Who knew I'd become so smitten w/these GIRLS? (Thread/pics)

Yes, it is such a relief to have her back to "normal"! I just miss her when she snoozes. I keep peeking under the blanket to check on her, and she glares at me with one eye. :lol:

Mine hate being bothered when they're brumating, too, so except for baths every 2 weeks, I leave them alone. I miss them all, too. I had 3 brumate for 3 -6 mo. Imp went down for only 2 weeks and Gabriel isn't allowed to brumate, so I had those two all winter to play with.

sweetiepie9":rnupx24o said:

Mine hate being bothered when they're brumating, too, so except for baths every 2 weeks, I leave them alone.

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Yes, I decided not to wake her up the other day for her soak, but I will before the end of the weekend.

We just had a warm spell, but now the temps are dropping again, so I don't expect her to stay awake after her soak.

Hello, y'all! It's been awhile since I've been on here, but Smauggie is doing well. Next month is her yearly check-up, and I'm expecting a good report.

Some pics:



My neighbor made her the pillow and blanket, so we put her on the pillow and wrap the blanket around the her, but she sneaks out because she prefers people pillows. :roll:





I was outside repotting some of my cacti and succulents a few weekends back, so I took Smauggie with me for a little sun. She seemed to enjoy it.


In other dragon news ... I have an announcement: During the first week of June, we will be taking in another BD! She is a 2-3 years old leatherback, a red something :?: Her owner is moving and says she can't take her out of the country with her. Her name is Daenerys, nicknamed Dani, although we will probably change it to something that starts with an "S". (Gotta stick to the format! :lol: )I like Sydney, but we'll have to see.

Here's a pic:

She's looking great! Thanks for the update =). Congratulations on your new addition. I'm glad she is going to such a good home.

On Sunday, June 11, 2017, I picked up ... Our "new" dragon!

Here she is eating her first meal in our home:



We've named her Sydney, and - if I had any doubts about taking in another dragon - I'm absolutely positive that taking her in was the best idea ever.

Her owner (who *seemed* to genuinely care about her) was leaving the country and had to rehome her. She's around 2 years old, and super skinny. Owner stated that she only gave her veggies and fruits, with crickets on occasion. The poor thing was STARVING; I mean, she literally tries to eat everything she comes in contact with. :shock: She recently laid 2 or 3 clutches of eggs (infertile) so that isn't helping. She came home with me, along with her tank, decor, lights. But the tank was SO dirty! One of the decor items was a log, and it smelled SO bad, that I tossed it in the trash. Her cave had dried slivers of poop stuck here and there (for God knows how long) and I had to scrub everything twice. I think she changed out the newspaper and that was it. I put her in Smauggie's old tank (Smauggie has the front open enclosure that I bought on sale) with shelf liner instead of newspaper (just like I use for Smauggie).

Here's a few pics, and you can kinda see how skinny she is:












While Sydney was in her tank (she's on my dresser), Eric brought me Smauggie (who stays on his dresser) and Smauggie caught sight of her sitting in her tank.

This was her reaction:



:lol: :lol: :lol:


I made an appointment for this Friday at the vet's office; I'm getting her checked out, fecal done, weighed, etc. I'm bringing Sydney, Smauggie and Sprite (for a beak trim) so this oughta be fun!

While waiting for my dinner to cook, I took Sydney out of her tank and held her in front of a window, so she could look out across the backyard. She actually stayed reasonably still on my hand (about 10-15 min). Later in the eve, after 8 p.m., I took her into the living room with me while I watched TV. She climbed around until she was centered on my upper back; basically, where I couldn't reach her. :lol: After a bit, I managed to get her off and I put her in my lap, and covered her with a hand towel to keep her warm. Sydney climbed out from it and crawled up to my shoulder. With her back legs on my shoulder and her front legs leaning up against the back of the sofa, I covered her again, and she fell asleep. :love5: Eventually, I put her in her tank and she was down for the night.

