Spartacus' Thread

Hey everyone!

Meet Spartacus!

He is a gorgeous "Fire Tang" who hatched on June 5th, 2012 thanks to...

Mother "Nessa"- Extreme Tangerine

Father "Vyllyn"- Blood x Leucistic

Ive had him almost a week now and things have been going smooth for the most part. His first day home home he acted as if he was hatched here. Completely stress free. Ate normal and was just a bit curious of his new surroundings, but other than that he was very very calm.

Day 2 wasnt as good, he started the day off by throwing up :\ and this scared the heck out of me. Needless to say he went without eating for the remainder of the day, but i made sure he was well hydrated by misting him and giving him watered down gatorade.

Day 3 things started getting better as he started eating his crickets again. He refuses to eat crickets unless they are dropped into his tank. So im forced to take everything but the paper towels out of the cage when i feed him. I know i cant do this forever, but until hes completely comfortable in his new house i guess its what ill have to do.

Since then things have been pretty normal. He would dance with his reflection constantly, and i also noticed his reflection would effect his hunting the crickets. If he saw his reflection he would go in stealth mode as if he had competition on his hands. It was cute. But i taped paper around the inside walls today to alleviate that stress. haha which reminds me right after i did that he would run right up to it and just stare like "hey where did i go?"

I started this thread to not only have a little documentation of Spartacus' life but to share it with other beardie lovers. I cant wait to watch him grow from this adorably little guy to a full grown dragon!

-xICooRsYIx

 

[mudskipper]

Aww the poor guy. I think it's normal for them to be a bit grumpy while shedding. Maybe you could give him a bath to help loosening up the shed? Post more pix before and after the shed. I bet he will get more and more colorful after each shed so you can look back and see the transformation.

 

[xICooRsYIx]

Ok so its been a couple of days since the last update. I started class this week so ive been busy getting settled in with that.

Things have been going good. Ive made a few changes to his enclosure in which you can see here.

(Spartacus trying to show off his pearly whites back there HAHA)
As you can see i blocked off some of his cage, and i blocked off his hut. All of this was done because he just wasnt basking. He was either running circles around his cage or hiding in his hut. He just wasnt spending enough time basking and he was having issues digesting. Since these changes he basking a whole lot more. At first he was like what the heck are these walls... and he would literally step back and try to run right through them.. but he soon realized they werent budging. He still goes back and forth against the left side of the tank where i dont have wood. i might cut some pieces down so they can fit. I found these little wooden pannels in my garage. I think i might use them permanently to put up against the walls. I could even use them for the floor, but i dont think i have enough. Ill cross that bridge when the time comes.

I blocked off his hide because like i said, he was spending more time under it, than on top of it. His lights go off at 8 30, so around 8pm i unblock it because he likes sleeping in there. That way if i need to turn my light on for some reason at night, or watch TV the light doesnt disturb his sleep.

The last post i mentioned that he was going into shed. Well he has finally shed most of it off.

He still has a little left here and there, but the majority came off today. I gave him a couple baths to help, but he cant stand them. Is this common with baby beardies? The second he hits water he flies off to the closest thing he can grab on to to get out. Im sure he'll learn to like it as he gets older.

Other than that everythings going pretty good. Hes appetite is still huge. Still nit picking at the veggies but hes making progress. Its weird. he goes to eat his veggies but the second i look at him starting to eat them he looks up at me and then stops. Its like he doesnt want me knowing he likes veggies. Its probably all part of a master plan for me to give him more crickets...

Another thing i wish i could change is his where he decides to poop... which is directly on top of his basking spot. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And it forces me to take it out and wash it all down right away. Why cant he just go in the corner on the paper towel haha. Wish there was a way to potty train a dragon!

Thanks for all the compliments guys. Let me know what you think of his fresh new layer of skin

-xICooRsYIx

 

[mudskipper]

He's looking good! Very pretty

How's the temperature on your basking pot? I'm using a 100W clear bulb. I can't get the temperature above 100F unless it's REALLY CLOSE at like less than 6".

