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!

 

[Cenetri]

Just a random little blurb, went to my first reptile expo today! Nothing too big; it's only the second year of this show running and it's used for a little smaller of businesses. It was the Reptile Breeders Expo down in Lodi, not too long of a drive. It was fun though, lots of nice people and beautiful animals! Since it was a smaller show, too, the vendors had more time to chat. Sometimes it's nice to talk to people who know quite a bit about reptiles than the random people I encounter in my town going "Is that an iguana?" to any lizard they have in their presence. :lol:

The people who I found rather impressionable and very friendly were Geektastic Reptiles and a particular rescue that I can't recall the name of at the moment. They were willing to have nice conversations and you could tell that they cared a lot about their animals. Beautiful too! Geektastic had so many gargoyles that I just wanted to snatch up and take home with me! One of the chameleon breeders was also selling interesting things - big Chinese praying mantis egg pods for you to hatch as well as panther chameleon eggs completely set up to hatch yourself! Ugh, after seeing pictures of the sires I was dying to grab one, absolute STUNNERS, but it'd be a big expense to buy a new set up, different sized crickets, etc. to care for it. Cute idea though! Maybe one day when I have the space for a cham I'll snatch up a beautiful Ambilobe or Nosy Be Panther. How I love the true blues... :love5:

Cal_Fid Parrot and Exotic Rescue was also a great vendor - were only selling t-shirts and such for donations, but they had a flipbook of very sad bearded dragon rescue cases ending in both survivors and deaths to inform people of the importance of rescue. Found that very impressionable - and they also had a savannah monitor with no tail and burn scars everywhere. Warms my heart when people take the time to care for needy animals and spread the word.

To my dismay, only one Rankin's at the entire show. She was for sale, but at a whopping $300! They claimed she was a rescue to help explain the price, but I found that odd... she seemed young and healthy to me. Pretty sure they had no bloodline papers either. She was cute, but alas, not worth the price tag and hesitation of not knowing if she was 100% pure or not. Would have been fun to have a trio...

Overall, a great experience! When I move up to Oregon next year, I'd love to go to a Repticon to experience a much larger, well-known expo!

 

[Cenetri]

Update time again!

The crew is still doing well, thriving actually! Both are growing like weeds, with Oliver up to 39 grams and Lola already at 19 grams! When I got Oliver at 7 1/2 months old, he was only 16 grams, so Lola is quite the chunker at 6 1/2 months! She scarfs down her crickets and is now growing a taste for greens, so I'm proud of her for that. She has grown an affinity for the flavor of reptile carpet and often looks down and tried to eat it, but I doubt it's a big deal. She hasn't managed to eat it! :lol:

Funny thing with Lola is that lights off = sleepy time, and I mean the moment they flick off! I turned them off last night to switch to her nightlight and the moment I did, she plopped to the floor from her log and drug her body along the ground until she was comfy! I tested it, even works in the daytime! She's such a weird and funny lizard...

I've been taking advantage of the natural sunlight we've had lately and have started taking Lola and Oli outside more often for some late afternoon soak-time. Here's a couple snapshots of them enjoying the warmth!

Oli likes being on the couch and basking himself, whereas Lola prefers being held. She's such a sweetheart, can't get enough of the snuggles!

And just before I close, here's a cute shedding picture! Looks like he's got elf ears, and finally the beard he's always wanted!!

 

[Esther19]

They are just so precious!

 

[BlueMorpho]

Too cute!! I love the shed picture!!
"Whatcha lookin' at, Mom? There something on my face?"
They're both so gorgeous.

 

[Cenetri]

Thank you both! They eat up your compliments... I think they're getting a bit vain! :lol:

Lola couldn't handle not being in the spotlight, so she decided that she needed to shed too!

First full shed in my care... I think she went a little bit overboard! :lol:

And today, my pretty little girl fresh out of her skin:

That big ol' belly just keeps growing and growing! :love5:

 

[diamc]

They are both SO cute. Love the shedding pictures. Quite the unique beard on Oli. :lol: Lola has quite the unique pattern on her back, almost looks like bow ties, love it.

