# A new reptile friend



## Obsidian (Apr 12, 2021)

I have a new little friend to introduce. 

A good friend of mine couldn't keep her baby bearded dragon and asked me if I wanted him. 
I have years of experience with beardies, sort of the local expert so to speak.

She dropped him off last night, I had his cage all ready and warmed up. Only had a little time to meet each other before lights out so today will be getting to know each other.

Not the best pictures but he was scared and I didn't want to bother him too much. Beardies are well know for sleeping in really odd positions. 
When I checked him this morning, I found him hanging from a small dowel. Hoping he finds the fleece cave tonight.

@cmzaha you should like this one better then my others


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## Obsidian (Apr 12, 2021)

Better pictures


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## cmzaha (Apr 12, 2021)

Congratulations. your new youngster is so adorable and of course, I am jealous since love Beardies. If we ever get to our final move I just might add a Beardie or two to my collection. They are just so friendly and fun. My girls each had Beardies after their iggies went to their big land in the sky to play together. I am going to get you to go Tropical Arboreal yet, even though they are a pain to set up. When you do I will have a friend for you. 

I do like looking at the pictures of your Corns, which the beautiful colors just not so much the eight-legged critters but I am getting better.  The pics of the Metallicas were gorgeous and still on my phone!!

ETA: I just saw the new pics, how old? Still looks to be a juvie, but looks to have been cared for. Silly lizzy it could have found a nicer place to sleep!


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## KimW (Apr 12, 2021)

Oh, such a pretty thing!  he reminds me of the Horned Lizards of my home Okie land.  I like him!!

What's his name??


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## cmzaha (Apr 12, 2021)

KimW said:


> Oh, such a pretty thing!  he reminds me of the Horned Lizards of my home Okie land.  I like him!!


They remind me of horned lizards also, which we have in our CA deserts. I loved catching them as a kid, keeping them for the weekend in a box then letting them go when we left. I would only keep them overnight so no one get upset.


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## Obsidian (Apr 12, 2021)

@cmzaha they really are such great reptiles. I've had them on and off for nearly 20 years now.
Not sure of his age, my friend had him two months and he didn't really grow much in that time. He probably is 3-4 months.
He wasn't cared for well at all, I'm actually really surprised he isn't underweight. His little body isn't much bigger then my thumb, he really should be double the size by now.

I'd love to have a arboreal at some point. It will have to wait until my daughter gets her temporary house build and can take back her 25+ tarantulas and snake. 

All my space is just about taken up and the rhombodera are hatching today.



KimW said:


> Oh, such a pretty thing!  he reminds me of the Horned Lizards of my home Okie land.  I like him!!
> 
> What's his name??



Thanks, no name yet, need to make sure I sex him right and see his personality. I have a extraordinarily hard time naming lizards.


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## Obsidian (Apr 12, 2021)

Some perspective


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## cmzaha (Apr 12, 2021)

Oh my goodness he is tiny. In the other pic, he looked much larger so I was confused when I saw the little one on the stick, and does not necessarily look 2-3 months old in this new picture. Pictures are so deceiving, but your thumb is not. Fortunately, the little guy or gal does not seem to have MBD or Dehydrated, its legs and tail look good, also does not look bloated. I wish the little one well and guess it will thrive under your good care. 

We had a female Iggy we rescued from a pet shop many moons ago that was in bad shape, she never grew to full size but lived over 10 years and was a sweetie. I am sure her growth was stunted due to poor nutrition which is also why she had lost some toes. It took a lot of convincing but they finally gave her up to us. 

Have fun separating all your Rhomboderas today, there goes your day.


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## Obsidian (Apr 12, 2021)

cmzaha said:


> Have fun separating all your Rhomboderas today, there goes your day.



Oh no, mom has the ootheca not me. She is leaving them together for a couple days, weed out the weak.
I do need to finish putting together little cups though.

As much as I like mantid, I'm honestly tired of taking on other peoples critters.
My brother is the one who ordered the oothecas but he hasn't prepped any cups. Figured he'd just give me the  hundreds of extras.


