Hello from New Hampshire *Now with pics!*

[Kalec]

Heya, folks. My name is Wes, and I'm a dog trainer from a New England PetSmart. I took a baby beardie home with me yesterday after a lot of research and waiting. He's (guessing at gender) about 3-4 inches long, nose to tail tip, and my partner and I have decided to call him Kalec. We're also the proud owners of a three year old pit bull terrier named Rosie, who's very much a daddy's girl and a lapdog. She doesn't quite know what to make of Kalec yet. :lol:

I'll be lurking around and seeing what new things I can learn, and will hopefully have some stories to share as Kalec gets bigger!

Edit: finally figured out how to upload from my phone. Sorry for the crappy picture quality.

He fell asleep on my keyboard.

First time eating greens! Of course in his bath and out of my hand. Spoiled little guy.

 

[nair88]

welcome! pictures are always good :-D

 

[Hellstrom]

Welcome to you and Kalec, btw I love the name!

 

[Kalec]

I'm grabbing a camera tomorrow for pictures. I need to get one of Kalec and my laptop - he makes it difficult to type! Very inquisitive little guy, though he won't touch his veggies. He's been racing around his tank and going swimming in his water dish; my operations manager said he was the only beardie she's ever seen to drink from his bowl. He just stuffs his head in and drinks his fill. I'll also post a pic of his tank set-up; as he's my first reptile, I'm not sure I have it set up properly. I just went by what was told to me at the store, though already I'm reading that the Exo-terra Solar Glow isn't the best for him. Tomorrow I'm going to swap it out.

 

[Kalec]

Update: Kalec ate his greens this morning! Per this board's advice I ditched the romaine (had no idea it had so little nutrition for them) and picked up some collard and mustard greens. He doesn't seem to care for the mustard, but he ate all the collard greens and yellow squash I gave him this morning in addition to five crickets.

Two questions: How do your dragons like berries? My roommate grows blueberries in his garden and I was wondering if Kalec would like those. Other question is how many crickets/worms/insects do your adult dragons eat if they like greens? I've heard horror stories of 60+ crickets a day and wondering if that's the norm.

I'm just so excited he's eating his greens now though. I was warned to try and get him on greens early or he'd be picky later on, but to not be surprised if he didn't touch them.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

:wave:

 

[Kalec]

Brought Kalec into a reptile shop with me today and the owner breeds beardies, so I figured I'd ask him if he thought Kal was male or female. The shop owner said it would have to be an educated guess, as Kalec's only about two months. He lifted Kal's tail, peered for a bit, consulted his son, and when he handed the little dragon back, he told me he thought I had a fine young lady. So Kal might end up Kallie! :mrgreen:

The owner said to stop by in two-three weeks and he'd be able to make a better assessment, as Kalec could still be an underdeveloped male. He said he wouldn't be surprised if my little pooper turned out female though.

 

[Kalec]

Turns out Kalec might be male after all. He's developing femoral pores very noticeably on his hind legs and his vet is convinced he's a boy. I suppose I won't know for sure until he's much older. I've heard females do get pores as well, but they're not nearly as noticeable. Is this true?

 

[monstapika]

welcome! are you going to teach Kalec how to play wow too? =D

 

[kimmie]

Welcome to the forums!

It's not unusual for them to eat so many crix at a feeding. Angus was devouring 60 in a 10 min span. Order them in bulk, it's a LOT cheaper! Also since he/she's small, you could go with Phoenix Worms and small Silkworms as well.

I tried blueberries with Angus, but he just left them be! That doesn't mean they don't, keep trying! I love the pic where Kalec is fighting you with that leaf (well it looks like you are playing tug of war). Congrats on getting him to eat salads early too! He'll eat more salads when he's an adult when the ratio of protein/veggies changes. Now as a juvie it's about 25% salads and 75% protein, then it will flip flop to the opposite!

 

[Kalec]

I got lucky with his salads, just was a matter of offering him various veggies until he found a few he liked. He loves that spinach, but only get it as a treat. Right now his other favourites are mustard greens, squash, and especially red bell pepper. We're up to 40 medium phoenix worms a day, and he's now 16 grams at we think 10ish weeks. He's in shed right now, but I'll be sure to post a new pic once he's finished. He's getting very orange!