Oliver and Lola the Rankins Dragons

Hi everyone!

Just a few days ago I got my new little guy, Oliver, to bring me back into the world of dragons! He's a full-blooded Rankins, and is just over seven months old. Absolutely tiny compared to how my beardie was at this age!

I'm surprised at how well Oliver has been settling in. Even though he was shipped and nervous his first day here, he's really calmed down and is such a sweetheart now. Not skittish in any way! I really look forward to the future with him!

I'm also excited to be coming back to this website! Here's a photo of my little man for now, I'll be taking a lot more soon and keep you all updated!

 

[KarenInCA]

What a sweetie. Love the pictures.
Just curious, those greens look yummy (to me!) What is the purple stuff in his mixed greens?
I'd like to give Rin more variety so he's a little more interested in his veggies.

 

[Cenetri]

The purple leaves that you see in his salad are actually a variety of romaine lettuce that has red ends. It comes mixed in the spring mix lettuces I buy for Oliver. To mix it up and get him more interested, I try cutting up bits of apple, strawberries, or other sweet fruits as well as brightly colored veggies like bell peppers and carrots.

Here's a great nutrition chart to go off of, tells you all of the good (and bad) things to give to your beardie. If you're wanting to mix it up, try some of them!

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[Cenetri]

I don't know exactly what Oli was going through recently, all I know is that he had a HUGE spurt of energy today! He was sprinting all over the place, jumping, and going absolutely insane! He wouldn't even let me pick him up, he was bouncing off the walls. When I looked over for a moment I also saw him grab a worm or something crunchy from his food dish, so it seems like my little guy is back to being active. Glad to have him back!

He's also become my car-ride buddy whenever I decide to take him to my local reptile shop. He really is a doll. :love5:

 

[Cenetri]

Another quick update!

Since I got him my little man has gained 10 grams and is resting at 26 grams at the moment! So proud of my chubby little boy! :lol:

 

[CooperDragon]

Tubbster! How does he like car rides?

 

[zandi202]

I like your new signature.

 

[BlueMorpho]

He's adorable!! Beautiful colours, and amazing pictures!

 

[Cenetri]

Oli actually really enjoys car rides! I keep the heat turned up a bit so he doesn't get too cold, and he just rests on my arm as I drive and watches everything pass by. He's never tried to jump off of me and stays pretty still so it's easy going with him. He loves watching raindrops on the windshield!

Thanks for the compliments guys! The picture in my sig pretty much my cutest photo of Oliver sleeping so I figured that it would make a cute ending to each of my posts. :wink:

BIG NEWS AS WELL! I'm in the process of speaking with a breeder and I'm very close to purchasing a female Rankins! Just checking into genetics and making sure that they are 100% unrelated in case I ever decided to make baby Rankins down the road, but so far everything seems to be in order! Should be a matter of days before I snatch one up. I'm very excited, I can't wait to observe their behavior together! It'll be an interesting thing to record on this topic and keep track of. So once the "wife shopping" is finalized I'll be sure to post all about and show you pictures of Oli's new lady-friend!~

 

[Cenetri]

Just thought I'd give a random little update.

My little man Oliver is going on 28 grams now and is as sweet as ever. We've really had a lot of time to bond and inspect each other's personalities, and now he's really become attached to me. It seems like he hasn't aged or grown a bit, but when I look at some of his older pictures in comparison to now, I realize that he's grown by an inch or so! For a Rankins, that's actually quite a bit! I wonder how much he has left, maybe another inch at most, but I love my tiny little man just the way he is!

His bitty nose is getting ready for another shed, likely another body shed coming in as well!

 

[CooperDragon]

Such a good dude. That's a great picture!

 

[BlueMorpho]

He's such a cutie!!!
I know what you mean about not noticing growth... Eri is only 17", so I've always seen him as rather small. My Mom and my friend both saw him recently after not seeing him for a few months and they had the same reaction; "Holy cow, he got BIG!!"
I honestly didn't even notice...

How's the search going for Oliver's girlfriend?

 

[Cenetri]

It's funny watching the difference in growth - my old beardie, Bonzai, grew like a weed and ate like a pig! Now that I have a dragon that only grows to half his size, I barely notice the growth because he's only gaining about 1 gram every week versus what seemed like 20 grams a day with my beardie. :lol:

The searching part is over it seems, just a matter of getting her shipped now! I'm in the process of moving and I figured that when both animals are in a new, unknown environment, it'd be the best time to introduce them. I was able to find a cute little 4 month old girl in Oregon with proven pure genetics, so it should only be a few days to a week before we settle in to our new house and get ready for the girly! Very excited about this!

 

[Cat93]

Oliver is so handsome, and congrats on finding a little lady!

 

[Cenetri]

Thank you all! My little man is becoming quite the fatty... I mean, check out that sideboob! :lol:

The move-in was successful, so now I'm just waiting for the Paypal information to get my little girl sent over to me! I don't have options for photos to show you guys at this point so I thought I'd just post the one the breeder sent me. I have her bloodline papers, pics of her parents and everything... this breeder was very informative. If anyone is ever looking for Rankins, shoot me a message and I can give you his contact info.

Here she is! Can't wait to add her to the family!

 

[Esther19]

She is just adorable! have you decided on a name?