Studly Dudley! ♥ *Massive Picture Overload 7/30*

My dad just randomly came home with him! He is cutest thing ever, and has tons of chub! He just dived into his salad!
Hes 2 years old, 15-17 in. long (has pretty good sized nip) and 442 grams... Dyed from red sand, so I cant see his colors.


Will post more details/pics later... I have to babysit!


OMG IM SOOOOOO EXCITEDDDDD!!!

 

[Lauram63110]

Wow! That X ray of Dudley was cool! It looks like they have ribs all the way down the tail! How interesting! All of those ribs, in the body and tail, look so fragile! Congrats on your graduation, Jess!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Late to get on your thread, Jess, but congrats on graduation & now being supv at the pet shop where you work. Those incidents from the end of June were scary, glad everyone was ok & that there was nothing wrong with your mom. God, talk about so many things happening at once. Sorry to hear about your dog, glad it's not life-threatening, but poor thing, arthritis & hip problems are the pits. Tell him he's not the only one with arthritis or hip issues, he's in good company! and loved the xray of Dudley & the pics in the shelter & his new carrier, even though by the beard he didn't look too impressed by either place! He's such a cutie!

 

[Jess]

Hey everyone! LOL, I was afraid this thread was going to be locked soon! :shock:

@Draake, no worries, you aren't being rude! I bought my viv off of someone on Craigslist for $90. I needed to reseal it and get new lights so the total cost was about $120.
Thanks, he just so happens to be my favorite too!

@jewl, ever since Jen was beardie sitting for me when I went on vacation, he has been active and normal! I think he just needed some purpose in his life, and apparently competing with Sarth for the ladies' attention un-brumated him. He always starts brumating in August though so we will see how long this lasts. He has been actually waking up and walking to his basking spot himself, and explores when I take him out instead of sleeping in a corner.

@Laura, isn't that weird?! They have so many teeny tiny bones!

Thanks Deb! My puppy hasn't has any problems since he tore his hip, so I'm thankful for that! There older dogs who are much worse off than he is health-wise, so I won't complain since this barely affects him most of the time.

So... Anyone want to know what I've been up to lately? Upgrading ALL of my cages of course. :roll: By the end of the summer, I will never want to see another tank again. But for all these lovely tanks and happy animals, I guess it's worth it right?

Here is my accomplishment so far:

The leopard geckos each got their new Exo Terra tanks that I mentioned before. I got them on sale and with a coupon for $68 each, and the leos are loving them.
Stanley's. He is obsessed with the rock in front of his thermometer.

Stella's.

Stella has skills at background climbing!

They fit perfectly on top of Dud's viv!

My African clawed frog finally got his own 20 gal long, which I have been promising him for years! LOL. The plants are java fern, java moss, water sprite, and marimo moss.

The little freak himself.

The planted 29 gallon that I am working on for the crestie. Dexter doesn't live in it yet. I'm waiting for the planted to grow in, getting more decor, and waiting for Dexter to hit 30g (He is 25 grams now!). This one has pothos, lucky bamboo, snake plant and mother-in-laws tongue.

A look inside:

And Dudley's project-in-progress will be in my next post... :wink:

 

[Jess]

Ok, so here is what I've been working on for Dudley!

Since I've upgraded to my 4x2x2, I can't find any substrate I like. The longer I use linoleum, the more I'm convinced that it's way to slippery to be appropriate for a beardie. They don't make shelf liner or reptile carpet that is wide enough, tile wouldn't work and I kind of hate tile, and paper towels and newspaper aren't the look I'm going for LOL. And obviously I don't feel comfortable using loose substrate. So, I decided to make my own substrate!

I used a piece of linoleum, aquarium silicone, aquarium sand, and gravel.

I covered the lino with silicone, spread it around with a plastic knife, stuck some gravel into the silicone, and sprinkled the silicone with sand. The end result? A fairly "natural" substrate that is safe from impaction, is (hopefully) easy to clean, light weight, and most importantly... Dudley can walk on it with out slipping! I just put him on it a couple hours ago:

I think it's more interesting to walk on since it isn't just one big flat surface:

And I'm completely re-doing his viv too. I'll use my new substrate, cover the walls in the same patten of lino since m current background is looking stupid and faded, attach some DIY rock ledges to the back and sides, and give him this new epic log. I was just testing it out in these pics, and I need to find a way to give in for traction cause he kept sliding off! Poor thing LOL.

And just for cuteness...

