Rankin's Dragon

[acpart]

I just got my latest copy of Reptile magazine and the cover story was about Rankin's Dragons which seem to be a smaller cousin of Bearded Dragons. I was just at the White Plains reptile show, really enjoying the beardies but they're too big for the space I have. The Rankin's seem perfect (not that I'm necessarily going to gt one). Does anyone have any experience with them or know where to get them?

Aliza

 

[eric]

talk to these guys they can help you ...good luck..http://www.sandfiredragonranch.com/

 

[acpart]

Thanks. I just looked at their website.

Aliza

 

[Val]

I spoke to someone about them and we had a very hard time finding them. I wouldn't buy one from a reptile show because there's no real way to tell the difference between a baby beardie and a rankins. The only other thing I've read is that their life span is drastically shorter than that of a bearded dragon.

 

[David Loftin]

I currently do not keep rankins but I have kept and bred Rankins Dragons for quite a while. They are fantastic Captives. I found them much more interesting than Bearded Dragons. And they have a much cooler species name Pogona henrylawsonii.. or Pogona brevis [def. short] depending on who you ask. In comparison to Bearded Dragons I have found that hatchlings cannot be housed together. They will nip each others toes and tails no matter how much you feed them or what substrate you keep them on. I have heard of people having issues with keeping their adults together. I never had that problem.. Big cage is key. When you compare a Rankins to a Bearded as a hatchling the head is noticeably more wide and blunt. Something also to keep in mind is that a lot of people hybridize Bearded Dragon and Rankins Dragons.. Be careful who you buy from.

Keep in mind also they move around a lot. They are very active. IMO bare minimum caging for a single adult would be a 40 gallon.

Also.. Val, I have never heard of Rankins having a shorter lifespan than Bearded Dragons. I know of numerous people that have 10 + year old Rankins. And they are still going on strong. One of the people that keeps them even still has an 8 year old Male that is still an active breeder. Most of the Bearded Dragons I have seen in that age range have been obese, sluggish and near comatose at times.

Sandfire is a great place to get them. There are a couple of smaller breeders that advertize of Kingsnake once in a while when they have some available. I can't think of names right now. Sorry.

 

[Val]

Also.. Val, I have never heard of Rankins having a shorter lifespan than Bearded Dragons

I guess that shows you should be careful who you get info from! The lady I spoke to was the go to lady on another forum, and she told me it's not uncommon for them to die after only 5 years. That's actually one of the reasons we stopped looking. :main_thumbsdown:

 

[David Loftin]

Weird. Well.. They are fun.. You should keep looking :main_thumbsup:

 

[GeckoStud]

I just saw that article as well and I must say they did look quite interesting. I was tossing around the idea of a beardie for quite a while and the biggest thing it came down to was size. These little guys seem to be quite a good alternative. I will look into them a bit more myself, however I don't think I will be getting one any time soon.

 

[David Loftin]

For those looking for the Dragon's Den Herp [link] has them.

 

[Gecko]

A lot of herps have shorter lifespans then there full potential because some people don't know what they are doing/feed incorrect diets, etc.

Look at Uromastyx, some people have them live under 10 years while wild adults live decades.