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Powder Great Sandy

Posted by admin on January 24th, 2010

Powder Great Sandy

The Seychelles

Unlike England, the Seychelles Islands are blessed with year round, tropical climes, so rain is a lot less likely.

Do a bit of island hopping when you are staying, as you can easily move between the sixteen hotels with accommodation, to get a picture of the true diversity of the region. Its famous for having some of the best beaches in the world, which are by majority, pristine and uncrowded. Choose from powder soft sandy white beaches, or coastal retreats framed by granite boulders. There are regular networks of boat air and sea links to move you about easily.

In the evening you can check out the casino, some of the local bars that pepper the islands, and magnificent restaurants offering Creole and international cuisine, whatever suits your palate.

During the day, take the time to take a trip in a glass bottom boat if snorkelling and diving doesn't suit you.

April through October is the best time to travel if you want warm waters suitable for snorkelling and diving. The water temperatures in this period reach 29 degrees and often give visibility of 30 metres plus, great for seeing all the aquatic wildlife swimming beneath you. Bird watchers should visit in April, during breeding season, and if you want to surf or windsurf then may to September is the best period for you.

If the Seychelles sound like your perfect destination, then you can fly with air France regularly. Make sure you book your Travel Insurance online to give you further savings.

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bearded dragon is changing color?

I just got him/her a few weeks ago. he came with everything he needed. he is eating great. mixed greens and squash and crickets dusted with powder. he was a dark grey/brown when i got him. his markings where almost black. he is slowly starting to change to a lighter sandy orange color. is this normal?I do have him near a window where he gets some natural light part of the day. maybe thats it?
I have done quite a bit of research on them. But I did not come across anything talking about color change except for they're beard and underbelly. its his hole body changing.

There are a couple things that can cause a dragon's colours to change, but know that it is normal (especially if the colours are brightening instead of darkening).

First, dragons can thermo-regulate through colour. Different colours reflect and absorb different parts of the light spectrum. For example, when an object appears red, that is because it is absorbing all parts of the light spectrum except red light which is reflected and registered by your eye. When something is black, that object is absorbing all of the light spectrum. Because of this, black absorbs more energy (you may have noticed you feel hotter in the summer when wearing black clothes than when you wear white clothes). When a dragon turns black, it is probably trying to heat up - when it is brightly coloured, it is trying to cool down. (I've explained this as best as I can but I'm limited to layman's terms. If you want a more scientific explanation, try googling visible colours)

Second, exposure to UV light brightens colours. Dragons that are kept outside and exposed to real sunshine are typically more brightly coloured than dragons kept indoors under UV lamps. In addition to dulling colours, being kept inside also increases the risk of metabolic bone disease as lack of natural UVB light limits a dragon's ability to produce D3 and therefore absorb calcium (thus special lights and calcium powder supplements). If you dragon came from a pet store, it is also possible that there was not adequate lighting for the number of dragons in the tank and yours wasn't getting enough UV. This is pretty common in pet stores since they're trying to push the animals on owners as quickly as possible and aren't particularly concerning with their husbandry and longterm wellbeing.

Finally, some people think a dragons colours can change based on emotion. The beard definitely changes colour in response to stress (I'm sure you know that a black beard means an angry beardie), but I've also noticed that when I take my beardie out and cuddle her she gets a little brighter, and if I try to put her back too early she squirms a bunch and darkens. It's possible that your beardie had a little bit of relocation stress that was causing him to darken (quite normal for new dragons that have just been brought home), and he's just now beginning to adjust.

At any rate, bright colours -whether based on temperature or emotion- are usually a good indication of a healthy, happy dragon.

Edit: Nasubi's right about the window. Glass lets visible light and heat through, but not UV, so if you were using the window as your dragon's main source of UV you need to go out and get him a lamp. The most reliable UV/UVB producing bulbs are Reptisun 10 (US) and Arcadia 10 (UK). Other bulbs like Sunglo and Reptiglo are unreliable. Never get a compact fluorescent bulb as they damage reptile's eyes and barely produce any UV. Also make sure you're always paying close attention to your dragon's cage temperatures, as glass tanks can overheat and cook your beardie if left by a window on a sunny day.

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