Cynthia Morgan looks baCk on 30-plus years in ... - InMaricopa.com

ON-SITE
COMPUTER REPAIR
We Come to Your Home or Business
Your One Call Computer Experts!
• All Major Brands • Troubleshooting
• Virus, Spyware Removal • Wireless Networking
• QuickBooks • Data Back-Up & Recovery
• Software Training • Web Development
• Affordable Rates • Certified Technicians
Same Day, Evening & Weekend
Appointments Available
520-568-2774
www.fastteks.com
Save $25 Off First Visit
Not to be combined with any other offer.
Vote Scott Bartle
MUSD School Board
✓ Honest
✓ Professional
✓ Fiscally responsible
Committed to
the success
of our kids,
schools and city
Vote
Nov.2
www.VoteScottBartle.com
www.facebook.com/VoteScottBartle
“They need a dry environment, and we
even had to sterilize the sand in their enclosure,”
Clayton says, not to mention the
rocks (which Gene boiled), branches and
other items.
Not far from the vivarium, a two-story
cage, more conventional in design, sits
across from Puff and Spyro’s home. From
trampoline-like swings, Cooter and Taz
(males) and Mischief and Spidey (females)
romp and suddenly stop to stare at a visitor,
competing for attention with the dragons.
Easy to care for?
“Well, that depends,” says Clayton,” with
a grin. “Puff and Spyro molt every month,
and we have to make sure we remove that
old skin from their home.” Monitoring the
vivarium’s climate is a constant challenge.
Their skin must be kept moist, despite their
preference for an arid environment.
And, of course, the Claytons must remove
waste from both the vivarium and
the ferret cage on a regular basis.
The dragons — which have yet to show
any interest in breeding — eat something
called “Dragon Bites,” which the Claytons
buy in a pet store. That diet is supplemented
with bits of packed crickets (not
the local variety), phoenix worms, prickly
pear, mustard greens, zucchini and other
veggies, all of which must be washed, diced
and prepared by hand.
The ferrets aren’t as persnickety about
their diet. “They eat a special high-protein
food that‘s prepared and packaged, but Taz
loves chicken,” Clayton said. The Claytons
say they are able to feed both dragons and
the four ferrets for $35 to $40 a month.
Puff, clearly Clayton’s favorite, is
allowed to have an “outing” on the kitchen
table, and a visitor strokes his soft, leatherlike
skin. Even the “beards,” which look
sharp and pointed, are really flexible and
soft. Bearded dragons, with a 15-year life
span, can grow to about two feet long, with
their tails accounting for about half of that.
Puff is about 15 inches long.
Shadow, the family dog, is a blend of
terrier and border collie, and she’s the
newest member of the menagerie, at 16
months.
“Shadow likes to cuddle up once in a
38 InMaricopa.com | Vol. 5 Issue 3