Danita Hill has had Beardy, her Australian Bearded Dragon for 10 years. She feeds him meal worms and live crickets and maintains his environment, providing special lighting and places for him to sun himself and sleep.
Danita Hill is very familiar with pets. She has a dog walking service called Hot to Trot and knows a lot of people and their dogs. She's licensed to do it too. Plus her family has a few pets of their own. But the one that stands out is Beardy. He's an Australian Bearded Dragon that she purchased from Petco 10 years ago.
Beardy lives in a special glass case near the kitchen with sand in the bottom, and both heat and special spectrum lighting to mimic the environment of the Australian desert where these animals come from. Bearded dragons are essentially quite docile creatures and Hill believes they are even social animals. "He's like part of the family," she said, "the neighbor kids think he's the coolest thing in the world."
Beardy even knows his name, turning his head when he is called.
Beardy eats meal worms and live crickets which present their own care questions. "You have to feed the crickets, and give them a cotton ball dipped in water so they can drink, keeping a lizard like this... it's a major commitment," she said.
Beardy eats about 60 crickets a week.
Even though he has rough skin, he enjoys being petted and Hill brings him out of the case often to show him some affection and keep him
well cared for.
The "beard" referred to in the name comes from an area below the jaw that these animals can inflate when frightened or to frighten others. When inflated it resembles a beard.
Bearded dragons live to be approximately 10 to 20 years if well cared for.
You can contact Danita about walking your dog via email d.hill@q.com
How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:
Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Veterinary Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.
Photos may or may not be used and our "Pet Reporter" may be in touch with you to arrange to take a photo. Pets nominated will be chosen on the basis of uniqueness of the pet and the quality of the story and information submitted.
