Rankin Dragon (Dwarf Bearded Dragon) + Pictures

[GoredGuar]

Rankin Dragon = Dwarf Bearded Dragon = Pogona henrylawsoni


Hello again to anyone who remembers me - I'm GoredGuar - I joined up when I was about to get a Rankin Dragon (ie dwarf bearded dragon), posted a few times, then disappeared from exsistance.

I'm back again with the start of this new year, and my rankin is doing grand now.

(I'm also happy to say that I left my newbie talk and ignorance behind, thank goodness)


I'm guessing that my rankin dragon is a male, due to his territorial instincts, and I have a few photos I'd like to share:

The following pictures were from last night, when he was moulting.

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If any of you have any queries and / or are interested about how rankin dragons differ from beardies, their diet, their growth rate, how friendly they are, etc, I'd be happy to oblige.

I've recently started to feed him mealworms, since he's big enough for them now, and as I speak, I've just watched him gobble down a piece of fruit. If you want, I can post a video - he stalks his food in the most hilarious fashion - waving his forelegs, moving forward a bit, waving his forelegs some more again, then lunges....or with fruit he licks it for a while then - poof - it's gone, into his mouth.



Oh, and I named him (presumably male) Orion. My precious ickle Orion. *goes all gooey for a while*

 

[lil_katiedan]

Aw, he's so awesome looking and so is the cage!

We've discussed getting into Rankins a few times, we just don't have enough room for them right now, unfortunately.

 

[GoredGuar]

Thanks.

I was wondering whether to obtain another, but until I can tell what gender Orion is for definite, (he's nowhere near adulthood, yet he seems to be growing at an alarming rate right now), I dare not - as unfortunately, they are incredibly territorial, and also, when mating, the male has a tendency to literally drag the female round the terranium.

I may buy another terranium and breed Orion a few years on from now, but I'd need to check my sources.
I think one of the main concerns for Rankins is that sometimes people breed them with (the original) Beardies to cheat, as Rankins are banned from being imported to places like Britain now.
Therefore pure Rankins are quite expensive - Orion cost around £60 - £70. Because there is only a finite amount in places like Britain (due to the stopping of importation) it means that you have to be careful when buying or breeding them - since there are not that many, inbreeding could be a problem to the unwary buyer / breeder.



But they're glorious pets for anyone who wants them - my Orion's such a big softie, aren't you? *strokes him*

 

[malt_geckos]

Awesome! We don't have anything like that...one day though. But, that's an awesome setup too! Congrats on keeping him healthy and happy!

 

[LadyGecko]

That is a great looking enclosure and Orion is such a sweetie!!
I have debated getting Rankins off and on for years now but i have ended up going into different types of geckos instead
I would love to keep them someday

Perhaps I have been mis-informed but I swear that i remember reading from several sources that Rankins can be kept quite easily in colonies?

I am going to have to go and do some more reading on this........:main_huh:

Sandy

 

[OSUgecko]

Soooo... as the ignorant one here, I'll ask. How are Rankins dragons different from "normal" beardies and why are they banned in certain areas?

 

[StinaKSU]

Rankins are half the size of beardeds...reaching an average of ~10" long as opposed to 24." There are a few other morphological differences...such as lacking a prominent beard. As far as importation **shrug**....I know it is illegal to export them from Australia...but I have no idea why importation would be illegal from other countries.

 

[ReptileMan27]

Very cool

 

[OSUgecko]

Thanks Stina!

 

[barbatus]

sweet setup man ! I just had some of my rankins pari up and breed. I should get eggs in a couple of weeks. My females are eating pinkies and full size lobster roaches. I have a high yellow female that I'm dying to see if she can produce interesting off spring ! Once thing about Rankins compared to Vitticepts is males are super super aggressive. I witnessed a male copulate a female 4 times in 60 min ! Another super interesting thing that I have learnt this season is that the male is stimulated by "sunrise" this is when you can literally "turn him on". I can turn his lights off and 30 min later walk in and turn them on and his good to go.. with the same female or a different one. I have now removed all my males from their females to give them time to produce eggs in peace! I will post eggs and babies soon I hope !

 

[animallover]

Do I have a dwarf bearded dragon?

I have two dragons that I bought as babies from Pet Smart. I got them in Aug of 09. They were around a month old and both were about 6" nose to tail. It is now April of 2010 and one is only an inch longer at 7" and his disc is 1". He looks very similar to the one you have in your picture. The other one is a golden color and he is 13" long and his disc is 4". All I get from the pet store is that one is a male (the bigger one) and the other is a female (the smaller one) They both get along great together and the little one often hangs out on the bigger ones back. Never any problems. I feed veggies and meal worms with calcium and vitamins and occationally crickets. Again never any problems but the little one doesn't eat much. I know he is smaller but he ate much better back in Aug thru Dec/Jan. He likes to hide quite a bit where the other one likes to bask more. Is this normal or do I have a dwarf? Please help

P.S. I call them he's but really I don't know...

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

You may want to consider seperating them before the larger one decides the smaller one is lunch. They both look like regular dragons to me.
A pet store will charge alot for a rankins/lawsons dragon.

 

[animallover]

LOL...yea I don't think he will eat the other one. If I do seperate them and he still doesn't grow anymore, then what? How big is yours? Don't you think at 7 months old that he should be a lot bigger? Also if the separation doesn't work can I put them back together or will that screw them up, because they get along great now?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Genetics plays a part in size, but what happens when you have 2 dragons together. 1 will thrive and the other lives in its shadow and doesnt do quite as well. Thats what I see when I look at your pictures. I have seen this time and time again. seperate and you will have a much healthier/happier dragon.
I never reccomend keeping 2 dragons together for just this reason, as well as uncontrolled breeding, and possible dismemberment. I have juvinile dragons that are almost 1 year old at 18 to 20 inches long and 400 grams.
They are all housed alone. Feel free to check out my website and check out the breeder/future breeder links.

 

[bariga]

Beautiful dragons pictures . Can I use them for your album?

 

[shellt]

dwarf bearded dragon

hi,
i have just bought a dwarf bearded dragon we've had him coming up 2 weeks, i've never had lizards before so new to it all.
we think he's a male and he's 3 months old, i was hoping for any tips and info you can give me.
i have his tank set up with 2 seperate rocks one with his basking light shining on and one on the cooler side and have just added a heat mat to help with tempratures i have a 3d background in and some large branches for him to climb on. temp on the cool side reads arounf 24c and on the hot side around 30c and under basking spot is about 38c from what i have read this is about right ( i hope).
he is eating crickets at the min for his live food but i'm struggling to get him to eat his veg/fruit have you any tips on how i could encourage hi to eat them please?
sorry for all the questions but i want to make ure he's happy

 

[shellt]

hi,
i have just bought a dwarf bearded dragon we've had him coming up 2 weeks, i've never had lizards before so new to it all.
we think he's a male and he's 3 months old, i was hoping for any tips and info you can give me.
i have his tank set up with 2 seperate rocks one with his basking light shining on and one on the cooler side and have just added a heat mat to help with tempratures i have a 3d background in and some large branches for him to climb on. temp on the cool side reads arounf 24c and on the hot side around 30c and under basking spot is about 38c from what i have read this is about right ( i hope).
he is eating crickets at the min for his live food but i'm struggling to get him to eat his veg/fruit have you any tips on how i could encourage hi to eat them please?
sorry for all the questions but i want to make ure he's happy