 

[BlueMorpho]

Goodness! She exploded!!! She does have such a vibrant and amazing pattern, too.
Give that belly some extra rubs for me!

 

[Cenetri]

diamc, I also love the patterning on Rankin's! It's so close to a beardie's pattern, yet so uniquely different... and I agree that they look like little bowties! It interests me how different Oliver and Lola's patterns actually are, though - Oliver is more of a matte peachy color with very faint stripes whereas Lola's pattern is bright and bold. It's a bit hard to tell over pictures, but Lola is almost a yellowy-green along with her brown undertones. I love all of the genetics and causes of color, behavior, etc. behind my animals, I always analyze the biological side of things! :lol:

BlueMorpho, thank you so much! I did give her some nice belly rubbin' today and she had a great time, lol. Snuggled right up for a nap afterward too! She's such a sweetheart... :love5:

I've looked at the differences in Oli and Lola's personalities, too - while Lola is totally calm and outgoing with everything we do, such as being okay with going outside or being around my dogs, Oliver is a bit more shy and timid about the world around him. I have to take things a bit slower with him - choosing specific spots to bask outside so he isn't scared of the birds overhead, reaching into his tank very slowly, and keeping other animals away. He's such a sweetie too if you take the time, and I enjoy them having different personalities, it gives them each their own unique character. I love them to bits!

And on the topic of Lola's big fat belly that keeps on growing - I realize that female beardies can begin to develop eggs at young-ish ages such as 8 months and above, especially when they sense a male of breeding interest nearby. My question is, should I be worried that Lola could develop eggs at too young of an age to be able to pass them properly? She's only 21 or so grams at nearly 7 months old; if she developed them early, I'm a bit worried that she is or still will be too small of a size to handle it. Thoughts or ideas?

 

[Cenetri]

Hey everybody! Just a quick update! Since I've been talking a bit more about Lola lately than Oliver, I thought I'd just give an update strictly about him.

Gosh, it's so crazy to look back at the pictures of when I first got Oli and realize how much he's grown! He went from my 16 gram little cutie to a big hunk of 42 grams! He's getting close to peaking out on growth now, yet it feels like he hasn't changed at all! The change is so gradual that I hardly notice, and yet just back in February he was that tiny! So weird to consider...

Not much big news about my big guy, other than he's doing better at eating. He had a little phase where he wasn't very interested in food but is now content with his crickets, worms, and greens. I'm pleasantly surprised to come home sometimes and see his bowl of veggies nearly emptied, makes me feel successful as a Rankin's slave! :lol:

Had a bit of snuggle time with him after my leadership conference today; I think this pictures give a good idea on the anatomy of Rankin's, such as how they lack a beard and have much rounder features than that of a beardie. Oliver has especially prominent "brows" too, always looks like a grouch!

Gimme that hair! He loves to hold onto things with his tiny little feet... :love5:

Snuggle time was promptly interrupted as he spotted Lola from across the room, contentedly basking. He can never leave her alone, always trying to show off to her and get her attention as much as possible... sigh, I kinda miss the times BEFORE he had hormones surging through him... :roll:

Sidenote, he had the splendid idea of pooping on my shirt right as I type this. He seems pretty smug about it.

 

[hoopyscoop]

Sidenote, he had the splendid idea of pooping on my shirt right as I type this. He seems pretty smug about it.

That made me laugh out loud!

new signature! I love it!

 

[BlueMorpho]

Oli!!! Little brat!
He's such a cutie. There's no way you couldn't forgive that face!
I don't think he looks like a grump, but you get to see him from every angle, too.
He has definitely gotten bigger! He'll always be your little guy, but he's a big little guy

I know what you mean about hormones! The only time Eri's not bobbing is when he's sleeping!

