So, when we originally got a bearded dragon lizard, it was because Heather wanted one for years and I finally caved.

Now I’m a total beardie junkie. They are very, very cool … and a lot of fun!

Biscuit is a little over four months old and is just over 13 inches long already. The little critter is growing fast – he’s definitely living up to the German Giant in him (his breed of bearded dragon). It’s still questionable at this point, but I’m pretty sure he’s a boy. I’m getting more and more inclined to find a female and breed the two of them – I think it would be a lot of fun and educational for the boys. A bearded dragon can have around 30 babies at a time, so we’d definitely have a ton of little guys for a while!

At his size, he actually eats a lot now. I was doing the math and realized we would be spending about $60 a month on live food for him (crickets, dubia roaches, etc), or $720 a year! So we made the switch … and I started a dubia roach colony (not American roaches). They’re actually far better than crickets for a variety of reasons (no bacteria, don’t smell, no noise, easy to breed and care for, die if they escape because of our climate). We actually think Pebbles (our previous bearded dragon) died from bacteria he was infected with from crickets (they can carry a ton it turns out, they smell, and make too much noise – I hated them). So basically, now I have a bunch of roaches reproducing like crazy in a controlled environment providing all the live food Biscuit needs. In fact, we’ll eventually have enough to care for several beardies, which would be fun. I know it sounds gross, but it’s not nearly as bad as it sounds! I think Heather’s fine with it mostly because of the money we’re saving and because she NEVER has to go near the colony!

Anyway, he’s a fun pet and definitely full of personality. He’s constantly interacting with the boys, exploring everywhere when we let him out, and really good with people. r