Falkor the bratty luck dragon ;-) & his new friend, Raphael

Falkor is my 1st beardie & a major brat. He has been with me for about a month now & is a spoiled little thing. LOL I'm not exactly sure on his age as he was purchased from Petsmart & we all know how well they know their animals. He was tiny when he first came home & has grown a surprising amount in just a month.

This is Falkor on his 3rd day home.

& this is Falkor as of today!
I am really amazed by how much he grew! In just a month he is soooooooo much bigger. I wish I had thought to measure him during those first few days but as of today he is 9 1/2 inches.I need batteries for the scale that I have or I would have weighed him.
So what do you experienced folks think? Does he look like he has grown well in the month he's been with me? My basis for reference is limited.

He is such a snuggler that it's hard for me to get pics of him lol

He has such a yellow tint to his head that my daughters think I should have called him Lemon drop. :lol:

I wish that I could get his colors captured right but this camera...
I am glad I had expected him to have a quirky personality. I researched a lot before he came home & I have heard a few friends talking about theirs so it's no surprise he can be such a brat & he really is lucky he is so cute. I wouldn't ever call him exactly lazy but he isn't a high energy baby either. He does his playtime but most of the day he basks & takes it easy waiting for chow time. It must be nice. LOL
I swear if I could just get him to eat the way I want him to it would make my life easier! My dear little one is in love with his greens but other veggies are a no go at this point. They are offered but if it isn't green & leafy he just ignores it. I just started a dubia colony & was hoping to get that off the ground before he ate all the babies but he thinks it should be different. You see I was foolish enough to think that it would be a good idea to incorporate a dubia or two into each feeding just to transition him slowly. He is fed 3 times a day as much as he can eat in 15 mins plus the veggies are available all day. Well since I started him on the dubia or two he is flat out refusing to eat any crickets! I swear I hate those stinky things too but I need them to get eaten. However my dear beardie turns his back on them at every oportunity. I guess I will have to order more dubia & let the crickets grow for his frog brothers. In case it isn't obvious I HATE having crickets in my house.

 

[sweetiepie9]

He is a pretty boy & sure is growing fast! Yes, he's a good size for his age & will just get bigger & bigger & bigger

 

[aidan724]

He is a pretty boy & sure is growing fast! Yes, he's a good size for his age & will just get bigger & bigger & bigger

Thanks I am really proud of him & I can't wait to see what he ends up becoming as an adult beardie.

 

[aidan724]

It's been ages since I last posted due to some family problems but I thought that we should pop back in. Falkor is doing great & still a major brat. He has grown to a solid 16 inches already & still thinks he should try to eat anything that will fit in his mouth. He managed to polish off the last of my feeder roaches so until further notice he is back to the stinky, nasty crickets. Have I mentioned often enough how much I hate the noisy yuck machines? I'm starting to think he may need to slow down on the eating business a little. I still haven't found my scale yet so I can't give a weight but I sure do have pictures.

Here he is lounging on my 6 y/o evil.

A quick close up.

Falkor has even learned to tolerate the 3 y/o evil.

Maybe it's the angle but he is looking like a porker perched on my 9 y/o evil.

She says he keeps telling her to kiss his tail. LOL

 

[sweetiepie9]

Don't worry about overfeeding him, it's hard to overfeed a growing baby. He needs all the protein he can get as he won't be finished growing until he's 2 yrs old. He's mostly done by 1 yr old, but I found that the babies I've had always grew an extra inch in their 2nd yr and gained their final weight, but 2 yrs old they're normally what they'll be for life.

Did you ever start a dubia colony? There's a guy on here, his name is Lance and he sells dubia colony starter kits, if you're interested. It sure beats crickets, I hate those things. I have to still buy them for my gekcos, but not my beardies. Since a friend gave me her huge dubia colony I only keep those and superworms (what he'll be able to eat when he's a bit older, they also beat crickets but are a bit fattier than dubia). So here's Lance's link for the starter colony: [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=182501 f=2 ] and you can PM him and ask him any questions you have, I've known him for years and he's a very interesting guy. I buy the chow from him for my colony, they love it!

