It's been almost 2 years!!!

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March 26th is the day we brought Spike home. My 7 year old son picked her out at our local Exotic pet store and named her Spike. She was in an enclosure with other dragons around her size and away from the smaller ones. We were told that the babies she was in with were moved because 'they were growing faster than the rest'. Spike ran right to the front of the glass and started scratching when my son walked by. Needless to say, she got his attention and we took her home. She had a full body shed 3 days off getting her home, too. ('She' does look female (I looked when we brought her home, but not since) Spike is now, roughly 3 months old and weighs 31g at 9 inches long.
We have had some set backs with her lights, which you guys have so graciously helped me with, and her lack of eating for a little while due to her relocation stress, but she is definitely a hearty eater now. BSFL being her favorite.

When we first brought her home:
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Throughout the month:
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New tank:
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Cuteness:
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10 minutes ago, waking up and warming up:
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Sorry for all of the pictures! ^-^ :D
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Haha.
I guess even if she doesn't out grow her hatred for greens, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that the dubias she eats are packed full of the stuff. At least they will eat it!

Spike is still in the process of her shedding, she still has half her back and her tummy to go, but it isn't slowing down her eating any. ^-^
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
So, it has been a little bit since my last post. Spike is completely fine. She is going through a full body shed, which is taking so far, about a week and a half to 2 weeks, and she still isn't quite done. Her eating has slowed a little, but not a lot. I just chalk it up to her shedding. Otherwise, she is perfectly healthy and active. Also, it has officially been 6 months since Spike has been a part of our family. ^-^ I wouldn't have it any other way.

In other news,
My son has a dog that has been at my parents house since we got her... we couldn't have pets in the apartment we lived in when we got her, so my parents agreed to keep her since we were working all the time and my son practically lived there anyway because of it. So, long story short, she is an outside dog. She HATES being in the house. She tolerates it, but then wants right back outside after about 20 minutes. She is a Chihuahua/Beagle mix, her name is Emmie, she is now 5. She also has her own babies outside and no, I do not mean puppies. She is spayed. My son, 2 years ago, swindled my parents into purchasing him 2 ducks for Easter. When he got them, they were solid, bright yellow so he named them Macaroni and Cheese. Mac is the male and Cheese is the female and both are now solid white. They had an outside pin, until they grew out of it. Now, they have free reign of the yard, around the house, the creek, but never stray too far. Once we released them from the pin, Emmie was quite interested. However, my Mom told her that they were babies and that she needed to be easy with them. That is the same thing she was told when my youngest son was born. Needless to say, Emmie 'mothers' the ducks, still to this day. She loves them and they love her. Its an odd relationship, but they do it.
Anyhow, I could not get Emmie's fleas under control and the ducks were constantly picking them off of her. (Now that it is just my step dad, since my mom passed, he doesn't have the income to care for her, vet vise. That is on me, and honestly, I do not mind.) Emmie was also due for her shots to be updated. Well, since she is an outside dog, I had her tested for heartworms just in case. That came back negative, but it also came back positive for Lyme. So, I dropped $300 for her vet bill. Her flea medicine had to be changed because Frontline was not working for her. She has a pill to take every day with food for 2 weeks for the Lyme (to be tested again in 6 months as long as she isn't showing symptoms), a steroid/antibiotic shot that the vet gave to help with her itching and what not. She also got more heartworm medicine and dewormer, too. AND she was still unable to get her shots updated due to everything else going on with her. So, she has a trip next week since she is feeling better and back to her spunky self to finally get those shots updated.

Now, today, was Tweety's turn for the vet trip. For about 2 weeks, his behavior has been off. It was like one day he was fine and then a switch just flipped and he because mean, aggressive when you approached his cage, he bit me several times from just trying to change out his food and water. I thought, well, maybe it is just a hormonal phase he was going through, or the fact that he is molting. I read that both can make them cranky.
Well, this morning I was watching him and he sneezed twice, and then ruffled his feathers, but left them that way and he looked to be shaking. I kept watching, waiting to see if his feathers went back to normal and they didn't. Instead, he let out a big pile of diarrhea. I thought, welp, I guess it is your turn for the vet.
Unfortunately, the Avian vet near me couldn't get him in until next Thursday. Considering I know they hide their illness like dragons, I thought that might be too late. Luckily, my vet, the same one my dogs and Emmie seen, agreed to look at Tweety. She is not an avian vet, but it meant a lot to me that she was still willing to try and help me and Tweety. He was still fluffed up and just had this general look of discomfort when we got there. His breathing wasn't labored and he wasn't in distress, but still. The vet managed to get his weight, which was good, but after that, Tweety just wasn't having it and the vet didn't want to stress him out anymore. She did call the Avian vet for some advice since the tests that would normally be run, couldn't be, and now he is on broad spectrum antibiotics that are mixed in with his water. I did get him scheduled with the Avian vet, but in case, but again, it isn't for another week. Tweety went from loving and cuddly, to omfg don't touch me or I will bite your fingers off! So, since he can't be handled right now to administer his antibiotics to him, they are mixed in with his water.

