Desert Wraith (Saharan Subspecies) - HeadCannon By teabut Watch

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so I sort of designed my own version of HTTYDs Sand Wraith.



These dragons are supposed to be distant cousins of the Night Fury. Interestingly, they are tidal-class, which I consider pretty lazy labelling. I understand if SAND wraiths hang around coastal areas in the sand, but desert wraiths dwell in areas where there is little/no water. Regardless!



Body



I've modelled my Desert Wraith after a skink subspecies: the berber/schneider's skink. I own one, and observing his behavior I came up with some traits that a desert-dwelling dragon might have.



I found they looked a bit TOO much like NFs, so I changed some things. Their bodies are long and slender, and low to the ground. Anything that lives on sand cannot move like other land-dwelling creatures. The claws are wide/the surface of their hands and feet are large. This allows them to push themselves through the sand on their bellies, moving quickly in a snake-like manner. I've also narrowed the face so that it comes to a point at the nose. Again, for something that lives in the sand and burrows, the nose would have to be pointed to propel it through the sand. A fat/round face like the one it was given would not work well for this.



Other info:

Their teeth are small and razor-sharp, and their saliva is very sticky.

They are prone to sneezing, which clears sand from the nasal passage





Behavior



These dragons require lots of basking time. They must soak up the sun for periods of the day to sustain the many hours they spend under the sun. It is usually a 50/50 timeframe.



Despite being burrowers by nature, their nimble bodies and large claws make them great climbers! They can scale trees and rock formations just as fast as they can move across land!



Like traditional reptiles, these dragons use their tongues to smell.



Because these dragons are ambush predators, they are very easily spooked. When threatened, they puff up their bodies, raise their spikes, open their wings and emit a low hiss. They may kick sand into the eyes of predators and retreat, or in a worst-case scenario, fight them off by shooting their flaming balls of sand.



They are highly intelligent, and are very difficult to train because of their aloof mannerisms and their alert nature. They will sometimes bury their faces in the sand to avoid listening to their trainers.



More illustrations and info coming soon! :>

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Published : Aug 5, 2015