The adventures of Ares

I was wondering, is it safe to give new dragons kids pedialyte to rehydrate them? I want keep my dragon has heathy as i can when I get him, and he is a juvenile, like 4.5 to 5 inches. thanks.

 

[Reptiles4Life]

Yeah i just can't believe she is gone. i guess i am awful and horrible now i had no idea she hated me..........

 

[wilddragons16]

Hello, world. Guess what? I just discovered that contrary to popular opinion, you don't have to have sand to make a natural viv! Dragons mainly live on exposed rock, swept clean by the wind. That gives me many ideas for my new natural viv I'm gonna build this summer. Anybody got thoughts on like a colored concrete floor? Constructive stuff only, please. I'm thinking concrete floor with scattered boulders. :love5: It's gonna look soooo good!!!!!

 

[wilddragons16]

Question. Ares is 8 inches, hasn't had a bath yet, and hasn't eaten much today. HE IS EATING SALAD NOW!!! He ate a little today. When he got hungry he made a bee line for the salad. Little weirdo. :lol: Anyway, I was wondering whether 61 grams is a good weight for him? He is about 4 or 5 months, maybe?

 

[Reptiles4Life]

I think thats a good weight maybe, Napoleon is 14 inches and maybe 5 or 6 months and he is like 100 grams now.

 

[wilddragons16]

Oh gosh my guy is pretty small, then. Maybe he isn't 4 months. He was five inches when I got him. How old would you estimate an 8 inch dragon to be?

 

[Reptiles4Life]

Well, He sounds about 4 months by his size. Some beardies grow slower some grow faster.

 

[wilddragons16]

I need a book recommendation for the anatomy of a dragon, focused on skeletal structure and all that stuff. Gross factor of 6? Something like that. Got anything? as in depth at it can be, even like a veterinary textbook. Hope someone can help!

 

[Taterbug]

If you find a book let me know. I haven't been able to track down one specifically about dragons.

I've some links to necropsies ill pm you. Not sure they are too graphic for forum policy or not.

CT scan of bones w/turn around. Super neat
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=203953&p=1611322&hilit=Ct+scan#p1611322

 

[wilddragons16]

Weigh day. He is 5 months old, 91 grams, and 22.5 cm. Yay! He explored my room, and stayed out for almost 25 minutes. Obviously under very close supervision.

 

[sweetiepie9]

How much protein are you giving him? He should be eating at least 60 bugs a day; you're still feeding him phoenix worms? Those are a great source of protein but he may need to eat more. 8" is sort of short for a 5 mo old, so I'm wondering if he's getting enough protein. Most beardies at 5 mo old are at least 11-13" long.
So check how much he's eating, it's good if he's eating salads, but he should be eating 80% of his food in protein and 20% in salad.

 

[Tonja]

There are two excellent books I use but, both are very expensive books.
Both by Douglas Mader and both available on amazon.com..the first is
http://www.amazon.com/Current-Therapy-Reptile-Medicine-Surgery/dp/1455708933/ref=sr_1_78?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396916642&sr=1-78&keywords=bearded+dragons
and this one
http://www.amazon.com/Reptile-Medicine-Surgery-Douglas-Mader/dp/072169327X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396916752&sr=1-1&keywords=reptile+surgery+and+medicine
I also use this one for learning parasites
http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Reptile-Parasites-Herpetocultural-Library-ebook/dp/B009KSJXNS/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396916796&sr=1-2&keywords=reptile+parasites
Like I said they are very expensive but excellent resources.

 

[wilddragons16]

Ok, I wasn't clear. He is eating around at least 40 reptiworms per day, not counting upwards of 20 crickets per day. Based on my last measurement, he has an average weight gain of 2.64 grams per day, putting him at around 121 grams in two weeks. He is growing about an inch every 2 weeks if the current growth trend continues. Just as a note, 2 weeks ago he was just under 8 inches, now he is 8.85 inches. I am measuring in cm now because it is more precise. I also keep a log book of his weight, length, eating habits, and his mood, as well as the date he is examined. Please note, he gained 30 grams in two weeks. That is a 32% increase in weight in two weeks! Yes, he is on the short side, but I am also not sure of his exact age. He was under 6 inches when i got him 4 months ago.

 

[wilddragons16]

Oh thanks for visiting, tonja! Great, I will look at those, I am looking at majoring in zoology with a focus on herpetology, so the more info I can get the better. I appreciate you stopping by. And as always, I value your advice, sweetiepie9. I am basing my ideas of good growth on this chart. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Growth.html. Note he is MILES ABOVE his class compared to length verses weight.

 

[Tonja]

My neighbor is a zoologist with a Masters in Zoology and is a Herpatologist. She works for the Denver Zoo with both reptiles and primates. It is her that recommended the books to me and helps me understand beardies and its her I get a lot of information from for helping on the forum along with Drache613l The books have proven invaluable in understanding the health and issues that can arise with reptiles even though they cover a lot of species of kept reptiles.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Wilddragon, I'm very glad to hear what he's eating and I think he's coming up to a big growth spurt with that kind of food. He just had a slow start, that's all. You're going to see significant growth coming up. By the time he's a year old and I'd stay he's 4 1/2 mo old at this point, he should be 17"+ and about 150g or more.

Sounds like you're having lots of fun with him, I'm glad you're getting him out to roam around, it's great for him to get lots of exercise.

So what about pictures, anything soon?