Free Range Scaley

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Scaley and I got to enjoy some much needed deck time yesterday.

She wandered around the back yard and ate some ants. She managed to get out of her harness so I'm going to have to figure out a new harness system if I want her to be able to roam a bit.

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Drache613

BD.org Sicko
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Hello,

Scaley is a little cutie & looks like she is having a great time outside, too in the sun. :D
Yeah, you have to watch them close when they are outside so they don't bolt.

Tracie
 

SpacialCoogs

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Unfortunately Free Range sometimes means pooping in inconvenient places. Like the behind the couch, behind the tv (favourite spot to hide) and yes, my cleavage....
 

SpacialCoogs

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Took her to a friends place to hang out. She takes care of Scaley when i'm on vacation and just went through surgery so I thought it would cheer her up.

We were sitting at the table and I was showing my friend the site redhotchilidragons.com where they have some crazy red dragons. (I am thinking about one of them for my next) Then Scaley gets on the table... lol

Looking for Love...
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dezismom

Juvie Member
Great Photos! And she can never be TOO spoiled! You are a good Dragon servant :);) You make sure she has nice places to enjoy! My boy is a bit of a free Range Beardie; goes with me everywhere--has his own shelf in our RV, made especially for him to look out as we travel. I was unsatisfied with the harnesses I bought, so I designed one for just him, which he likes much better. I recognise that look on both of your faces when you were getting some deck time...I call it "Lizard Bliss", and I suspect it is one of their super powers! Thanks for sharing the photos!

DeziLu catching some rays...
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Lizard Bliss!
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SpacialCoogs

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I've been making plans to take her camping. I have a tent trailer not an rv so I'm working on the heat at night thing. Where we live in Canada it can get cold at night so that's a concern.
 

SpacialCoogs

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It seems like Scaley is a bit of a video game fiend. She'll sit for hours and watch some Uncharted being played. Which considering the frequency they are played in my house is a good thing.

Watching Uncharte 4, hour 2
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Home Time
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SpacialCoogs

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I went to Michaels last week and picked up some paracord to fashion a new harness for the Scalester. I hope the orange brings out her beard scales. lol

I went for the hip harness as I don't like the ones that go around her throat. It just seems like bad news for a variety of reasons. Today was sunny so we tested it out in the backyard for a couple of hours. She didn't escape, and she was able to roam around and find a nice sunny rock to lie on while I was weeding. I brought out some water to give her a bath and let her drink.

Exploring
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Private Pool
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SpacialCoogs

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Poor Scaley.

I noticed over the last couple of weeks that Scaley has been making a weird puffing noise. No mucus or anything so I wasn't sure if it was Respiratory Infection or not. Monday night she went into her hide and didn't come out in the morning to say hi. She just lurked in the entrance and watched me. She's also been sleeping upright and moving around to keep pressure off her abdomen.

I took her to the vet today and it may not be a Respiratory Infection. Dragons don't have diaphragms so when she has an abdmonial problem she tries to make room by making the air puffs to get relief. She recently had 3 infertile clutches in the space of 6 weeks. I changed the duration of her uv light in order to stop her having more clutches. It's too hard on her. My vet thinks it could be a uterine infection or irritation due to the clutches.

Now poor Scaley has to get antibiotics that she won't like. I'm expecting a daily fight to get her to take it. I'm also going on vacation soon so I guess she's going to have to come with.
 

SpacialCoogs

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Scaley went to bed early last night and wasn't awake when I got home. This is the second time this week she's done that. She's obviously not feeling too great, but I need to get her antibiotics in her so she'll have to suck it up when I get home tonight. The vet said she seems a little dehydrated too so I've been feeding her water through a syringe, which she actually drinks. Daily baths will have to come back, I had moved to every other day but with me taking her out in the sun it would be prudent to make sure she's drinking.

This is how she spent the morning while I was drinking coffee and watching the morning news. So she didn't get her antibiotics or morning cuddles. Still it's too cute.

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SpacialCoogs

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So this weekend will be my first camping trip with Scaley. I don't want to leave her alone and don't want to make my friend administer antibiotics. I've been researching and planning for this so I believe I'm prepared.

