Fluffy the Dragon
Ranked #6,061 in Pets & Animals, #151,032 overall | Donates to ASPCA
Meet Cuteosaurus Fluffii!
Yes I'm a dragon, no I don't breath fire and I don't have a hoard of gold to lie on (though I wouldn't mind trying it).
My name isn't really Fluffy, that's more of a nickname than anything else, got because I like to find small spaces to explore and often come out with fluff attached to various parts of my body.
I've lived here now for six months and we've got to know each other quite well, I think I'm finally getting my slave trained to look after me as I want to be looked after.
Right up front here, let me say that dragons are not really suitable for children. We're active through the day when they're at school and we do like the company of our slaves when we're in the mood. We also have sharp claws, needed for climbing and digging and we really don't like a dirty vivarium. We're not exactly cheap to keep and we can live as long as many dogs.
My name isn't really Fluffy, that's more of a nickname than anything else, got because I like to find small spaces to explore and often come out with fluff attached to various parts of my body.
I've lived here now for six months and we've got to know each other quite well, I think I'm finally getting my slave trained to look after me as I want to be looked after.
Right up front here, let me say that dragons are not really suitable for children. We're active through the day when they're at school and we do like the company of our slaves when we're in the mood. We also have sharp claws, needed for climbing and digging and we really don't like a dirty vivarium. We're not exactly cheap to keep and we can live as long as many dogs.
Contents at a Glance
Bathing Dragon
Although my lights go on around 8 am, for the first couple of hours I really don't feel sociable, it takes me a while to warm up and get going.Sometime during the morning, slave will come and take me for a shower. This doesn't necessarily happen every day but I like to get into (tepid) water every couple of days. Actually, this is where I prefer to do my pooping - see, I'm very hygenic - although there is another benefit to this showering, the bath mat.
When I shed my skin it's a really annoying process and takes me a while. This is when I like the shower every day as I can safely rub myself on the rubbery mat and it helps to remove the loose patches.
Dragons don't shed the whole skin at one time like snakes, it peels off in patches. Slave kept some bits of my shed skin, she muttered something about maybe using it on art cards. It took me a whole month last time from start to finish of the shedding and I was pretty grumpy at times, I can tell you, especially when the old skin was coming off around my face.
Basking Dragon
I'm very, very fussy about temperature. At night I need it to be around 70 to 85 degrees but during the day I need a basking spot of around 110 to 115 degrees. The viv is set up with the cool end at the left and the hot spot at the right so that I can find a cool area if I need to.That's me on my basking rock in the photo to the right. There's a basking lamp and also a ceramic heat emitter which ensures that my night-time temperature doesn't fall too low. This is important for us dragons as we come originally from Australia where many of us live in desert environments. It's not just deserts though, different families of dragons occupy all kinds of habitats out there. I have to bask to get my body up to temperature so that I can digest my food.
My lights are on a timer so that they're on for 12 hours a day. As well as a basking lamp and heat emitter, I also have a UV strip light. This is particularly important for dragons, we need the UV to enable us to absorb calcium. Without it dragons get MBD (metabolic bone disease) which can lead to discomfort, deformity and death. The UV striplight has to be replaced every six months, even if it's still giving out light it will no longer be providing the required UV radiation I need.
Dragon Food
Food is always interesting. As a youngster a dragon needs about 85% live food, 15% fruit/veg but as a dragon gets older the ratio reverses to around 85% veggie. If you don't like the idea of feeding live food to a dragon then don't buy one as a pet because it really is essential for us.I'm quite faddy about my food, sometimes carrot is my favourite thing, sometimes blueberries, sometimes apple, sometimes grape and I like sultanas too. Of course, you could feed me crickets every day of the week but the slave doesn't do that, I get crickets every second day. She keeps the crickets in another room, she isn't silly, she quickly worked out that if I could get at the crickets I would pig out and then probably be sick from overeating.
