Mushu perched in his tank (Courtesy of Ava Smith)

For most people, having two dogs would be enough, but junior Ava Smith wanted to try a more exotic route. That’s when she pondered what life would be like with either a gecko or a bearded dragon. Her final decision was big. And let’s just say that the bigger reptile won her heart.

Meet Mushu!

“Mushu is my bearded dragon,” Smith said. “He was named after the dragon from Mulan.”

Bearded dragons typically live for around 10 years, and Smith and Mushu can look forward to many more years together.

“Mushu is currently four years old, and he’ll be five in October,” Smith said. 

Since Mushu is four, he’s old enough to eat things like mealworms and greens, while bearded dragons under the age of one only eat crickets. And those crickets need a whole separate tank to live in before they’re fed to the dragons. So, Smith had a pet dragon, and lots of temporary pet crickets. Like his caretaker, Mushu does value dietary variety.

“He also sometimes eats baby food,” Smith said. “He really likes that.”

Like a baby, Smith looks to keep Mushu occupied. Yet, when looking for activities for a bearded dragon, the options are pretty limited.

“He basically basks in his heat lamp all day,” Smith said. “Bearded dragons don’t really do anything.”

While they might not do much on the day-to-day, something happens if we take a seasonal view. Dragons partake in a special event in the winter months. During the colder months of the year, they essentially hide in their cave and sleep, a phenomenon similar to hibernation known as brumation. Brumation for reptiles is a less deep sleep state than in comparison to hibernation in mammals.

“He might come out for a day for a little food and water but other than that he sleeps for months,” Smith said.

It’s not all about physiological slowdowns, though. Bearded dragons also have a cool look to them. They also have a third eye. This eye, while being cool, is also essential to their survival. Bearded dragons have eyes on the side of their head, meaning they can’t see in front or above them.

“The third eye is a barely visible eye on the top of their head that detects shadows,” Smith said “You wouldn’t even notice the eye if you didn’t know what it was.”

Smith didn’t mention whether the third eye allows Mushu to tell the future. Even if this lovable reptile is stuck in the slow-moving present, bearded dragons are pretty easy to take care of and there aren’t many challenges.

 “The main difficulty with bearded dragons is that you aren’t supposed to put water in their tanks,” Smith said. “I know it seems cruel, but it would make their environment too humid to live in. We feed him water from a syringe every day.” 

With no water hazards in the cage, you’d think Mushu would never need to leave. But Mushu isn’t exactly cage-bound. 

“Every week on either Saturday or Sunday we give him a [reptile safe] bath,” Smith said. “And when it’s above 70 degrees, he goes outside and basks in the sun. He spreads out really wide and just kind of lays there.”

How do other, more active pets react to all of this lying around?

“The dogs don’t really like Mushu,” Smith said. “So, when the dogs are outside, we let him run around the house. He doesn’t like to run, but he likes to explore.”

While Mushu may not be a dog’s best friend, he’s more of a people person. Mushu often treats humans as if they are Mt. Kilimanjaro. 

“He tries to climb to the highest point, usually on your shoulders or your head,” Smith said.

We’ll never know what Mushu’s view from the top is like, but for Smith, Mushu is easygoing and easier than Smiths’ other pets.

“Mushu is a lot easier to take care of,” she said. 

When asked for a comment, Mushu did not reply. But, he makes a great pet anyway.