Hola, my name is Miguel. I come to take your crickets.

Okay, so guard dragon. . . Not so much. He spends much of his time on his basking rock and hide log, and he likes to look at people with this face that says, "I am judging you. Harshly. My standards are high, and you're not quite shaping up, buddy."

Miguel is my new 5 inch long bearded dragon baby. I've only had him for four days, and already I am reptile crazy. I've been spending a mind boggling amount of time here, browsing the forums, reading care sheets, buying things for him, looking for good cheap crickets, making plans for building his new tank as a Christmas present (probably early, as he'll be getting pretty chunky by that time I'm sure ;3), gushing about him to all my friends (who think I'm going nuts), watching him, talking to him, reading up on other reptiles- I've even got a lizard calendar and I'm getting a prescription to Reptiles magazine. Basically, in just four days, he has become a major part of my life, and I am LOVING IT.

So, since he's so important to me, and I've noticed how you guys all like fun beardie tales and cute pics to be posted, I've decided to make a topic just for little Miguel, so I can share with everyone the little hunk o' awesome that I'm obsessed with.

These are the best pictures I have of him so far, and they've already been posted in two different topics, an intro and in the PetSmart beardies thread. Don't worry though- I plan on hunting for my actual camera (these are from my phone) tomorrow and taking more! As crazy as I am about the little guy, there may be pictures appearing several times a day, especially if I can find my good cam.

Hope a few of you find this interesting, and I hope my relationship with little Miguel ends up being as wonderful an experience as I imagine it will. C:

 

[Mediabandit]

Cute little guy. Glad you are enjoying him and keep the pics and updates coming. We are all here to help answer any questions you may have about your new little buddy.

 

[Nathan1995]

Haha oh he's adorable!! You'll be suprised how quickly he's gona grow, soon he'll be a 10 meter long real Guard Dragon!

I got Baby 4 months ago, and he was 6 inches. However he only started growing 2 months ago, becasuse I had the wrong lighting, oops

But since I've had that corrected, he's grown from 6 to 11 inches, and shed once, yesterday. So watch out for how quickly he'll grow!!

I love hearing about how much time you're spending with him, and don't worry, all my friends think I'm crazy too :wink:

 

[elmore91011]

Aww congrats! I didn't realized I could fall in love with a reptile but I did! Bella goes everywhere with me!! Keep the post coming I love reading about life with beardies!

 

[kcarello]

Awww!! Miguel is adorable!! I miss mine being a baby..almost makes me want to get another one! You will soon realize why I won't actually do that....my Puff takes all my time, and between him...the green anole lizards, three cats, and two mini long haired dachshunds...my life is full!! They are so much fun and YES! very easy to fall in love with! Have fun with Miguel and get all the info you can about raising them, there are so many important things to learn about and this is a great place to do that.

 

[Strawburriez]

Thank you all. It's awesome to know how many other people are just as wacko as I am. He's still getting over the relocation stress it seems- he's still not eating much (that I've seen) but he already looks a tad bit bigger than when we got him. I love that they grow so fast, it's going to be so neat to watch. When my dad asked how big they get and I told him up to 2 feet, he gave me this look like I had literally lost my mind- like I had misplaced my brains somewhere and was currently operating on some sort of random action selection system. I hope he (or she, not really sure of course) ends up being a big fella though. I'm trying to find a good spot in the house to place his new tank, so I can decide how big I want it to be and sketch it out.

I still haven't found my camera, but I might borrow my mom's, which (I think) should produce some better quality pictures for you all to look at.

He's already discovered that it annoys me when he gets under my bookshelf and I have to very carefully pick cobwebs out from between his claws. So I'm countering by vacuuming the entire carpet- every inch that is within his reach. He'll have to get crafty if he wants to make a mess in MY room, that's for sure! >:3

 

[Strawburriez]

So guess what I've been doing for the last. . . I dunno, hour and a half? Two hours?

Tearing my room apart, slowly and methodically, piece by piece, and replacing it, looking for a 5 inch long piece of mischief named Miguel.

I had taken him out to let him explore a bit, sadly confident in the cleanliness achieved by my earlier cleaning spree- several hours of vacuuming and scrubbing my room and the hall to a pristine condition- and he decided to climb down the side of my blanket to the floor and run underneath my bed. He's done this once before, I can reach him easily enough. Only this time, I couldn't find him. I looked. And looked. And looked. I took all the books out of the bottom shelves, I moved my trash can, laundry basket, a little rolling cart with drawers in it, took everything out of my closets and put them all back in again, removed all the pillows and blankets from my bed, took the mattress off and flipped the box spring on its side, tore the fabric on the bottom of said box spring off completely to see if he had crawled inside through one of the holes (and found a positively DISTURBING amount of spiders) and. . . Well, you get the picture.