 

[xICooRsYIx]

well i did have mine hanging a few inches over the tank because i started getting readings of like 117. but this morning for instance.. its not even 90. The temperature in my house cant be fluxuating that much so im kind of confused a little myself as to what to do.

-xICooRsYIx

 

[xICooRsYIx]

Well i woke up this morning and i was freezing! man is the air getting colder, and i love it! But Spartacus im sure feels the opposite.

Im still trying to get control of the basking temp. I use the yellow zoo med digital thermometer that you can get at petshops. Is that known to be accurate? Like some days its 105..others is 85. I know the temperature in my room fluctuates.. but not by 20 degrees. Im always raising the lamp if its too hot. but then the next day it reads too low. I just cant get the perfect spot. His basking spot is only about 6 inches from the ground. you can see in pictures above. Right now i have a 100w clear bulb AND a 60w soft white bulb. Its reading at about 100 which is good for today!

Any ways to get a more controlled temp in basking spot?

As far as Spartacus goes hes doing well. Definitely growing and hes been eating more and more veggies every day . Hes FINALLY starting to settle in i think. He just seems a whole lot more comfortable.. basking alot opposed to running around his cage in circles all day long.

Still wishing i could potty train this guy. Today i took him out and put him on his bed while i cleaned off his little hut and straightened things out and he pooped right on my bed! So that comforter went right into the washer. It was weird because he usually poops after he eats.. and he pooped before i even fed him this morning. He planned it i think xD.

Ill get more pictures up soon!

-xICooRsYIx

 

[Beardiesforthewin72]

Try getting him to go in the bath I got my beardie to only go in the bath she will even wait all day til I can put her in there. Make the water warm fill it so he can swim, watch him very very carefully you don't want him to drowned, and he'll probably do that freak out thing he usually does just don't let him get out eventually this will force a bowel movement bath him every day like that. Soon he will only go in the bath! Also do it in the morning when he usually goes that way he know for sure he will poo in there! Good luck!

 

[xICooRsYIx]

I gave him his bath in the bathtub today for the first time. I filled it up just enough that his feet could touch on the shallow end. When he first got in, he swam straight for the wall trying to get out but that didnt work out so well for him. So he did a couple laps around the outter edge of tub (hes quite the swimmer) before he paused to take his poop. I gave him the bath right after he ate because he usually poops within 10 minutes of eating his crickets. Hopefully we can do this every morning and potty train him . Save me from having to clean his cage every time and saves him from the smell!.

Other than that things are going pretty smooth. Hes found a way to get on top of the wooden walls ive placed in his cage to enclose him more, but he never goes over them. He kinda just hangs out. He has this weird obsession with my windows. Everytime i take him out thats where he wants to go. He will sit there forever and just stare. He gets the very dark markings on his belly tho and ive also notices the colors on his back get darker too when hes in my window. Now i was told those are due to stress so i put him back in his cage after they appear.

Hes still not a huge fan of his veggies. As of now im giving him butternut and collard greens regularly. Ill throw in the occasional broccoli/carrot but not often.

-xICooRsYIx

 

[Beardiesforthewin72]

Sometimes they turn dark to soak up heat easier. He was probably cold!

 

[xICooRsYIx]

Pictures of Spartacus 9/29/12

I started feeding him bigger crickets yesterday! I picked the smaller ones out from the large bin and he ate them no problem! I also purchased some superworms because the petshop didnt have crickets. The lady said as long as i cut the head off he should have no problems.

As far as vegetables, hes still not eating much. I dont know if i should keep throwing in different veggies to see what he takes to or if i should just wait it out and see if he will eat it. I know mixing mealworms with veggies is a good way to have them eat but are there any other ways?

thanks!

-xICooRsYIx

 

[mudskipper]

You could try small superworms instead. He's getting very red! Very handsome.

 

[xICooRsYIx]

I actually have 25 large mealworms i bought one day because thats all the petshop had. Ive been cutting their heads off then cutting them in half and putting them in with the veggies. He seems to like those. Collard Greens seems to be his favorite veg.

I know his color is getting so deep! i cannot wait to see what this next shed brings

-xICooRsYIx