The REAL Slim Shady! (Anniversry Edition!!)

Hey all! I just got my beardie, Slim, a few days ago. My dad called him Slim Shady as a joke and it stuck!

I thought I'd keep a diary-type thing here like many of you seem to do. Every day I get so excited about him, I want to keep some kind of log of his growth. I also want to eventually post a picture of the underside of his tail to get some help sexing him.

Day 1, 11/24/12: Taking him home in a Kritter Keeper. I wanted him to come around on his own, so I put the box he came in in the Keeper and let him come out gradually during the car ride.

He's so adorable, and a little rascal, too! Here are some other pics of him during our first week together:

Cuddling with mommy!

Like the poster child for cuteness.

Sleepy time!

"Check out my sexy curves!"

Loving his new hammock.

The first day he didn't eat much, being new to his environment and all. It took a few days, but by day two or three he was wolfing down crickets like it was his day job. He's still warming up to me, very very slowly, but today I saw lots of progress! I dipped a few mealworms in some baby food (I know mealworms aren't ideal, but the store is out of crickets and I'm waiting on a shipment still) and fed them to him, then actually got him to lick some off my finger! He loves Gerber's organic squash baby food... it's just organic squash and water.

He's still not entirely trusting of me... unless I have food in my hands, of course. But hopefully this thread evolves to include more good news about him coming around. :love5:

 

[BlueDragon09]

OMG what a cutie! He's so cute! Haha mine likes squash too.
nice colors they're really pretty.

 

[Dreamwritten]

OMG what a cutie! He's so cute! Haha mine likes squash too.
nice colors they're really pretty.

Thank you! I didn't even shop around for a beardie. He was the first one I saw and the only one I wanted. I love the blue/orange combination on his back.

 

[BlueDragon09]

Looks almost Vash, like but not quite mine is more yellow.
You're welcome. I didn't get to pick out my dragon, he was a
birthday gift.

 

[Dreamwritten]

Well, I was just stalking your Vash thread, and you wound up with quite a lovely gift! He's a handsome feller. And definitely well cared for ... he's eight and looks great! 8)

 

[BlueDragon09]

He's just about 9, he's shedding like a monster.
Thank you for stalking my thread, views is just as good as
replies.

 

[Dreamwritten]

Well I had to hop off the comp for a bit, but when I have more time, I'll leave some replies as well!

 

[BlueDragon09]

Okay sounds good.

 

[Dreamwritten]

Stop... Hammock Time! Dunnn dun dun dun

 

[Dreamwritten]

Success!

This morning, Slim once again licked baby food from my fingertip. It's absolutely adorable, and his little tongue tickles. I'm proud of him--he is still a bit skittish when I go to wipe the excess off his beard, but he lets me!

He didn't really try running away from me at all this morning. I nearly cried :')

EDIT: Also, I noticed that although he does get some stress marks when I try to handle him, his belly has been pretty impeccably white, especially while on his hammock! I think he's finally starting to acclimate. :love5:

 

[Dreamwritten]

More Success!

Came home to a pleasant surprise today. Slim not only ate some baby squash this morning with me, but ate a good deal of the pile of veggies I left him, as well. I can't tell if he's eaten any of the pellets I bought him, though.

I feel kind of bad at the same time. I think he's eating his veggies because he's hungry. I've been out of crickets for two days now, as my shipment has yet to come in and the pet store near me is out of quarter inchers. So, much to my paranoia over impaction, I've been feeding him mealworms dusted with calcium and dipped in baby food... but only three or four at a time. I also leave out some dry food round the clock and leave him some veggies during the day for him to have at lunch time, since I'm at work and can't feed him myself midday. I'm glad he's finally eating them!

Thankfully, I don't have much to worry about with impaction right now, because he's going to the bathroom regularly and even has some watery stool on occasion (although I attribute that to the two baths he had recently and the thin baby food... I think he's a healthy boy).

He was a bit more skittish when I came home today, but he always goes through moods. I think I'm going to cut up an old t-shirt I no longer like after wearing it for a bit and use it as a liner/blanket for his little log home.

 

[jezwolf175]

just caught up on ur thread. he's a cutie! hope ur shipment comes in soon.

 

[idcouple]

That's too super cute ... hammock time ... lol

 

[beardielove10]

What a cutie!! I love the picture of him on the logs looking straight at the camera. What a sweetheart you have

 

[Dreamwritten]

Thanks everyone! He can be a bit pissy sometimes, lol, but he's a sweetie at heart. He just nearly fell asleep on my arm!!! I was so excited.

I know I'm officially a beardie slave because my mom just turned to me and said "Okay... this is getting to be a bit much. You need to to talk about something else now."

Here's a better look at his coloring... and his fat just-fed belly! <3

Thankfully, the pet store restocked tonight and I got him 100 crickets to hold him a few more days. I'm rationing them a bit until my shipment comes in, especially now that he's eating other food.


I'd like your opinions on something. I think he is too young to sex--not to mention too skittish to do the tail test yet--but does anyone think they can guess at whether he's a girl or boy? I really think it's a boy, not only by his attitude but by his head and tail. I was told the heads are bigger on males and they have thicker tails, both of which seem to be true for "him."


I REALLY hope he's a boy. I've gotten used to calling him my "good boy" and I don't think I'd be prepared to deal with a female and their egg laying tendencies! But I will love him/her just the same.