May 5, 2013

Well, the posts I just added are all from last August.  I had them on another blog and decided to create a new one devoted to bearded dragons.  It's now May and I can finally get back into writing.

A little bit of background:  Mario is my first bearded dragon and Luigi was my second.  We got them close together and they did fine as babies.  Mario was from Petsmart and Luigi was from a local breeder.  As they got a  little older, Mario (who we know know is a girl!) started to be more dominant and Luigi stopped eating as much.  Knowing that this could get ugly, I moved Luigi into a tank of his own.  This solved that problem, thank goodness.

Everything was fine up until they were five months old.  Luigi suddenly stopped eating hardly anything and was acting weird.  He would black beard over nothing and hiss at me!  This behavior was very out of the ordinary for him and I didn't know what to think.  A few days later he died and I still don't know why.

This is why it's taken me so long to get back to blogging.  Losing Luigi was such a heartbreak and not knowing what caused it made me feel so guilty.  Fortunately, I have learned from any potential problems and done more than enough research to take even better care of Mario - who is still fat and happy and healthy.

RIP Luigi

Mario and Luigi: The Dynamic Duo

Mario and Luigi are getting along GREAT! We have had Mario for five weeks now and Luigi for one.  It was so nice this past week to see them build a friendship.  Luigi has been showing a little dominant behavior, but Mario is responding submissivly and just accepts Luigi as the head honcho.  Mario likes to cuddle with Luigi (he'llclimb on top of him and wrap his arms around his neck, or try to shove his nose underneath his head, so cute!) they just get along so well!  I was relived to see that there has been no chasing, no biting, no nipping, no head bobbing, and no food hogging at all.  :)

We have a few branches that just lean from one side of the cage to the other.  This is the branch that we have set up under their heat lamp and they just love hanging out on it!

Here are two pictures of Mario and Luigi on a little rock table.  Can you tell which is which?

Yesterday, Jonathan made a video of Mario and Luigi eating delicious crickets. Its so funny!  He did this while I was at work :)

Here are some pictures of Luigi over this last week as we were letting him settle in.  We got him on Saturday and didn't start playing with him until Monday to let him get used to his new home.  When we first started taking him out to play he would puff up his tummy to make himself look big and scary.  Eventually he realized he wasnt in any danger and now runs around and climbs up our arms and shoulders like he own the place!

Luigi doen't seem to like baths very much, both he and Mario puff up SUPER big.  I found out that it is a survival technique and they actually float!  Its really cute to watch them puff up and float in the bath :D

They are growing so fast too, Mario is up to 7 inches from nose to tail and Luigi is about 6 3/8 inches.  We took them for a walk today and discovered that neither of them like grass.  Apparently its too unfamilar for them.  They just sat in it and looked at me like "what are you thinking?"  and climbed happily back on my hand when i set it down.  They sure do like attention!  Just today i was moving somethings around in their tank and i had to move Mario.  When i tried to set him back down on his branch he wouldnt let go of my hand, it was way too adorable :)

Both little adventurers also like to wander around on the couch and across out laps and on our legs when we're sitting down.  Apparently, they also like feet.  Soooo weird right?

Luigi just clung on to my big toe for about 5 whole minutes!  What a little goober :)  Mario and Luigi are happy together, and Jonathan and I really enjoy having them as part of our little family. They are just such friendly little lizards that we can't help but love them unconditionally!

Mario and Luigi: The First Day

Today we have had Mario for four weeks!  He is growing so fast, now at 6.5 inches, so we decided to move him into a bigger tank - a 55 gal.  We also decided that we love having him so much that we wanted another baby bearded dragon.  Our new addition is just about 6 inches long.  His body is the same length as Mario's but his tail is 1/2 an inch shorter.  He is the hybred citrus morph - a greenish yellow with rusty brown markings.  Soooo pretty!  We got him from a breeder becuase Petsmart probably wasnt the best place to buy a bearded dragon.  His name is Luigi :D

This is the 55 Gallon tank, it has a huge crack in the back but we got a great price on it, plus the stand, so I was ok with it. 

