Wake Up Sleepy Heads!

I bit the bullet today and turned the lights on for Lolly and Beau.  Beau in particular had been somewhat restless for the last week or two.  Never waking up as such, but, changing positions in the enclosure frequently.  So yesterday, I did a quick check that I had everything I needed by way of food etc and cleaned up food dishes in preparation for the big day.

The big thing to be sure to do when reptiles first wake up from brumating is to get them hydrated.  I have rarely, maybe one or two times, seen Lolly drink from standing water.  The very first time was shortly after she laid her first ever clutch of eggs.  I gave her a bath that day and she took a long quenching drink.  Unlike Beau, she never took to drinking droplets from misting and I never saw her taking water from bowls in the enclosure.  Beau on the other hand likes to drink in all of those ways.

After about 30 minutes of exposure to heat, I used a spray bottle on a stream setting to drop water on their snouts.  Beau took to it straight away.  So I put him front feet deep in the big water dish (ceramic pot plant dish) you see in the first photo here.  He dropped his head in and did not emerge for a good five minutes or so.  I then turned my attention more directly on to Lolly with the water stream.  As soon as she made motions to drink, I put here into the dish as well.  To my pleasant surprise, she drank also.

Since the intake of water, both have lazed directly under the heat lamp for the remainder of the day.  Neither look to have touched the veggies I have provided.  I will get some large crickets for them tomorrow and see how their appetite is fairing then.

Lacey seems to be recovering well from her burn.  She is certainly eating well, which is a fantastic sign.  Snakes will go off their food first before anything else when they are upset.  Lacey is ploughing through her food, so I am hopeful, if not confident that she is well on the way to recovery.  She is shedding individual scales and has been for the last few weeks.  I plan to contact the vet again this week as she asked me to give an update on Lacey's progress.   At that time I will ask about the scales also.  She pooped the other day, which was a great relief (to both of us I am sure).  It had been the better part of two months in between.  Not too alarming during winter or a growth spurt.  But, given that she has eaten regularly and I have kept the temperatures up...Let's just say I am glad that she did it.

A little more on how the burn happened.  Warming a snake from below, as I do with a heat mat has to be done using a thermostat, for safety, so that the temperatures don't get too hot.  Where I ran into trouble was having the probe for the thermostat, which regulates the power to the heat mat a few centimetres above the basking point.  This meant it was measuring ambient temperatures rather than the contact temperature that was exposed to the snake.  This meant despite having all quality equipment, the temperatures on the surface above the heat mat that Lacey was lying on, were not regulated correctly and prone to being far too hot.

The second part of the issue comes in when we consider how snakes warm themselves.  In the wild, they will slither out onto a warm rock, probably just above the optimal temperature, knowing full well that when they block the sun onto that part of the rock, it's temperature will drop a little whilst the residual heat can be absorbed.  Add to that, they start warming from above via the heat from the sun, and they get a nice, full body warming.  I had no source of heat from above.  What this meant was that no matter how warm\hot\burning Lacey was from the poorly regulated heat mat from below, she was potentially shivering from the top down in the cool ambient temperatures of a Canberra winter.  The best image to have in your mind is an attempt to cook a roast in a frying pan.  The bottom could be burned to a crisp in the allotted cooking time, while the top half would still be red raw.

How do we fix this?  Well, now I have attached the thermostat probe directly to the bottom of the enclosure right where the heat source is and Lacey lies.  I have also added a heat source in the form of a halogen bulb above the enclosure, to raise the ambient and overhead temperatures.  It all seems to be going remarkably well.  The image here is what it looks like now.

I feel such a fool, that despite all the best intentions, research and questions I asked of experienced keepers, I managed to make one small oversight that injured our precious Lacey.  The lesson has be learned.  Just so unfortunately at Lacey's expense.  Happily, she should make a full recovery.

New shed photo shoot

It’s been an interesting week with our reptiles. Bruce has continued to settle in nicely.  He appears to be eating well.  Although I have nothing to compare it to, so, I see him eat what I put in there and figure it is going OK.  He doesn't eat everything in there and leaves a little, so I figure he is at least eating enough.  I have also had the pleasure of having Bruce out of his enclosure and handling him for longer periods.  After showing a little bit of displeasure initially, he has settled down and been pretty comfortable and happy to investigate his surroundings from what I have seen.  JT even had a hold tonight.  He has not put on a defensive display since the first few days that we had him.  All things considered it is going pretty well.

Lacey shed her skin for the first time since she has been with us this week.  Snakes colouration is at it's most vibrant directly after they shed their skin.  Conversely, just before they shed, their colours are at their dullest.  So it has been nice to see Lacey at her best this week.  I took the opportunity to get her out today and take some photos, some of which are in this post.  I found the experience really enjoyable.  Lacey was comfortable and as some of the photos showed, she even came over to check out the camera lens.  The result was some pretty cool photos if I do say so myself.  I included the first photo below, because I think it shows well how I think Lacey will have a lot of yellow in her when she gets her adult colours.  Each shed will see her get closer to her final colouration.  Like opening a Christmas present in some ways.