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## cmzaha (Apr 12, 2021)

Obsidian said:


> Oh no, mom has the ootheca not me. She is leaving them together for a couple days, weed out the weak.
> I do need to finish putting together little cups though.
> 
> As much as I like mantid, I'm honestly tired of taking on other peoples critters.
> My brother is the one who ordered the oothecas but he hasn't prepped any cups. Figured he'd just give me the  hundreds of extras.


Oh, I must have read wrong, I thought you had the Oothecas. I realized your brother ordered one and if I remember they sent him extras. How sweet of them...not. That is why I do not want to raise Mantids, just too many to deal with, I agree with your mom let the strongest survive.   My daughter was known to do that after her first couple rounds of hatchings.


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## Obsidian (Apr 19, 2021)

Sam is filling out well, he's got a nice plump tummy going on.


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## KimW (Apr 19, 2021)

AWE.  I swear, if you look at the before and after pics, he's smiling now!  Even his eyes look brighter.  Such a cutey.


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## cmzaha (Apr 19, 2021)

He is beautiful. You have done such a good job with Sam he is one lucky Beardie.


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## Obsidian (Apr 23, 2021)

Thanks guys, he is such a sweetie even if he does have cheeky days.
He's growing so fast, getting ready to shed already even though he was just finishing a shed when I got him.

I'll make sure to post shed pictures, often it looks like they are exploding with skin everywhere


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## KimW (Apr 23, 2021)

I just love this little Sam dude!  Thank you for my morning smile.


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## Obsidian (Apr 28, 2021)

Sam has exploded


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## KimW (Apr 28, 2021)

Awe!  Poor guy.  Good thing he can't see himself in the mirror.     Will he be really shiny after his molt?


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## Obsidian (Apr 28, 2021)

He was so miserable, the skin flapping around tickles. I gave him a bath and got most off.

Won't be shiny, not like a snake. They are quite spiky with no sheen.


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## KimW (Apr 28, 2021)

AWWEEEE...poor little guy!  Hope he's a little less miserable now.


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## cmzaha (Apr 28, 2021)

My goodness, he is growing by leaps and bounds. Explode he did, and I bet the nice batch felt good. It is amazing what good care can do for a little one. One thing with my Days you really do not see them shed often since they eat their shed.


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## Obsidian (Apr 29, 2021)

He's growing great, enough that he has more bug mail on the way lol.


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## cmzaha (Apr 29, 2021)

Obsidian said:


> He's growing great, enough that he has more bug mail on the way lol.


That is the one thing that gets annoying. I really get tired of bug mail. I am going to eventually have to start my own fruit fly cultures and maybe Dubias. I really love Beardies. 

I have a new 4 month old Peacock coming in a week or so. After having to separate Houdini and Soudini I started searching for a new mate for one of them, which proved impossible. So I purchased an un-sexed juvie to the tune of $125+70 shipping. Of course, I have to wait to grow the little on out before I find out who I will be able to mate it with. I still need one more.


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## Obsidian (Apr 29, 2021)

I used to raise dubia but I developed severe allergies, tried red runners but they don't do well for me. I might try breeding black soldier flies, its looks easy enough.

Good luck with your new baby, hopefully this one will be nicer.


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## Fenchurch (Apr 29, 2021)

Owww, didn't know there were other herp enthousiasts here!
I've got geckos, newts, frogs and a snake.

Welcome to your beardy!

Happy bubbles
Stéphanie


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## Obsidian (Apr 29, 2021)

Fenchurch said:


> Owww, didn't know there were other herp enthousiasts here!
> I've got geckos, newts, frogs and a snake.
> 
> Welcome to your beardy!
> ...



Oh yeah, besides the beardie I also have three snakes and a bunch of tarantulas.
I really want a couple tree frogs, will probably go with pacific tree frogs since they are native here and don't require tropical care


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## cmzaha (Apr 29, 2021)

Fenchurch said:


> Owww, didn't know there were other herp enthousiasts here!
> I've got geckos, newts, frogs and a snake.
> 
> Welcome to your beardy!
> ...


LOL, don't mind Obsidian she is weird, she likes eight-legged creatures. Just kidding Gail. What aspect of the Dubias caused you an allergy, do you know? I remember you raising them, you sent me some to feed somebody. 