 

[Draake]

Everything looks beautiful Jess! All the animals in your care are very lucky!! :mrgreen:
~Nick

 

[Lauram63110]

Wow Jess! Nick isn't kidding! I'd like to be one of your pets! Oh that I should
Live so well. You will not only make a terrific vet, but you could have
A bright future in HEALTHY animal products. That flooring looks awesome! In addition to all the other great features of it, it can help to keep their claws worn down! Maybe you should market a line of viv accesories- the rocks
And caves along with the custom sized flooring.you could also use colored sand on your flooring for the extra decorator touch. Seriously, you are amazing!

 

[Draake]

I agree with Laura :mrgreen: Jess you seriously know your stuff!
~Nick

 

[Jess]

Aww, thanks guys! I'm glad you thought it was a good idea! I can't wait to put it in Dud's viv once I finish everything.

And I tried to find red sand, but all the colored ones were calcium sand, and since it doesn't do well with getting wet I wasn't sure it would hold up to cleaning. White and black were the only aquarium sands, so I went with white.

Haha, that would be awesome to start my own line of reptile products! I have a ton of lino left, so if people like them that much I guess I could sell a few pieces. It wasn't hard to make, just very messy LOL.

 

[JenFid]

Argh stupid thing unsubscribed me! Your tanks all look great! Your frog is so cute, I don't think I've seen a pic of him before! I like the idea for Dud's substrate, you'll have to let it know how it stand up to cleaning. I love the rep-tile stuff I have in the girl's tanks, and of course Sarth has the gorgeous slate...his tank is going to be a bitch to move, lol

Duds is looking very spry, I'm glad he has his happy colors on for you :mrgreen:

BTW I have Dud's leash here, hubby forgot to give it to you I can mail it to you pretty easily or if you happen to be in the cities sometime soon I could meet you somewhere, just let me know

 

[Lauram63110]

Ohhhh Jess!!! THAT is the name for your
Lino flooring ---REPtile!!!!!! The product has
A name!!!!

 

[Jess]

Thanks Jen! I've had my frog for like 6 years now, but I guess I don't take many pictures of him for some reason. He is really cute though, he croaks at night and he will eat out of your hands!

Haha, I knew I would forget something. It's so hot out lately, Dud wouldn't like to go outside anyway (And neither would I!). Are you going to the next reptile show? It's August 19th I think. I'm not 100% sure I'm going yet, but if we both go we can just meet there.

And Laura, someone already used "Rep-tiles". :| They are no longer making their product though.

 

[littlebirdy]

I got unsubscribed! Dudders is adorable, as always. He looks so cranky and cute I just wanna snatch him up!
Your viv decor continues to put mine to shame. I need to bake Clovis's rocks again since she loves to poop right next to them. I Chlorox-wipe it up, of course, but I'm not sure that really cleans the rock. Let me know how cleaning that substrate goes! I forget if Dudley poops in his cage or elsewhere.

 

[OwnedByOola]

I like the new changes to your vivarium! I'm in the process of switching Oola's viv up as well.

Also, I wish you the best of luck on your quest to become a veterinarian! I graduated from vet school in 2010. It's been hard finding a job in exotics but I wouldn't have chosen any other profession. Please don't hesitate to send me a message if you have any questions about getting started, etc. It's clear that you care very much about animals. I think you'd make a fantastic vet.

 

[JenFid]

I like the new changes to your vivarium! I'm in the process of switching Oola's viv up as well.

Also, I wish you the best of luck on your quest to become a veterinarian! I graduated from vet school in 2010. It's been hard finding a job in exotics but I wouldn't have chosen any other profession. Please don't hesitate to send me a message if you have any questions about getting started, etc. It's clear that you care very much about animals. I think you'd make a fantastic vet.

That's crazy, exotic vets are so hard to find it seems, I'd have thought there was a higher demand for them!

 

[AchiKat]

I like the new changes to your vivarium! I'm in the process of switching Oola's viv up as well.

Also, I wish you the best of luck on your quest to become a veterinarian! I graduated from vet school in 2010. It's been hard finding a job in exotics but I wouldn't have chosen any other profession. Please don't hesitate to send me a message if you have any questions about getting started, etc. It's clear that you care very much about animals. I think you'd make a fantastic vet.

That's crazy, exotic vets are so hard to find it seems, I'd have thought there was a higher demand for them!

There's not a higher demand for them 'cause not a lot of people have exotic pets, or if they do, they hardly take them in. Wouldn't bring in enough money to have an exotic vet. At least that's how they see it. Good luck to you though! And I love what you've done with everything! ^^