This is my crew of girls~ Darius is my oldest, 9 years old the summer of 2001 (sleeping on the bottom), above her is Juliet and Freak is to the right.  Picture taken in the Spring of 1998.  

Bearded dragons are one of the greatest pet lizards available on the market today.  They have become very popular as a pet and are frequently being bred by many people in the reptile community.  This is great because it makes the bearded dragon much more available and easier to obtain with lower prices.

When I acquired my first beardie, Darius, she was less than one year old.  My boyfriend at the time bought her from the pet store he worked at for the whole sale price of $250!  Quite a bit of money 8 years ago.  She was my first reptile and she will always be my "baby".  Darius is now about 9 years old and she has produced many babies for me.  

When I first got my lizard I had really no idea how to take care of her.  She had a 32 gallon Oceanic Lizard Lounge, an under tank heater, a basking light, and a vita-lite over head.  We carpeted the cage with astro-turf and she had a water bowl and a ceramic log thingy.  She actually did pretty well in this setup for quite a while.  Luckily about that time Reptiles Magazine had just published their first bearded dragon article (I think it was like the 2nd or 3rd issue of the magazine), so I even had a little extra reading to do on the bearded dragon.

Here are a few pictures of Darius when she was a baby~ I definitely do not recommend using astro-turf for a substrate anymore, there is always a chance that they could try to eat the strings that come loose and those strings could easily become tangled in their stomach and intestines.  These pictures were taken in the Fall or winter of 1992.

I fed Darius crickets and superworms.  I did not realize until later how much she would like salads made up of dark leafy green stuff!  She is a dragon salad freak, loves romaine, collards, zucchini, etc.  Today she lives in a 55 gallon aquarium in my dining room with Annika, a female sandfire beardie.  They have full spectrum lighting and basking area on either side of the tank, with branches and hiding areas throughout the enclosure.  They often seem to be watching everything that is going on around them, they are a joy to have around me at all times.

Here is a picture of Darius today, she is a beautiful girl and she brings me great joy.  I have become very engrossed in my reptile hobby and this is the little one that started it all.  This picture was actually taken in February 2001.  A very sad update~ Darius crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on October 21st, 2001, she was over 9 1/2 years old and she will forever remain in my heart.

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Last modified: October 24, 2001