Both of my girls went to see Dr. Pence last Friday (6/16/17) and both received clean bills of health, which was a huge relief! Smauggie weighs 729 grams ( :shock: :shock: ) and Sydney weighs 343 grams, which is more than I thought she would weigh, honestly. Doc says that since Sydney is a leatherback, she won't be as big (weight-wise) as Smauggie, that leatherbacks tend to weigh less, but that Sydney should weigh a bit more than she does, around 400 grams. She said that she expects Sydney to put on weight with no problem under my care (read: spoiling, with dubia and veggies every day). :lol:


Now for the pics:



Sydney's not sure how she feels about the vet's office.








Sydney is snuggling under Eric's ear after a traumatic vet trip. :lol:








Both Sydney and Smauggie had an exhausting day. (Ignore Stormy grooming herself in the background :lol: )








Syd relaxing in the bow window over the weekend.








Smauggie cuddling with me.








What a life Smauggie leads!





This was how Sydney slept the other night. :roll: Silly girl!!

Awesome pictures! And I'm so happy that Sydney found such a great home with you!!!

Ollie2":2j4fn1ff said:

Awesome pictures! And I'm so happy that Sydney found such a great home with you!!!

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Thank you! It's really got me thinkin' .... There's several animal rescues for cats and dogs, but none (at least where we are) for reptiles and birds. I've spoken to a CPA about it, and even the vet. CPA says I need to register as nonprofit corp and then I could request grants to help with funding. Dr. Pence said that there really isn't such a rescue in this area, and the area could use one. I don't plan to keep the animals in permanently; the ones I have now would be "ours". There's a patient at work who's health is deteriorating and she has told me that - at some point - she may give me her lovebirds, so I'd probably keep those as a favor to her, but they are supposed to be a male and a female, which will inevitably produce offspring that will need to be homed. What I'd like to do is find homes for the rescues, possibly through the vet or other contacts.

I'm seriously considering it, but I am putting it on the back burner for now, because it's hurricane season, and it's already an active one. I'm trying to figure out how I would evacuate with my critters PLUS the rescues. :lol:

If you haven't done so already, I suggest checking out Sarah's blog for a day in the life of a reptile rescuer. http://sarahsbeardeddragonrescue.blogspot.com

CooperDragon":3rsazefl said:

If you haven't done so already, I suggest checking out Sarah's blog for a day in the life of a reptile rescuer. http://sarahsbeardeddragonrescue.blogspot.com

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I have not, but I will now. Thanks!

More pics of Sydney!


Sydney is such a Skinny Minnie! Or maybe I should say, Skinny Mini?





When you're a bearded dragon trying to look out of the window, but there's too many plants in the garden and you can't see over them ....






Just two bearded creatures on World of Warcraft .... :lol:

Yesterday made two weeks! We have had our newest baby, Sydney, for two weeks!

Syd is rather skittish still. Likes being out of her tank. but doesn't seem to like being on us. She prefers to either wiggle her way over to our backs (where we can't reach her :lol: ) or sit somewhere around us. She likes window time, but can be a little restless even then. If I try to turn off her lights and put her to bed in her tank, she won't do it. I have to take her out of her tank, let her find a spot on the sofa a bit away from me, cover her, and let her fall asleep there. Later I can move her back to the tank. :roll:

I was thinking about it over the weekend, and I realized just how much she's been through. Sydney lived for roughly 2 years with her previous owner, and I'm not sure how much hands-on time the owner actually spent with her. Then one Sunday (two weeks ago) I show up. I put her into a zippered carry pouch (purchased at a reptile show for Smauggie), load her and her stuff into my car, and off we go to her new home. Once there, she's introduced to another human, 3 cats, a beardie, and a rather loud lovebird. Her tank is swapped for another one that's easier to get in and out of, and some of her familiar tank decor is taken away (seriously, the log thingy smelled AWFUL). Six days later, she's put into the pouch again, brought to the vet for a visit, filled with new people, surroundings, smells, etc., before going back to our home.

Soooooo ... Yeah, I'd be a little skittish, too.

I don't think she knows it yet ... But we're going to make sure that she'll be quite happy in her new home. :love5:

When you think of it from their perspective it sounds a bit terrifying =/. She'll grow to appreciate her happy new home soon though and all will be forgiven =).