Camping List
5x Uniheat 40+ hour heat packs (should only need 1 but I'll keep spares on hand in the trailer)
1 harness - day glo orange for easy viewing
1 Squishy - for lizard hugs
1 bag containing antibiotics & syringe
1 container of superworms + tweezer - my husband refuses to touch the worms with his hands
1 pet bed that doubles as a hide - the bottom comes out and i can put the big part overtop so it's covered and soft/warm
1 pack antibiotic cleansing wipes - for those "accidents"
1 dog play pen - has a bottom and mesh top that are removable, this allows for a contained supervised area for her to bask
1 duffel bag - aka travel container
1 scarf - used as a sling. She often sleeps in it which lets me carry her and have my hands free
1 bag of freeze dried food - bringing fresh but I want a safe portable back up

Not pictured - 1 electric heater. I have a power site so I can keep the temp in the trailer at 18 degrees celsius for her comfort (and mine :p)

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all packed up in the duffel bag
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I have containers in the trailer i can use for water/baths and I will use the environment for her to run around on in the playpen or when she's on her harness.

Weather looks good with 10+ hours of sun so she can get lots of uv

I will post pictures when I get back on Sunday or Monday.
 

SpacialCoogs

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Original Poster
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Camping win!

Scaley went for her first kayak ride this weekend. She didn't want to stay in her playpen and she seemed stressed if I left it in the trailer so I put her in the sling and she basically went to sleep.

Camping was a good experience but I think I'm going to have to take her out in the backyard and put her in the play pen so she is used to it. She was fine in it, but she wasn't happy unless she was on me. She would perch on my shoulder while i played ring toss and try to eat bugs and enjoy the sun. She would only eat the worms I brought with me, and after sampling a dandelion leaf pretty much ignored anything green.

She seemed freaked out by the birds most of all.

The equipment I brought was sufficient, those heat packs are a definite must if the night temp goes below the low range. Otherwise the electric heater just didn't keep her warm enough. The main area was the proper temp but she seemed colder than I'm used to when i got up. That being said she is usually up before 6am and under her CHE when I get up so it might be normal but I'm not comfortable with how cold it was for her. She ended up sleeping on my pillow with me (under the covers), which means I need to make her own sleeping bag and turn on the electric mattress warmers for next time.

The harness was great, she got to roam around the campsite but not run away or get into anything. I'd definitely recommend the hip harness over front leg.

I have a couple pics on the good camera that I will upload soon.
 

SpacialCoogs

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Well camping has been fun. I've only taken her out once so far. We went for a 10 day trip and i didn't want to stress her out too much so I took her over to her pet sitters to stay there for the time being.

Apparently she was a little bit prissy the entire time I was gone. She was not a fan of her travel tank or of not having me around to baby her. I think my sitter was more stressed out than Scaley was. So in future I'll have the sitter come visit her twice a day as opposed to taking her somewhere else to board.

When I picked her up she was looking somewhat depressed, dark and hiding in a spot under her basking light. She perked up pretty quickly when i picked her up and put her in her sling. She was fine within a few hours of being back in her habitat. She was pretty quickly back to cuddling with me.

She's been active, but picky with her eating. She's no longer on antibiotics and the vet is quite happy with how healthy she is. She's started pooping daily again not that she's off the antibiotics as well. Apparently it didn't agree with her tummy.

She went into her hide at 2pm yesterday and hasn't come out. I think she started brumating, she hasn't eaten in days and she had a big poop yesterday before hitting the hide. I wonder how long she'll be in there.
 

SpacialCoogs

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Well it looks like she's definitely brumating. Her particular brand seems to be longs naps and staying in her hide as opposed to conking out for months at a time. I can hear her moving around in there every so often and she has poked her head out the side and watched outside the window.

I will have to institute bath time though, she won't get enough water and I don't want her getting dehydrated. The up side is that at least I'll get to check on her once a week that way. When she's in her hide I can't see her and then i get all worried.

I figure that after all those clutches, now that she's finally healthy enough she just needs the restoration. That was a lot of stress on her, plus she was awake this winter so she might just be one of those dragons that brumate in the summer.

Unfortunately this makes me miss her a lot. She's done wonders for my anxiety so when she's not around I get a little sad. It's crazy how much they impact your life, I have literally raced home just so I could spend time with her.

I tried convincing my husband that she needs a friend but he says 1 dragon is enough. Even though I do all the care and maintenance, and we have a complete spare setup. I don't think I'm going to win this fight lol. It just makes me sad to see a dragon at the humane society with noone to take care of it.
 
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