Once upon a Vitti (Update and Pictures 7-15)

I decided to make my own thread to share happenings of my little beardie Vitti. I got her on March 7 2010 and despite a rough start I've grown very attached to my little "Master." Shes a joy to have but still having a bit of a hard time adjusting. Anyways on with the pictures!

This is when I first got her, basking proudly on her log

Here she is again, but taking a bask against the bottom of her log

Vitti decided that she would like to attempt art by using my tablet

After a long nights sleep Vitti pops out from under the newspaper to say good morning

Vitti enjoys her first salad with mustard and collard greens

 

[Sadona]

I'm glad the trip went well for you guys.
Vitti looks so different, shes a new beardie! Her colors are beautiful.
Would you believe that my beardie is about as old as your beardie and he is still 5 1/2 inches long?
What does her viv look like?

 

[Ostrommaysi]

She really is a new beardie, her colors change but she has the same great gentle personality.

To be fair I cannot say Vitti's age in months because I do no know when she was born. I'm gonna assume in February but I could be wrong I'm a horrible judge of age. I got her on march 7th which the very first picture in this thread was from. As you can tell comparing them shes grown a whole lot. I'm actually surprised at how fast she does grow. On the 7th of this month I will have had her 2 months and shes already shed twice. Its all made more amazing by the fact I had such a horribly hard time setting up her Viv with the right stuff.

As for her viv its only a 30g tank. I know I know I need to get her a bigger one I'm working on that. I'll have to take a picture of it when I clean it out. Its nothing special as its temporary but right now it looks like a tornado (Vitti) hit it and Veggies are everywhere. She doesn't like cleanliness and order I guess because even after a single day she will have all of her veggies strewn across the tank. If any veggies remain she will show her distaste by pooping on them. (Which means I clean it off and give her more veggies to throw about)

 

[sweetiepie9]

She's 4 or 5 mo old at least and she's so beautify, look at that orange! And I bet it's not near as bright in the pic as on her. What a pretty girl. Glad the move went so well and that she's done shedding for now. Expect alot more, she's at her fastest rate of growing right now. Keep us posted as to her length and weight, if you can.

 

[Ostrommaysi]

The picture really doesn't do her justice as far as color goes. I want to post lots of pictures but often times I'm so hung up on handling her and watching her as she runs about that I just plain forget to take pictures. Not that I have much to take pictures of I can't take her outside because of fire ants, cacti and other dangers. I can't let her roam the house as I know the dog and cats would be less then friendly with her. She also doesn't like being held at all and if I sit her down for a second she road runners all over the place. In short shes not very photogenic.

Theres just so much the photos cannot show like her very gentle personality. We have this thing were she knows if she crawls into my hand she will be put back in her tank so she will look at me and gentle crawl and lay in my hand waiting to be put back in her tank. (And she loves that tank!) I also love how she will wander up to the black cricket keeper tube and gently lick the end of it before I shake it to get crickets out for her. (She will do similar things when I have them in a dusting bag)

I need to get her weighed but right now shes 13 inches long. She may be bigger in body but in mind she will always be my lil tiny beardie

 

[Ostrommaysi]

Vitti has been doing very well. Earlier today we sat at the window and she enthusiastically watched the birds and other stuff move around in the wind swept trees. She enjoyed it so much in fact that most of my attempts to take her away led to her jumping back to my bed and scrambling back to the window. I noticed that her colors seemed to ebb and flow with the brightness of the sun despite the fact the glass prevented her from getting any real benefit. When clouds would dim the sun she would get darker but when the sun came back out she would get so extremely bright and happy looking. I must admit it was quite amazing to see. But now for some pictures...

Firstly a picture of her enclosure, which is a petty 30g tank and not very exciting to look at. I currently have my eyes on a nice 75g enclosure to replace this when I get money.

One day she was out and running in "her" room as I like to let her do to get some exercise and I nabbed a picture of her below the table that holds her tank. She doesn't ever seem very happy to be taken pictures of. (But she loves to run around)

Here she is digging into her collards. She still doesn't really eat that much of them but that might be because she gorges on crickets.

