Mufasa and Norberta

Sounds like a plan. I get the serrepapeptase and reptophilus from Bug De Lite, and the allopurinol Tracie gave me when I told her about Norberta. She is pretty sure it is gout, but I havent had the money to do blood tests. I haven't found a vet that takes reptiles that I really trust either. Everyone says the first one I took Norberta to (that told me she had YF...) is great but I don't feel comfortable with them after that first visit.
I hope Nathaniel sheds soon so he can feel better! I'm so glad to hear about Castiel and Gabriel. Hope Bella feels better soon and everything is alright with Cierra. And good for Imp, he better keep eating for you. That does sound kinda weird for a beardie. Glad you are feeling better too. I will, thank you.
Today I gave Norberta her meds in the morning and offered salad but I don't think she touched it. I was at the vet shadowing for several hours (it was amazing, crazy some of the things that came in) and when I got back I gave bugs to the girls. Mufasa ate them all, Norberta only ate her hornworm and ignored the rest. I got them out to play since they've been cooped up for a while and Mufasa ran and snuggled for a little bit and I got Norberta out and she ran around for a little while very happily and now is snuggled under my desk trying to sleep. :lol:

Almost posted this before I saw your post SHBailey! Yes, she is very expressive with her coloring. No, her lights had been on for a few hours at that point I believe. She is like that most of the day right now. I am! I'm hoping to get into vet school after HS and you need like 500 hours of working with animals and vets before hand, and I love getting to be around all the animals and people who also love them.

Wow. Good for you, especially since it sounds like they need some more good vets in the area where you live.

I was thinking about trying to get into veterinary school when I was in high school a loooong time ago -- the closest I ever got was a bachelor of science degree in biology, but it turned out that "B.S" :wink: was all it ever amounted to in terms of a career, and what was left of it sort of blew up in my face about 15 years ago. Nowadays I depend on my husband to be the sole breadwinner for both of us, and I stay home and try to keep up with the housework and critter care for only two people and two reptiles in a 625 square foot house, usually unsuccessfully -- it's pretty pathetic. I hope things go better for you than they did for me. Meanwhile, it sounds like you're getting plenty of practice taking care of your own beardies, too.

Thank you, that's what it looks like.
Oh neat, I'm sorry it didn't turn out for you! Hey, cleaning is hard if you don't really want to do it. xD And it seems like I am, lol, the girls seem more than happy to help with that part unfortunately.

Norberta seems to be feeling better, she moves around her tank a little and today even surprised me by eating several bugs without me! I heard a clattering sound of her bowl on the tiles an turned to find her eating maybe three or so bugs. She also pooped and it looked pretty much normal. I'm hopefully ordering new UVB lights for both of them this weekend, and next Saturday is the reptile show so will try and get lots of dubia and then Olympia needs rats.

Some pictures from the other evening, they were so funny.

Interesting color contrast in the pictures. One looks like a happy color and the other looks like a not so happy color. It's funny how they can change, and you get to try to figure out why and what kind of mood they're in... :?

Our beardie had me worried this morning because he was a darker color than I've seen him for a while. It turned out that he'd pooped all over himself sometime in the night, so I don't blame him for being in a bad mood. That sort of thing doesn't happen very often -- he's usually fairly careful about staying out of his own poop. We recently got him some Repashy Grub Pie, and he likes it, but it doesn't seem to like him. However, it might actually make a pretty good laxative for the next time he gets a little constipated... :roll:

He seems to be feeling better this afternoon -- got cleaned up and cuddled and put back on his basking platform with his "warmies" (heat lamps) and his "pretty color" (UV), and has turned back to a reasonably happy color now.

They do have some funny color contrasts. Mufasa (the one in the blanket) is such a bright colored girl, she doesnt use her whole body to express as much, mostly the "stress marks" and her beard a little. She'll get a little darker overall but is pretty laid back about everything.
Norberta (the one by the crate) is very expressive all over, turning pitch black or this gorgeous sandy brown color when she gets really happy, I'll have to dig out a pic to show you. She also is the only one I've seen truly black beard. Likes to get excited over little things. And she was actually in a decent mood in that pic, she doesn't like falling asleep on the floor very much but she insists on doing it every time. :roll:
Poor Puff, I would be in a bad mood too lol. Glad he felt better later on.
Norberta seems to be feeling even better today, ate most of the bugs I offered her and doesn't look nearly as dark.

Just found a pic of Norberta's happy colors! She saw Mufasa running around on the floor and put on quite the show (hence the black beard).

Wow. That's quite a difference. Wouldn't know it was the same beardie.

The only time I see Puff's beard turn completely black is when he's hormonal. It only turns half black when he's upset about something, and that's not too often. He's usually pretty mellow, almost to the point of being listless. I like to think that it's because he's learned that he's safe around here and doesn't have to worry about anything. So whenever I see him turn a really dark color I know somethings wrong.

