New custom bioactive tank is AMAZING!

[Sue E.]

Oh wow, this totally exceeded my expectations! 4x2x2 with climbing ledges, climbing walls, built in hides, beardie safe plants and substrate! The uvb levels are perfect, temps are great, probes in place, multiple basking spots at varying heights! Kai immediately started exploring, no stress marks at all! If a beardie can show happiness, he sure did! He was licking everything to taste it, tasted a few plants, chased and ate an isopod or two haha. Im so so happy for him right now. Picture dump here...but the pics dont do it justice! Anyway, you can see Kai checking everything out lol. Its like a nature preserve! (Made by John, the owner of Avalon Exotics in North Tonawanda NY.)

 

[AHBD]

Niiiiice job on this build ! And you're right, Kai sure does look happy and eager to explore. More adventures of Kai coming soon....or at least lots more pictures. Word has it that isopods ARE tasty treats. Well, my fireskink Blaze thinks so .

 

[Sue E.]

Its so funny..he was licking everything. Its like he knew everything was natural and he wanted to check it all out!

 

[Claudiusx]

Awesome looking tank. I'm sure Kai is just thrilled!

-Brandon

 

[xp29]

Oh wow, this totally exceeded my expectations! 4x2x2 with climbing ledges, climbing walls, built in hides, beardie safe plants and substrate! The uvb levels are perfect, temps are great, probes in place, multiple basking spots at varying heights! Kai immediately started exploring, no stress marks at all! If a beardie can show happiness, he sure did! He was licking everything to taste it, tasted a few plants, chased and ate an isopod or two haha. Im so so happy for him right now. Picture dump here...but the pics dont do it justice! Anyway, you can see Kai checking everything out lol. Its like a nature preserve! (Made by John, the owner of Avalon Exotics in North Tonawanda NY.)

I absolutely love picture of him facing the camera with the side eye. He looks incredibly pleased. Very good job. I'm so happy it didn't stress him out.
I do kindda feel bad for the isopods though, trapped and forced to live with a hungry dragon run forest run

 

[Sue E.]

Oh he took to it right away...licking everything, ran into one built in cave to chase and eat some isopods, then came out the other opening, exploring! But prior to that,I had him out, laying on me, like Ive been doing lately, waiting for the tank to be changed...and he opened his mouth real wide looking dead at me..I swear he HISSED at me but it was noisy in the living room so I didnt hear it. It looked just like that though. Hes never done that before. Why do you think he did? It was only one time. Hes pretty shy normally and never black bearded.

 

[xp29]

Oh he took to it right away...licking everything, ran into one built in cave to chase and eat some isopods, then came out the other opening, exploring! But prior to that,I had him out, laying on me, like Ive been doing lately, waiting for the tank to be changed...and he opened his mouth real wide looking dead at me..I swear he HISSED at me but it was noisy in the living room so I didnt hear it. It looked just like that though. Hes never done that before. Why do you think he did? It was only one time. Hes pretty shy normally and never black bearded.

Something I forgot to mention in the other message was, he might have just been gaping. If he was warm a apposed to very cool, he could have been cooling himself down. That ir if the people installing the new habitat startled him, that might have caused it.

 

[Sue E.]

Oh his mouth was open wide! I could see allll the way to his throat lol. And the guys werent here yet. The boys video games were really really loud though, or like you said, the sudden waking up thing. Im not going to take him out for at least a few days though...let him get really comfortable with his new world. He is checking out EVERYTHING lol!

 

[ChileanTaco]

I was already waiting for your thread, as I was curious how it looks like
That's very similar to Taco's setup and I am sure your dragon will love this as his home

Those built-in hides on the bottom of the climbing background are fantastic, Taco has some like this (also with the aloe in front of one of the hides!) and uses them a lot. And as a benefit, that we humans as much as we are tempted to take our beardie out, just have to leave the dragon alone when in there as we can't really reach in - that's what I really like, it's not like a hut that can be easily lifted.

Regarding opening the mouth: Gaping, usually done when basking but also sometimes done outside.
Taco gaped twice outside of his enclosure, once while he was sitting on my husband's arm (mouth completely open, looking at him) and he was really worried getting bitten No, that was just gaping of a happily orange Taco.
Hissing: Generally "mouth open when angry" goes along with a sudden flattening of their body, and then often tilting the flat body, too. Taco did this once while my husband helped me with some work in the enclosure, while Taco was in. The work took some time, Taco didn't like my husband that much at that time, and despite watching calmly for some time, then he had just enough. Taco went into one corner, and then really in an instant "body flat, body tilted, beard out like a collar, mouth open". There was no hissing sound to hear, however.

 

[Sue E.]

I was already waiting for your thread, as I was curious how it looks like
That's very similar to Taco's setup and I am sure your dragon will love this as his home

Those built-in hides on the bottom of the climbing background are fantastic, Taco has some like this (also with the aloe in front of one of the hides!) and uses them a lot. And as a benefit, that we humans as much as we are tempted to take our beardie out, just have to leave the dragon alone when in there as we can't really reach in - that's what I really like, it's not like a hut that can be easily lifted.

Regarding opening the mouth: Gaping, usually done when basking but also sometimes done outside.
Taco gaped twice outside of his enclosure, once while he was sitting on my husband's arm (mouth completely open, looking at him) and he was really worried getting bitten No, that was just gaping of a happily orange Taco.
Hissing: Generally "mouth open when angry" goes along with a sudden flattening of their body, and then often tilting the flat body, too. Taco did this once while my husband helped me with some work in the enclosure, while Taco was in. The work took some time, Taco didn't like my husband that much at that time, and despite watching calmly for some time, then he had just enough. Taco went into one corner, and then really in an instant "body flat, body tilted, beard out like a collar, mouth open". There was no hissing sound to hear, however.

Yeah, might have been gaping but I didnt realize their mouth opens so wide as Ive only ever seen him gaping from the side or from behind. He didnt seem angry and went right back to lying there after.

 

[Sue E.]

He only went in the hide once so far, ran in there, ate a bunch of isopods, and came right out the other opening lol

 

[ChileanTaco]

Yeah, might have been gaping but I didnt realize their mouth opens so wide as Ive only ever seen him gaping from the side or from behind. He didnt seem angry and went right back to lying there after.

Their mouths are very big.
Their corners of the mouth are under their ears (!). As Taco is fine with me touching him in his face, I once showed my husband how large Taco's mouth really is and that the lips (opened them gently) end right under the ear. My husband was very much surprised!
They can get down pretty large prey (including small mammals like a mouse), which we of course should not feed them because there is a sad chance of suffocation, but they can. In nature, they do so.

 

[xp29]

Oh his mouth was open wide! I could see allll the way to his throat lol. And the guys werent here yet. The boys video games were really really loud though, or like you said, the sudden waking up thing. Im not going to take him out for at least a few days though...let him get really comfortable with his new world. He is checking out EVERYTHING lol!

He is going to be very into his new home it really is amazing

 

[Sue E.]

He is going to be very into his new home it really is amazing

I think he really likes it. So far he is mostly hanging in that dang tree lol. He loooooves that old tree. I knows he is really thrilled it made the move with him haha.

 

[xp29]

I think he really likes it. So far he is mostly hanging in that dang tree lol. He loooooves that old tree. I knows he is really thrilled it made the move with him haha.

It's something familiar, that's probably why it hasn't stressed him that much being moved.