My little guy is growing up!

[AlexN]

Heres a shot of one of my bearded dragons, Bubbles.. He's now 6 months old, and in the 5 months I've had him he's grown from 14cm in length, to his current length of 29.4cm... He's feeding really well on crickets, roaches and selectively on vegies and fruits.. He is getting very strong and VERY fast..

[Dennis]

Nice photo Alex – he looks like a bit of a character!

Our wild, under-the-house resident Eastern Water Dragon surfaced this morning, as expected with the recent hot weather we are experiencing in Brisbane. Lizzie has been hibernating somewhere under our house for the past couple of months.

It’s amazing at how these creatures can shut down their systems and do this! She had a snack of a small piece of pear and softened apple to kick start the new season!

Cheers

Dennis

[AlexN]

He sure is a character, a hungry character at that.. Bubbles has just come out of hibernation, and has been eating anything I put in front of him... Squeek came out from his sleeping spot today for about 40 minutes, ate a few crickets and then went straight back under his rock... Obviously this warm weather is not enough for him yet! :)

Bubbles spent a lot of the day today outside with me whilst I set up for tonights imaging... I set up a small out door enclosure to keep him from running off, but he got plenty of natural sunlight, and got to climb a real tree, which he seemed to enjoy... Eating any insect that crossed his path! :)

[renormalised]

Cute little fella....I like lizards, they're really interesting critters:D:D

[AlexN]

They sure are! heaps more interesting to watch than a snake... Snakes are lazy, and not very inquisitive at all... this little guy watches my every move intently trying to figure out what im doing at all times...

[Chillie]

I have to disagree with you about snakes. Most of them are nocturnal, so they are moving around while you're asleep.

My Children's Python likes to sit in her enclosure and watch me read the paper or watching TV.

[AlexN]

My NT blackheaded python is fairly un-interested with my business, He's always awake and semi-active during the day, but he's by no means interesting until I try to pick him up.. My Tiger jungle is more interesting, although she is not at all keen on being handled, or people coming too close to the enclosure.. She has a tendency to strike at the glass etc if you go sticky beaking! :) 8mm thick glass on her enclosure! :)

the lizards (I have 3, 1 central beardie, 1 eastern beardie, 1 NT frill neck) are all relatively friendly and tame, all continiously active and inquisitive during the day, all seem to enjoy being handled, and love time out of their enclosures... I find snakes grow very attached to their enclosures after they've been fed in there a few times... once they are attached, they tend to protect their personal space, and definitely are not keen on coming out.. (jungle is more adverse than the black head, although the black head throws a bit of a hissy fit when you first open his enclosure..)

[BerrieK]

Alex he is gorgeous!! Growing so fast too. How big to you anticipate his adult size to be? Thanks for showing him off.

It must be a real pleasure to have reptiles...we have plenty of furry, hairy, feathery, and a few fishy pets but no reptiles. Maybe one day...(dream dream).

Kerrie

[AlexN]

Thanks Kerrie. He should grow to between 60 and 70cm total length.. Whilst when i first got him that sounded like a BIG lizard, they are so timid and calm that they are just not a problem. My frill neck, he's another story.. He's a biter.. and he'll grow to about 1.1m in length.. He'll be hard to manage, but he's great...

Keeping reptiles is great.. Once you get your head around the fact that most of them will never love you.. not on the same level as a dog etc.. Bubbles here, he stands up against the glass of his enclosure waiting for me to get home from work, loves to sit on my lap while im on the computer or watching TV etc.. I think he's grown close to me because I've had him since the day after he hatched, and I've made a point of handling him daily....

The best thing about them, is they last forever.. A healthy lizard will live between 15 and 20 years. A healthy snake can live 35 years... all of my reptiles are still relatively young..

- Bubbles - Central Bearded Dragon - 6 months old
- Squeek - Eastern Bearded Dragon - 5 months old
- Freddy - NT Frill Neck - 8 months old
- Fluffy - NT Black Headed Python - 4 years old (and 7ft long!)
- Jazz - Tiger Jungle Python - 2 years old (and bitey..)

[deadsimple]

Nice photo. What 'select' fruits/veggies does he eat?

Any chance of attaching an imaging device to the little dude? Some time-lapse dragon-cam would be good :)

[AlexN]

fruits :
apple, pair, mandarin, tangello, tomato and occasionally banana..

vegies :
bok choi, lettuce, carrots, zucchini, squash, broccoli, cauliflower..

As for strapping a camera to him.. umm.. no. :) good thought though!

[erick]

Errr - how do you measure him? General anesthetic? :confuse3:

[AlexN]

He's actually quite tame Eric... His strength is only shown off when he decides to jump from branch to branch in his enclosure, and his speed is more associated with him hunting crickets/roaches etc.. once he's in my hand he will lay very flat and very still, and will allow me to manipulate his body into a straight line for measuring...