Whiptail Dragon
Overview
Whiptail Dragons, often referred to as just 'Whiptails', are a commonly kept domesticated species that are known for being extremely docile and adaptable.
Classification
Draconic
Rarity
Abundant
History
Whiptails were originally discovered and kept by the Arolith species, who found them to be tame creatures. This quality has been enhanced over the generations, leading to a domestic species that's highly laid back and calm. Their use has spread far and wide across the world due to these qualities, and they're debatably the most popular domestic breed on Aneith.
Biology
Physical Description
Whiptails are a large, serpentine draconic species. They average between 6 feet (2 meters) and 10 feet (3 meters) at the shoulder, with their neck measuring an equal length, a body roughly 2 times that length, and a tail roughly 2 1/2 times the body length. They have a single pair of wings, with only one wingfinger and translucent membranes.
They have broad snouts and a pair of slightly curved horns. These horns have a tine sticking out from the middle of them and curving more inwards. They have giant three toed paws with retractable claws, at the end of four sturdy, thick legs.
Diet
Whiptails are omnivores, primarily eating meat or greens. They're averse to eating most food that comes from the water, as well as fungi, but are otherwise not picky.
Reproduction
Whiptails are not dedicated parents in the slightest- they lay a clutch of up to 20 eggs during early Esorian, and then simply leave them to fend for themselves. As a domesticated species, their reproduction is largely monitored and managed for them. The young are hand-raised and trained as soon as they hatch at 10 weeks. Young drakes are quite independent and don't need more than a year to begin working. Whiptails grow their whole lives, but massively slow down growth around 5 years of age.
Lifecycle
From hatching to one year they spend their time learning and training. After a year, they become strong enough to begin doing some work, but it's still recommended to keep their tasks light for the first five years of their life as they're still rapidly growing. Once they reach five years of age, they're considered full grown and can take on a full workload. After fifty years, they begin to slow down, needing to take on increasing lighter loads. Whiptails rarely live past eighty years.
Activity Level
Whiptails nap on and off throughout the day and night, rarely sleeping more than a couple hours at a time but also not staying awake for more than a few hours either. This was developed so Whiptails can be active and working at any time of day. They gorge during Tieon in order to fatten up for the next two seasons. During Harth and Alavora they slow down somewhat but remain active.
Behavior
Temperament
Whiptails are docile and placid, maintaining a calm attitude in most environments. Not to say they won't protect themselves when in danger, but their threshold for 'in danger' is mostly just relegated to actual harm being done to them. They aren't terribly social either, but are easily motivated by food.
Sociability
Whiptails pay little mind to others of their kind, neither actively seeking their company nor avoiding them. They pay more attention to other Whiptails during Alavora and Harth though, seeking them out for warmth or to see if they've found food. This can make Whiptails somewhat troublesome during these colder seasons as they're more prone to wandering away.
Domestication
Whiptails are large working animals, used on Aneith for many of the same reasons we use horses- hauling, tilling, sowing, etc, while also having the benefit of being steady mounts, though compared to horses they trade speed for the ability to fly. Whiptails are essentially 'jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none', as they're only adequet at most things besides heavy-lifting- not able to run fast or for long, fly for even less, and while they're fine swimmers, there's rarely as much work to be done in the water as on land.