Falkor is looking great, he's growing so much. He's how old now? He's going to be a BIG dragon, maybe as big as my Rubio:

He's 22" long with a tail nip of I think 2" and 800g, he'll be 5 yrs old this summer.
Here's a pic of Didi on top of Rubio, Didi is 17" long and 430g and will be 7 yrs old this year

So you never know how big they'll be until they're 2 yrs old...makes it interesting to figure it out!

 

[aidan724]

I am estimating that he is 5 months old. He was all of 5 1/2 inches when I brought him home from Petsmart from their newest shipment. I got him the first week of December so I am guessing. It blows my mind just how fast & how much he's grown. Honestly he eats non-stop all day everyday. LOL Fresh veggies, dry beardie chow are all constantly available and he loves all of it. 3 times a day he gets a variety of bugs. Try as I might though he won't eat anything that moves & hasn't got a crunch. He hated the Phoenix worms & all he really did was eat one or maybe two then squish the rest. LOL If you have ever seen a kid chew up & spit a piece of spinach with that disgusted look on their face then you have seen him with those. I managed to have some that turned into flies & he wouldn't even attempt to get them. Funny thing was a stinkbug managed it's way in my house just the other day & landed on the outside of his tank & boy did he go crazy trying to get it. He dogged it every step of the way.
My dubia colony started but (my fault & the kids eager to feed him) fed him too many to sustain it. Now I am having to give them a major break. I have tiny babies & full-grown adults now. So now I have to deal with the incessant chirping. Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! LOL I may have to get some more dubia from Lance. That would be my first purchase from him but I ordered a lot from different sources. I just have to wait a few days for my new bank card to come.
Oh your babies are beautiful! Rubio is my favorite but don't tell the rest. :wink: I am hoping that he will be a happy healthy biggun. Maybe my hands are small & maybe he's big but the space between his eyes is a little bigger than my thumb flat. I wasn't expecting him to be that big already. Big, lazy brat that he is, he's heavier than he looks & I am really looking for that scale so I can make a note of his weight. We will keep the food coming in his current diet. He did start eating a few less bugs & more greens lately on his own though. I am curious to see if he keeps that trend up or swaps up on me. Silly boy.
Oh & on Thursday he is getting a beardie "brother". My oldest girl will be 10 that day & has asked for the rescue dragon we heard about at Petsmart. A teacher is having to rehome him & his brand new tank for $100. So if he looks healthy & all seems as good as it did over the phone we shall have a new one named Raphael. Given her sincere interest in being a vet (since she knew what one was as a toddler) she has researched them & doesn't want the toys. He will be going in her room so he & Falkor most likely won't meet for a very long time. True summer would be my goal to see if they will tolerate even being in the same room with no stress. Quarantine is a must plus we don't want competitive behavior or surprise eggs either. I haven't really tried sexing Falkor yet.

 

[sweetiepie9]

He'd be big enough to sex, all you have to do is have his body on a table, flat down, then raise his tail 90 degrees and check for lumps. If he has a lump above the vent in the middle, he's a girl, if he has lumps along the side of his tail above the vent(these are the lumps on Gabriel) then he's a boy. It's easy.

Gabriel's lumps are very prominent, not all beardies are but those are what you're looking for if he's a boy.

And no, beardies won't ever get along together, if 2 males, they will want to fight, if a male and female, the male will want to mate. I couldn't even have 2 girls out together, they would fight. So it's best that they not meet and that you have them out separately. Didi and Leo got into a fight, I forgot Didi was out and he'd hidden, so put Leo out and the fight lasted only a few seconds before I realized what I was hearing and was in the living room in a shot. Didi had bloody marks down his tail, Leo the same and Didi had bitten Leo's and almost gotten right through about 2" up. So he almost lost 2" of tail that day. I put a thick layer of polysporin on both tails (you can't bandage them, it just falls off) and soaked them in a betadine bath for 10 min daily, then more polysporin. Took 4 days to heal and Leo didn't lose that piece of his tail, but there's still a dent there. So I definitely wouldn't recommend they be out together. There's no harm in showing on to the other when one is in their tank, then you'll see what type of reaction they'll have to each other but no harm.