Hunting Dragon
Slave puts the crickets she has selected for my food / play into two jars. One of the jars contains calcium powder and the other contains vitamins, the crickets get a coating of these before I get to eat them.There are other ways to introduce calcium and vitamins into my diet, the veggies and fruit could be coated with them but there is no guarantee that I would eat enough that way. Coating the crickets is the simplest way. Crickets can be 'gut-loaded' by feeding them a vitamin and calcium rich diet but slave likes dusting them with the powders as she can see exactly what I'm getting.
I like to terrorise the crickets while they're still in the jars, I'm good at intimidation. Then she lets them out of the jars one at a time so that I can catch and devour them.
In the photo below you can see this cricket was trying to run for cover ... they don't have a lot of brain, that's not a stick he's trying to hide under, that's my leg hahaha.
More Crickets Now?
Hidden Dragon
I'm a lucky dragon really, I've heard of others whose slaves talk about them 'glass dancing'. This is where the dragon scratches at the glass on the vivarium but my slave knows that when I do this I want out of the viv. There may be a number of reasons for wanting out, perhaps I need a poop (although that's quite rare it does happen as I can't stand it when a poop appears in my viv) or maybe it's just that I fancy exploring a bit.Slave is quite good at this, she leaves me newspapers around the floor. Newspaper is good for pooping on but I do ask to go to the shower when I need to 'go' as newspaper is even better for caving. This is my current regular cave and when I've worn it out slave will provide another.
When the weather is really warm and sunny, slave takes me out in the garden. I'm not too keen on the front garden, too much sky to be seen and it does make me a bit nervous so I have to keep checking the sky for predators. The back garden is totally different, there are plenty of trees so I don't have to worry so much about the sky.
This cave has already been partially excavated, just needs a bit more shredding.
That's better, now to climb all the way in.
Sleeping Dragon
And after such a busy day, finally it's time for sleep and I find a comfortable spot to spend the night.Slave can't understand how I can be comfortable in some of the positions I choose for sleeping but I really am totally relaxed.
I'm glad slave bought me a ceramic heat emitter, it doesn't give off any light at all. It used to be thought that infrared heat lamps were good for dragons but they're not, we can see in infrared and the light from it prevents us getting a really good night's sleep.
I've instructed slave to add in a couple of videos below to show what a bad tempered dragon will do if pestered by someone so you can see that we are not some kind of toy to play with.
A dragon is a companion who will share your home.
Independence vs dependence
Slave says "He doesn't need me and yet he does need me, he's quiet but can be insistent when he wants attention, he's clean by nature and he makes me laugh."
Dragon Facts
Pogona Vitticeps - habitat, mixed grassland, desert, woodland, throughout Australia.
In recent years this little creature has become increasingly popular as a pet. The commonest is probably the Orange Beardie (like Fluffy).
Bearded Dragons are quite docile as pets. As adults, the males tend to be more laid back than the females. A male will head bob as a sign of dominance, females will arm wave as a sign of submission, though both behaviours can at times be seen in both sexes. When Fluffy wants something and I'm not getting the message, he head bobs at me just to make sure I know who is boss.
Pet shops will try and sell you a 'pair' of Bearded Dragons along with all the accoutrements they will need. It is a bad idea to keep a 'pair' of Bearded Dragons together in one vivarium, they are territorial creatures and you will end up with two stressed dragons. One will be more stressed than the other and may well fail to thrive because of that. The dominant one of the 'pair' will keep the other away from food and will display aggressive behaviour towards the underling, probably causing it to spend much of its time hiding. Young dragons may regard each other as food.
For that reason, when choosing a Bearded Dragon, make sure it has all its fingers, toes, limbs and a full tail.
Although you should provide fresh water in the viv at all times, Bearded Dragons get their moisture from the food they eat. After preparing his veggies and fruit, I rinse them in fresh water and inevitably some of this remains on the food. This is more than enough water for a Beardie. Some vegetables are poisonous to Bearded Dragons therefore you must do thorough research on diet BEFORE buying a Bearded Dragon as a pet. Spinach, for example, is deadly - a fact most children would concur with.