Interestingly, this shed was literally like opening a present in some ways.  Lacey shed the front half of her body cleanly by herself.  After giving her a day to clear the rest, I had to intervene with a warm bath and a helping hand.  Being winter in Canberra, the humidity is quite low inside with heating on frequently.  Despite having access to water, the low levels of moisture in the air meant that Lacey could not complete the shed unaided.  It was a simple process for me to help.  One that I would prefer not to have to do, but, it is not a big deal at all.

The Dragons are still sleepy heads.  Although I did turn the light/heat on for a couple of hours today as Beau has been quietly out and about and looking like he wants to wake up again.  Lolly has been out to it completely so I am in two minds about setting everything back to normal.  I might seek some advice and see what I can turn up.

I'll just finish by saying, reptiles are awesome pets!

Bath time for Beau

After waking up Lolly and Beau after what I thought were signs that it was time to do so, Lolly has proceeded to curl up and go back to sleep!  I was happy enough to let her as she had taken a good drink or two, had something to eat and been to the toilet.  Beau had done all but go to the toilet and has been quite restless for the last day or so.  I haven't wanted to let him return to deep slumber until his digestive system was clear, so I have left daytime light and heat on.

Today, I figured that Beau's restlessness might have been due to a him having a little trouble going potty as it were.  He was a little grumpy as well from what I could tell.  Well....wouldn't you be too??  I have understood for a while that if Beardies are having problems clearing their bowels that a warm bath can be very beneficial.  With that in mind I prepared a suitable container with nice warm water and gave Beau a good soaking this morning.  As you can see from the photo here, he was not fussed with the bath...  Low and behold, around lunchtime it had done the trick!  Beau was a lot more settled and so I turned off the lights after cleaning up.

I'll see how he is tomorrow before I turn on any light or heat sources.  For now, he looks nestled into a nice spot, half buried in the insulating coconut husk that lines the Dragon's Den.  If he is settled and sleeping tomorrow, I will leave the lights out until I see some more definitive signs of stirring for spring.

As I have mentioned before, reptiles that do sleep for long periods do not hibernate like mammals do.  Reptiles brumate.  This is where their metabolism slows right down to the point where they do not need to eat or drink for months on end.  It is ok to wake them as I have done in the last week or so.  They maintain a high level of conciousness at different times during this period of inactivity.  Disturbing them is not something that should be done regularly.  This cooling period is vital in the production of healthy sperm and eggs in many species of reptiles.  So for people looking to breed their pets, brumation is an important part of the process.  However, others, who have no interest in breeding may in fact, never allow their animals to brumate.  This can be best achieved through limiting interaction with natural indications of season like day-length and maintaining a constant heat and light source throughout the year.  Very small indicators can trigger reptiles into brumation.  Even with full heat and light through artificial means, Lolly still curled up and went back to sleep this week.  Most likely because of the external indicator of natural day-length she would have gained through the sunlight in the room of her enclosure.

Taking the plunge…

Today was a big day.  I lodged my application for keeping a reptile that is not exempt from licensing.  Our Dragons are a Class A species and are therefore I don’t require a license.  For a very long time (since I was a kid), I’ve wanted to own a snake.  With the experience I have gained in keeping our Dragons, I think I am ready.

Something that I have yet not really detailed that demonstrates my commitment to keeping reptiles in general, but, more specifically the snake that I hope to acquire is the deal I have going in relation to my health.  I had an arrangement with my beautiful wife last year that if I lost 25 kgs, I could bring home the Bearded Dragons that we now have.  Obviously I met that goal.  Problem being, I put a lot of that back on.  This time, rather than just get back to where I was, I agreed to lose 35 kgs in order to earn the privilege of bringing a snake into our home.  Well, I am just about there.  I’ve lost just over 30 kgs to date.  So, as an incentive to drop those last few kilos, I lodged the license application with the hope of being as ready as possible for the day when I break that weight barrier.

I included links and information contained in this blog in my application to demonstrate the care and experience that I have in relation to reptile keeping.  So if by any chance you are reading this and you are assessing my application, please be nice, I really want this and have worked hard to get in a position to have it.

I’ve also started getting ready for if I am successful both in my application and the remainder of my weight loss.

  I have started setting up what was originally the hospital tank when Booster was injured, ready to hold what I hope will be our new family member.  As you can see, I have put it on a nice cabinet, that was also a weight loss incentive along the way.  It won’t be on the window as it is pictured here as direct sunlight is a no no for maintaining a consistent and manageable temperature.  We’re just setting up our lounge after the arrival of our new couch and this location is temporary.