Hey everyone, sorry for disappearing. I didn't get around to replying and then was gone for a week and just now have some time.
Update on the beardies!
Mufasa is doing just fine, she is about 326grams now and still as calm as ever. I moved the tank stand to the other side of the room so Norberta could see more and Mufasa was not a fan at first but seems fine with it now.
Norberta is feeling better thankfully! She is eating again and moving around. She likes being able to see more of my room too. She is 192grams now and shedding almost constantly (right now most of her face and head and part of her tail).
Both girls got new UVB lights last month, and while I was gone for a week my mom took care of all the girls (cat, beardies, snake, crab, etc) and we made a funny discovery! Norberta absolutely hates my mom. She would headbob her every time she got her out of her tank and would throw a fit when she tried to give her her meds. Her box bed in her tank she would shove clear away from the wall and sit behind smugly. I came home and was saying hi to her and checking on her and she went from dark to happy colors in a minute and took her meds without any problems and hasn't shoved the bed once. :lol: :lol: She also gives my mom a dirty look every time she sees her, she comes in and says hi to her and Norberta sits up or looks up with a very dark look.

Glad you had a good week off, sorry Norberta was so spiteful with your mom, wonder what brought that on, just you being away? Glad Mufasa was a good girl for her. Our beardies are just so spoiled, aren't they :roll: But we love them anyway.

I've been feeding Imp supers every day and he's finally starting to gain weight again. I was very worried about him but he's not as skinny as he was and he's got a little belly going. He digests really fast and poops daily, which is why it was so hard to get weight onto him, but he's willing to eat those bugs every day. He likes roaches but doesn't digest them well, so I'm sticking to supers for now. I also got him some jump start so he gets that a couple of days a week, it's really oily and difficult to feed out of a syringe, but will keep trying. He likes the mix, too, but it goes right through him.

Gabriel is still going strong but the aneurysm is growing again, his belly drags on the carpet when he walks, but doesn't seem to bother him any. He still walks across the living room every morning and climbs the pillow up on the ramp, so he gets some exercise every day. I've even gotten him to sit in the sun some, but he doesn't like to get too hot.

Castiel, Nathaniel and Cierra are all doing well, even though it's still a huge effort to get Cierra to poop, so more pumpkin in the am, but lots of belly massages in the bath. She's the only dragon I've ever had that does this and I have no idea why. So I think I'll be giving her a bit of pumpkin a few times a week going forward, to see if this helps her.

It was a nice break, I think that was mostly why Norberta acted up lol. They certainly are. <3
I'm glad Imp is gaining some more! And I'm still praying for Gabriel. Good luck with Cierra.
I took some pics of the girls when I was cleaning up their tanks a bit this morning.

They are so pretty. I have some pics to post on my thread, but have been at work since Tuesday so haven't had the time. I have 3 days off next week but probably will get some time on Saturday afternoon. I'll let you know.

Imp wouldn't eat today, but he's probably eat tomorrow. It will take a long while before this boy is chunky, that's for sure. Got Cierra in the bath again today but nothing, now it's more than a week, so she got a few ml of pumpkin and will again tomorrow morning. At least the other 4 have all had baths over the last 2 days, so I get a break tomorrow. They get sunshine & water by syringe tomorrow & probably feeding. They just don't seem to have a big appetite in the heat we've been getting, plus I'm walking Bella from 8a to 9a, then breakfast, deal with dragons & bugs (feeding dragons and feeding them :mrgreen: ) then make lunch/supper and out the door at 10:40, home at 9:20 and take Bella for another walk (a friend takes her out during the day with her dog) and that's my day. It's exhausting but I have to work. only 3 1/2 yrs left to retirement! My mom keeps telling me not to push the days away too quickly, as my dad is 90 and she'd like time to go a bit more slowly.

Agreed -- Mufasa and Norberta are really pretty. Sorry to hear that Norberta dissed your mom.

It's funny that you've got two beardies at the opposite ends of the digestive spectrum, Deb -- one skinny one and food goes right through him, and one that retains it too long. I still say they remind me a little of my husband and me. Have you ever tried Repashy Grub Pie with them? It seems to make a good laxative, at least it does for our beardie, but I know they're all different. That was an unexpected side effect -- I got it because I wanted something with a longer shelf life than live bugs and fresh greens so our beardie wouldn't have to go hungry if we ever get into a situation where we can't get to the store for a while, and I'm glad he likes it. He won't touch the dry pellets -- he doesn't seem to recognize them as food. But he seems to like the taste of the Grub Pie (to each his own -- to me, it smells a bit like cricket poo :bleick: )

Sorry to hear that Gabriel's aneurysm seems to be growing again, but at least he doesn't seem to be suffering with it. It's amazing that he's still running around and apparently enjoying life.