I was just about ready to give up, break down and cry. I had one last spot left to check that he could have possible gotten into, and after that I planned to tell my mum that he had escaped and hope somebody found him before a dog or a cat did. And of course, when I moved a little white box that sits under his tank stand, there he was, curled up asleep in the corner. When I picked him up he blinked at me with a face that expressed pure unfiltered rage at being disturbed, but I was so happy I didn't even care. He's back in his tank now, sitting on his basking rock looking smug as ever, and I still feel like I might cry a little.

So, I've definitely learned my lesson. Upon closer examination there are places for him to hide in here, and I intend to block all entrances to these hidey holes. Duct tape will most likely be involved, or maybe towels tucked in the gaps he's able to climb through. I thought about taking a picture of him curled up in his hiding place, but figured he would already be angry enough when I woke him so I refrained.

So, TL;DR: I lost a very tiny lizard in my bedroom, tore the place apart for an hour and a half or so, and found him in the absolute last place I intended to look, taking a nap, and I think it's entirely possible he did it on purpose to teach me a lesson.

Well played, Mr. Miguel. Well played.

 

[FranktheTank]

I'm so glad you found Miguel and he's safe and sound. I have to say I enjoy the way you write. You're so descriptive, as I'm reading I'm picturing every little detail in the scene. I look forward to reading more of Miguels adventures, can't wait to see more pictures too!!

-Kaleen

 

[Nathan1995]

Haha such a good story! I agree, I love reading your writing, they're all like mini stories!!!

I've lost Baby countless times in my room, or when I say lost, I mean, I can't see him, and instantly assume he's hiding somewhere impossible, then I end up finding him curled up asleep around my guitar or something in the middle of the floor haha!

 

[Strawburriez]

Haha, I'm REALLY glad I'm not the only one who's done this. I almost expected a lecture from some fellow beardie owners about the importance of keeping him in sight. o__o And I'm glad you like my writing style- I'm working on a few books, actually. I've always loved writing, the way a well written story flows and conjures images in your mind almost as if they were memories. I really got into it after my gran died- my Great Aunt Katrina wants me to finish a book for her and my gran, before she's gone too. They both loved the little books I made when I was younger, and I fully intend to dedicate any book I get published to the both of them. I'm starting to work on one I really think they'd love, a book about squirrels- kind of like the Redwall or Warriors series, but with. . . Y'know, squirrels. My grandmother had pretty much tamed a set of red squirrels living around her house, and every morning they'd come up to the sliding glass door on her balcony and they'd take peanuts right out of your hand. It was the cutest thing, she even learned to identify them and had them named.

That had nothing to do with Miguel, but oh well, I think it's a nice story. x3

No adventures to speak of today, just more of him being a mischievous little bugger. Is it normal for him to run away from my hand when I attempt to pick him up? I'm always very careful about being as gentle as possible, but he doesn't seem to appreciate the presence of MY hand in HIS tank. He's still young, so he's probably not used to being handled. Just wanted to know if anybody else's babies have acted this way for a while at first.

 

[Strawburriez]

Miguel has just had his first bath. Wednesdays are now bath night. I think he might be getting used to me a bit more. He didn't struggle much with the bath- he even seems to have enjoyed it. He doesn't freak out quite as much when I touch him. He's been latched to my fingers since he got out. I showed him his thread, and he seems to like the attention. And, as promised, I've finally got more pictures to share!

Ooh, best look casual for the camera. Don't want to seem to desperate.

Release. . . Me. . .

Okay, I'm out of my tank. Now where is this going?

And this is my oldest kitty, Joker. He's a sweetheart, and quite silly. He tried to drink out of Miguel's bath. x3 He then proceeded to watch the proceedings from the bath tub.

Well, Miguel's finally hopped off my hand and is now licking everything on my desk. I'd best keep an eye on him. It's bedtime for him soon anyway. Nighty night, hope you enjoyed the new pics!

 

[darkon]

Awesome stories, Miguel sounds like he is loads of fun. Your stories make me impatient for my eggs to hatch, my wife and I are going to pick our favorite baby to keep and raise while selling the others. We got Darkon when he was three months old, and Wendy when she was seven or eight months old so I haven't yet had the pleasure of raising my own beardie from hatchling to maturity. I look forward to seeing what their offspring will look like. I can't wait!

 

[Strawburriez]

Oooh, that's exciting! I'd LOVE to breed bearded dragons someday. I hope to see pictures of the new arrivals.

 

[Shiva]

Congratulations on Miguel. He is def a cute little guy
My husband thinks i am completely nuts too and when I read him stories from here he thinks all lizard people are a little wacked haha its all good.
They do grow very fast. My little puppy could sit on my index finger and now sits in the palm of my hand. Birdie has grown the most. I'm going to start a thread with all my babies pics in them.

you have def found the right place for all the info :study:

 

[Strawburriez]

Looks like Miguel's starting to get his appetite back, finally! He had a good five crickets just now for his first feeding of the day, which is the most I've seen him eat since we got him. He also doesn't put up quite so much of a fuss about being picked up or being in his feeding bowl, and he stays on my hand a lot longer before he runs off to explore. I'm so happy. x3