Shard
Member
- Beardie name(s)
- Xion (she-on)
Don't startle the dragon in the garage.
That's what my siblings told one another, probably for around two to three months. Don't go in the garage. But we were moving soon, and I had to go through there to get something outside...
Hey, I'm Shard. I'm technically not new, but I haven't visited this forum in probably 7 years now. Even further back, one day lil 13 year old me was brought into a local pet store. Tale as old as time, go ahead! Pick out a friend! A teeny tiny bearded dragon on sale, maybe 6 inches long if I'm being generous. To say I was unprepared was an understatement. 20 gallon, reptile carpet, maybe a coil bulb if she was lucky. Her name was Alina, after a song I enjoyed. Since what kid in the 2000s doesn't enjoy a bit of Numa Numa? She was missing a couple claws and a toe or two when I got her. Then she lost the use of her back legs. Only months after I got her, she was gone. A shoebox full of pink petals a foot or so under, the second resident of a backyard grave site that would only grow over the years. The other was my brother's anole who he got the same day as I got Alina.
Was this gal even large enough to be sold?
For the rest of our years at that house, I didn't have any more pets myself, as much as I wanted one. (At least, not officially...a bored kid keeps a couple slugs and snails from time to time) But I engrossed myself in bearded dragon research for years after, as if to make up for prior mistakes. I had a whole battle plan drawn out. I'd build the best enclosure, built into a big cabinet. I'd have carved the interior myself with foam and grout. Inside the cabinet would be a dubia roach colony. I had big ideas for a 15 year old, but plans to start were always...pushed off. Year after year, until I graduated highschool. Then community college. Then I went away for my bachelor's, got sick with something and had to call it quits.
That brings us back to the garage.
My brother's friend had left a bearded dragon in our garage for his own personal reasons. I can't say I blame him, but I wish we had at least been told that he wasn't coming back to at least feed her. The day I saw her, she was thin. Her basking light was broken, and a second light was only a strip of LEDs. The day I saw her, I knew I had to do something to help.
I texted my mom first, asking about the beardie and if it was okay to move some things around. The heat rock had to go ASAP. It was broken anyway. I cleaned up the mystery dirt the best I could and offered whatever I could find in the fridge. She didn't seem interested in vegetables, but she took quickly to some crickets we bought. I asked for help in Discord servers, but unfortunately the question channels move a bit too fast. Someone told me to rehome her since I wasn't prepared. A fair assessment, but there was simply no time. We only had a few days to get out of the house. I asked my brother to talk to his friend. He couldn't take her.
With nobody else to take her and no time to find anyone, I had a bearded dragon again.
The first two months were pretty rough to say the least. Most of that was spent at our grandma's house as the new house had some last minute issues that needed fixing before we could move in. My mom refused to buy anything until we moved in proper, I had to practically beg her to get a UVB bulb. (Moments like these really make me want to find a job asap, lol) Needless to say it's been a bit of back and forth trying to show her what to get.
Her tank felt so bare at the time that I'd sometimes swap out cardboard tubes.
So here we are, almost 3 months in.
I'd say there's been a lot of progress, but we're not done yet! I'd share a picture but it's rather messy at the moment (I woke up to urate all over the ground, it's due to how her basking spot is positioned...) We've got...one digital thermometer? (Not sure why she didn't just get the 2 pack, lol) There's bags of play sand and topsoil waiting in the car for tomorrow (hopefully, spoons willing) and I've got a big rubbermaid with dubias waiting on the rest of the supplies. Not to mention a cabinet and 4x2 enclosure waiting to be put together. Since she's still kinda small right now, I'm hoping maybe I could build that interior I dreamed of...
I hope she's happier now. I know she can't express gratitude, but seeing how much her colors have popped...I think she's getting better.
Anyone know what morph she is though?
All I was told is that she "cost a lot", which can mean anything.
I've named her Xion (she-on), after a character from a game series I enjoy. In the series Xion was, to put it simply, forgotten by everyone who had ever known her. In a literal sense, she ceased to exist. Yet, piece of her still lived on. With a bit of help, she was remembered again. Able to live again, without past fears, and thrive. In truth I didn't think of all that when I named her as it just came to mind immediately, but I'd like to think it suits her.
(Although I later joked that if I got her a month later I'd have named her Pomni for all her escape attempts)
So that's my story, and the beginning of hers. I hope to help her thrive for years to come!
