On September 26, 2003, I received two deformed baby bearded dragons from a kind-hearted lady in Florida named Kendra. Although Kendra breeds bearded dragons, these babies didn't come from any of her clutches. A few months ago, Kendra received a clutch of 18 eggs from a lady who told her that the momma dragon that laid the eggs had laid 3 previous cluches that have all died. Out of the 18 eggs, 6 managed to hatch out and 2 of them were deformed. They each have only one eye and deformities of the skull and spine. She also told us that the mother and father dragons were purchased at the same time from a breeder. So inbreeding may be an issue here.

At first, Kendra didn't think they would make it. Then when they started to chase the crickets with their one good eye, she realized that they had a chance. Kendra began to bond with the little guys and also began to worry about how to care for them as she just had a baby of her own. Luckily I read Kendra's post on the Bearded Dragon Forum at Kingsnake.com and contacted her immediately. I offered my home to her as an option. She gave it some thought and made the difficult decision to have them shipped to me right away.

Now they are in my home and doing great. They love to hunt down the crickets and can climb and get around like normal baby beardies. We have thought long and hard and have tried to name these little guys... The one with the indentation where his eye should be is named "Socket" and the one with the bump on his head and a crook in his spine we will call "Lumpy."

Update: October 21, 2003: We have had these babies for almost a month now. It is becoming very clear that Lumpy's deformities are getting noticably worse as his bones grow. His arched back is becoming even more arched up and his spine and tail are becoming more and more curvy. From what we have noticed, he seems to be eating well and is slowly putting on weight. Although he walks a little differently, he can still climb and run like his brother Socket. I hope that he will continue to grow without problems. Socket is doing great! He has doubled in weight since we got him and he doesn't seem to have any of the problems that Lumpy has.

Update: November 25, 2003: Socket has outgrown his brother, Lumpy. We knew this might happen since Socket has comtinued to put on weight while Lumpy's poor little body refuses to grow. Since we didn't want to make Lumpy be in an enclosure all by himself, we put him with Tina. Those two are the same size and get along great!

Update: January 13, 2004: Lumpy passed away on January 12th. He will be remembered for his spunky personality and love of crickets and pea baby food! He had so much will to live and I'm glad we got to be with him for 3 months. Now he can join Egor and run and jump like a normal beardie can. We love you little Lumpster! RIP.

Update: March 1, 2004: Moved Socket from his 10 gallon home to a roomy 30 gallon tank. He was getting a little cramped in the 10 gallon and seems much happier in his new home.

I will continue to update this page as time permits. Please check back to see how they are developing!

If you'd like to see Lumpy and Socket's growth chart - please click here.