No not gadgets, real live baby dragons!
After my mom passed away I had the urge to take care of something. Our dog was demoted to the dirty kitchen because of my wife being pregnant and all. So I went ahead and got me some new pets, Two Bearded Dragons. If you click on the link they should tell you everything about it so I wont explain further.
I have always been a reptile lover all since I was in Grade 5. I almost convinced my dad to get me a Green Iguana at a Pet Store in the states but we had a problem on how to bring it back home here.
But when I got to college, I discovered KARTIMAR. A local "All-in-One" Market which specializes in just about everything, Food, Clothes, Tatoo Shops and Exotic Creatures of all kinds. This is where I got my first Mexican Green Iguana names SPUD. SPUD was so cool, I kept him in the dorm with me. Then when it was about time for me to come home, I brought him back to Cebu. I had to secure a permit in Manila to transport him to Cebu. It was so cool the way he popped out of the luggage conveyor belt at the airport in his little Reptile Handy Tank. Everyone was asking me what it was. It was so funny coz the next luggage that came out was my friends Siberian Husky in a huge portable dog tank. After a few months, my best friends brother and mother fell in love with SPUD and asked if they could buy him from me. So I sold him to them. After A few months, I heard he escaped on their beach property.
I took a rest but still always had the urge for a reptile. But after a year of resting I went ahead and got the local Philippine water Dragon othewise knows as "IBID" People were cruelly handling and selling them in the downtown parts of Cebu. I got a few, some died, a few escaped. Then I also got two hug turtles which I eventually gave up coz they had stinky poo so I gave them to one of our helpers.
Later on my Best friends brother got a new Iguana. But after it grew about 8 inches (15" with the tale) they ask me to take care of it and adopt it. So I did. Then I even got another one to keep it company :-D Together with my last remaining Ibid, they lived happily in this huge enclosure that I made for them.
Just this year, there was an accident. Since the cage was an outdoor one and made of angle bars and chicken wires, one of the sides ripped open, the IBID ran off and the smaller iguana followed. The helpers couldn't find the IBID but they did find the Iggy near the gutter, mauled and bleeding :-( My nephew brought them to me and we waited for it to rest in peace.. Poor creature. Really, I almost cried..
None the less, my 4 foot Adopted Green Iguana stayed in the cage and is alive and kicking. My problem is, I don't live with my parents anymore and I had to leave him there because I yet have to find a good spot for him at our new home. His cage should hit the morning sun directly and it has to be in the garden so his poo and pee would wash out by themselves. That is where the problem lies, and until I find a suitable spot for him, he will stay at my Dad's place for the meantime.
Btw, somewhere in between the timeline above I also got a Baby Burmese Puthon, I think this was two years back.. This little guy use to sleep with me in my Bed. He also met a sad faith, after giving him a bath, she dipped in the mildy warm soapy water. He accidentally swollowed some, and after a few hours she passed.. Dammit!! Her name was Sofie.
Now back to Today. Last 3 weeks back I got me some new pets. Like I said at the start of this BLOG and here they are:
Now the nice thing about dragons is they are very Docile and they most of the time even appear to really like the company of Humans. They only grow to about 18"-22" max ( unless you have the German Giant variant which can even grown up to 30" or the Dwarf Rankin Bearded Dragons which only grown to about 10"-12")
If you want to find out more about the Bearded Dragon here's a link to a very good website all about them:
www.beardeddragon.org
That site contains almost everything you need to know on how to take care of them from husbandry, feeding down to emergency medical care.
Some essentials you need to have:
- a good size 50 gal tank atleast, bigger is better, I have a 42"x24"x20" tank.
- UV light (Reptisun 10 or Mega-Ray MVB)
- Heat Lamp ( you need to maintain 100F-110F on the basking area, and atleast 80F on the cooler area of the tank)
- Water Dish
- Basking Spot, driftwood is highly recommended.
- Lots of CRICKETS! Make sure before you get a dragon you have sourced out all its essential food within your area. They kinda are hard to get by here in the Philippines. I do not recommend garden insects because they mite be contaminated with insecticide which can KILL your dragon.
READ THE CARESHEET before you get one, these guys need to be loved a lot!! Don't be cruel animals and let them be. Getting these creatures need responsibility, if you want a reptile that needs less maintenance, get a snake.
Ill add more pics later, gotta go for now! :-D
(This article has not been spell cheked or proof read yet lolz! )
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Watch our for my next blog, about our little princes who was born 111708 :-D
