I reallllly need to update this blog, too! so much to post.

In Arizona, we actually do not have timber rattlesnakes. We have a species called an Arizona Black Rattlesnake that people call a timber, but is a very different species. They live somewhat similar lifestyles, being mostly woodland snakes, and also are more apt to remain quiet than others. Grassland species, in contrast (mojave rattlesnakes, prairie rattlesnakes) are more likely to buzz at a lower tolerance. It is thought this may be in response to the danger of being stepped on. If I were walking around, I’d rather have the snakes that are fast to give warning!

Can’t believe it’s that time again but Happy Holidays!

what a cool panoramic view,might be a good place for rattler

Last week I saw a coral snake for the first time in the 25 years I’ve been traipsing out here, and darn, did not have my camera! That will never happen again.

enjoy the rest of the season, Bryan.

The Corn Snake (now called Pantherophis guttata) is my favorite snake as it is both beautiful, and the most adaptable to captivity. My Snow Corn Snake is my favorite snake of all right now. (I had to let the two Shovel-nosed snakes go, as I wasn’t sure they were eating. Got pics, though. Soon as I figure how to send them, I will.)

But then, I had a great night tonight. One (mangled) Sidewinder, one Red Diamond (haven’t seen one of those in years!), and two Shovel Noses (MINE!!) So, here I go with the Shovel noses as captives.

“She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders” – B. Franklin

This specie is one of the less know species of rattlesnakes, i think
But i think is one of the most beautiful

my favorite is the green mojave

Anyway, better luck with the turtles in the future.

Cool Photo

Beautiful snake!

I am le disappoint!!

Love your passion rattlesnakes!

My son is working on a 6th-Grade Science, PowerPoint Project on the Western Diamondback…and is curious if he may have your permission to utilize a few of your stunning photos?! In particular the “Baby Rattlesnake” photos in Hidalgo County, NM and Cochise County, AZ; highlighting the prebutton…along with the “Crotalus atrox” in Cochise as well.

We are originally from Pima County, Arizona and give much appreciation to your incredible dedication to the rattlers!

Great photo!

Noah

I just recently discovered that the Sonoran Gopher Snake actually has a diamond pattern in its markings. I still can tell it’s a Gopher Snake by its overall look, the colors and the rest of the pattern. I think it’s cool, but I suspect that a lot of people are fooled by it into thinking it’s a rattler, and wind up killing it.

BTW, I was just given a baby Snow Corn Snake! She’s a real cute little snake.

I think he did get kinda wet, haha. If I recall, we stuck close to the water for a good while.

I emailed you about this, FYI.

Dave

P.S. Hit me and Benny up when the monsoons hit and we’ll go back out to the Supes. Hopefully, we can find more than some atrox and a trimorphodon this time.lol

Joshua Jones
(AHA: croteseeker)

Rich

What clues did you use to determine that this one was female?

I found it road cruising after I let the Gopher Snake go. (I never saw a Gopher Snake react in fear to a mouse, but this one did. As a result, I couldn’t keep it, so I let it go where I caught it.) Anyway, I saw seven more snakes, five DOR, and two still healthy. There was the aforementioned Diamondback, two Speckled Rattlers, two Sidewinders, a Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake, and a Cal King. Only one Speckled and one Sidewinder was alive. A productive night, but a sad one for all the dead ones.

Cool pictures

The Mojave Rattlesnake is one of my favorite

Can’t make the field trip in the Preserve on Friday, by the way. I really hate to miss it!

Again on Four Peaks, I was traipsing around in the dark with a flashlight, and came within 10 or 20 feet of a black (not black-tailed, but black) rattlesnake. It gave the usual warning, and I decided to go back to camp about 100 feet away. That snake was still rattling, and loudly, when I went to sleep over an hour later. Cranky fellow. All was quiet at dawn, though.

I am sure babies are spoken for, but can I be put on a list if you have one?

Thanks
Norman (AHA: gummybearpoop)

Perhaps he was chasing a lizard and didntrealize he was climbing the tree? Who knows….herps are cool.

