By NOEL MURPHY
MEET Nev.
He’s a little slow off the mark just now with all the cold weather – it’s not exactly what an inland bearded dragon generally prefers.
Nev is a four-year-old dragon who’s a fair trek from his normal inland Queensland habitat, which accounts for his darker-than-usual colouring. Under normal circumstances he’d be a fairly bright orange, reflecting the sun and sand of the outback.
Here in Geelong, in the hibernation season, he’s a dark grey with only hints of orange flecks on his spikes and a few scales as he warms to the body heat of owner Damian Rabbas.
Damian and wife Jo, who operate central Geelong’s Cafe Lorae, bought Nev as a pup while they were living in the coal-mining town of Middlemount in central Queensland.
A birthday present for son Austin, they named Nev after the owner of the pet shop where they bought him.
“He’s beautiful ands very placid,” Jo said.
“He loses his skin and goes a bit dark in colour when the weather’s cool but when he warms up he goes a really bright orange.
“There are three types of colours: a browny sandstone, the orange and a red. You can pay up to $3000 for the red dragons.
“He loves capsicum, kiwi fruit, bok choy and crickets.”
Nev also has a special liking for mealworms, which he scoffs in short order as Damian pitches a few into Nev’s UV-soaked and heated cage.
“He’s not fully grown yet,” Damian said.
“He’s probably got another six inches to go, I’ll probably have to get a bigger cage.
“But he’s a great pet. We let him out at home and he’ll sit on your chest for the warmth, then he might get a bit active and run across the couch.
“He’s not really trained, so he’ll take off, but he usually scampers for a bit then you can pick him up again.”
As a reptile, Nev’s not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, though.
“We’ve got a mini-daschund and a foxie/chihuahua cross and Nev really spooks them,” Damian said.
