Willie and Mario – Bearded Dragon Sibling Warfare

Let me introduce you to Willie and Mario, our pet Bearded Dragons!  They are about 2 ½ years old and ‘supposedly’ came from the same family.  I say supposedly because they have different colors and patterns and are so different in temperament.  They were about 1 ½ inches long when we adopted them and are now about 20 inches long. 

Bearded Dragons are originally from Australia and live in the arid, rocky, semi-desert regions and dry open woodlands of Australia.  We’ve built a similar aquarium environment with sand, rocks and a water dish.  I also made a long picture of the Australian desert and wrapped it around their aquariums so they would have something resembling "home" to look at!  Peter (my significant other who introduced me to lizards) is designing and building new homes for them.  I’ll post a picture when they are finished!   



Mario in his desert aquarium



Willie and his black beard

Willie is usually a relaxed, ‘let come what may’, kind of guy.  He is orange and tan and when he wants to show his dominance his beard is black with a purple cast.  He puffs it up and certainly tries to look twice his size.  If I were a lizard, I’d be intimidated!   When one is being dominate the other does a lot of arm waving – kind of like lizard yoga!





Before sibling rivalry!



Mario is a little smaller, gray, dark brown and ivory, with a most beautiful pattern on his tummy.  He has always been a picky eater.  For a long time he would only eat green lettuce.  So we had to wrap a cricket in lettuce so he would get his protein, but if we completely covered the cricket he would eat it.  If so much as a leg showed, he simply shut his eyes and turned his head.  Talk about body language; Mario is going to have life his way!   If he wants out of his aquarium, he will try until we can’t stand it and give him what he wants.  I’m going to use a photo of his tummy pattern as texture on one of my necklaces.

 Both Willie and Mario love the sun.  When they were little, they played together and basked happily on their rock on the corner of my workspace.   Now that they are adults, we keep them at opposite ends of the room or out of each other’s view.  Sibling rivalry is at work and we are in the process of making a two-tiered basking box, which will go back in the corner window on my work table.  Hopefully this will bring peace since they won’t be able to see each other. 

 

Morning Wake UP

One morning I was busily working on a piece of jewelry and looked up to find both lizards intently watching me.  I like that.  These animals inspire me with their movements, their patterns and their personalities.  Keeps me doing my best as I enjoy them!