Feeding: Every three or four days, larger dragons less often.

General Care: Bathing every third day, oiling every other. Partners continue to keep an eye out for burns, bit tongues, and any strains or wing injuries that could be problematic during the following month�s big event.

Dragons become more hierarchical as the smaller colors get closer to maturing. Bronzes and golds become less likely to obey orders from the smaller colors, alarming many their partners with their "teenage-defiance." Partners have influence over their dragons behavior, however, and reprimanding dragons may be effective in discouraging the hierarchy.

Training: Dragons learn how to flame while flying in the first week of this month, but flights are short and individual. Once this is down, flaming practice is minimal until dragons have a rider to replenish their stone. Dragons and their human partners spend the last three weeks of the month prepare for the first manned flights in the following month. They return to formation drills with weights and around the third week have a trial run with the amount of weight equal to their rider if their rider weighs more than what they�ve been training with in previous months. At the beginning of the fourth week, dragons are fitted for harnesses by a team of specialists. At the end of the week, the new harnesses arrive and are tried on for size. The last day of the month is spent resting for the following day. On this day, partners have a chance to officially mount their dragon and practice clipping themselves in. While clipped in, they dragons will walk around to get used to moving with the weight of their rider.

Size: Dragons are an average 66 inches high at the withers at the end of this month, which is nose height on a six foot tall human.