Trycten7
Bearded Dragon Egg
- Messages
- 13
Before I start, I'd like to say that this is my first post. After scouring the internet for far longer than I should have, I've yet to find another person have anything similar happen, so I'm hoping to get some feedback from other owners. Let's begin:
Approximately 6 months ago, my girlfriend and I purchased a baby bearded dragon. The reason behind this (aside from the fact that we love our 'old guy' beardy that she's adopted about 6 years ago, and wanted another) was because our neighborhood outdoor cat moved away. It would come by our house every day, jump on top of the A/C wall unit, and scratch at the window glass to get our attention and provoke us to feed and per her. With the cat gone, I decided to fill the void with a new baby... and thus Tigger joined our lives.
He's got beautiful coloring, all it's fingers and toes, no health issues, a very curious personality and generally very playful. The only issue, after 4 1/2 months, was that his nails were getting long and sharp. So, naturally, my girlfriend decided to take him to the lizard store to get trimmed. She placed him in a shallow box (no lid...) and carried him to the car, only to have him leap out (he's been a jumper since day 1, hence the name Tigger) and dive into some bushes never to be seen again. She was devastated, and tirelessly scoured the neighborhood in an attempt to find him... but was unsuccessful. Much mourning proceeded.
About a week later, we decided to get another baby... and vowed to only use 6-sided boxes (y'know, with a lid) to transport the new one and generally be more cautious about escapes. The new baby has been healthy, but certainly much more timid than Tigger was (the new one is named Peaches. I'm not involved with the naming process because I know better than to question her judgement on these things). Things have gone well, and Peaches has been growing quickly in Tiggers old enclosure.
So, here's where things get interesting. Two weeks ago, I came home from work... fired up the Playstation... and started to hear something scratching on the front window glass. At first I ignored it, but something triggered in my brain that "HEY! YOU KNOW THAT SOUND WELL!!! THE CAT IS BACK!!!!". I jumped off the couch in disbelief, as I hadn't seen or heard from the cat in 6 months. As I approach the window and draw the blinds, I instantly go into a state of shock (I'm shaking as I type this... it's still too surreal) and nervous joy. My friend had returned to us, but it wasn't the one I was expecting.... Tigger was sitting on top of the wall A/C unit, scratching on the window pane, peering between the blinds to get a look inside the house!!!!!!
Once I collected myself, I grabbed some bait (cricket container) and a basket and headed out the door. He didn't even flinch as I approach and handled him, and he let me bring him back inside without issue. He's about twice the size as when he left (and I'm 100% positive it's him, as the tip of his tail has a slight kink at the end that resembles a digit... that couple with his extreme coloring leave no doubt in my mind it's the same lizard), has no scarring/injuries, still have all his fingers and toes, and looks like he's been eating fine. We've taken him to the vet, who gave us some anti-parasitics but signed off on him being a healthy beardy! It took about 3-4 days before he was comfortable being in an enclosed space again, but is fully adjusted now.
So my question to the community is this: Has anyone else had a bearded dragon run away, and then return home on it's own accord? If so, how long was it gone? I haven't been able to find a single other story of this happening, and it's honestly creeping me out a bit. If I had seen him outside, that would be one thing... but the guy FOUND HIS WAY BACK HOME AND THEN SUCCESSFULLY GOT MY ATTENTION!
TLDR; My beardy ran away for a month and a half (as a juvenile), and then showed up at my front window scratching on the glass pane. Has anyone else had this happen?
Approximately 6 months ago, my girlfriend and I purchased a baby bearded dragon. The reason behind this (aside from the fact that we love our 'old guy' beardy that she's adopted about 6 years ago, and wanted another) was because our neighborhood outdoor cat moved away. It would come by our house every day, jump on top of the A/C wall unit, and scratch at the window glass to get our attention and provoke us to feed and per her. With the cat gone, I decided to fill the void with a new baby... and thus Tigger joined our lives.
He's got beautiful coloring, all it's fingers and toes, no health issues, a very curious personality and generally very playful. The only issue, after 4 1/2 months, was that his nails were getting long and sharp. So, naturally, my girlfriend decided to take him to the lizard store to get trimmed. She placed him in a shallow box (no lid...) and carried him to the car, only to have him leap out (he's been a jumper since day 1, hence the name Tigger) and dive into some bushes never to be seen again. She was devastated, and tirelessly scoured the neighborhood in an attempt to find him... but was unsuccessful. Much mourning proceeded.
About a week later, we decided to get another baby... and vowed to only use 6-sided boxes (y'know, with a lid) to transport the new one and generally be more cautious about escapes. The new baby has been healthy, but certainly much more timid than Tigger was (the new one is named Peaches. I'm not involved with the naming process because I know better than to question her judgement on these things). Things have gone well, and Peaches has been growing quickly in Tiggers old enclosure.
So, here's where things get interesting. Two weeks ago, I came home from work... fired up the Playstation... and started to hear something scratching on the front window glass. At first I ignored it, but something triggered in my brain that "HEY! YOU KNOW THAT SOUND WELL!!! THE CAT IS BACK!!!!". I jumped off the couch in disbelief, as I hadn't seen or heard from the cat in 6 months. As I approach the window and draw the blinds, I instantly go into a state of shock (I'm shaking as I type this... it's still too surreal) and nervous joy. My friend had returned to us, but it wasn't the one I was expecting.... Tigger was sitting on top of the wall A/C unit, scratching on the window pane, peering between the blinds to get a look inside the house!!!!!!
Once I collected myself, I grabbed some bait (cricket container) and a basket and headed out the door. He didn't even flinch as I approach and handled him, and he let me bring him back inside without issue. He's about twice the size as when he left (and I'm 100% positive it's him, as the tip of his tail has a slight kink at the end that resembles a digit... that couple with his extreme coloring leave no doubt in my mind it's the same lizard), has no scarring/injuries, still have all his fingers and toes, and looks like he's been eating fine. We've taken him to the vet, who gave us some anti-parasitics but signed off on him being a healthy beardy! It took about 3-4 days before he was comfortable being in an enclosed space again, but is fully adjusted now.
So my question to the community is this: Has anyone else had a bearded dragon run away, and then return home on it's own accord? If so, how long was it gone? I haven't been able to find a single other story of this happening, and it's honestly creeping me out a bit. If I had seen him outside, that would be one thing... but the guy FOUND HIS WAY BACK HOME AND THEN SUCCESSFULLY GOT MY ATTENTION!
TLDR; My beardy ran away for a month and a half (as a juvenile), and then showed up at my front window scratching on the glass pane. Has anyone else had this happen?