It has only been a few hours, but he does seem to feel some better. He is climbing around in his cage again, he is head first in the food dish, he is drinking his water/antibiotics AND he didn't become aggressive towards me when I checked on him. He actually nibbled my finger, gently, and put one foot on my finger as well, just like he would before getting sick. However, the diarrhea is still present. I am hoping that after a few days our little guy is feeling better and can go back his to natural loving little self. There is no actual diagnosis other an "infection" because he wouldn't cooperate and the vet wasn't actually an Avian vet, so, for now it is just broad spectrum antibiotics and making sure he stays nice and warm.

Yep, that is my past week or so. Haha.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Sounds like a hectic week. I hope Tweety continues to get better.

I'm trying to imagine what a Chihuahua-Beagle mix would look like. :? Got photos?

We usually don't get fleas here in Alaska, unless someone brings them up from the "lower 48" -- they don't do well in this climate, fortunately for us. But if you get them in your house, they're pretty hard to get rid of. My sister got them once, and one of her dogs was really sensitive to them. She tried everything to get rid of them, and the only thing that finally worked was when she turned down the heat and froze them out.

They were a big problem when I lived in California. The best that you could hope for was to keep their population down, and other than that, you just had to live with them. I hate to use pesticides, but I just about had to or they would have eaten my cats alive.

Emmie and the ducks must be fun to watch, and leave it to a kid to come up with some clever names. Macaroni and Cheese -- I like that. :lol:
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
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That is Emmie, the day I took her to the vet. She has this tiny Chihuahua head, but the Beagle body. Haha. She isn't quite proportionate.

The antibiotics seem to be helping Tweety. He isn't all fluffed up anymore and his aggressiveness is going down. I can pet him again without him nailing the crap out of me. He is eating like a piggy, too.

Yeah, the Frontline wasn't helping so now she is on K9 Advantix... I believe. My step dad has the box so now I don't quite remember.

She was digging so much that it was causing hair loss on her back right before her tail. She just looked so miserable and unhappy. But now, her hair has grown back in and she is as spunky as ever.

Haha. They are quite the sight. She always knows where her babies are and if you yell "Come and get it" Mac and Cheese come running for their dinner. Its quite the scene to watch.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Emmie's coloring looks almost German shepherdish to me, but I guess that can be Beagle coloring too. She has a sweet face, even if her head is a little too small for the rest of her body. :laughing6: Glad to hear that you seem to be "winning" the "flea wars" -- or at least got rid of enough of them so that she's more comfortable.

It sounds like the vet may have hit the target with the broad spectrum antibiotic for Tweety. Being in a better mood and having a better appetite is usually a good sign. :)
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Emmie is back to her old self, that is for sure. She is only 16 lbs, so she isn't all that big to begin with. She is the perfect little pooch for my oldest, always wanting his attention and love. And she is so gentle with the youngest, too. She has never had puppies in her life, but to watch her with my boys and her ducks, you would think she has been a mom for forever.

I couldn't get Tweety in to see the only Avian vet we have until a week later, which would have been this Thursday, but with as fast as I noticed him change from night to morning, I knew I needed to do something. Birds are like dragons, most of the time you won't know if they are sick until it is too late. She didn't have the right equipment there as she usually sees dogs, cats, rodents, and the occasional goat, but I am glad she called and got a hold of the avian vet for advise. Tweety is much happier now, more talkative, friendly again, and actually flew out of his cage last night because he wanted my attention. First time he has even done that, but it was enjoyable to see. The antibiotics are working though, he is starting to be the fun, cuddly, chirpy little guy he was before getting sick. He is no longer cage aggressive either. He started his antibiotics Thursday night and it is now Monday. He still has some days to go, but as long as he is feeling better, I won't complain.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Our reptile vet has reminded me at least once or twice that most animals instinctively hide their illnesses until they get so sick that it's painfully obvious, and then sometimes it's too late to save them, because displaying illness in the wild is like running up a flag that says,"Come and get me, predators -- I'm an easy kill." Maybe some day some of our domesticated pets will develop a new instinct to let their human caretakers know when they don't feel well, because that's the best way to survive when they have a human slave to take care of them and get them medical care when they need it. It sounds like maybe Tweety has already got the hang of that, because he made it really obvious to you that he wasn't feeling well. I'm glad he's better. :)
 

Diamond1

Member
Aww those pics are adorable!! There was a bearded dragon that every time I walked past she would scratch at the glass trying to get out but she looked so happy.... I wish I could’ve gotten her but we weren’t ready
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
I have to be careful about looking too close at the little beardies in the pet stores, since I know that my husband and I are maxed out with two reptiles. So far, the ones I've seen look like they're being pretty well taken care of, although I've heard some horror stories. And the little ones look soooo small and fragile. We were advised to get an adult for our first one, so I've never raised one from a baby, although I was tempted when we were at a pet store getting some of the stuff just before we brought our beardie home -- there was a little one that kept waving at me. After we left the store, my husband complemented me for not doing something stupid, and we waited a little longer until we had all the stuff we needed, and got one that was about a year old. He survived our inexperience quite nicely (so far), and he's 5 years old now. :)

Kudos for waiting until you're ready, Diamond1. It's not always easy.
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Well, I have been MIA for a while. Real life has been quite busy for me, especially with the holidays coming up.

