More Olympic thermometer jumping practice....and a one, and a two, stretch...stretch...Go for the Gold, baby! 

caspi's second tail shedding...woo hoo! he's getting even bigger! 

Caspi the leaping lizard...

I thought since Caspi was getting so big, he might be ready to explore a little outside his cage.

I set up my desk with all my things around to create a "safe" area to explore. First, he sat there, looking around [obviously judging distance].

then he took a poop on the cloth I had laid down for him. After that, he ran to my laptop and left the rest of his poop on the "A" button of the keyboard [yuck! grab the disinfectant!].

And then whallah! He leaps OVER the laptop, 3 feet over! then he fell 3 feet down, down, down to the carpeted floor in the corner.

I absolutely freaked out and thought he must have hurt himself, but he was okay. I think he was a little shocked, but maybe he thought it was fun, like a roller coaster ride. when I picked him up and put him back in his tank, he looked a little disappointed, like saying "Aawww, mom...that was fun! can I do it again???"

I can't trust him not to do this kind of stunt again, so I'm trying to figure out how to set up a beardie play pen. I want him to explore and get exercise, but this kind of leaping is too freaky for me to handle. He's faster than lightening!

He's also beginning to munch on his salads...I'm so proud I don't have to worry about him starving if he doesn't get his afternoon crix because I'm away for some reason.

Caspi's afternoon olympic thermometer jumping practice! 

its salad extravaganza time!

yes! victory for the baby! today he actually went up to his salad at 3:00pm and ate some...on his own accord!

just goes to show you that positive reinforcement is best...a little hand feeding for a couple of weeks in the morning, and whallah! they come around and eat their salads on their own.

no need to starve babies...

caspi hunting crickets...yumm! 

Caspi's fecal is NEGATIVE!

wooo hooo!

I was so worried after the bonnie and clyde fiasco that the breeder had a chronic problem.

I was happy I got him at 3 weeks old, I figured that if there were any parasites, they would have been transmitted in vitro.

but there isn't a parasite in sight!

I didn't have any signs that there were problems, but it is always a good idea to do the exam to be sure.

I'm meeting with the vet tomorrow to discuss other issues: ie. that the breeder told me to withhold crickets from my baby until he eats his salad. since the vet and the breeder are on good terms, I'm hoping he can tell them nicely that...

this is BAD ADVICE -- you never, ever withhold food from a growing baby. baby beardies need to eat 90% meat (crickets) and 10% veggies. when they get to be adults, it becomes 90% veggies and 10% meat.

no wonder the first babies (bonnie and clyde) were sick and all of them had suffered from mutilation. this is what they do when they are starving. they will not simply break down and eat their salad.

the most ridiculous part of the whole thing is that the lady said, "its like you have a 2 year old that just wants to eat ice cream and won't eat his food."

first of all, crickets are not equal to ice cream. crickets are the most important source of protein for growing beardie babies -- they NEED them. at this age, they are not treats. they need to eat as many as they can for the first few months so they grow big and strong.

the withholding food trick is something you do as a last resort to finicky adults. only an adult dragon can go without eating for a while without suffering major problems.

I simply can't believe that they breed dragons and give out this kind of advice. I've been so depressed about the whole thing for days.

I feel much better now though, knowing that my baby is absolutely healthy.

he is still jumping and running around like a happy, healthy baby. its amazing how quick he can be!

caspi shedding...he looks like he's exploding! 

Eye poppin'!

well, caspi really shed today. I thought he did it last week when he shed the tail, but today has been a shed extravaganza.

the best part is the eye popping! he's got a little skin stuck around his eyes, and he shuts them, and then blows air into his eyes so they bulge out. its kinda freaky and cool at the same time.

I was completely freaking out over the last few days about how he looked like a shrinky dink. His skin was getting all saggy and I thought he was dehydrated. I kept giving him baths and spritzing him.

it turns out that this is normal when bearded dragons begin to shed.

I'm very relieved, and caspi is jumping around like normal again. he's really an amazing jumper.

I have to be very careful because he almost jumped out of his bathtub yesterday. I don't think he'll last more than a few more weeks in it before he gets too big.