Fenchurch what type of Geckos do you have? I have P. quadriocellatas (peacocks) and Klemmeri. Next year I hope to get a breeding pair of Williamsi.


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## Obsidian (Apr 29, 2021)

Haha, I am weird
Its the frass that I'm allergic too, I have to wear a respiratory to even be in the same room as a large colony.
Last time I had a attack, nearly sent me to the hospital. Handling them will cause hives.
I haven't had dubia in forever, it was hissers I sent you for the cham.


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## cmzaha (Apr 29, 2021)

Obsidian said:


> Haha, I am weird
> Its the frass that I'm allergic too, I have to wear a respiratory to even be in the same room as a large colony.
> Last time I had a attack, nearly sent me to the hospital. Handling them will cause hives.
> I haven't had dubia in forever, it was hissers I sent you for the cham.


Well just shows what I know, I was thinking it was dubias. All I know was he gobbled them up. I think I will decide to not raise them, my gecks are not that crazy about them anyway. It is not worth the risk, so thank you for the info. No, you are not weird, we all like different creatures. How are the Mantids doing?


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## Obsidian (Apr 29, 2021)

Roaches are one of the leading causes of severe allergies in the US and even if you aren't allergic at first, it can come on out of the blue.

I'm ok with red runners but I don't breed them, just keep a few dozen on hand for the tarantulas. 
They have a longer life span, don't jump or make noise.

Mantids are ok, I've lost a few but thats to be expected. Found out they are chinese, not rhombodera. That was disappointing but at least I can release these outside


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## cmzaha (Apr 29, 2021)

Obsidian said:


> Roaches are one of the leading causes of severe allergies in the US and even if you aren't allergic at first, it can come on out of the blue.
> 
> I'm ok with red runners but I don't breed them, just keep a few dozen on hand for the tarantulas.
> They have a longer life span, don't jump or make noise.
> ...


That is why the seller sent so many oothecas. I was a tad suspicious. They are great for the garden. 

How are the corns doing, is your girls coming along well?


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## Obsidian (Apr 29, 2021)

Corns are doing well, rose shed again and is getting pinker. I really need to do a photo shoot but its hard to wrangle them at this size.

Fern is still very shy, I only see him on feeding days. My daughters hognose it the most entertaining. He hates me with a passion and coils up like a rattlesnake, hisses and strikes when I just walk in the room.
Funny thing is he doesn't try to bite, the strikes are all a bluff, he is a drama queen extraordinaire


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## cmzaha (Apr 29, 2021)

Obsidian said:


> My daughters hognose it the most entertaining. He hates me with a passion and coils up like a rattlesnake, hisses and strikes when I just walk in the room.
> Funny thing is he doesn't try to bite, the strikes are all a bluff, he is a drama queen extraordinaire


That is too funny. It must really be fun to watch him. It just makes you wonder what they are thinking.


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## Obsidian (Apr 30, 2021)

He is hilarious, I'll have to try and get a video of the little monster.

Here is sam post shed, he is coming along nicely.


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## cmzaha (Apr 30, 2021)

What a darling he is. I would love to see a video of the "Drama Queen."


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## Obsidian (May 1, 2021)

Of course the sun went away as soon as I finished making a little outside basking cage. At least he got to be outside for a couple minutes to look around.

This is only to keep him safe when I'm with him, he will not be left unsupervised as there is no bottom on the cage


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## Obsidian (May 4, 2021)

Sam shed his tail today so I had a chance to get a full color body shot. Baby beardies grow so fast, there is usually at least one area of pale shed. 
They are unusual as they don't shed all at once like a snake or gecko, they do it random splotchy areas.

I tried to get a picture of sam on my thumb to show his growth but he really doesn't like the phone and keeps running.

A bonus mantis pic. They are small and hard to photo.


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## KimW (May 4, 2021)

He just looks cuter and cuter with each pic.  ☺
That shot of the praying mantis is great, btw!


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## cmzaha (May 6, 2021)

Looks like Sam might get in some since colors. He is definitely getting cuter. Good pic of the Mantis. Thank you for the pictures. 
I have a new Peacock coming next week. Since I had to separate my pair I needed an unrelated male or female, it is only 4.5 months old so breeding until next year.