Mario is on the left, Luigi is on the right. They are sooooo cute!!!!! In this picture they look a lot alike but if you see them in real life they are easily distinguishable.  :)

Mario: Bath Time

Today, we have had Mario for 3 weeks.  He is about 6 inches now and is shedding again.  We tried to start feeding him frozen crickets but he didnt like them so we switched back to live ones.  Mario has settled in very nicely, has been eating well, and really enjoys time playing outside his tank.  The other night we gave him his first bath and we can't tell if he likes it or really dislikes it.  We took a video of one of the later baths we gave him... he sits very still for a long time but the moments when we move him and he swims like crazy are so cute!!!  Then there are just lots of cute pictures of him :)  Enjoy!

                                     

So if you havn't noticed, Jonathan and I really like taking pictures of Mario.  He is so entertaining, whenever we take him out to play we can't help taking picutre after picture of the cuteness. 

Everytime I have my laptop out, Mario leaps off my hand or shoulder to sit on my keyboard.

We figured he liked the warmth of it on his belly!  He will just sit there for 10-20 minutes at a time.  A few days ago he actually fell asleep on it!!!! It was adorable. 

Everytime I tried to take a picture of Mario on my hand he would turn his head away, so you can just enjoy his bearutiful coloring instead hahah :)

Mario still isnt eating many veggies but he is atleast a little intrested in them.  I put this salad in and he climbed up the to bowl, looked at the salad, licked a bit then promptly walked away!  He's a goober!

Microsoft is having a Windows phone picture contest.  They're looking for the best picture of your pet taken with your Windows phone.  Jonathan decided to take pictures of Mario posed on his Arc mouse. 

This is the picture I took!



Update on the Little Piggy

New update!  Mario has started eating a lot more than he used to.  Today he ate 5 crickets and 5 mealworms.  This is the most insects he has eaten since we brought him home.  :D  I'm super happy that he is eating so well. Jonathan and I have been having such a wonderful time taking care of him.

After eating 3 of the 5 crickets and 2 of the 5 mealwroms in a row this evening he plopped down on his rock and just sat there looking fat and happy.  His tummy is so big!

The Beginnings

 Last Saturday, Jonathan and I brought home a baby bearded dragon.  I named him Mario, after the video game. He was about 4 1/2 inches when we first got him.   He was five weeks old on the 19th, and has already grown almost half and inch!  The first few days we had him he was still adjusting to the new environment so he was a bit shy, but now he's super friendly and can't wait for us to play with him.  He loves to go outside and enjoys eating small crickets, mealworms, and diced sweetpotatoes.

Mario is the sandfire morph, I think, which means he has a lot of tan, tannish-green, dark brown, and orange patterns. We have found that if he's sad, sleepy, scared, or cold that his colors darken and his underside becomes spotted/striped black and white (you can see if in the picture below of his belly pressed up against the glass).

He started pressing his belly against the glass right before bedtime.  We didn't know why he was doing this but then we figured he was trying to cool off by resting against the cold glass.  One misting later he was much more comfortable and he hasn't done that since.

He found his food bowl! Unfortunately, he doesn't eat a lot of veggies yet (babies are more insectivorous than omnivorous) but hopefully he will when he gets a little older. Right now he just likes crickets and mealworms with the occasional waxworm as a treat. I have been able to get him to taste small bits of sweetpotato, banana, and chard.

Mario really enjoys his basking rock!

I measured Mario again on the 16th and he was about five inches long from nose to tail.  We measured him again yesterday and he was already 5 1/4 inches!  He shed for the first time on Wednesday and he keeps rubbing his face on his rocks so we think he might start shedding again next week.

Here he is on Jonathan's finger, they have become really good friends :)

Here he is enjoying his new basking rocks.  I found two of them that make a little cave when you stack them.

Sometimes Mario will just sit on his basking rocks for hours, soaking up the warmth. Isn't the cave just awesome?

We really enjoy having Mario in our home, he is such a handsome little lizard. He is super friendly and loves to be held. We usually take him outside to play 2 or 3 times a day. He loves to watch TV, whenever we turn it on he climbs up on his log and will cock his head to watch the characters.