Last but not least is a close up of her eagerly awaiting crickets. The black thing to the right is the tube from the cricket keeper and as you can see she knows only yummy comes out of those tubes. One thing that concerns me about this however is her lips are pink and white. She doesn't seem to be in pain and I can rub her lips and she will not cringe or withdrawl but it still seems off. I'm gonna monitor it for a few days and see how it goes.

 

[ashlee1228]

I love those photos! such a sweet face.

 

[Ostrommaysi]

I love those photos! such a sweet face.

Thank you! No matter how sad I may be I can always look her way and be cheered up

 

[Sadona]

Vitti is looking great. I haven't seen any real interest with Cinder and the windows of my house. I only let him look outside once, and he just seemed mystified by all the green and birds, but not too interested. I would never trust him alone on my window, he would take off somewhere too fast.
Vitti might be nearing a shed... I have read about other beardie parents fortelling a shed because their beardie's lips would turn pink or darken. I wouldn't be worried about it, Cinder's lips are kinda pink too. You take great pictures of her!

 

[ashlee1228]

a couple days before Norbert sheds the tip of his nose turns purple and it looks like he is wearing beige-ish pink lipstick, just like Vitti's do in that photo.

They are such amazing little critters, I dont think there is anything better than a beardie snuggling in for a nap when you are feeling blue.

 

[Ostrommaysi]

Vitti is looking great. I haven't seen any real interest with Cinder and the windows of my house. I only let him look outside once, and he just seemed mystified by all the green and birds, but not too interested. I would never trust him alone on my window, he would take off somewhere too fast.
Vitti might be nearing a shed... I have read about other beardie parents fortelling a shed because their beardie's lips would turn pink or darken. I wouldn't be worried about it, Cinder's lips are kinda pink too. You take great pictures of her!

My bed comes right up to the bottom of the window so she can lay right on my bed and look out with ease. Even if she wished to run she'd have nowhere to go I am very strict about having shirts to block the underneath of the only door out as well as something over the vent so she can't get her legs stuck. There is absolutely no way she can get hurt in my room (that can be helped in any way) and I never let her out unless I'm watching her. The window is one of the first things I've noticed her having a real interest in. She doesn't like baths, or being held but god forbid you don't let her look out the window. As for the pictures I'm a horrible photographer, this is the first camera I've ever owned and I'm still trying to figure it out

a couple days before Norbert sheds the tip of his nose turns purple and it looks like he is wearing beige-ish pink lipstick, just like Vitti's do in that photo.

They are such amazing little critters, I dont think there is anything better than a beardie snuggling in for a nap when you are feeling blue.

That is true, one of my favorite things is when Vitti curls up in her log for the night. I just can't imagine a more innocent looking creature. My dog and two cats will plop down with reckless abandon anywhere they want and take a nap. Vitti will go through such measures to go into her log every night, squish herself as much as she can in the back of it and curl up and sleep with her head towards the exit. It kinda makes me sad as shes getting big and won't fit in that log much longer and most big logs they sell are horizontal unlike this one which sticks up at an angle which you can see in the pic.

 

[Ostrommaysi]

I managed to get my little Vitti a new home, a 75g tank complete with new decor and a hammock. I'll be sure to get pictures soon. Still working on the tiling for the bottom though.

Vitti now has a appointment to see a herp vet on this coming Tuesday. Finally have a chance to take him to a Vet to see how well, or not well, he is doing. I must say I don't think I've ever been as nervous and worried as I am now. Not even when my own health problems have arisen. A million scenarios play through my head and the thought of something bad or life threatening scare the hell out of me. While in reality he doesn't seem ill enough to possibly be that dire I'm hardly the best judge. What if something is wrong with my baby and he has to be taken from me? I don't feel I can handle it. Sadly the only problems hes really shown are darkness at times and his current shedding. However in my mind every blink of an eye, every sign of discomfort, each darkened scale might as well be nuclear apocalypse. I've never been married and am not in a relationship so I guess you can say I'm almost obsessively attached to Vitti. Part of my worry is horrendous guilt knowing the first month or two with him were rocky because of bad starting info that took me a long time to set right. Four whole days till the Vet visit might as well be an eternity. Its my first Vet visit as a pet owner ever and knowing my beardie's unique needs makes it all that much more stressful

