Photo thread for my little Lexa!

[Coda]

Hi everyone! I'm sorta new here but I've been researching beardies for a couple years now so I've been lurking for quite a while, and I was finally able to get my first bd last week! I was looking for one on the cheaper side but didn't want to start with such a young beardie like what they sell in the big pet stores. Of course trying to find a cheap dragon from a reputable breeder isn't so easy! Luckily Midnight Dragonz had a normal girl from a clutch of citrus babies and I was able to grab her. Her name is Lexa, she's 6 months old, 144 grams (up from 122g when I get her almost two weeks ago), and just shy of 14".

Her setup:

Her enclosure is a bit bigger than a standard 40g breeder, but not quite as tall. I've got a reptisun 10.0 and her basking site is around 105-107F, cool side around 78-80F. I plan to get that big rock out of the way soon and make her a climbing ledge/hide/basking platform along that side of her tank, and I'm working on a little quilted sleeping bag that's open on both ends to put under her hammock.

I'm thinking her enclosure is a little big for her at the moment, since she doesn't use the cool side much. She's gotten into the habit of scratching at the glass so I'll open her tank up and let her sit on the ledge to cool down, instead of just moving to the cool side haha. After all that work I put into making her hammock and ladder! :roll: Anyway, on to the pictures!

She seems to be doing real well. She munches on her salad throughout the day (collards, mustard greens, squash, red pepper, and occasional blueberry or two), and gets phoenix worms twice a day, around 30-40. She could probably eat way more, I've been supplementing with rep-cal pellets until I get can some dubia next week. The only thing is she doesn't really like to be handled much..I can hold her a bit but if she's near enough to jump on something she'll try to get away. She definitely seems to want to be out and exploring, but I can't really let her do that yet since I don't have a harness and we've got a couple cats around. :? I'm gonna give her more time to settle in a bit and then maybe get her a harness.

 

[CooperDragon]

She's a really nice looking animal. I love the tank too. The photo of her with her arm hanging out the front window is really funny.

 

[Coda]

Thank you!

She still seems pretty scared of me. Usually she just tries to get away or gapes at me a bit, but today she sunk down real low when she saw me. Not sure what else to do to get her to warm up to me. I've been handling her as little as possible, usually just take her out for baths every couple days. She could probably use more hides in her viv as well. Hopefully she'll feel more secure that way and start using the cool side too.

Aaaand a photo because this was too cute not to share!

 

[Coda]

It's been a lazy day for Lexa. I think she's finally starting to settle in as she's been really active the past couple days and her stress marks aren't showing nearly as much. Today though it's icky and rainy outside. She had a bit of her salad this morning and her phoenix worms and rep-cal pellets for lunch, the rest of the time she's spent napping. She's also beginning to shed her back, top of her head and one of her legs.

 

[sammmycakes]

She is so cute! Full of personality it looks like.

You could put one of your tshirts in there that you've worn to help her get used to your smell. Also just making sure to hang out outside of her tank and talking to her a lot will help.

As for the slouching down when you went near the tank, my male BD does that randomly out of nowhere, and he's not afraid of me or coming out of the tank at all. I think it's when I startle him!


Goodluck with your beautiful little girl. I love the tank also!

 

[Coda]

Thanks! I'll try the Tshirt thing, although so far she's been entirely uninterested in anything I put in her viv if it's not food haha. She seems to be relaxing more and more each day and wanting to get out and explore, so I've been letting her do that a bit each day. Today she got to sit on the windowsill for the first time which she seemed to enjoy quite a bit

 

[abbyxelizabeth]

Those pictures are great! Keep posting please.

 

[Coda]

Thank you! Lexa's still doing well. Eating, pooping and steadily gaining weight. She hasn't been super active lately but then again she is shedding most of her body right now. She's currently warming up on her snake plush and waiting for breakfast

And another viv pic. My brother in law threw together a canopy so my cat would stop jumping on top, which is a must have since I'm starting classes soon and won't be here every day to shoo him off. Lexa sat on her ledge and watched me paint it :love5:

 

[Coda]

I finally have some time for a little update! Classes have started so I haven't had much time for photos but I managed to get a few pics on my phone. Lexa's spent all day working the shed off her head, back and belly, and she's been super hyper ever since she finished. :lol: