Sidney : I haven't posted in forever.....

Hello all. I'm starting a new thread for my new dragon and will do a memorial thread for my beloved Zilla, who was my first dragon.

We've had Sid for 5 days now, and wow! I can't believe how different of a dragon he his compared to Zilla! I still consider myself new to beardies since I'd never really even heard of them before around two years ago.

We are still in a learning process with Sid to try and figure out his likes and dislikes with foods and temperature etc. The woman I got him from had a toddler and a three week old baby, and wasn't spending the time with him that she wanted to. She didn't give me a whole lot of info except he loved roaches and didn't eat greens like she thought he should. That he was an every other day pooper and usually only on the left side of his tank. Not even positive what his basking temp was because the end of the thermometer hung down halfway in the back of the tank.

But so far so good with him! He ate a roach the first day and three superworms, but then threw up the next day. A piece of carrot either didn't agree with him, or I hadn't gotten his basking high enough. The next day he didn't eat, but I lowered his light and he eventually started gaping. Yesterday I coaxed him into 10 worms, and today he ate 25! That was WAY more than I intended to feed him, but honestly, it had been SO long since I had seen a healthy beardie eat! He even washed it down with some water dripped onto his nose. I snuggled with him a bunch after that, but new he had to bask so didn't keep him out to long. He promptly black bearded and glass danced to come out, so I took him out. Then he crawled up my shoulder and head and hung out and dozed. I put him back after awhile and he basked.

Here's some pix!!

First day!

First day neck snuggles with daddy

Yesterday, checking out Mt. Shoepile

On the couch with his mouth open

Black bearding the back of the couch with his mouth open

Today, very happy to be out of his tank

Black beard fading since he's out of his tank

How we snuggled for awhile after he ate 25 worms

He always touches my cheek or sticks his nose in my ear when he's on my shoulder

He was very lazy/sleepy today

Look at that black beard after I put him back to bask!!

I have NEVER seen a beard so black!! And look at that one spike. Pretty sure it's shedding.

But he's a very pretty color! And I think he's got blue eyes!

 

[sweetiepie9]

When I was using Panacur on Gabriel, it was a weekly dose, not a daily one. So you might want to check with Cheryl, or does the Panacur have the dosage on the bottle? Just wondering.

On your head? :lol: At least he'd already pooped! He has a great personality, I can already tell :mrgreen:

 

[Tonja]

Oh that's funny that he climbs up on your head. Geico used to do that when he was itty bitty or would climb mt. doggy and sit on him. To me any poop my dragons do is a good day no matter the size. If they poop then its all good. That's just me though. Although Emily had one today that was about 1/2 in diameter and I thought she was gonna lay an egg lol the way she looked but was a massive pooh. Yours will do the same, Em has had little ones for a few days then laid the monster today. I cleaned it all up but thought it had teeth and legs lol.

 

[BrendaKay]

Oh that's funny that he climbs up on your head. Geico used to do that when he was itty bitty or would climb mt. doggy and sit on him. To me any poop my dragons do is a good day no matter the size. If they poop then its all good. That's just me though. Although Emily had one today that was about 1/2 in diameter and I thought she was gonna lay an egg lol the way she looked but was a massive pooh. Yours will do the same, Em has had little ones for a few days then laid the monster today. I cleaned it all up but thought it had teeth and legs lol.

I'm still just getting used to what his normal is. She said he's an every other day pooper and doesn't eat greens so well, so we'll see! And yes, the climbing up my head thing was a riot.

When I was using Panacur on Gabriel, it was a weekly dose, not a daily one. So you might want to check with Cheryl, or does the Panacur have the dosage on the bottle? Just wondering.

On your head? :lol: At least he'd already pooped! He has a great personality, I can already tell :mrgreen:

Yes the Panacur is once a week. So he'll get another .65 on Monday.

I came home today and he smushed the cage liner over, which consists of microfiber fabric layered with paper towel over it, and he decided to lay down on the glass floor on the cool side. He had one arm up and one arm down which I've always loved seeing for some reason. He's all bright with no sign of a black beard so I guess he was just tired. Of course I scooped him up so he falls asleep on me. His eyes keep closing, so I guess because it's not very sunny out he's being lazy. Can't blame him.

Love this guy already! I plan on taking him to work with me in about a month. He should be all settled in here by then and that should give me a good idea if he minds being in the screened Reptarium and being in a different place. I'm going to rotate a few stuffies between now and then so he'll have something familiar in the cage with him. And of course he'll be in my office with me, so he shouldn't be to freaked out I hope. His first (I think) real vacation with us will be in July when we go to the Outer Banks for a week. He'll be in the Reptarium then for the whole week. Want to be sure he's used to it. I've already put a harness on him, and thankfully it fit! He wasn't to thrilled, but that's ok.

That's all the news for today! And wow! I hit page 2 on this thread!! Lol

 

[zandi202]

I'm so happy to hear that Sid is snuggling right in to your family. He's such a cute and handsome boy.

Good luck with the reptarium.

 

[BrendaKay]

He put himself to bed early today. Probably around three or four I saw he scotched everything over and slept on the glass floor on the cool side. Richard and I went out to dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant, so I didn't get home til after lights out. I covered him up and measured the temp on him. 75, so I may not turn on the CHE tonight.

He hasn't eaten a thing since the 25 worms the other day. He pooped again this morning. Very watery, but there was also a small formed part to it too. I wonder if all this is a side effect to the Panacur? It could also still be some relocation stress added into the mix.

Oh, and I have to find that good article about keeping dubia roaches. The egg crate is now damp and I'm afraid it's getting moldy. I think their container is to small also. I certainly don't want them to all die. I think Deb has a big enough container with the egg crates stacked on one side and food on the other. That's what I'd like to do so I don't disturb them to much, but I can be sure the food isn't rotting.

Ok, off to search the articles!!

 

[sweetiepie9]

This is what I did for the roaches, got a 20 gallon tank with a lid & stacked 6 egg cartons upright, but with the band that closes it on opposite sides, so they aren't squished. I don't use an under the tank heater, just put them in the bottom of the credenza that Lonzo's tank is on. The door doesn't close tightly, so there's air flow and because my living room is always at 73F they're always warm. I surround the egg cartons with collard greens, in one corner I have a large yoghurt container top that's got clear water crystals, then around that is an orange sliced in quarters and under that is a mound of roach chow that I buy from Lance (twobeardieguy) in the For Sale forum. Here's a picture of the inside of the credenza:

Don't mind the mess, I have to clean out all the old food & replace it in the am.

This way the egg cartons don't get soggy and nothing gets moldy either. Not even the orange slices. Easy to clean out; I have a Rubbermaid container to move the roaches to when I want to clean out the bottom of the tank or when I want to change the egg cartons.

Sounds like your little guy is feeling at home, but the Panacur is probably upsetting his tummy. Did you get Acidophilus for him to take daily, as that really helps soothe their tummy. I give it to mine even when they're not on meds, but I always give it to them when they are on medication. Give it to him about 6 hours after you give him the Panacur, then every morning daily until the next does. The Panacur will kill the Acidophilus if you give it to him right away. I was told by an expert keeper that best to give the meds in the am and the Acidophilus in the late afternoon.

He'll feel better soon and his appetite will come back. You can always give him a slurry if you're concerned but he's got a good weigh ton him, so losing a bit won't hurt him.

 

[BrendaKay]

Geez, I had forgotten you said to give him Acidophilus. Brain dead over here I guess. I had some in the fridge that was Strawberry Banana flavored and gave him about 2-3cc. Once he got the taste of it, he realized he liked it. I'm not sure how quickly you are supposed to use it after its opened, so I may go to the health food store and get more.

He was bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning, so hopefully at lunch he'll eat a little something. I do NOT want to start hand feeding him, so I will just wait this out. I'll weigh him tonight or tomorrow and see if he's lost any weight.

Ok, we do have a 10 and a 20 gallon tank with lids that I can use for the roaches, but I think I will get a Rubbermaid bin and cut a hole in it and put screen on it. That way it's dark for them. I don't have a credenza or closet I can put them in. Well, I do, but it's full of stuff lol. I'll work on switching them out on Saturday. I don't know how many gallons the one they are in is, but it's small. Its slightly rectangular, but only about 12" in any direction. For 1,000 roaches (and growing hopefully) I think it's just to small. I'll keep it and maybe pull out a few hundred feeders to feed from the smaller bin as to not disturb the whole group as often. I don't know, lot's to learn!

 

[sweetiepie9]

So use the 20 gallon & then find something to cover the outside, they hide during the day anyway, so don't have to be in a closet. The bin, I find, makes it very humid inside, even with the mesh. My friend Joanne used that & it got too humid & everything got moldy. So the 20 gallon would work, there must be a warm spot you could put the tank, leave the cover on & then surround it with something, Joanne is using bamboo matting around and has it on a bookcase shelf. If you use the netting & the bin (get a bit one, at least 2' high) then you can use an under the tank heater, but get one that has a temp control or it will get too high and you're stuck with molding again. I'd put it on the side of the bin, away from the food, not on the bottom, as if on the bottom will make the bottom of the tub too high in temp again & rot the food..

 

[BrendaKay]

So, uh, 68 degrees and 80 percent humidity isn't so good, huh? I just tonight measured the temps and wow, pretty bad. So yes indefinitely have to do something quickly! I did take the cover off and replaced it with the screen from the 20 gallon until I can do something different Saturday.

What temp should I aim for? 80-85? What humidity? I certainly don't want these guys to croak! I'm thinking the house will always be around 65-75 depending on the season.

 

[sweetiepie9]

My living room is always 73F but being in a covered area they stay warmer. I was told that roaches need 85F to survive, but mine has proven that wrong. I don't have any other suggestions for you, but if you go to Feeders and put in a subject about it, you'll get lots of replies. You can also contact twobeardieguy, as he sells kits and roach chow he makes himself, so might be able to help him. Just find his For Sale thread & PM him. He always answers unless he's away.

 

[BrendaKay]

Ok, thank you!! As always Deb, you are a bundle of awesome information! I think since day one you were my go to person.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks Brenda, anything to make sure out beardies are healthy! And I noticed you mentioned he's been going to sleep at 4p, Gabriel has been the same, maybe it's just dawning on them that spring may be here officially, but the weather hasn't changed! Gabriel is asleep before the timers go off at 5:30! And Didi is bromating again!

 

[Heisenberg]

I'm glad you have formed a bond to Sid so quickly. How cute that he climbs onto your head. Heisenberg does that to Jim now and then but never to me. I'm sure he will get use to the reptarium by July when he goes on his first adventure.

I wish I could feed Heisenberg roaches but jim is dead set against it. I usually prefer to ask for forgiveness than permission but I know better this time I should just drop the subject.

 

[BrendaKay]

It is adorable because sometimes I feel him snuggling in with the butt wiggle. Yes, I brace myself in case it's a poop wiggle. Hahaha

I think the acidophilus is doing the trick. He got a couple nice slurps of it yesterday and again this morning. Just now at lunch he ate 6 worms. First time he ate since the 25 on Sunday. I washed them down with about 10cc of water.

Of course I'm all nervous now, one of the worms went straight down his throat head first. He swallowed it whole, no chewing. That was worm #5 and it took him awhile to eat #6 after that. All I can think of now is the worm is chewing through his stomach.

As if I didn't have ENOUGH grey hair.......

 

[sweetiepie9]

I've been feeding supers to my crew for a long time & Lonzo does that, too, sometimes, but it's all disgested by the time it gets out the other end. Most I've ever seen is the pointed tail end or some skin. Just watch him for the next few days, see what comes out.

Sweetie used to love to sit on my head, I always had to make sure she'd done her poop for the day first, that would have been just a bit too :lol:

Now, more pictures, please!!!!