I had originally intended this to be the final enclosure for a sub species of Antaresia, which would happily live in an enclosure of this size throughout their life.  However, after doing a lot of homework, I have decided to go with a Diamond Python as my first snake due to its superior hardiness and overall nature of the species.  What that does mean though is that this enclosure will only be suitable for the next 2-3 years depending on the size of the individual.  At that time I will need to look at acquiring a larger enclosure.  I have some designs in mind and am looking forward to either building it myself, of having it made for me.

All this of course hangs on two things.  My continued weight loss and being successful in my license application.  I’m working hard for one and crossing my fingers for the other.

A quick final note about our Dragons.  Both are sleeping happily through all this cold weather.  I have checked on them regularly, ensuring that they are still alive, if not really kicking.  I have also set up the thermostat on a ceramic bulb to ensure that no matter how cold it gets during the night, they will be at least warm enough to make it through until morning.  I am a bit of a Nervous Nelly about it and probably being overly cautious as a result, but, it is our first Brumation together.

The Old Switcharoo…

This is a sad post as well as a happy one.  Starting with the sad, last Saturday we parted company with Booster who is pictured here on the left.  He hasn’t died or anything, it’s not that sad a story!

I have been contemplating the idea of acquiring a nice breeding male for quite a while.  I have always been a little disappointed that Booster was never a good handler.  As much as my kids would have liked to hold him even on rare occasions, he was never a boy I could trust to be calm.  He was never a biting risk or anything.  He just didn’t like to be handled.  Plus of course, his colouration was not of the same standard as Lolly’s.

Recently, a very nice looking male that was for sale came to my attention as well as a young man looking to get started in reptile keeping.  Combine the two and we arrive at today.  On Saturday last weekend, Booster was handed over to his new keeper.  I was happy to help a young guy starting out and I am confident that Booster will be in a good home.  He was a sleepy Dragon when I parted company with him, but, in spring, I know he’ll wake up as good as ever.

Today, I was able to take possession of our new ‘stud’ male.  I have named him Beau, after the Black and Gold Dragon in the animated series Dragon Booster, from which Booster got his name.  In the series, Beau is the Dragon of Legend and is in fact named after Bucephalus who was the famous steed of Alexander the Great although that is not referenced in the TV show.  JT has contributed what may stick as his second name ‘Double O’.  I am not sure how long Beau Double O will stay, but, Beau is definitely finalised.  Beau is pictured here on the right.

I brought Beau home around lunch time today.  He had been rudely disturbed from his attempts at brumation to be brought to me and took some slow measured investigations of his new enclosure.  It was quite enjoyable watching him slowly and methodically check things out.  What was even more pleasing was his calm nature as I was handling.  It could have been partly because of his sleepiness and temperature, but, in contrast, in the same state, Booster was still trying to leap out of my hand on the weekend.  By all reports Beau is a great handler and I am exceedingly pleased about that.

By the time I got home from work today, Beau was fast asleep in Booster’s old hide rock looking like he was made for it.  I am not sure that I will even turn the light on tomorrow, as if he is settled back to sleep, I’ll just leave him to it.  What a great transition that would be.  A new home after being woken up from a deep sleep and the possible stress that comes with both and Beau going straight back to sleep tells me that the transition could not have gone better.  Now all I have to do is wait until spring to really get to know him!

And then there was quiet

So all our babies have flown the nest!  Bruce is now well ensconced in his new home.  He is pictured here happy as a pig in the proverbial.  I look forward to seeing pictures in a few months time when he has grown and might have started showing some colour like his mum.

Speaking of Lolly, she and Booster have started Brumating.  As I have mentioned before, Brumation is the reptile equivalent of hibernation in mammals.  Reptile physiology is obviously very different and their bodies go through different processes during long periods of what is essentially sleep.  However, during this time, unlike mammals, it is very likely that Lolly and Booster will wake up every now and then.  They might take a drink and something small to eat and be awake for a few days.  Then most likely they will ferret around a bit and go back to sleep.

This process can continue until the days start getting a bit longer and the weather starts to warm up.  Fascinating that even in an environment where the temperature and light cycle is controlled, that their natural instincts can still kick in so strongly.  Our Dragon’s Den has very little exposure to natural light from the window on the other side of the room.  But, this has been enough for them to catch the day length cycles to kick in both their breeding and Brumation cycles this year.  So basically, I have stopped feeding Lolly and Booster about a week ago and once they had cleared their stomachs, they found a comfy spot and went to sleep.  A day or two later, I turned off the light and heat sources and left them to it.  They have been asleep ever since.  I have put the ceramic heat bulb that emits no light on a thermostat to keep the temperature at about 20C.  That should see them through the process, as scary as it is for me going through it for the first time, without any dramas.

Our babies from this year will not and should not be allowed to brumate.  Dragons should not go through this process in captivity before they are at least 12 months old and are clearly in good health.  Our Dragons did not show any inclination to sleep for exceedingly long periods until the last month or so.  Given their condition I felt as confident as I am ever going to in letting them brumate.

So as the title says, it is all very quite on the Beardie front at the moment.