Some Journey

Wild About Harry

Harry the Bearded Dragon arrived this morning. Joseph ran out to the FedEx truck in his PJs and bounced all the way back to the house alongside the delivery man. I gotta tell you, with apologies to the dog and cat people out there, there is just no puppy or kitten as cute as this little lizard. He is down right adorable. His little body is only about two and half inches long. He's about eight weeks old, and will grow fast, maxing out at around 2 feet nose to tail. One of the things that makes Beardies so endearing is the way they tilt their little heads when you talk to them, and we have enjoyed watching him respond to us. I have read that once they get comfortable in their environment, they are often known to wave "hello" when they see other beardies. I'm tempted to put a mirror in the tank just to watch. We were warned that babies are much more excitable and more difficult to hold and play with, but we have found him quite easy to handle, and I am confident that as he grows he will be a very satisfying pet to interact with. I have limited the amount of handling today, and will for the next several weeks because he is just so darn tiny that it wouldn't take much to squoosh him. Joseph did manage to hand feed him a mealworm. . .really half a meal worm because a full size one is too big for him. I couldn't bring myself to do it, cause after we cut them in half the legs kept moving and it creeps me out a bit. Joseph, on the other hand, stared at the food dish for a few minutes and said, "Can I please keep one of those as a pet, too?" The kid is just not normal.

One other thing that cracks me up. We've always chuckled at Joseph because whenever he wants to know what size something is, he asks, "Is it bigger than your head?" Just one of his little "Joseph quirks". What is amusing about that is that as I've been researching lizards and their care, the primary rule of thumb when choosing food for your lizard is never to feed it prey that is bigger than it's head. So Joseph's rule of measure is right on in the herp world. I suppose that shouldn't surprise me.