As Good as it Gets

I thought it was about time to post some updates on how the Dragons are going.  Great is the only word for it.  Both of them are doing very well in their own way.  They are really becoming a part of the family.

When JT has friends over to visit for example, as she has done a couple of times in the last week or two with school holidays it is a great opportunity for us to get the Dragons out for some socialisation.  The kids enjoy seeing something different and interesting.  Not all of them are brave enough to have a hold or even to have a go at feeding them, but some are and it's great to see the smiles on their faces.  We are also able to tell them a little about the Dragons and help them be more aware.

I've added a couple of recent photos of Lolly after her latest shed.  You can see that she actually has some beautiful colours when she puts her mind to it.  She does change them depending on her mood and temperature.  On this day, I just managed to catch her just right as it were.  in these  you can see just how sandy coloured she can get.  There are also some traces of orange and even what looks like almost purple when you look closely.

She is about to shed her head and tail again at the moment.  She never does her whole body at one time like a snake.  Beardies shed in parts.  Booster looks like he might shed soon too.  I assume that it is because he is not growing as fast as Lolly, but, he seems to shed about half as often.  His colours have also not started coming through yet.  Although they may not at all depending on what genetics he received from his parents.  In the last few days he has been eating really well.  He is taking food from our hands frequently and seems to be getting more familiar with us being in and around him.  It's been great to see him with a full belly!  They were both lying on their hide rock tonight, Booster on top of Lolly.  There is a very stark difference in their size still and will be for some time I guess.  But they both seem very happy, as are we.

Dragon Diary - 18/07/2010

Lolly

Weight: 105 grams (+43)

Length: 30 cm

Food: Anything and everything (medium crickets and veggies, including peas)

Toilet:  Regular

Behaviour: Lolly has had an amazing continuation of her growth, now cracking the 100 gram barrier.  That puts here at anything up to 20% of her adult size.  We got a big surprise when we weighed her today.  JT estimated about 40 grams.  I estimated 50.  Amazing to see that more than doubled.  I won't be able to measure her with the ruler any more either.  She cracked the 30 cm mark too.

The best thing to happen this month is that Lolly is now more than just eating from our hands, she now sits in my lap to do so.  It started one night when had her in the feeding tray.  She now knows what is in the other container at feeding time and decided that she couldn't wait.  I didn't know before then, but apparently staying in the container is by choice alone.  I have put carpet on the bottom of it to stop her skidding around like a dog on tiles.  This gave her enough grip to jump up onto the leg of my pants and scamper straight up on to my lap.  Once there, she just sat, waiting dutifully to be fed.  Since then, I haven't bothered putting her in the tray much at all.  She just sits on my lap and gets fed by either JT or me.  Cool hey!

Booster

Weight: 30 grams (+2 grams)

Length: 23 cm

Food: Always eats medium crickets and veggies (just not as much as Lolly)

Toilet: Regular

Behaviour: Booster has taken food from our hands on a few occasions now.  His growth has not been great this month.  He is eating consistently, however, his interest in food drops off much quicker than Lolly, which, is keeping his growth slow.

Booster also ate some peas when offered.  I just took some frozen peas and left them in the fridge overnight to thaw out.  This will make a good food source in case we run short.  Good thing to know.

Handling of Booster has not improved greatly either.  I have tried a few times and he is generally more accepting of the initial approach, but, is still very flighty when being held.  I have bought a heat pack that I can warm in the microwave and sit on my lap or anywhere really that the dragons can stretch out on.  Lolly is ok with it for a while, but, Booster is pretty much just as flighty.  I don't think I have quite got the temperature right yet either.  So more trial an error to come!