Growth Rate - Appetite

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JWSR
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Growth Rate - Appetite

Postby JWSR » Thu Jul 05, 2007 7:29 am

Hi everybody,

I'm beginning to realize that these guys are truly unique and amazing! I raised my Bearded Dragon, Hannibal from an 11gr. 5" long little twig to his current 2 year old size of 21" and 460gr. through what I thought was a fast rate of growth. HA! With my first Bluey, Irwin, I now know what fast is.

I keep very precise records of all my herps and also do my own fecal floats on all of them every three months. If I hadn't weighed and measured and written it down, I wouldn't have believed it.

The day after Irwin arrived, I photographed him for his digital measurment and put him in the weight tub on the digital scale. His weight, the best I could read because he was not about to sit still yet on just his second day here, and the digits were really bouncing around, was approximately 54 to 59gr. His length was 7.72"

He's been here 15 days as of yesterday, and because my wife kept commenting on how he looked like he was growing so fast I decided to weigh and measure him again.

Yesterday, he weighed in at 79 grams! (he handles well now and sits like a gentleman in the weight tub.) And his length (if you can read it in the upper left corner on the screenshot of my measuring software) is 9.03"!
Image
I'm getting so much enjoyment out of watching this little guy eat and grow! Since he's been getting served live now mixed in, or alternated, with his ground turkey, beef, and salad/fruit mixes, he's really become a voracious eater. He loves his silkworms and phoenix worms. So much in fact, that if it catches his attention, it's FOOD! Well, I was putting down the piece of paper towel which I always put under his food plate so he doesn't pick aspen if he drops food outside his plate, which he always does, when I realized my wedding ring had caught his attention. Hey, after all, it's shiney, and it's moving. Next thing I know, he's latched onto my ring with his little snout, along with a little fold of my flesh pinched against the ring. I looked down at him and said "hey!"........no response. I repeated it a little louder. He let loose and actually looked up at me with a look that I swore said, "well, I thought it was food."

What really gets me cracking up is when he first grabs his little 3/4" silky and shakes it back and forth, "killing" his prey as if he were a Nile monitor that just caught a rat. I've got to get some of his antics on video, he's so comical!

It's something new every day!

I love him to death!
Last edited by JWSR on Sat Jul 07, 2007 9:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Leigh
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Postby Leigh » Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:41 am

Welcome to the world of Bluey addiction, everyone whos visited my house and seen my Blue, has gone away with a new perspective on reptiles, its all good mate, I sometimes wish I'd been a more weights and measures person but naaah its just not me :wink:
MMMmmmmm... Something???????
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Zbiz
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Postby Zbiz » Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:49 pm

Wow it is soo amazing how similar our two babies are... He does the exact same thing! He actualy kills his food before swallowing... I LOVE IT! I actually cant wait to go home today and see him!
1.0.0 Northern

www.zachbaez.com
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Felmarg
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Postby Felmarg » Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:49 pm

My new bluey looks exactly the same as yours! I measured mine today and he is 19 cm. (7.5 in.). I am going to measure it everyday so I can see how it is growing. I want to weigh it too, but I don't have a proper scale for weighing things that light. :noknow:
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AndrewSeike
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Postby AndrewSeike » Thu Jul 05, 2007 9:30 pm

Hi Jerry,

You bought a skink from one of the best people out there with definitely pure lines. Not to mention you're buying captive-bred.

Good buy!

Andrew
http://www.bluetongueskinks.com with New Blue Tongue Skink Forum

Breeding and living with skinks since '88
Currently working with many representatives of the following Tiliqua:

scincoides.scincoides
scincoides.intermedia
scincoides.chimaerea
nigrolutea - alpine form
multifasciata
gigas.gigas
gigas.evanescens
gigas.keyensis
sp - Irian Jaya
JWSR
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Postby JWSR » Fri Jul 06, 2007 6:46 am

Hi Felmarg,

Here's a good deal on the exact scale that I paid about $35 for, a little over two years ago. $19.95 uses 1 9v battery and I haven't replaced my battery yet. It's made by Sunbeam and weighs as low as 1 gram or 1/10 ounce, up to 5 lbs. Check it out or do a search for Sunbeam SP5.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Pelouze-5-lb-Di ... otohosting

EDIT : On above link, just discovered this guy's shipping charge; ridiculous! I thought that was an awfully good price on this scale. I'd search, if I were you. You can find a better deal.

Here's the free measuring software if anyone's interested.

http://www.serpwidgets.com/Apps/measure.html

Thanks for the comments.

Andrew, I've heard some good things about your lines also and have checked out your site and all your pics. You're doing some good work! I have never, in about 48 years of keeping herps, nor will I ever, buy imported.

Best Wishes All,
NomadOfTheHills
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Postby NomadOfTheHills » Fri Jul 06, 2007 5:14 pm

Its amazing how you don't realize how fast they grow. Dwight came in from Ray at 37g, two weeks later, 52g :D
JWSR
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Postby JWSR » Sat Jul 07, 2007 9:39 am

I know John! It's really something with these guys. Irwin's just about out of room in his 10 gal. and he's only been here 18 days. I've got a 65 gal. sliding glass door enclosure from glasscages.com ready for him, but Ray advised me to keep him in a 10 gal. while little, which I agree with and is what I did with my B.D. But, it doesn't look like "little" is going to last very long at all!

How's Dwight doing? I'll bet you get a lot of enjoyment out of just watching him.

Irwin already comes to my hand and loves to have his head rubbed while he closes his eyes. I've been picking him up from overhead since day one, and already, he sits still to be picked up. Such a behavioral difference between these and Bearded Dragons.

Take Care,
NomadOfTheHills
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Postby NomadOfTheHills » Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:47 pm

Ha, if I even come near Dwights bin, he starts tongue flashing and hissing, mouth wide open. If I want to see him eat, I have to hide behind my couch and lean over, then wait 10 minutes, perfectly still, so he "forgets" that I am there lol.
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AndrewSeike
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Postby AndrewSeike » Sat Jul 07, 2007 6:19 pm

Thanks Jerry!

Good luck with your bluey!

Andrew
http://www.bluetongueskinks.com with New Blue Tongue Skink Forum



Breeding and living with skinks since '88

Currently working with many representatives of the following Tiliqua:



scincoides.scincoides

scincoides.intermedia

scincoides.chimaerea

nigrolutea - alpine form

multifasciata

gigas.gigas

gigas.evanescens

gigas.keyensis

sp - Irian Jaya
JWSR
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 12:43 pm
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Location: Henderson, Kentucky

Postby JWSR » Sun Jul 08, 2007 6:20 am

That's hilarious John! I can just picture you trying to camoflage yourself to watch him. Am I correct, from what I've learned on this forum, that Dwight's behavior is pretty common, being a chimaerea?

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