 

[Cenetri]

Oli is most definitely a hormonal, grumpy wreck lately - does this angle show what I mean by grumpy brows a little better? :lol:

This is the look he's been giving me lately, ugh, such a stink. He does enjoy his snuggles still, though, and had a very adventurous day today! I took him down to my local pet store (not a chain, more like a "family store") where they have a massive reptile section and spent some time assisting with the animals there. He was calm on my shoulder the entire time, and I chatted and helped water all of the lizards as well as hold many of them. So many animals! Big, beautiful Cuban rock iguanas and rhinos especially, and I got to see the rhino that I witnessed hatch over a year ago. Such a sweetie, I always hold him and he snuggles up to me. :love5: Lots of chameleon species, too! Giants, panthers, Jackon's, veileds.... everything! Hoping to get a summer job there, I love it! They show interest in hiring me and the reptile manager talks to the store manager about me often, so I think it'd be a lot of fun and great experience. Besides, I get free bugs, lights, and tank furniture out of helping out, like my two dozen crickets I got today with the simple jobs! It helps to have connections. :wink:

As you can see by the above photo, my big boy shed his back today as well! It was very exciting for me, I haven't seen his colors in quite a while, and man did they surprise me! He's very lemon yellow now with big peach back markings, the photos fail to capture his true glow!

Working that skin off!

After it was all gone:

Also got some sun this morning by the window on his favorite fake plant from his tank. I use it simply because I think his own scent comforts him when near the outside world, as he can get a bit scared.

Lola has turned into a bit of a stink lately, too. Pretty sure she's going through her teenage phase now... great, TWO hormonal babies! :roll: She's still being sweet and such, just a bit more cautious than usual, avoiding basking as much, hiding away, etc... hopefully she doesn't plan on forming eggs out of the blue, but I have her calcium consumption upped in case the worst does occur. My poor girl is too tiny for that sort of thing!

Look at that round little head! My baby girl!

And goodness, that belly... :shock:

Something about myself, my track and field varsity girl's team won our division title at sections! We placed first by 8 or so points which is HUGE at that sort of meet. It was also our school's first ever section champ title, so we made history last night! My season is closed as of yesterday considering my shins are getting too bad for me to continue onto masters, don't think I could handle running the two mile on these injuries again until they get rested up a bit! Get to cheer my friends on though, and will get to cheer one of them at state as well! Can't wait for that! Also can't wait for cross country season next year, the three mile races are by far my specialty! Summer training, here I come!

 

[Cenetri]

Sorry for not posting in a while, it's been a bit stressful in the Rankin's house...

My little girl is making me so worried at the moment. She's off of her food for the most part (only eats tiny amounts of her absolute favorites), digging like a mad woman and is stress marking unless I'm holding her. I think she's tuckering herself out until she can't help but feel super strung out and stressed, it's making me feel so sick for her. I keep rotating a little tub of sand in and out of her tank when she's going insane digging at her paper towels, and she's had a few good goes at ripping through that and building little "pseudo-tunnels" (sand isn't deep enough, but she forms little crevices). She's been resting a lot more, too, I believe it's because she wipes herself out. She's not lethargic or anything, though - the moment I take her out she's got a crystal-white belly and beard and is the happiest and most alert little thing I've ever seen! This is really worrying me - do you think this is just a puberty thing? Have any of your guys' females just gone through puberty to be digging like this? Or is it what I fear and do you think she could be carrying eggs? So scary to think about - she's only 21 grams and is so tiny, I worry that she wouldn't be able to lay them properly OR that she wouldn't recuperate well afterward. I just want my little piggy back...

At least Oliver is doing well, actually better than usual. The pet store reptile guy was nice enough to give me some free crickets along with small dubia roaches, and I learned that Oli is in love with the roaches! I've been searching craigslist to find a good deal on small dubias to no avail so far, but when I find some locally I'll snatch them up for him. Lola had one or two of them, but alas, ignored the others I offered. Luckily she's eating her greens, albeit lightly.

I'm just focused on keeping her hydrated at this point, hopefully I can figure out an answer or you guys could help me. She's currently sleeping after digging around for a while; this is about two hours early from bedtime.