That's what my siblings told one another, probably for around two to three months. Don't go in the garage. But we were moving soon, and I had to go through there to get something outside...
Hey, I'm Shard. I'm technically not new, but I haven't visited this forum in probably 7 years now. Even further back, one day lil 13 year old me was brought into a local pet store. Tale as old as time, go ahead! Pick out a friend! A teeny tiny bearded dragon on sale, maybe 6 inches long if I'm being generous. To say I was unprepared was an understatement. 20 gallon, reptile carpet, maybe a coil bulb if she was lucky. Her name was Alina, after a song I enjoyed. Since what kid in the 2000s doesn't enjoy a bit of Numa Numa? She was missing a couple claws and a toe or two when I got her. Then she lost the use of her back legs. Only months after I got her, she was gone. A shoebox full of pink petals a foot or so under, the second resident of a backyard grave site that would only grow over the years. The other was my brother's anole who he got the same day as I got Alina.
For the rest of our years at that house, I didn't have any more pets myself, as much as I wanted one. (At least, not officially...a bored kid keeps a couple slugs and snails from time to time) But I engrossed myself in bearded dragon research for years after, as if to make up for prior mistakes. I had a whole battle plan drawn out. I'd build the best enclosure, built into a big cabinet. I'd have carved the interior myself with foam and grout. Inside the cabinet would be a dubia roach colony. I had big ideas for a 15 year old, but plans to start were always...pushed off. Year after year, until I graduated highschool. Then community college. Then I went away for my bachelor's, got sick with something and had to call it quits.
That brings us back to the garage.
My brother's friend had left a bearded dragon in our garage for his own personal reasons. I can't say I blame him, but I wish we had at least been told that he wasn't coming back to at least feed her. The day I saw her, she was thin. Her basking light was broken, and a second light was only a strip of LEDs. The day I saw her, I knew I had to do something to help.
I texted my mom first, asking about the beardie and if it was okay to move some things around. The heat rock had to go ASAP. It was broken anyway. I cleaned up the mystery dirt the best I could and offered whatever I could find in the fridge. She didn't seem interested in vegetables, but she took quickly to some crickets we bought. I asked for help in Discord servers, but unfortunately the question channels move a bit too fast. Someone told me to rehome her since I wasn't prepared. A fair assessment, but there was simply no time. We only had a few days to get out of the house. I asked my brother to talk to his friend. He couldn't take her.
With nobody else to take her and no time to find anyone, I had a bearded dragon again.
The first two months were pretty rough to say the least. Most of that was spent at our grandma's house as the new house had some last minute issues that needed fixing before we could move in. My mom refused to buy anything until we moved in proper, I had to practically beg her to get a UVB bulb. (Moments like these really make me want to find a job asap, lol) Needless to say it's been a bit of back and forth trying to show her what to get.
Her tank felt so bare at the time that I'd sometimes swap out cardboard tubes.
So here we are, almost 3 months in.
I'd say there's been a lot of progress, but we're not done yet! I'd share a picture but it's rather messy at the moment (I woke up to urate all over the ground, it's due to how her basking spot is positioned...) We've got...one digital thermometer? (Not sure why she didn't just get the 2 pack, lol) There's bags of play sand and topsoil waiting in the car for tomorrow (hopefully, spoons willing) and I've got a big rubbermaid with dubias waiting on the rest of the supplies. Not to mention a cabinet and 4x2 enclosure waiting to be put together. Since she's still kinda small right now, I'm hoping maybe I could build that interior I dreamed of...
I hope she's happier now. I know she can't express gratitude, but seeing how much her colors have popped...I think she's getting better.
Anyone know what morph she is though?
All I was told is that she "cost a lot", which can mean anything.
I've named her Xion (she-on), after a character from a game series I enjoy. In the series Xion was, to put it simply, forgotten by everyone who had ever known her. In a literal sense, she ceased to exist. Yet, piece of her still lived on. With a bit of help, she was remembered again. Able to live again, without past fears, and thrive. In truth I didn't think of all that when I named her as it just came to mind immediately, but I'd like to think it suits her.
(Although I later joked that if I got her a month later I'd have named her Pomni for all her escape attempts)
So that's my story, and the beginning of hers. I hope to help her thrive for years to come!
This is a new development after she stopped hissing at my hands.
also I need a proper temp gun, I've been using a meat thermometer lol. Wondering if I should just make a list of everything I still need and send it to my mom)
