesting. Even lately 105 which he didnt mind at first, he wont stay in it for long anymore, but he loves basking on his hammock at 97 degrees and always goes for the part of his rock that is 99 degrees instead of the 104,105 or 107 area.
- his tail finally shed, just the end is left now and its coming off. His tail is A LOT lighter, it's almost pale like a translucent! his stripes are more blue/lavender, and he has more noticeable orange bars where his diamond markings are, looks very nice. i'll try to get a picture. i wish i could find the charger for my real camera.



i took a comparison photo on the 2nd week i had him, the 4th of june, he has grown around 1 inch to judge it visually, i can't believe it. I can barely notice that his body got longer but there is no denying that his head is huge! his head is so big now and he's getting nice fat stores behind his eyes. he looks really good. Here's that comparison photops. :

not a fantastic photo but he needs all 4 fingers now! he has gained a bit of weight and is the picture of health, i think. his appetite is excellent and he even began eating his greens on his own this week. several times a day i put more in and i give him a few by hand and then he goes off and eats the rest by himself, i am so proud!! he is a really good eater, he willingly tries new things, i dont struggle with the veg, he has never turned from his crickets yet, and he's loved almost everything i've tried him on so far.

 

[littlegoron]

^note his lil nub tail


i got a few pictures of his tail, i need to get a good quality photo as these dont do it justice at all!

on his basking rock. he was going dark because my 3ds makes sounds when it takes a photo and he was annoyed because i moved him, poor guy haha. gave him a piece of sweet potato and all was forgiven. :lol:

 

[zandi202]

gave him a piece of sweet potato and all was forgiven.

For now :lol:

 

[littlegoron]

haha, its funny you should say that because you're so right. He went to bed a little bit later than usual last night, and it is showing this morning. He is also shedding his lips/nostril/chin and i know its itchy so its just this horrible combination and pardon my mouth, but he is so pissed!
he is giving me the stink eye hella hard from his rock, and even bearded at me for the first time[just as i told some friends he was real sweet and hadnt done that to me yet haha] but he cant black it yet so it wasnt too threatening or hurtful heh.



He is just looking over at me now and its puffing out omg he is mad at momma today!