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## Obsidian (May 14, 2021)

@cmzaha here is a little video of hank, turn your volume up.


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## Peachy Clean Soap (May 14, 2021)

Obsidian said:


> He is hilarious, I'll have to try and get a video of the little monster.
> 
> Here is sam post shed, he is coming along nicely.


I just found one of them on my front porch' his tail was short' I think they can regrow them'  it was a large Fat Horned Lizard, one of largest I've seen.  I gently picked it up and put it in our Oleanders that has low ground cover.


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## Obsidian (May 19, 2021)

I was going to wait until sam shed before taking more pictures but I took this one tonight to show the gal I got him from. 

Going to try for a proper photo shoot once he sheds


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## KimW (May 19, 2021)

It looks like he's grown so much!  He's so handsome.


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## Obsidian (May 26, 2021)

Sam has shed again, well, his body has. The tail is usually about a week behind.
He's starting to get that adult look and is becoming more spikey.
He has also became a lot more friendly. They definitely remember being mishandled by humans and its quite the challenge teaching them to trust again.

I'm really considering changing his name. Sam just doesn't fit him but I'm at a loss what would.


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## Jersey Girl (May 26, 2021)

Obsidian said:


> Sam has shed again, well, his body has. The tail is usually about a week behind.
> He's starting to get that adult look and is becoming more spikey.
> He has also became a lot more friendly. They definitely remember being mishandled by humans and its quite the challenge teaching them to trust again.
> 
> I'm really considering changing his name. Sam just doesn't fit him but I'm at a loss what would.



I love the shot of him looking up at you. So cute!


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## KimW (May 27, 2021)

Agree with @Jersey Girl.  Look at that face!  How about "Gary Cooper"?  LOL

Seriously, I was taking a good look at him and he looks like a Thaddeus to me for some reason.

Thanks for posting these pictures.  I really enjoy them.


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## cmzaha (May 27, 2021)

A good looking fella you have there. I love the spikes he is getting.

I didn't tell you the oopsie I had with my Peacock I got a couple of weeks ago. He or she needs a larger tank but right now I do not have time. The little bugger made a mad dash out the door just as I was shutting it and amputated half his or her tail. I felt so bad  Now I call him /her stumpy.


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## Obsidian (May 27, 2021)

cmzaha said:


> A good looking fella you have there. I love the spikes he is getting.
> 
> I didn't tell you the oopsie I had with my Peacock I got a couple of weeks ago. He or she needs a larger tank but right now I do not have time. The little bugger made a mad dash out the door just as I was shutting it and amputated half his or her tail. I felt so bad  Now I call him /her stumpy.



Oh no, do they regenerate their tails at all? Sounds like they are sneaky little guys.


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## Tara_H (May 27, 2021)

cmzaha said:


> Now I call him /her stumpy


Oh no, I'm so sorry!

(But I can't stop thinking of jokes about a reptile dysfunction)


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## cmzaha (May 27, 2021)

Obsidian said:


> Oh no, do they regenerate their tails at all? Sounds like they are sneaky little guys.


They are very sneaky when they want to be, that is how Sneakers earned his name, at least he did not lose half his tail.   Yes, they do regrow their tails, fortunately.


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## Obsidian (Jun 28, 2021)

Sam is at 15" today. He's doing great, nice & tame now.
I'll have to get a melamine enclosure build before winter, he outgrowing his current housing.


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## KimW (Jun 28, 2021)

Oh wow - look at him now!  How big will he get?  How big was he when he came to you?  
He's such a handsome fella and still sporting that winning smile - only it seems more filled with joy now.


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## Obsidian (Jun 28, 2021)

Thank you, he is a handsome boy though i'm a bit biased

I've seen 22-24" adult dragons but most get 18-20"
Sam may not ever reach his full potential as he was a bit stunted from bad care at a crucial time in his development. I'd be surprised if he hits 18" but its possible, a lot depends on his genetics and I have no idea how big his parents are.

He was maybe 8" when I got him, most was tail. His body would fit on my index finger.


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