Your daughter's going to love having a beardie and hopefully the new one doesn't have anything wrong with it. You'll have to let me know!

Falcor is one big beardie to be 16" long at 5 mo old! He will be a big dragon. It's great that he's eating his salads, which mine would, they have to be hand fed all the time...it's a dragon but what can you do.

Rubio's my favourite, too, and I won't tell the others. I love them all but I raised Rubio from a 3 mo old sick baby, so he's special to me. He sure is healthy now! And isn't that amazing the difference between Didi and Rubio? They do come in all sizes!

So when you find your scale and have a weight, let me know and and keep in touch, ok? I love to follow other dragons and make new friends.

 

[aidan724]

He'd be big enough to sex, all you have to do is have his body on a table, flat down, then raise his tail 90 degrees and check for lumps. If he has a lump above the vent in the middle, he's a girl, if he has lumps along the side of his tail above the vent(these are the lumps on Gabriel) then he's a boy. It's easy.

Gabriel's lumps are very prominent, not all beardies are but those are what you're looking for if he's a boy.

And no, beardies won't ever get along together, if 2 males, they will want to fight, if a male and female, the male will want to mate. I couldn't even have 2 girls out together, they would fight. So it's best that they not meet and that you have them out separately. Didi and Leo got into a fight, I forgot Didi was out and he'd hidden, so put Leo out and the fight lasted only a few seconds before I realized what I was hearing and was in the living room in a shot. Didi had bloody marks down his tail, Leo the same and Didi had bitten Leo's and almost gotten right through about 2" up. So he almost lost 2" of tail that day. I put a thick layer of polysporin on both tails (you can't bandage them, it just falls off) and soaked them in a betadine bath for 10 min daily, then more polysporin. Took 4 days to heal and Leo didn't lose that piece of his tail, but there's still a dent there. So I definitely wouldn't recommend they be out together. There's no harm in showing on to the other when one is in their tank, then you'll see what type of reaction they'll have to each other but no harm.

Your daughter's going to love having a beardie and hopefully the new one doesn't have anything wrong with it. You'll have to let me know!

Falcor is one big beardie to be 16" long at 5 mo old! He will be a big dragon. It's great that he's eating his salads, which mine would, they have to be hand fed all the time...it's a dragon but what can you do.

Rubio's my favourite, too, and I won't tell the others. I love them all but I raised Rubio from a 3 mo old sick baby, so he's special to me. He sure is healthy now! And isn't that amazing the difference between Didi and Rubio? They do come in all sizes!

So when you find your scale and have a weight, let me know and and keep in touch, ok? I love to follow other dragons and make new friends.

I love that pic. :lol: Unfortunately for me Falkor isn't that physically cooperative. Silly dragon doesn't look like he has a lump or two at all. Maybe it's my eyes but I just don't see it. Not that it really matters to me one way or the other. I don't think he will develop a complex if he is a she. :lol: Maybe I will try looking again later when he's a bit bigger. Or try taking some pics to see if somebody else's eyes are more skilled than mine.
As for having them around each other...I just don't want the very sight of the other to stress them out. For a good month or so there will be absolutely no contact. I'm too afraid of communicable diseases & I do not want 2 sick beardies if I can help it. I need to have a parasite check done soon on the new baby but we will let him settle before I traumatize him like that. I want no eggs if I can help it & definitely no fighting. I think they will keep to their own rooms. My big thing is it would be easier to take them outside at the same time. Gabby with her Raphael & me with Falkor so I think that will be the first time they might see each other. I don't want them to get close but it would be nice if Raphael would stay on Gabby & Falkor on me while we are close to each other. If not then we will work something else out. I have a friend that wears her beardie while walking the dog in good weather. Her beardie has a harness just for safety & takes a shoulder ride during the walk. In theory it sounds like a good idea since our Chihuahua doesn't care a thing about the beardies except that it is mine so he keeps his paws off. :lol:
My Gabby-girl is just too excited. Raphael is about to be on his way here. We couldn't go to get him so a friend of my boyfriend is going to pick him up & bring him. I have to admit that I can't wait either.
Falkor is a major brat & the kids don't help. He will hunt down his bugs but he prefers it when the girls feed him since all he has to do is sit there. They like to handfeed him. *sigh* As of right now I am getting the stink eye because I need to freshen the salad. Who says they can't communicate with a look.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Oh they can, that stink eye speaks many things :lol: If nothing else you can each find a cardboard box and put them in that on your laps for them to get real sunshine, just while you're getting used to it. Then put them on leashes and make sure they stay on their respective laps. The arm waving, bobbing, blackbearding will all be done away from each other, so that would work. I can't wait for spring to get here, I'm tired of winter!

