The kids wanted either a dog or a Bearded Dragon and we promised once we returned stateside we would look into it. Daddy unfortunately is very allergic to dogs, according to the allergist, so we got 2 reptiles -- a Bearded dragon and a Leopard Gecko and they have been named Isaac and Lizzy. We know the Bearded dragon is a boy and we think the gecko is a girl. We bought these from a homeschool family that raised both reptiles from babies but found they did not have time for them anymore.
We spent yesterday taking the reptiles to a local store who specializes in reptiles and had them looked over, weighed (slightly underweight) but otherwise both reptiles got a clean bill of health. We were told the habitat we purchased was not really suitable and with some modifications we were able to make it more pleasant and safe for the animals.
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| Firedrake fell in love the moment she held Isaac, so there was no way we were leaving their house without him. |
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| The previous owners used a desert sand substrate but after researching several web sites and listening to the reptile specialist we decided to change the habitat to tile and get a few more climbing items for him. |
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| The leopard gecko -- Lizzy is much smaller than the one we had in England. |
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| She is in a different enclosure but it also was covered in sand. Once she eats the crickets in her enclosure we plan on switching it out with what we used in England, more of a wood chip. |
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| Isaac new home, I had to buy better lighting and a heating pad to improve the temperature. We are hoping these changes will encourage a better appetite and he puts on a little weight. According to the reptile specialist we took him too he needs to gain about 50 grams. |
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| He is loving his new hammock and light:) |
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| Not to be left out Lizzy got a new rock cave and heating pad too:) |
In addition to this the family gave us a 20 gallon tank filled with crickets. I have already found 3 crickets on the loose in the house:( So I am not sure how secure this set up is. Plus the sound of the crickets is driving me crazy, in England we feed gecko locust and they didn't make any noise. But we have been told we can't feed the Bearded dragon locusts so I am not sure what we are going to do. Maybe after a few days I will stop hearing them making so much noise.
Since we have never owned a Bearded Dragon before we spent most of yesterday learning about our new pets by reading web sites, watching you tube videos, talking to the owner of the reptile store and improving their habitats---that counts as Science, right;) We also found out that when we travel she will be glad to watch both reptiles for us for a nominal fee. That was so great to hear.
What fun for the kids...stinks that the crickets are getting lose... Hope the noise stops soon!
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you! I can't show my kids this post, however, since they talk about how much they miss our Leo, the bearded dragon that we had to bury :-( Have fun with your new additions!
ReplyDeleteCool! Can't say that I can relate to a desire to have reptiles as pets, but its cool that you guys love them! I love the sound of crickets. though have to confess that I have never had them in my house. Not sure how much I'd love the noise then. Hopefully you can just get used to it as a background noise, though crickets everywhere are hoping you won't be able to. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I think this does count as a science project. You always have such diverse learning moments. I love the things you do and like learning more about the different subjects. However, I don't think I will go out and buy a pet reptile.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!