New Beardie-Mama :)

[Amber & Sunny]

Hey all! My name is Amber and I have always been interested in reptiles, especially bearded dragons.

A little background on my love of beardies: When I was younger (around 12) my neighbor's little boy had a beardie whom he neglected (I think the boy was just too young to be an animal's dependent, no one else in the house seemed to care for it except the mother, who worked all the time anyway) and when our mother's would get together I would come over and take Mojo the beardie out for some lovin'. I eventually checked out a reptile book from my school library and learned Mojo could eat fruits & veggies, so on my next visit I asked my mother if I could make a salad, splitting it with Mojo of course. I started coming over more and more often to care for Mojo. I really liked my neighborhood beardie. The neighbor kid's mother was also very pleased to see the beardie in high spirits when I visited. She offered him to me after a few months but my mother refused, she didn't like reptiles, most of all ones that could grow up to 2ft like Mojo was.

Fast forward 10 years. I am married and have a 2 year old little boy. I have been thinking about a pet for Owen (my son) and I for quite some time now. It would be nice to have a little someone to take care of and teach my young son about small responsibilities (filling up water dishes for now lol) while I stay at home with him. After much deliberation I finally decided it was time for my own beardie! We hopped in the car 4 days ago and picked up Sunny, a fancy baby bearded dragon.

I'm guessing he is about 2 months old, the pet store didn't have a clue. He is about 6 inches long and very friendly. He has been a bit of a diva, only eating food out of my hand, but he eats and poops so I'm happy. I hope to hang around this forum to learn more about bearded dragons and give my little Sunny (boy? girl?) a long and happy life!

p.s. When I'm not a stay at home mama I am an active photographer in the Chicagoland area. So of course Sunny had to have his/her very own photo shoot

 

[PatsyB]

Another Chicagoan, welcome to the forum! Sunny's gorgeous, I'm sure he's going to be the star of a lot of your photos

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

I left Chicago years ago. Welcome to your new addiction

 

[Amber & Sunny]

Another Chicagoan, welcome to the forum! Sunny's gorgeous, I'm sure he's going to be the star of a lot of your photos

Thank you and yes! At the very least I will be keeping a photo diary of his growth using the spool of thread as a "measuring element". He's a doll! I think I have figured his gender out, though he is still pretty little. The little bulges on either side of his vent seem to be prominent male though!

 

[PatsyB]

That's a great idea to use that spool of thread to show how big he gets! As far as telling the sex, he/she is a bit too small for right now. When he's a bit bigger you want to lift his tail gently back towards his body 2 lumps at the base of the tail is boy, one lump at the base of tail is a girl. The little bulges on the back legs are femoral pores, both male and females have them.

 

[Amber & Sunny]

I left Chicago years ago. Welcome to your new addiction

Ya my husband keeps reminding me that I don't have to check up on him lol. He is a bit addicting already brought home a new hide away rock yesterday.

 

[Amber & Sunny]

That's a great idea to use that spool of thread to show how big he gets! As far as telling the sex, he/she is a bit too small for right now. When he's a bit bigger you want to lift his tail gently back towards his body 2 lumps at the base of the tail is boy, one lump at the base of tail is a girl. The little bulges on the back legs are femoral pores, both male and females have them.

oh! Lol I was looking at the other end of his tail! Ya I don't see much but whatever he/she is, they're beautiful! He/she was the last one there, don't know why. He/she is so friendly even as a baby. They have been accustomed to my presence already and run happily to meet me (I do have food though most times lol) but he/she already eats greens! No fight on that, which makes me happy since I read babies take some time to adjust to veggies.

 

[Heather1979]

What a lovely story I felt like I was reading something from a children's book . That pic is great it's a shame you live so far from me (I'm in the uk) . It's a bit bad the pet shop couldn't give you Sunnys age . To me he looks a little older than 2 months more like 3 or maybe 4 but it's a little cutie. I hope you and your son have lots of enjoyable times with him/her.

 

[PatsyB]

My 2 year old ate all her salad when she was a baby and now won't touch it! My one year old though still eats his salad every morning. He has a routine. He stretches, warms up, eats salad, poops then eats his worms!

 

[Amber & Sunny]

What a lovely story I felt like I was reading something from a children's book . That pic is great it's a shame you live so far from me (I'm in the uk) . It's a bit bad the pet shop couldn't give you Sunnys age . To me he looks a little older than 2 months more like 3 or maybe 4 but it's a little cutie. I hope you and your son have lots of enjoyable times with him/her.

Thanks so much! My son is having a blast watching Sunny gobble up crickets

 

[beardieX0]

Congrats On Your Gorgeous beardie!!!! He/ she is going to be very handsome/ beautiful. I love the fancy ones. They catch you eye

 

[beardieX0]

Do you have another tank you could keep crickets in and stick him in there during feeding time? That's how I get mine to eat

 

[Amber & Sunny]

if your beadie prefers to eat that way, then that's great but I did read that you should really feed them in their enclosures or at least attempt it/wean them off because they need to be able to eat where they live. But I'm sure an expert will be able to chime in and give you all of the feeding/homing facts. And thank you! He is beautiful! I'm now looking into morphs and it seems in the yard picture he looked extremely dark now that he's lightening up and eating and comfy, he is actually yellow with orange striping and lavender side bars. His nails are also 100% clear so I believe I have a citrus hypo on my hands