Hopefully you can still somehow find some time and energy to enjoy your own life between now and retirement. I think your mother's right -- the older you get, the faster time seems to pass, even though you start wishing it would slow down.

Imp has gained quite a bit of weight because he eats lots of supers daily. I keep working on Cierra she's had 2 days of pumpkin, so the 3rd day is usually the charm. After I walk Bella, I'll start on her again and if today doesn't work, tomorrow should. I'm going to have to starting giving her pumpkin daily to prevent this from happening. I have no idea why she does this, she is quite capable of pooping regular if she wants. So I'll just have to keep an eye on her. For the first time in 3 years, she's not making eggs, that's another thing I have to get done is an xray...

So now I keep track of all their poops so I have a history on when they go. The other 4 are regular as clockwork, but still Castiel tends to do what Cierra does once in awhile. They're all sleepy lately but they're still up and eating in the morning, so unti they stop eating, they're not allowed to brumate. I've never known dragons to brumate like they do, Nathaniel usually goes down in July, Cierra and Castiel in August. Not sure what Imp will do this winter, but I think I'll make sure he doesn't because he's just too skinny.

Here's the latest pic of Imp:

And Cierra trying to get out of the bath, as usual

So Imp is looking better, he's got a bit of a belly, and that's my goal is for him to have a much bigger belly by the end of the summer.

Thank you both! I love their little faces. Norberta's started shedding today so she is very cranky and keeps slithering around her tank to get it all off :lol: . Crazy thing happened yesterday, we had a bad storm and the power went out around 1:30pm, didn't get it back until 9pm that night. I gave the girls each a handwarmer wrapped in their fleece blankets and put them on the blankets. Mufasa decided since it was so dark without her lights she would go to bed and napped all day in her bed while Norberta wandered around her tank for a little while and then plopped herself on her basking rock waiting. Everyone is very happy we have power today lol.
Thank you for the pics of Cierra and Imp Deb! About how long is Imp? He looks long, but that may just be because my girls don't have full tails. And Cierra is gorgeous, hopefully she's fine and just skipping a year on eggs.

Imp ended up being 19 1/2" long but he's not 2 yet & may still get a bit longer. I'll have to measure him to be sure. I took a picture today, he actually has a belly now, so feeding him every day is working. He ate alot of worms yesterday, today he ate a few, then WANTED roaches. I was so surprised! So he got lots of those, waited for them to go by his mouth before grabbing one. I usually feed him on the living room floor. Luckily I don't feed the others every day and I'm not feeding Cierra at all right now, she still hasn't pooped and it's been almost 2 weeks. I can feel the urate under her spine, so keep placing it near her vent but no go. So today I fed her 5 ml of pumpkin and did the same yesterday, plus 1/2 hr hot baths, normally works but not yet so far. I hate that she does this and don't know what to do about it. If she hasn't by Friday, will have to not pay a bill & take her to the vet. Can't wait any longer. I still can't feel eggs, we'll see what the doc days.

Luckily the boys are all being normal. I had to block Nathaniel's hide so he won't brumate until he's done eating. He normally goes down mid July/August. Castiel already wants to sleep but I still haul him out of his hide and put him outside in the sun, but he's stopped eating, at least yesterday and today. If he poops, I'll let him sleep, if he hasn't eaten for a few days. This is awfully early for brumation, we'll see how that goes.

Cierra also brumates in August, but I'm not letting her do anything until she poops, then poops again, then will get her a hide that she can use. I just need a box & make one like Castiel and Imp's. I've never had dragons before these 3, who brumate in the summertime...it's so strange to me. Mine have all previously slept Nov/Dec/Jan, never earlier.

Don't you love Cierra's colours, not even sure what you'd call that & she gets much lighter than that, too, but it's hard to get her real colour on the camera.

Beardies seem to be hard core diurnal, even when the light is artificial. Our goes to sleep within a very short time when the lights go out. Power failures are nerve wracking for reptile people. We have them once in a while and we usually use mammalian body heat to keep them warm (in other words, we cuddle them). But all things considered, given the nasty windy weather we often get around here, the electric utility does a pretty good job keeping the power on.

Imp looks much better. I think I'd call Cierra's color a sort of pale peach in the latest photo -- very pretty. I hope she turns out to be just a little constipated and nothing more serious. Our beardie is all over the map with the frequency of his poops too. Our vet said that if we don't at least see some urate in two weeks, then it's cause for concern. I've cancelled a number of tentative appointments with "Never mind. We got a poop." So I can relate to your worries about Cierra.

I've heard that beardies are all different when it comes to brumation, and some of them seem to have their biological clocks set for the southern hemisphere.