Anywho, Spike is perfectly healthy and still growing. She has been in a constant shed since my last post. She must have hit a growth spurt on me. Spike is now 15 inches long and 9 months old (Will try to weigh her tonight). She has also gained quite a bit of independence in about the last month. She is now eating on her own out of her feeding dish. I am a little sad, but on occasion she still lets me hand feed her, usually when she has eaten most of her dubias and the 2-4 stranglers left behind don't interest her. Once I pick them up, she is more inclined to snatch them.
Spike has also started eating mealworms, the occasional 5 worm treat once a week. Her favorite though are Hornworms. Pretty sure she would eat nothing but Hornworms if I let her. The salad is still a no go. I even tried putting a few wiggling worms in it, but she just picked them out, so. Haha. I still offer salad everyday, but so far, she is still strictly on bugs. With this growth spurt, her eating has increased a lot. I think I might need to increase the size of her dubias, too. I usually order 300 3/8" and 3/4" ones from ABDragons, but since this growth spurt, she has been going through them like crazy.

Everyone else is good. Emmie is great and no longer itchy from her fleas. Her hair has also grown back in and she is as spunky as ever. Quite feisty, too, really. Haha.

Tweety is also doing better and back to his happy go lucky, cuddly self, especially when my oldest son gets home from school. Tweety chirps at him until he takes him out and spends time with him. It's like their own little routine. :)

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SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
She definitely getting Bigger, and looks healthy too. Probably not time yet to worry too much about her not liking veggies -- she probably still needs lots of protein for all that growing she's doing.

Most bearded dragons go nuts for hornworms. Our beardie seems to get a little confused by the color -- he probably figures that it must be yucky because it's green, but then when he sees them moving you can almost see this little light bulb go on over his head -- "Oh. It's moving. It must be good to eat!" (chomp).

Glad to hear that Emmy and Tweety are feeling better too. :D
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Spike has been quite the little eater, especially over the past 2 months. I think I have spent close to as much money in food for her over 2 months as I have in about a 4 month span. I'm not complaining, but it does amaze me.
She used to not eat a whole lot, like to the point that I was worried, but she never lost any weight, but just very slowly gained. And then she just stopped gaining. Now, I'm not sure what she is at. I couldn't weigh her the other night, even though she was sleepy, she still wasn't having it. Haha.

Lucky for her I have more dubia and hornworms on the way and should be here in a few days. I got a little bit bigger size of dubia since she is finally growing, so maybe those will fill her up a little more than the ones I have been getting. The ones I have been getting, she goes through 50 or a little more in one sitting and then just looks at me like, "That's it?" Haha.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Yes, we get that with Puff too when we put him back in his tank after feeding him bugs. He sits there and looks at us like, "Are you SURE you don't want to feed me some more of those?" We tell him to go eat his veggies if he's still hungry, but realistically and from recent experience, we don't expect that to happen. :roll:
 

smackey2

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Time is flying by so quickly!
In a little over 2 months, Spike will have been with us for a year! It doesn't seem like it, but it just dawned on me today while I was weighing her.
The little booger wouldn't hold still for me to get a correct measurement of her length, but she is 15-16 inches now, give or take some.
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And her weight is 258! ^-^
I still feel like she is a small lizard, but that might just be because I really don't have another to compare her to. I could care less either way, though. Her endless shedding is still going. Just when I think she is finished, she starts another part. Right now it is her beard/mouth, front legs, and some of her underneath.

She is still all about her Dubias and Hornworms. Forget the salad cause she just ignores it and smacks it around with her tail, so it ends up feeding the bugs instead. Haha.

Spike is still as energetic as ever.. sometimes... but then other times she is the laziest rock lizard ever, lounging underneath her basking light! Lol.
 

SHBailey

Gray-bearded Member
Hello --
I've been somewhat out of the loop this past month due to a death in the family and some other stuff going on (more about that on my Puff H. Bailey thread), so I haven't been able to spend hours on here reading and posting like I'd been doing, but I've been trying to at least keep up with the threads I've been following...

Spike looks healthy and happy and seems to be growing nicely even if she's on the small side. Being too energetic to hold still and shedding a lot are both good signs -- it probably means she's still healthy enough to want to bounce off the walls, as well as still growing. Being willing to slow down and do some basking once in a while is good too -- she needs to get warm and digest her bugs, as well as make some Vitamin D.

That's hilarious that she tail whips her salad. :lol:

Our beardie (Puff) has pretty much settled into the cuddly couch potato routine. :sleepy2: :love5: He completely ignores his salad but he still gets one every day, and will still grudgingly eat a few bites if we slip them in his mouth. But he still goes after crickets and roaches with much enthusiasm, and he turns his happiest golden color right after he's had an opportunity to stuff himself with bugs. :mrgreen:
 
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I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
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i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

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