 

[aidan724]

Oh they can, that stink eye speaks many things :lol: If nothing else you can each find a cardboard box and put them in that on your laps for them to get real sunshine, just while you're getting used to it. Then put them on leashes and make sure they stay on their respective laps. The arm waving, bobbing, blackbearding will all be done away from each other, so that would work. I can't wait for spring to get here, I'm tired of winter!

Yes that stink eye speaks volumes. It sounds like a very good idea to have them in boxes until we are all used to it. Of course Gabby is already looking at my spare fabric & laces to try to design a couple of harnesses. If nothing else she is creative. The amount of cat clothes we have is frightening. I sense a beardie fashion show coming up. :lol:
I just don't want to stress them too much with too much bobbing & waving. I guess it wouldn't hurt too much. I had a few birds that actually died from stress at one time but they might have just been too fragile & I might be worrying too much about it. We will see though because I have designs for a beardie play pen for outdoors & if I make one I best make two. Then they could be out & safely away from one another.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I've never heard of a beardie dying of stress, they're very sturdy animals and the arm waving, bobbing & black bearding is fun to watch, it's their way of asking the bigger dragon not to eat them :lol: I get a show all the time, when they feel like it. Some of my dragons sport black beards all the time, not because they're stressed, just because they can :lol: You'll have to see how it goes in the summer!

 

[zandi202]

Such a handsome boy and I love his name!

 

[aidan724]

I've never heard of a beardie dying of stress, they're very sturdy animals and the arm waving, bobbing & black bearding is fun to watch, it's their way of asking the bigger dragon not to eat them :lol: I get a show all the time, when they feel like it. Some of my dragons sport black beards all the time, not because they're stressed, just because they can :lol: You'll have to see how it goes in the summer!

That is good to know. I guess birds are just more fragile like rabbits. That would be fun to watch since they aren't going to get too stressed by it. Falkor likes to blackbeard when he's impatiently waiting for food. :lol: It hasn't gotten really really black yet but I'm waiting. I think it's a stunning look. My favorite Crocodile Hunter episode features a naughty wild one with a very black beard that bites the host on the nose. LOL
Raphael is here & I am not as pleased as I had hoped. He is absolutely tiny. I am going to have to wait a little to try to measure him because he isn't very tame. Not compared to Falkor anyway. Falkor I could hand to anybody & he's a comfy critter but this one is a runner. He didn't try to bit but boy did he want to get away from me when I went to put him back in his tank. He came in a cardboard box & was cooler than I would have liked. I will put up some pics later. He looks a bit underweight to me but maybe I'm going too much on Falkor. They could almost be twins by coloring from what I was able to see. Happily though I don't see any signs of MBD or anything obvious other than him being so small. He is far smaller than Falkor & it's a bit disturbing. I think we shall fatten him up soon though.

 

[aidan724]

Such a handsome boy and I love his name!

Thanks. He is a joy even if he is a brat.

 

[htidavid]

Falkor looks like an adult version of my beardie

 

[aidan724]

Falkor looks like an adult version of my beardie

I keep thinking of him as a baby but he is 5 months old roughly. I bet your baby is gorgeous.