Poop is very similar to bird poop. There is the white part (urates) and the black part. Normally there should be little or no liquid with the poop although this will depend on what the dragon has been mostly eating. When Fluffy has grapes, there is liquid.
The pet shop will also try to sell you calcium sand as substrate for the vivarium, not only is this not necessary, calcium sand can, if swallowed by the dragon, lodge in the gut and cause a potentially fatal blockage. Fluffy is perfectly happy with the linoleum floor, although I do have some sand around the basking rock . Young Bearded Dragons can be kept perfectly well on newspaper, it's easy to clean by just throwing away.
I have found that Fluffy really doesn't like it when someone poops in his viv - it isn't him, you understand, it just appears suddenly - he's only done this perhaps 3 times since I got him because he prefers to poop in the shower. He gets a shower 3 or 4 times a week and has actually 'asked' to go to the shower when he needed to poop. Dragons seem to be naturally clean in their habits.
You need a lot of equipment to set up a vivarium properly, basking lamp and UV tube light (for daytime), heat emitter (for night), habistat control unit to regulate temperature, digital thermometer to periodically check the temps are right, something to keep live crickets in, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Bearded Dragon may not cost a huge sum himself but the equipment can set you back a couple of hundred pounds sterling.
Although they are territorial creatures, they do seem to like human company. If I have to go out for the day, Fluffy is in a mega-huff when I get home and makes it absolutely clear he's not speaking to me. For this reason, I really don't think they are good pets for children.
In recent years this little creature has become increasingly popular as a pet. The commonest is probably the Orange Beardie (like Fluffy).
Bearded Dragons are quite docile as pets. As adults, the males tend to be more laid back than the females. A male will head bob as a sign of dominance, females will arm wave as a sign of submission, though both behaviours can at times be seen in both sexes. When Fluffy wants something and I'm not getting the message, he head bobs at me just to make sure I know who is boss.
Pet shops will try and sell you a 'pair' of Bearded Dragons along with all the accoutrements they will need. It is a bad idea to keep a 'pair' of Bearded Dragons together in one vivarium, they are territorial creatures and you will end up with two stressed dragons. One will be more stressed than the other and may well fail to thrive because of that. The dominant one of the 'pair' will keep the other away from food and will display aggressive behaviour towards the underling, probably causing it to spend much of its time hiding. Young dragons may regard each other as food.
For that reason, when choosing a Bearded Dragon, make sure it has all its fingers, toes, limbs and a full tail.
Although you should provide fresh water in the viv at all times, Bearded Dragons get their moisture from the food they eat. After preparing his veggies and fruit, I rinse them in fresh water and inevitably some of this remains on the food. This is more than enough water for a Beardie. Some vegetables are poisonous to Bearded Dragons therefore you must do thorough research on diet BEFORE buying a Bearded Dragon as a pet. Spinach, for example, is deadly - a fact most children would concur with.
Poop is very similar to bird poop. There is the white part (urates) and the black part. Normally there should be little or no liquid with the poop although this will depend on what the dragon has been mostly eating. When Fluffy has grapes, there is liquid.
The pet shop will also try to sell you calcium sand as substrate for the vivarium, not only is this not necessary, calcium sand can, if swallowed by the dragon, lodge in the gut and cause a potentially fatal blockage. Fluffy is perfectly happy with the linoleum floor, although I do have some sand around the basking rock . Young Bearded Dragons can be kept perfectly well on newspaper, it's easy to clean by just throwing away.
I have found that Fluffy really doesn't like it when someone poops in his viv - it isn't him, you understand, it just appears suddenly - he's only done this perhaps 3 times since I got him because he prefers to poop in the shower. He gets a shower 3 or 4 times a week and has actually 'asked' to go to the shower when he needed to poop. Dragons seem to be naturally clean in their habits.