Part of the worry comes from the fact Vitti just does not seem to like things I read a lot of other beardies enjoying. He hates baths, he hates Blackberries and raspberries. He doesn't particularly like being held and frankly he just does not like being out of his enclosure. The entire time hes out he will run around looking for a way back in. His tank is near the bottom edge of my bed and when hes out I'll sit on the floor against the bed. He will run about long enough to take a poop on the floor then run up me and to the edge of the bed near his tank. Oftentimes I'll make a bridge with my arm from the bed to the table and before ya know it, its glass dance night at the 75g club. He loves to be in his tank basking under the light. Is there something wrong with that is there something possibly wrong? Don't get me wrong he has no trouble running around and it doesn't look like it causes him discomfort. He just REALLY likes his tank and basking. As long as hes on his fake rock basking hes as bright and happy as can be.

You might of noticed me calling Vitti a he for all you who have followed Vitti's progress. Well now that Vitti is bigger I decided to "re"invade his privacy and sure enough my lil lady is really my lil guy. I'll embarrassingly admit its been rough calling him a guy after so much times referring to him as a girl. I've joked with friends wondering if I should start calling him "Sport" or "Slugger" or other such things. At least I no longer have to worry about the deal with eggs and such.

I'll try and get some photos tomorrow and some info about the vet visit when I can. Vitti is not very photogenic right now his body is severely dulled due to an upcoming shed.... AGAIN. I swear my "little Vittle" sheds so often but hes getting so big.

 

[Ostrommaysi]

As I promised a picture of the new enclosure. Keep in mind that I plan to add tiling when money permits.

75g tank thats 48X18. The light directly above Vitti is a Zoomed 100w Daylight bulb. To the left of that is a ReptiSun 10.0 bulb and the lone bulb on the complete left of the enclosure is a 100w Megaray. I have two digital thermometers with probes so I know the temps at each part of the tank. Both basking spots are at roughly 102 degrees with the cool spots being around 85. Humidty around 35% on the megaray side and 37% on the ReptiSun side. All fake plants and such were thoroughly cleaned. His Salad bowl consists of mustard and collard greens. Most nights he sleeps inside the rock he is basking on. I'm so happy I was able to get him out of that cramped little 30g tank. he has so much more room to move about and chase crickets. I was thinking of putting a identical light set up on the other side once I get another stand as I have an additional Zoomed 100w daylight bulb and ReptiSun 10.0 in reserve. Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated

 

[Drache613]

Unlocked by Moderator per OP's request

 

[Ostrommaysi]

Thank you!

Its been a while since my last update. Vitti's checkup at the vet went without incident and the herp vet gave him a clear bill of health. Today Vitti measures in at a whopping 19 1/2 inches long. A far cry from the 5 inches when I got him 4months ago. To this day our bond continues to grow, each day I get the honor of enjoying his company and at night he snuggles in under my chin for a nap before I put hm to bed. Hard to believe how far we have come and I can only just bear the excitement of seeing what memories we will share next. But enough yappin, lets see some pictures!

First off I wanted to give a clear size comparison between him in his first bath on March 15, 2010 (Top picture) and today's bath July 15, 2010. (Bottom Picture) Note the sterilite symbol in both pictures. (I had to trace the bottom one it wasn't easy to see)The sterilite logo is less then 1 1/2 inches long. Looking at him you'd swear it wasn't the same reptile both in size and color.

Now for some random pictures:

Of course after a nice bath there's nothing like drying yourself off on a nice paper towel.

Look at that big ol Beardie Buddha belly (filled with nummy dusted crickets)

I have climbed shirt mountain to the top of the door!

I have conquered the mighty Tauren statue, all fear the PvP elite beardie!

I tought I taw a "Vitti"ceps...

...I Diid! I diid!

 

[DeweysMom]

It's hard to believe that's the same beardie in the 1st and 2nd photos. One heck of a looker you have there! I love the markings.