Dave

COOL PICTURES

Speaking of rattlers, does anyone remember the movie “Clash of the Titans”? in both the original and the remake, Medusa had snakes for hair, a face that could stop a clock, a human torso attached to a snake’s body, and a rattle on the tail. I can’t buy the rattle though, because it’s unique enough that the ancient Greeks couldn’t have thought that up, and they surely never saw one, as rattlesnakes are uniquely American. (Yeah, I know. Another tangent. But hey! They’re fun!)

Great picture of the rattler ready to do battle!

If you go tramping around near Carlsbad, watch out for the beast called Horse Crippler!

I have a story from there. My left ear doesn’t hear well; in fact, I can’t hear a rattlesnake’s rattle through it. I was out looking for the aforementioned Horse Crippler Cactus, when I heard that distinctive buzz, but I couldn’t zero in on it! I was scared at first, because I didn’t see it at my feet, but I couldn’t find it! Finally, I turned far enough to my left, and there was the diamondback about 15 feet away, doing his beast Colonel Gadsden flag. First time a rattler really had me going.

It is very difficult to really qualify “dangerous” when it comes to snake bites due to the number of factors at play. Venom yield, aggression level and size of the individual snake, where the bite occurs, the health of the victim, etc., all play a role. If venom were solely looked at in comparative bites, then yes, in most cased the neurotoxin from a Mojave will be more trouble. There are also different builds of toxin within the species which vary locally. There are two types of peptide that make up the venom, the combination of which is very much stronger than one individually. To take a bite from a Mojave in Cochise county where both exist, for example, could be much worse than in La Paz, or anything that would take place in California (where Venom E.R. is filmed) where the combination AB venom is not found. While a bite from a Diamondback would primarily destroy tissue locally, a neurotoxic bite can result in things like muscle and respiratory failure. Either way, however, the actual death rate is very low in the U.S.

In my own experience it would seem that Mojaves tend to jump into action a little faster and with a bit more enthusiasm than the majority of Diamondbacks, but it of course depends on the individual. They will not attack without provocation; definition of provocation being subjective, sometimes just meaning “in my area.” To be then objective, it would make the species less dangerous in my eyes, by being more apt to kick up a warning rattle well in advance. As long as it is heeded, no problem will come. If you’re like me and are inclined to go mess with them anyway, I always give them a little more room. Between diamondbacks and mojaves, the only one to strike at me from a stop-start that I remember off-hand are diamondbacks.

Mojaves are quite variable in our state. West of Phoenix they tend to be a green to tan color (hence the “Mojave Green” name people like to use). To the East and South, they are more highly contrasted, and in the extreme South East they can be very dark and vivid. I have some of these individuals posted awhile back in the blog, and I think I have a post scheduled with one that was nearly black … dark enough at the time that I didn’t know what it was for the first few minutes of the encounter.

They tend to like sandy flats, so you’re less likely to run into one running around in the McDowells. On the right night in other parts of the state, however, they’re so numerous that you just get sick of seeing them after a few hours.

Thanks for keeping us educated!

Btw, I’d love to see any lyresnake pics of yours

That chuck was a decent sized adult … maybe 12-14″ long.

For reference, here’s a picture my sister took of me with a blacktailed rattlesnake: http://imgur.com/9twQs Obviously that distance increases with an aggressive snake.

I’ve had only a handful of rattlesnake encounters – most were quite tame, but I was scared to get within 12 feet of that prairie rattlesnake!

We have these on dolomite glades here in Missouri, but I have yet to find one.

I have found what I think is a blackheaded snake in my house- it is pretty tiny- shorter that a pencil. I have it under a pyrex dish at the moment, under a metal box on a laminate floor.. it is going nowhere at the moment. I have some very old cats and a puppy in the house- ( all in another room) but I am concerned if I let this snake go in the yard, it may end up back in again. Thoughts? I live next to a mountaing preserve and can take it there.. but if it is also an eater of “bad bugs” I would like to release it closer to home..

thanks!

Do you know of a good online guide for the various species of tarantula in AZ, or the US?

Centroides are our most common household pest, to the begroan of our bare feet. I could probably find 10 of them or more in the garage right now.

You ever keep any of these as pets?

p.s. checked out “ewwwww…” – wow!

Here’s a photo from the last time: http://fieldherper.com/2009/06/30/ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww/

Is this horned lizard the species that can spray blood from its eyes as a defense mechanism? Or is that only in some distant land that I’ll never get to see…

We have their much smaller cousins up here but I’ve only had the chance to see one. Very cool lizards.

You should be able to find a Coleonyx fairly easily by finding some trash that’s been dumped near open desert and flip it … if you can find a pile of tar shingles or some carpeting, it’s almost a sure thing.

Jamison

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging

A spectacular portrait!

I’M FROM iTALY

This Website is COOL
especially about photos

…buy your kids a book or two, and make Wednesday “No Beating!” day.

This made my day

What is your interest in reptiles? Send me an email. bryan dot hughes at me dot com

I have one enclosure with three mitchelli and a tigris. They very often share resting locations and are usually in a big tangled pile in the basking area in the morning before I turn on the “sun”. Watching them, they largely seem unable to even recognize the other snakes as such, moreso as structures. One will crawl right on top of another coiled snake and coil right on top of it, the former then having to get out from under and find somewhere else.

Conversely, I have a mating pair of cerberus in a different enclosure. When they’re not courting, they are almost never in the same spot. Both have separate hides where they prefer to digest meals. The female tends to use her hide more, and the male likes to sit out front and center in front of the hide. My casual observation is that they seem much more aware of eachother and take measures to not actually sit right on top of the other … and pretty much stick to themselves when they’re not working on making more little cerblets. This might be due to there being some established social order between them. This is all very casual observation over a fairly short time, however, so take it with a grain of salt.

Lawrence Klauber has some interesting observation on cohabitation within wintering dens, where not only multiple species of rattlesnake will be found, but colubrids, other reptiles such as turtles, and even prey items like skunks and packrats. There may be some mutually beneficial relationship here; I could see how a few warm bodies in a winter den might do more good for the group than eating them.

So you’re killing them out in the wild for what, revenge? You’d be keeping your family a lot safer if you were to educate and train them about how to live in an area with venomous snakes. All you’re doing by sending some tough guy to kill them is putting him in danger too. Being scared of something isn’t a justifiable reason to kill it when you are not in danger.

The right time to find them is any time that temperatures and conditions are favorable. I know that’s vague, but also the truth, and a good guideline to finding them in general.

Early morning would work well for several species, however right now there isn’t a lot of movement due to the dry conditions. They are still active, but don’t expect to see them out on the crawl so much as basking/hunting in areas closer to more long term cover.

If I may ask, what did you do when she laid the eggs, can you describe how you put it all together? Maybe something obvious will stick out for the next time.

Put them in a different enclosure on damp paper towels. The thing on their bellies is not a placenta (that’s a mammal thing), it’s the last of the yolk.

Yes I do. I’ll email you details. Thank you for asking.

I would like to use your picture of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake on a tshirt, do you charge for use?

Have Fun,
Jeff

I’ve never looked for scutulatus in that area. They don’t live in most of what you’d define as ‘northwest’ Yavapai, unless yo focus in the extreme NW point of the county. Look late at night in grasslands. This time of year might be difficult to see any, however.

Somehow, I was expecting to see the nightsnake eat the vinegaroon.

I don’t do guided tours (but I do go herping with people that email me on occasion), and actually will be spending almost all of next month in New Mexico. Are you looking for general AZ scenery stuff, or more of a herping trip in particular? If it’s the latter, try going on the Arizona Herpetological Association website and asking if anyone would be willing to take you out for some local stuff. Be careful not to ask for exact locations on there, it’s a sensitive subject.

Do you have a lot of success with cerbs? That’s a species I really want to try and find more of.

Keep your yard free of debris, hiding places, bird feeders that rodents can reach, rock piles, ponds, and any reason a snake might want to come visit.

The expectation too many people have is that the desert is beautiful but sterile, or that animals recognize intangible human boundries. Of course, the builders of these sprawling new neighborhoods should be educating every prospective homeowner that wildlife, including rattlesnakes, will come into the yard until such time as the sprawl has surpassed their property by several miles. Wouldn’t that be required in full disclosure?

Thanks,

Pat Greeley

916 628 3948

Glad you like it. Email me with the following information, and I’ll give you information on a limited license for your flag.

- How many flags you’ll be making
- For what purpose will the flags be used?

Thanks, my email is bryan@zigbotmedia.com

Thank you

Pat Greeley

Happy Holi-daze!
Kat

It was nice to finally meet you in person at the Herp Show this past weekend. Perhaps next season we can go hang out herpin’ sometime?

Later

Dave

Congrats. Did you submit the photo of the Mojave you and I found in April? I will be out east next herping season, I’ll keep you posted of what I find out there. Take care.

-chad

Nick

That’s good advice about the keeping of multiple dragons in the same enclosure. You’re right, in many cases they’ll hurt eachother. It may be possible to keep two females that have been raised together in the same cage, but a male and female will never work. The male will “love” the female to death over time.

I live in England near london, I considered looking for a local breader but im finding it really hard to find one, I will look into the subadult option sounds like a good one!

We have 2 males and 3 females. They are certainly different in my experience, but what you consider a benefit would be another person’s negative. The males tend to have more personality, be more active, and generally more “fun”. When our males are out, they’re always running around trying to intimidate things with head bobs, or finding high points to survey their domain. The females we have are more fat and lazy, and are a little less apt to run around.

Unfortunately, you can’t really tell the sex of the bearded dragon until it’s half grown. My advice would be to skip local petstores, and look for a breeder online who could send you a subadult (like a teenager) of the sex you want. Where do you live?

In addition to the basking light, you need to get a UVB bulb. They’re a bit expensive, but if you don’t use one, your bearded dragon will die. The best there is is the Reptisun 10.0 (not reptiGLO, that one will hurt your beardies eyes). You can get them online on this site I put together with bearded dragon supplies.

If he is small will larger crickets be a problem for him to eat?

I plan on visiting my brother in June and he lives in Sierra Vista, AZ. I’m hoping you know the cochise county area well and can tell me some good locations to go herping.

Thanks,

Andy

The only really expensive things you need is a new reptisun 8 or reptisun 10 bulb every 6 months or so. They cost about $22 if you get them online. Here’s a link:

The other big thing is food. A baby bearded dragon eats a LOT of food; you’ll be at the pet store about every day. If you’re looking to reduce costs, try and adopt an adult dragon, who’s dietary requirements are much cheaper to maintain. Again, craigslist is your best bet.

Heh, if you come across a small banded groundsnake, can you scoop him up for my education events? I have two of the orange over cream colored ones. I wouldn’t mind a red-spotted toad either, but the groundsnake would be so appreciated.

I suspect something may be up with the enclosure. Can you describe what kind of setup you have them in?

How big are the crickets?

What kind and how may veggies are you offering? Are you chopping them up?

Hopefully we can get it figured out.

Just a quick question, on friday we had our first baby hatch, and now we have 3 in total, ive read that they should be eating by day 4, but we’re now on day 5 and none of them are eating more than a little bite of veg and none of them are interested in crickets, any advice as i am gettin a bit worried now!

Thanks

Sexing bearded dragons in the way you’ve described is also not possible, as they are not dimorphic in the area you’ve mentioned. To have a bearded dragon sexed, you must look to the area just beyond the cloaca. On a male, you can see the bulges from hemipenes to either side if you gently lift the tail to 70 degrees or so (careful when doing this).

The way you can tale if it’s male or female is because the girl’s,her eye’s will be pushed together a boy’s head’s eye’s are wide.I have a bearded dragon and he’s really nice and active.

The “breeds” are just different lines of color produced by private breeders, who then tend to give them a name to act more like a product name. They’re all the same species of bearded dragon.

The red ones you see are often labeled in pet stores as “sandfire” dragons, though that’s a name given to just one bloodline produced by one or a handful of breeders. There are also “blood” dragons that are a deeper red and have less of the orange coloration.

A good place to check out to learn a lot about this confusing nomenclature and also find some good dragons at a reasonable cost would be http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=51

Any other tips for the first timer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I am an amateur herper from back east (because of the military). I am actually from out west here but have been living in NC for the last 13 yrs. I will be in S. AZ for the next 6 months and was wondering if you could turn me on to any good locales for some field herping. I am in Sierra Vista, and have recently purchased 36 acres out by Willcox. It would be great if you knew any good areas out here. Thanks,

Chad

The tomato horn worm builds up a chemical called glycoalkaloid in it’s body from eating the leaves of the tomato plant. This is toxic to your bearded dragons, and why it is very important to ONLY feed bugs that were bred specifically for the cause.

You are correct … food items that originate as bait are problems. Even if they aren’t poisonous, they probably aren’t as healthy or nutritious as feeder raised for the purpose. As for wild or otherwise non-purchased feeders … it’s not absolutely dangerous, but any step outside a completely controlled environment is definitely a gamble. Whereabouts in the country do you live?

Young dragons may have impaction issues from the feeding of superworms, or other chitinous-shelled critters, and should be avoided until adulthood (and then they make a great staple food, easy to obtain and keep in large quantities). Also be careful when feeding high-fat foods such as butterworms or wax worms. They love them, and we have noticed that feeding too many treats leads to them ignoring their nutritious food and waiting for more wax worms.

The only other commercially available feeder that should be absolutely avoided are wild-caught horn worms, or horn worms of questionable origin. The colonies of mullberry-loving goliath worms available online and in many reptile specialty shops are GREAT foods, but the nearly identical-looking tomato horn worms are full of cyanide, and will kill a dragon.

The best feeding strategy we know of is to just choose a good staple food, and then use others for special causes or occasional treats. We use superworms as adults, crickets as babies and subadults, and then use waxworms, pinkie mice, butterworms as high-fat items after brumation, breeding, sickness, or egg laying.

We noticed that a lot of crickets die if they are able to directly access the glass bottom of the cage. I’m not sure why … it seems to exhaust them. Just add a little sand or other safe particulate and they’ll have a little more traction. In my last round of babies, I ground up dog food and mixed it with d3-free calcium dust for a nutritious cricket substrate. We had a lot more success that way. We also use a feeder rock when feeding the crickets, which seems to greatly increase the amount of offered crickets that are actually eaten. It’s also fun to watch

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=101

I’m still amazed at them myself. They’re certainly not what anyone expects when they hear we have a room full of big lizards. The males really seem to have a lot of personality and generally are a little more fun. It’s crazy how much their personalities vary between individuals. here are a bunch of pictures of ours:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=95847&albumId=1900923

A few more questions if you are up for it: Are there any veggies or creatures we should avoid? The only two that people seem to have a concensus on are iceberg lettuce and fire flies. We have had a chemical free lawn for over five years, and were curious if we could use red worms from the yard. I have read in a few places that we need to avoid bait shops and other similar stores because of the pesticides and insecticides. (I also plan on starting a red worm compost this spring.)

We have one tall 55 gallon tank that we stored 1000 crickets in from the January reptile show; it was still much cheaper to do it this way, but we lost a little over half of the crickets. We did feed them and give them the water pellets. Is it normal to lose so many?

I really appreciate your fast response and all the good information. It has become confusing with all the contradictions.

I was going to send pics, but I’m terrible with it, and I’ll work on it. I have to say that I was not excited to get bearded dragons, or any other lizard for that matter. I underestimated them; I keep wanting to say they are responsive and interactive, but that does not seem to do them any justice. Spike, the girl, is sweet and timid, but confident. She sits on my shoulder and watches the boys carefully. Dragon, our boy, has been nicknamed “Mini Michael Phelps” because he loves to swim so much. It takes a while for him to crawl up on our hand, but once he’s there, he is velcroed on. He’s more skiddish, but I’m sure that will improve with maturity and handling. They are wonderful pets.

What we use instead of carpet is non-adhesive shelf liner. You can get it for less than $5 a roll at Home Depot or any similar store, and works great. It’s really easy to spot-clean, and it’s so cheap that you can just throw it away each time. I’ve used carpet in the past and it worked very well, but I had problems getting it completely clean. Check out the non-adhesive liner stuff; it makes cleaning really easy/cheap. To spot clean, I use a product called Healthy Habitat that is safe for enclosures … though I wouldn’t recommend letting them lap it up if you can help it.

For the water … don’t worry about it. They’re adapted to make due with what they have out in one of the driest areas of the world. They get most of the water they need from the plants they eat. If you want to mist, instead of misting the animals directly, try misting the food before they eat it rather than the lizards themselves. Some drink a lot, some don’t. If they’re getting a good drink when they’re in the bath once every few days to a week, then they’re getting all that they need. Just make sure to watch them … they’ll drink until they drown if you don’t watch them. Keeping bowls of water inside the cage isn’t necessary, so you might as well just take them out and have one less bit of maintenance.

Lots of crickets is the way to go! You can make them cheaper by ordering them online (or some reptile stores can special order for you) 1000 of them at a time and keeping them for a longer period of time. Get another aquarium (youll want a lid) and some stuff called “cricket water” gel from any pet store. Silk worms are also really great at this age. I just had a discussion with a very experienced breeder the other day about how easy it is to hatch and raise your own silk worms as a relatively inexpensive way to feed young dragons. Here’s a link to lots of supplies and more info on that: http://www.mulberryfarms.com/orders.htm

For veggies, we get organic spring mix by the box in the grocery store. It’s actually cheaper than buying it loose (around $5 a box, which would last a long time for 2 babies). They’ll get into the veggies more as they get older, and will want less bugs. That’s normal, so as long as they’re eating something and have a good feeding response, they’ll guide the way.

The topic of housing them together is somewhat controversial, but I would strongly suggest that it not happen. 2 females could possibly live together peacefully if also raised together, but NEVER house 2 males together or a male/female mix. If you have one of each, after about 9 months or so the male’s mating response will be very strong, and he will literally love her to death. You will hear of people mixing them with success and get a lot of “well I’ve done it and had no problems!”, but keep in mind that if you do something more for your own enjoyment than the animals’, it isn’t the best move. Pet stores do keep breeding adults in large enclosures with some success as well, but again … the BEST thing you can do for the dragons’ sake is to keep them separate. They are solitary animals in nature and do not require companionship to lead a long happy life. If proof is ever needed, just go browse kingsnake.com for “nip” specials, where siblings have lost a toe, limb, or tail to over-anxious siblings.

I would get 2 tanks, which can actually be done to look pretty nice and not be as much a pain as you might think. We use Vision 332 enclosures for our adults. They stack and have recessions for lighting and so forth. A little spendy, but they are great cages that are easy to keep clean and easy to keep up with multiple animals without having to sacrifice a lot of room.

I hope it helps. Let me know if anything wasn’t clear. Do you have any pictures of them?

We have each in a ten gallon aquarium because they were so small at Christmas; they are eating and growing like crazy. We have carpet on the bottom of the cage, water storage bottle with bowl at the bottom (they never seem to touch this), a heater under the tank and the lights you referred to above. We take them out every evening so they continue to enjoy being held, and every other day or so they get to soak in the bath.

The carpet can be difficult to clean, and I worry about putting it back in the aquarium before it is totally dry. ?? How do you clean the carpet? Anything safe to use other than just water?

They don’t drink out of the water bowls, but tend to wait for a bath. We’ve been spraying them a few times a day with water too. Anything we can do to help them figure this out?

They are eating 4 doz crickets at a time and growing a lot. Not up for many veggies, some fruits. Are their cheaper options we can add in there?

When should we try introducing them? Can they eventually be in the same cage? Should we just consider buying two large tanks?

Thanks in advance,
Julie

Glad you ran across the site. It’s still surprising to me that this post shows up where it does on google.

Anyway, what is the particular problem that your wife has with lizards? Is it fear, or grossed out, or just doesn’t see the point in you spending money on one? Identifying that may help.

One of the first things people almost always say when they are around my dragons for the first time is how surprised they are at a bearded dragon’s calm nature. The expectation is that they’ll be skittering around the house biting and peeing on anything around. A healthy adult dragon is like a good mix between a cat and a parrot. Most people do not realize the amount of individual personality they have, and how expressive/curious they are about their interaction with the world. I was even surprised, and I’ve worked with reptiles my entire life.

- Bearded dragons don’t stink (if you keep the enclosure clean, obviously).

- Unless they’re severely distressed or in great pain, they do not bite. They are very active, curious animals that interact readily with their owners. Every dragon I’ve ever owned likes being hand-fed.

- They do not make any sound whatsoever.

- They are calm … a fat happy lizard will sit on your shoulder all day if you want, or be happy laying against your chest while watching tv. When the sun goes down they will kind of snuggle into you and sleep right there. I think seeing this happen once would be all it would take for your wife to be completely open to the idea.

- Their personalities are very endearing. They don’t just sit around unaware of the world. Ours (currently 5) all have unique personalities and react to everything differently … favorite foods, some love swimming and others hate it, one of ours loves to climb any stick she sees, etc. They aren’t the typical skittish lizard your wife is probably thinking of.

- In a secure enclosure (recommend a vision 332 model), they can’t/won’t escape. Ours know their homes and will stay in there even with the doors wide open. If your wife just won’t come around, it would be pretty easy to keep one in a den or office and she’d never have to see it.

- They eat bugs when young, but as an adult, they eat greens you’d find at any grocery store, with a few bugs mixed in. They can be purchased online or at any pet store.

Anyway, if you have any specific questions, give me an email. bryan@zigbotmedia.com

I just ran across this website and noticed how well Bryan replied back to the different questions raised. I have a question myself:

My wife does not like reptiles AT ALL but I have been researching bearded dragons and thought that because of their nature they would be a good and fairly easy pet to have. What are some positive aspects of having a bearded dragon that would help convince my wife that I could have one? I feel like a child but that’s what wives do I guess.

We’ve gotten several pets before but they’ve been fish (which we still have) and a dog (which we had to give away because of a landlord issue). I’ve always been the primary caretaker of the pets and take very good care of them. She doesn’t have to do any work for the fish because I do it all. And even though I assured her that I would be taking care of the lizard myself and it would be in a room where she would never even have to see it, she still protests to the idea of having one.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Anyhow…just simply amazing photography. Thanks for taking me with you…

I have never had a bearded dragon before but i have studyed them very well, on the internet and i work at a zoo that has one. Are you going to sell them and if so how much?

When did she lay the eggs? Shriveling can be a sign of both good and bad things. Can you tell me how you’re taking care of them?

from jess

They have lots of different types, directly from the breeders.

p.s.next time can you put more of tho’es pics.

P.S.I AM GOING TO HAVE NIGHTMARES

Nice finds, Bryan. Keep up the good work.

For a baby, you need at least a 20 gallon tank with a heat lamp (not a hot rock!) that gives about 105 on the hot end and 75-80 on the cool end. They need need a hide on both ends, and something to bask on. You also need to get them a ReptiSun 10 (not reptiGLO!) bulb and reptical calcium (with no vitamins).

Where do you live?

Excellent finds.

crotalus-atrox2-052608.jpg is a killer macro shot; just in the eyes alone.

TD

I’ve tried leaving a new comment here, but the 500 server error kept popping up.

I was gonna say nice find with this Hypsiglena; I think I’ve been critter searching the wrong parts here in the east valley. I’ve trekked up to South Mountain twice; no luck.

Another great find. You seem to have pretty good luck encountering most serpents. I think I’ve been in mostly all the wrong spots out here in the East Valley. On my two treks to South Mountain— zilch.