Friday, June 12, 2015

Pawsome Pet of the Week - Shirley the Bearded Dragon

This week, I'd like to introduce to you our very first reptile Pawsome Pet of the Week! Shirley is a one year old, female, Bearded Dragon who lives in Michigan. Her doctor thinks she might actually be a male dragon, but Shirley says she disagrees. She claims that if she were in fact a boy lizard, she'd just change her name to Sherman.

Shirley as a baby lizard.

Shirley's ancestors are from Australia, but she came from PetSmart. Apparently, Bearded Dragons have only been in North America for the past 20 years! I asked Shirley what makes her a Pawsome Pet... or in her case, a "clawsome" pet!
"I'm a dragon! How clawsome is that?  My mom thinks I'm clawsome because I like to cuddle.  But I also like to run in the opposite direction from her when I'm outside getting some sun. Fast too! You should see me go!"

Shirley enjoys a number of activities including getting a tan, eating, and hanging out with her furry family members.

"[I enjoy] Sitting in the sun, definitely. Oh, and eating worms and crickets. Mom keeps trying to make me eat salad, but … blah. Really? Anyway, when I can't get outside, Mom lets me run around the house, just in one room, where I can lay in a sun puddle by the patio door. I like that. Sometimes I hang with the cat, Jessie. She's okay. We like each other, as long as I don't climb over her. She gets upset with me with I do that and hisses and shows her teeth.   
Oh, and the dog .. I gotta tell ya. I scare him! Imagine that! I'm all of 17 inches long, and he's a big, bad dog! And I scare him! It's hilarious. Especially when I jump down onto his back from the couch. I don't care. Doesn't bother me none. :) "
Shirley the Bearded Dragon enjoys good cuisine like any fine animal might. She doesn't especially like salad, but who can blame her when there are tasty bugs around to eat? Here's a list of her favorite foods -
"Crickets, wax worms, and mealworms. I mentioned earlier that mom wants me to eat my greens. I found some wild greens outside that I like, at least. I'll also eat baby food. Mom gives me the green kind … peas or green beans or something. She's tricky like that."

This dragon also has a couple of special abilities. Her special abilities include a convincing "stink eye", flexibility, and turning herself into a pancake.
"I can give the best stink-eye you've ever seen. I give them to mom when I want to come out of my tank and she's ignoring me. I can stare at her for hours (literally) until she feels bad and finally comes and gets me out. It works every time! 

I'm very flexible. I can sleep in the strangest positions, as long as it's not on my back. I can't breath right if I'm on my back.  
I can also make myself flatten out like a pancake. I do that when I'm outside or in a warm spot so that my body can take in as much sun or heat as possible."

Because Shirley is such a lovely lady, I wanted to know what her favorite thing about herself is.
"I would have to say, humbly, of course, my color.  In the summertime, especially, I turn a beautiful orange/pink. Everyone tells me they've never seen another Beardie with the same colors. That makes me special, right?  
Plus, I'm smart. I know my name and I understand what "go outside" means."

Indeed it does, Shirley! I agree that her color is gorgeous. In addition to having beautifully colored scales and eating a healthy diet of insects, Shirley gets to enjoy a little R&R when the Winter months come along. I sometimes wish that I could sleep for four months like her!
"Oh yeah! Over the cold winter months, I slept for 4 months! I woke up 3 or 4 times just to stretch and have a look around, but since it was still cold outside, and not much sun, I would just go back into my upside-down basket and go back to sleep. Mom kept the temperature in my tank just right, so I could pretend to be back in Australia. It was nice.  
I didn't even lose any weight that whole time, even though I didn't eat a thing. When my metabolism cools down, I don't need food. Just a little water from time to time."

I believe that Shirley is most certainly a Clawsome Pet! Special thanks to her for allowing me to interview her.


Shirley does not have a personal blog, but her Mom sometimes talks about her and other lizards at Animal Bliss.  You can also find Animal Bliss on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure you stop by and say hello!

And as always, come back next Friday for another Pawsome Pet of the Week!


19 comments:

  1. Way cool! I have always wanted a bearded dragon!!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  2. Bearded dragons are so awesome! I have a thing with lizards anyway. I would love an iguana! But Shirley is quite the beauty! Thanks for sharing her with us!

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  3. How cool ! You're a pawsome reptile, nice to meet you ! Purrs

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  4. This is the second time I read about Shirley in one week I might add. Very interesting.

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  5. Aww, I LOVE this interview! Of course, I would, since Shirley's my Dragon. But you did a great job with your presentation, and I'm so pleased. Thank you Ann. This is really fun. I'm going to share the heck out of it. :)

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    1. Thanks Jeanne! It was a fun interview and I'm glad to get to share a reptile for Pawsome Pet of the Week :)

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  6. Shirley is such a cutie pie! It is pretty crazy that they've only been in the US for 20 years. Personally, I think that if you have a pet like this (that will not be breeding), it's okay to just choose a gender for them. :)

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    1. Oh yes. That happens a lot with reptiles and birds too!

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  7. Hi Shirley! *big paw wave* We never knew anything about bearded dragons before. You are a beauty and it's great meeting you. You have a great personality!

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    1. Thank you, Lola! (Shirley's mom here.) Shirley says to tell you that you're very pretty too. :)

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  8. So neat but I'm too scared to touch it :-) A friend's son got one and it is interesting. Golden Thanks for sharing. Golden Woofs

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    1. Aw - you should do it! =P They are probably the nicest of all the lizards.

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  9. OOOOH, I love Beardies. So much so that our bearded dragon, Drogo, has his own page on my dog blog at The Fashion Dragon (yes, we dress him up). I have never met an ornery beardie either. They are the most personable reptiles -- even when wearing silly hats.

    Drogo doesn't care for salads either. We'll have to try the baby food trick. Any suggestions?

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    1. Haha - love it "The Fashion Dragon"! They are so laid back. My beardie years ago didn't have any problems eating his salads. I gave him lots of different things to try and he always seemed to like them. I think the baby food thing is a good idea.

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    2. Kelley! Shirley's mom here. I just had a look at your site (I mean Drogo's site), and I LOVE your Drogo pics. So cute! I never thought of torturing my Shirley like that, but why the heck not? I do have a picture of her in a red cowboy had though. I guess that counts. I'll have to start looking for props. Don't worry. I'm not as creative as you, so I won't outdo you.

      As far as baby good goes, Green Beans, Peas, or Squash. Take care!

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  10. Great interview. I've seen a lizard in my garden, but it was much plainer than Shirley, and smaller too.

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  11. I didn't know anything about bearded dragons, so it was to learn about Shirley. I thought it was especially interesting that she sleeps all winter....yes, wouldn't we all like to do that!

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    1. Haha! Sometimes I think it would be nice! Not all pet reptiles do the hibernation thing, but some do. Ours never did.

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