You need a lot of equipment to set up a vivarium properly, basking lamp and UV tube light (for daytime), heat emitter (for night), habistat control unit to regulate temperature, digital thermometer to periodically check the temps are right, something to keep live crickets in, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The Bearded Dragon may not cost a huge sum himself but the equipment can set you back a couple of hundred pounds sterling.
Although they are territorial creatures, they do seem to like human company. If I have to go out for the day, Fluffy is in a mega-huff when I get home and makes it absolutely clear he's not speaking to me. For this reason, I really don't think they are good pets for children.
Bearded Dragon Videos
There are thousands of videos of bearded dragons on YouTube, I've only picked a few here so once you've seen these, why not go exploring for more.
Fluffy is Featured
29th December 2010 - Fluffy the Dragon is featured on the Giant Squids Showcase 2010 and he would like to sincerely thank all who made this possible.
This lens belongs to ...
Do you like Dragons?
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KorneliaKendrick
Jan 18, 2012 @ 8:38 am | delete
- nice work....
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s1fizik
Jun 27, 2011 @ 1:51 pm | delete
- Aw man I use to have a bearded dragon! You took care of yours really well! It's huge! how old is it? I forgot what happened to my bearded dragon... I was only in 6th grade when I got it... I have a feeling it didn't end well :
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sorana
Mar 17, 2011 @ 7:31 am | delete
- Although I wouldn't have a Dragon as a pet I have really enjoyed your lens. Very cute and funny.
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CruiseReady Mar 1, 2011 @ 11:27 am | delete
- What a fun lens - it was quite enjoyable to read!
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JeremiahStanghini Feb 19, 2011 @ 2:40 am | delete
- lol... That was fun! Dragons are some of the more misunderstood creatures -- I think.
With Love and Gratitude,
Jeremiah
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DressGoon
Jan 11, 2011 @ 9:10 pm | delete
- Congrats. and cool dragon
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Sylvestermouse
Jan 6, 2011 @ 10:06 am | delete
- Congratulations on being listed on the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase! Fluffy is awesome!
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KimGiancaterino Dec 30, 2010 @ 12:45 pm | delete
- Thanks for sharing this ... I did not know much about dragons. Congratulations on being included in the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase. Happy new year!
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TheGreenerMe
Dec 29, 2010 @ 10:00 pm | delete
- Congrats on making the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase! Happy New Year!
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BevsPaper
Dec 29, 2010 @ 8:34 pm | delete
- Fluffy is one cool dragon! Congrats on being featured on the 2010 Giant Squid Best Of List!
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Spook
Dec 29, 2010 @ 1:40 pm | delete
- I trust you have some Australian crickets for him? Congratulations and all the best for 2011.
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WordCustard
Dec 29, 2010 @ 6:10 am | delete
- Fluffy looks like such a character, I bet there's never a dull moment with him around! I enjoyed meeting him. Congratulations on making it into the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase!
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Tipi
Dec 28, 2010 @ 11:26 pm | delete
- Of course I love dragons! Fluffy, you are as cute as any dragon can be! Congratulations on being on the 2010 Giant Squid Showcase Best of List! Perhaps a cricket feast tonight, please talk to your slave, you deserve it!
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genglo
Dec 28, 2010 @ 11:22 pm | delete
- Fluffy is very cute! Happy New Year!
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ChapelHillFiddler
Dec 28, 2010 @ 10:58 pm | delete
- I don't know anybody with a pet like this and have never even seen one. Love your pictures. Congratulations on making the showcase!
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Fluffy's Foto Album
... all pics taken by the slave
A Dragon Tshirt ... hmmm
Bearded Dragon Got Crickets White T-Shirt Pets White T-Shirt by CafePress
Amazon Price: $29.50 (as of 05/31/2012)
I really like this Tshirt, it's probably safe to say that "got crickets?" is almost permanently on the mind of any dragon. I'm not sure what Fluffy would think of it though, he might want to have a go at the dragon on that Tshirt and, as he has reasonably efficient claws, it could easily end up as shredded bedding.
Guides to keeping Bearded Dragons
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