Mario's Super World

Status
Not open for further replies.
Taking inspiration from other members, I figured this forum would be a good place to catalogue the life of Mario!

Obligatory picture of cuteness
107433-3220778336.jpg

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
107433-647770819.jpg

Mario's 2nd Friend
107433-5750837228.jpg

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
107433-5343149309.jpg
107433-2478570957.jpg
107433-5340462858.jpg

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
107433-2437217403.jpg

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
107433-9589576278.jpg

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"
107433-9411851954.jpg

Post-Feeding Posing
107433-4462680873.jpg
107433-709262109.jpg

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
Another shot from my wife. Mario was caught in the act of munching salad! Everyone in the house claims they see him in his salad bowl throughout the day, but I never see it! Finally some proof...
107433-9191936268.jpg
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Haha he looks like he's not pleased about being caught! I have a picture of when Tombo was a baby and he had the same caught look on his face in the salad bowl lol.

-Brandon
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
Lol! I hear ya! My Petey doesn't like to eat his salad if I'm watching. He will, especially his squash but prefers his privacy. ? Or if he's eating and I glance over at him, he'll stop and go get in his hammock. No clue. ? Now worms? That's a whole 'nother story! He could have an audience! Lol! ? Nothing slows him down from his Supers!
Love seeing how your baby is growing and looking so good! ❤
-Dee
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thanks, Dee!

Here is Mario's food/poop chart so far. His intake is definitely trending upward!
107433-9073084369.jpg
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
opaquelace":2l6nlr2e said:
You are extremely organized!
DorgEndo":2l6nlr2e said:
Nice charting! I'm going to have to copy that

Thanks! It's easy to count the bugs before and after now, but I have a feeling when he starts eating 20-30 at a time it'll stop getting updated as much. :mrgreen:
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
He should not be eating 20-30 dubias when he gets older that is too many and risk of gout- the bigger the roach they will not eat that many- blaze is 10 months and is eating 5 one inch roaches or so I am terrible w/ sizes- but watch the size I feed him - are you feeding other feeders? I sort of looked at the chart when I tried in enlarge it it went blurry
Karrie
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":2durbz21 said:
He should not be eating 20-30 dubias when he gets older that is too many and risk of gout- the bigger the roach they will not eat that many- blaze is 10 months and is eating 5 one inch roaches or so I am terrible w/ sizes- but watch the size I feed him - are you feeding other feeders? I sort of looked at the chart when I tried in enlarge it it went blurry
Karrie
Yep, he gets BSFL also.
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I don't think he's going to be able to lay on that ledge for much longer!
107433-3502595103.jpg
Mario gained a gram from 2 weeks ago, and a 1/2 inch in length! Now he's 6.5 inches and 8 grams. He is still so little! This week his appetite jumped. Instead of 45-55 bugs a week like he's been eating the last 3 weeks or so, he's on track to eat 105-120 this week! (I realize the big difference between roaches and BSFL, but the chart clearly shows an uptick!)
-Ian
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
...and...
We've got shed!
107433-4843153320.jpg
Later on he had a curly segment that looked like a villain's mustache, but it fell away :lol:
 

loljelloclowdz

Juvie Member
Marijke made the MEANEST face ever today when I turned around to see her licking a carrot cube I cut for her. (I don't overfeed with carrots, don't worry about me accidentally causing hypervitaminosis A). Mari likes to pretend she HATES vegetables, but I hear crunching sounds and see her tail moving when she's over by her salad bowl, so I've caught her before. It's just that today she realized she doesn't want me to know her secret love of carrots, lol.
 

MariosDad

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
What a wild couple weeks in the life of Mario!

He has basically doubled his food intake, going from 40-60 bugs a week to 100-120 bugs the last 2 weeks! We are starting to notice side-spikes along the base of his tail, which is looking much broader! When we handle him it now feels like we're holding something solid, instead of a feather disguised as a dragon. Crazy what a couple grams can do!

He really likes dandelion flower, and is starting to take BSFL from our fingers, too! His face is done with the shed, and it looks like his back is starting now. I'll try to get pics (or have my wife get some, she's much better at it!)
107433-6748430403.jpg
107433-3234987022.jpg

-Ian
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
That's great! They grow so fast! It amazes me watching the babies growing up on here. ❤
My Petey doesn't care for dandelion flowers but munches away on the leaves. I guess he figures salad is salad. ? He's been having fresh dandelion salad every day for a couple weeks now since his kale molded and I decided not to go out. ? He has squash and sweet potato and grapes with it plus his protein every 3rd day and seems to be quite content with it. Since I have a yard full of dandelions, nice to know he has fresh greens if I can't get to the store. Will have instacart deliver groceries next week including some mixed green salad. ?
Stay safe and stay healthy!
-Dee
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,901
Messages
1,255,699
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom