Reptiles, amphibians and Snakes... Oh my!

So, are you a lover of the scaly, croaking, or slithering kind? If so, then there's a place for you to come talk about them. Especially if you are an owner/parent, a product representative for reptiles/amphibians/snakes, or a breeder (private or for retail).

At Lizard Lovers, we love to talk about our pets or our business. We also post pictures, ask for support about various things that may be coming up. And if we don't know the answer, we try and help one another to find the answer (Google is our BFF!).

So, if you own an "exotic" pet of the reptilian kind, or with a slithery body, or that croaks, come on over and see us! And we GLADLY accept those (including Zoo Med*, if they wish to join us) that sell various products for our animals, as well as both private and for-retail breeders of these animals.

Also, note that those with tortoises, turtles and (although I'm HIGHLY arachnophobic), spider lovers are welcome to join us as well. As are those that have scorpions.

Lizard Lovers would love to have you share with us!


*Zoo Med is not necessarily endorsed by this author. It's name is being used as an example within this post, seeing as they are a well-known retail chain of reptilian goods.

Tuesdays From The Terrarium

A "plog" (pic blog) light-hearted look in to the world of reptilian ownership, love and companionship.

Our Bearded Dragon can be a real character at times. Now, Gobi has come to "know" his meal times and knows what certain food containers look like. Especially the "margarita" shaker I use to coat the crickets with D3 Calcium Supplement Powder.

Gobi goes NUTS! Yesterday, the dude actually JUMPED (more like flew) off his perch under his basking light, and hit face-first in to the tank glass to get to the crickets. All the while, pacing back and forth in longing wait to get his grub on.

As of yesterday, Gobi now is getting collard greens in his veggie mix. We have yet to see how he likes it, being the little bugger skipped his veggie meal last night.

As promised last week, I'll have pictures below of what Gobi eats and of his new living quarters.

Ready? Here we go...

                        (Setting up to fix Gobi's veggies mixture.)

       (He loves sweet potatoes. And carrots. He's also big on the leafy greens.)

          (This looks so good, there are times that I want to eat the stuff!)

And here is Gobi's new penthouse suite. Believe me, he has really gotten more personality and more of a liveliness about him since moving him from his cramped little ten gallon tank, in to his massive 40 gallon.

    (This is Gobi's old tank. He was getting so cramped up. And he wasn't very happy.)

        (Gobi's new palace. He can live in this one for the rest of his days.)

                                          (He's one happy dragon!)

Tuesdays From The Terrarium

Today is Tuesday. So, it's time for another installment of "Tuesdays From The Terrarium". It's the day for Gobi, our family's Bearded Dragon, to shine, be seen and talked about.

It's what I call a "plog", or a post full of pictures of our beloved Gobi, with at times, a funny caption of what he may have said (if he could speak, of course). All in all, it's just a light-hearted look in to the world of reptilian ownership, love and companionship.

                                  ("What you lookin' at, bub?!?!")

                   (Gobi's now-cramped terrarium cage. He's growing fast!)

            (Gobi's taken a big liking to my nephew, who is still a bit timid about him. Mainly when he walks fast or jumps.)

                             (Snack time! Mealworms. YUMMY!!)

                                      ("Now you see me.")

                                   ("Let's play 'Find The Gobi.")

Next week, you will get to see Gobi's new digs (40 gal. terrarium tank), what kinds of foods he likes to munch on and whatever other things I can catch him doing on camera.

Gobi says have a great week!

Gobi... No, not the desert.

**WARNING!! If you aren't the "creepy, crawly, scaly" type of person, then this post is SO not for you. Consider yourself warned.**

So, it's been just over a month now since Gobi, our Bearded Dragon entered the family domain. He was so cute and tiny. Helpless and helpless-looking. From snout to tail, Gobi fit easily in to my hand.

Since then, he has crapped ON ME at least three times. Has about killed himself as he did a "Super Man" jump from my hand, on to the dining room floor. And has acted like a dog defending it's territory as he saw his own reflection in the glass of his terrarium (which is truly hilarious to watch).

And he has noticeably grown. Seeing as the little guy has now shed about three times since being with us.

Here's a couple of pictures after we had JUST gotten him, and Gobi was only about two months old...

Yes, he (Gobi) is indeed taking a dump IN my hand. Hence the first "christening" of doing so and I think marking me as his 'mama'. Aren't I lucky?

...

Now, Gobi is just a tad over three months old. We can track it, seeing as I was told that he and his siblings came in as tiny hatchlings in December. We got him right about his two-month-old mark. Look at the obvious growth in just about ONE **month's** time!

...

You, the Reader may not see the difference just by looking at the pictures in comparison. But believe me, if you were to hold him yourself between then and now, you would note the apparent weight and length difference in Gobi.

Just think, in the next couple months, I will have to go straight from a 10 gallon tank, all the way up to a 40 gallon to house Gobi for the rest of his days. When he is considered an adult (at the age of 18 months or a year and a half old) his top length will be about 18 inches to 2-feet long. And that will consist mainly of tail.

We have a new addition!

My oldest daughter is 11, going on 14. She has it already set in her mind that her life's career will be a Veterinarian for Exotic pets. And thanks to my father who sent her an old edition of Reptile Magazine, she had been BEGGING me for a Bearded Dragon (lizard).

This weekend she has had to be with her bio-dad. While she's been gone, I bought the lizard and all the stuff to set him up. About $200 investment between the foods, cage, needed lightings and other accessories AND the lizard its self.

We named it Gobi like she wanted to initially. She found the name on a bag of sand on a store's online shopping center. Plus, that is the name of a desert in the Sahara. You pronounce Gobi as "go-bee".

I honestly cannot wait to see the look on Hayley's face when she walks in this evening. I told her that she will be the primary care person, seeing as it's going to be primarily HER pet, but also of course the family pet as well.

Here's Gobi!

Discovery Channel's new Miniseries, 'Life' is making a big impact already on my kids!

I've got some of the best kids in the world. I really do! Yes, I know I sound biased. I have that right. They are MY kids after all. And who wouldn't be singing praises about their children especially after witnessing what I did last night. It was really an affirming moment for me. It told me that somewhere along the line, I've ended up doing something RIGHT with not just one or two of them. But with all THREE OF THEM.

On Discovery Channel, the highly anticipated 11-part Miniseries aptly named "Life" began at 8:00 PM. It's in two-hour blocks each Sunday. So, being it's an educational-inspired show, I'm okay with the kids staying up an hour late on Sundays to see this phenomenal series.

My family and I gathered downstairs, in the Family/TV area. Most of us huddled on the couch. Let me say that five people (consisting of Mom, Dad, a 10-year-old, a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old) trying to scrunch on to a 5-foot-in-length couch is a death-defying feat. You are almost crushed to death by those kids as they climb on you to find a comfy spot...Sounds like I have three more cats. Only human-size!

After settling in, the show started. And right from the start, we were amazed. All of us, including myself, were learning facts about nature's beasts (large, small and in between) that were never known to us before. And we were able to see the camera's capture of some of the wildest food hunts. A couple of them were documented on film for the very first time.

All three kids sat there in amazement as to what they witnessed on the screen. A couple times Scott and I heard "awww". A couple of "ewwww's" were thrown out. Including from yours truly, thanks to the big, hairy Tarantula Spider that was chasing his meal of a Pebble Frog.

The wildest part for me was when the Orca (Killer) Whales were hunting down a left-behind seal as their meal target. That seal got amazingly smart and was able to out-wit the three or four whales that were chasing after him.

But the saddest part came at the very end. A bison was hunted and bitten by a Komoto Dragon. They give off a toxic bite that sits and festers for WEEKS in the victim's system as it travels through the blood stream. He went down as he stood at the last watering hole available. By then, six Dragons were taling him, waiting for his death, which arrived in the middle of the night.

There were times during the show, that Skyler (the 5-year-old) would ask why something was happening, why an animal died, why this animal killed and ate another. But she was intrigued. She was interested in LEARNING about wildlife and it's raw, but fascinating world.

All three of them, in the end, after 'Life' has run it's entirety, I hope will carry away an even better respect, as well love, of nature, it's inhabitants and the power of the two combined. Since they were toddlers, my husband and I have been trying our best to instill good values in to our children. Including where animals and nature are concerned.

This miniseries is just one more tool that we as parents are using to get our children to understand 'Life'.