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]

More pix! I wanna see close up shots of Spartacus! His parents are very pretty. He's going to be gorgeous, too.

 

[xICooRsYIx]

Ill snap some more pictures of him tomorrow when he wakes up

Today went pretty good. I had work, so my mom helped by feeding/spraying him but i got to give him his breakfast this morning and he ate about 10 crickets. The best part is he ate most of them in a separate container, so maybe him only eating in his tank was just a little phase.

When i got home tonight his lights were off and he was in his hut which i think he discovered the other day, because he has been sleeping in there every night. So cute to see him wander in there once the lights turn off haha.

Looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings with this little guy. Im changing his lighting around to what i should have done originally.. reptisun 10.0 and a 100w light for basking.

-xICooRsYIx

 

[xICooRsYIx]

Today started off very stressful. From the time he woke up (8:30) till about 2, he was just running wild against the walls of his cage. Now i have printer paper taped all along the inside to prevent him from seeing his reflection. So the sound was just extremely annoying. He just wouldnt stop. I fed him hoping he would go bask for a little bit, but nope.. stayed on his hut for about 5 minutes than was right back at it. So i tried giving him a bath. The second he touches water he wants out and sprints to the edge. Again that didnt calm him and he went right back to it. So in my last attempt to get him to calm down i took him out and hung out with him for a bit. It wasnt long before he was running into his tank from the outside.. wanting to get back in! So i just said whatever and let him back in to continue his little rampage.

Today i got a reptisun 10.0 bulb. I was going to order one, but i didnt want to wait. I was originally using a 160w MVB but i didnt like how things were going so i needed to change it up. And after installing the reptisun and a 100w clear basking bulb it was like an instant change.. he hopped right up on his basking hut and started chilling like a cucumber. The basking spot red 98-99. and when the MVB was in it was at like 106 so i dont know why he wanted out of his cage so bad it was in the correct temp range... But all that matters is hes finally basking for more than 5 minutes . Ill tamper with it tomorrow to get the temperature up to at least 100.

Im doing my best to get pictures guys, i spent all morning running around shopping for him again (spoiled). I have the day off tomorrow, ill be sure to snap some pictures of his enclosure as well as him of course!

-xICooRsYIx

 

[xICooRsYIx]

Spartacus wanted to tell you how he was doing himself but he couldnt quite push down hard enough on the keys. xD

Hes loving the new lighting in there. He spends wayy more time in his basking spot which is awesome. Hes eating a lot of crickets, but still slacking on the veggies.

I think hes going into shed as i noticed his left leg is starting to lighten in color! I cant wait to see what he looks like after a full shed

Right now hes just hanging out on my pillow watching some TV and getting ready for bed!

-xICooRsYIx

 

[xICooRsYIx]

Im pretty sure Spartacus has put on a little weight since i got him a week ago! I need to get a scale so i can track his weight as he gets older. Are there any recommended scales for reptiles?

I snapped a few more photos for you guys this morning

Anyways, he pretty much eats every cricket you throw in front of him... i swear if i threw down a whole bag of 50 he would inhale them all no problem. I find myself going to the pet store every other day to get crickets for him. Last time i went i got 25 adult crickets and then put some damp potting soil in a plastic container in the attempt for them to lay eggs. I cant tell if there are eggs in there but i have them under a heat lamp right now. So hopefull in another week or so i have at least a couple babies to show for my work. Ill keep trying till i get the hang of it.

As far as enclosure updates, im still trying to figure out a way to put his tiles in there. When you lay the tiles next to each other, they dont fit perfectly causing a slight gap. Last thing i want is one of his toes getting caught. Is there any other less permanent solutions opposed to grout?

Thanks!

-xICooRsYIx

 

[mudskipper]

I bought a food scales at Bed Bath and Beyond with their 20% off coupon. I got the cheapest one ($20) there, but it has no decimal point. There were a few kinds.

Spartacus looks great! I'm glad he's eating well now

 

[psychgrl]

Hi! I just found this thread or I would have posted sooner. I just wanted to say that Spartacus looks great! I actually have a brother of his from an earlier clutch. Same parents (Nessa and Vyllyn) but born on May 14, 2012. My boy is definitely getting brighter with each shed-can't wait to see how yours progresses!

I don't have anything to add about the scale thing-I agree with mudskipper and just use a food scale. Pretty much anywhere will have one-mine came from Target. Now, I haven't put tiles in my viv yet, more because I just haven't got around to it than anything. I think I'll be doing that soon, though, as the paper towels are getting on my nerves. I have an older beardie in a 40 gallon breeder with tiles. What I did was get enough slate tiles to fill the bulk of the floor space but there were still gaps around the sides of about 1" or so. I just got a ceramic tile that mostly matched the slate and had them cut it into strips to fit the gaps. The tiles fit fairly tightly but there are still gaps, as you've observed. I personally haven't had any issues with toes getting caught but, again, it's an adult and not a baby. Let me know if you figure anything out!

Good luck with your new boy! I'll be keeping an eye on him!

 

[Mediabandit]

Spartacus is a very nice looking Beardie. Gratz on your new little buddy.

 

[Beardiesforthewin72]

Spartacus is very handsome he's got quite the spunk in him to! Make sure to keep us all updated I'm anxious to see new photos!

 

[xICooRsYIx]

Spartacus is getting ready for his first shed.

He spent most of the day like this yesterday. Im assuming he doesnt want to bask too much during shed.

He will get a nice little bath today

-xICooRsYIx

 

[mudskipper]

Hi! I just found this thread or I would have posted sooner. I just wanted to say that Spartacus looks great! I actually have a brother of his from an earlier clutch. Same parents (Nessa and Vyllyn) but born on May 14, 2012. My boy is definitely getting brighter with each shed-can't wait to see how yours progresses!

I don't have anything to add about the scale thing-I agree with mudskipper and just use a food scale. Pretty much anywhere will have one-mine came from Target. Now, I haven't put tiles in my viv yet, more because I just haven't got around to it than anything. I think I'll be doing that soon, though, as the paper towels are getting on my nerves. I have an older beardie in a 40 gallon breeder with tiles. What I did was get enough slate tiles to fill the bulk of the floor space but there were still gaps around the sides of about 1" or so. I just got a ceramic tile that mostly matched the slate and had them cut it into strips to fit the gaps. The tiles fit fairly tightly but there are still gaps, as you've observed. I personally haven't had any issues with toes getting caught but, again, it's an adult and not a baby. Let me know if you figure anything out!

Good luck with your new boy! I'll be keeping an eye on him!

Do you have pictures of him?

 

[eternitylonger]

Walmart has a food scale that weighs in grams. I paid I think 25 bucks for mines that's what alot of people get.

 

[psychgrl]

Mudskipper, I won't hijack Spartacus' thread but, yes, I do have pics! I'll try to get a thread for him started here shortly. There are a few not so great pictures buried down in the Introductions section. My guy is named Dalek.

I'm really excited to find a sibling on here to watch! Ah, who am I kidding? I like watching everyone's babies grow!

 

[xICooRsYIx]

This shed seems to have Spartacus in a little funk. Hes still mowing down every cricket put in front of him, but for the past few days he has just been moping around and hiding in his little hut.

Is this normal while they are in shed? The temp in his basking spot (on top of the hut) is reading at 105.

-xICooRsYIx