Puff H. Bailey's "new blog" (belated)

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It has fairly recently come to my attention that it's something of a tradition around here for each beardie or family of beardies to have their own thread, so here goes nothing...

Brief review, as I've mentioned most of this in other posts -- Puff was about a year old when we got him from a local rescue around 4 1/2 years ago, and we all seemed to adjust well at first, but the following year was a bad one for all of us...

One story I have never told, because it is a very painful memory for me and one that I am not proud of :oops: :cry: , is that in the summer of 2014, I had what was probably a "nervous breakdown", and became convinced that I could no longer take care of either of our reptiles (we also have a corn snake), nor could I let my husband do it, and I railroaded him into taking them to the local animal control facility on a Friday evening after he came home from work. (No one can talk sense to me when I get like that, and all I could think of was that I had to get them out of here while they were still in good health.) Fortunately, Anchorage has an excellent animal care and control facility. They were there for about 40 hours and my heart was broken. On the following Sunday morning I came to my senses and realized that I was either going to have to give up on them forever, or let my husband help me take care of them. He has always been willing, but I'm a control freak and had been insisting on doing everything myself. So we had a hasty discussion and made plans for me to teach him how to do what I'd been doing and no longer seemed to have the energy to continue to do myself. Then we rushed back down to the animal control facility just as it opened for business in the morning, hoping they would still be there. They were, and we brought them back home. My husband, true to his word, has been doing most of the hard work to care for them ever since, and thanks to him, we still get to keep them and I still get most of the cuddles -- not fair to my husband but he doesn't seem to mind. They are ours for life now, and I have realized that we passed the point of no return when we brought them home. I don't think I had previously realized how much I loved them until that horrible 40 hours when I believed that I would never see them again, and without knowing if they would ever have another home even as good as the one they've had with us.

As I have also said elsewhere, Puff was diagnosed with adenovirus at the end of that year, and was pretty sick for a while, but eventually pulled through, although his appetite and activity level has never come quite back to what it was before that. For the most part, he's been doing fairly well for the last several years, and things have been better.

Latest escapade (just so this won't start out as a total downer):

Recent Saturday afternoon: Puff is pancaked out under the heat &UV lamps in his tank, and "Daddy" sits down at a nearby table with his laptop, all ready for a nice little session on the internet, and plugs in an external tabletop mouse because he prefers that to the hokey little touchpad on the laptop. All of a sudden, Puff goes nuts and starts doing his little dance, the one that usually means, "Get me out of here! I see something I want on the other side of the glass. :blob5: " So "Mommy" (that's me) takes him out and brings him over to the table, because I have my suspicions. Sure enough, he goes after the mouse cable. Probably thinks it's a worm. So Daddy decides to take advantage of the situation and grabs Puff's salad, hoping to use the old bait and switch trick to get the little wannabe carnivore to eat some veggies. Puff is having none of it -- Daddy slips greens in his mouth while he's busy chewing on bugs all the time, and Puff is wise to that. So I put him back in his tank, but Daddy isn't giving up yet, and brings the mouse over and dangles the cable on the other side of the glass, while trying to slip Puff a leaf on the inside of the tank with his other hand. Puff avoids the leaf, but succeeds in banging his nose on the glass trying to get at the mouse. At this point, poor hubby gets the order to cease and desist from his naggy wife, followed by the lecture that we do not want to use inedible, non-digestible objects to trick Puff into eating greens, as I do not want to have to replace a chewed up mouse cable, or worse yet, we definitely do not want Puff swallowing bits of it. It's ok to try to spoon feed him worms using collard greens for the spoon, but not this, and blah, blah, blah...

Bottom line, no permanent damage done to the mouse cable, the bearded dragon, or to Mommy and Daddy's marital relationship. Just another fairly typical Saturday afternoon at the Bailey's... :mrgreen:
 

SHBailey

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Our reptile vet determined that Squirmles died of a massive internal hemorrhage, probably caused by a rupture in a major artery, perhaps due to an aneurysm that we didn't know about -- he had a clean bill of health at his last exam earlier this year, and he had seemed fine up until his last feeding on Saturday, except that he had been eating a little less than at this time in previous years, and he had settled down at the cool end of his tank after eating, which was a little unusual but not unheard of, so we didn't realize that anything was seriously wrong.

Our vet also found some "suspicious nodules" that could have been the beginnings of cancer, but no lab tests were done since he was already dead. She was unable to determine where the bleeding originated, but there was blood all through his whole body from head to tail by the time the necropsy was done. He was healthy otherwise -- the rest of his organs were in good shape, good fat reserves, etc.

The bottom line is that it was nothing that poses a threat to Puff or anyone else -- no drastic disinfection protocols required, and it was nothing that we did "wrong", and nothing that we could have prevented; we probably could not have saved him or eased his suffering even if we had noticed his condition any sooner. He looked fine from the outside until I noticed that he appeared to have passed out in the act of trying to bite at his own body. So he apparently died in pain but we hope that he didn't suffer for too long. If cancer was developing, it may actually have been a blessing in disguise that his cardiovascular system gave out before whatever else was going on with the tumors had progressed enough to make him really sick, because he would have suffered even longer.

I had always expected that Squirmles would outlive Puff, since Puff has been ADV positive for 3 years now, but you never know. One of my ministers used to say that when it comes right down to it, we're all "one cardiovascular event between life and death."

So we are at peace with it, although we will miss him. :cry: We are a one-reptile family again now, with just my husband and me and Puff and his little entourage of live bugs to take care of. Puff seems to be doing fine, and does not appear to miss his "big brother" -- since they were not "close." He will get all of the resources we have for critter care now.
 

SHBailey

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Yes, 15 years is a respectable age for a corn snake, but they've been known to live longer.

Meanwhile, life goes on. "Daddy" went to the pet store for crickets and roaches last night, and they happened to have nice fresh ones, so we've got Puff all stocked up with crunchy creepy crawly critters for the next few weeks. :)

I've been slowly cleaning up and putting away all the stuff we had for Squirmles. It's been kind of therapeutic -- sort of a way of saying goodbye.

I got tired and went to be early last night, but Daddy brought Puff in for his bedtime cuddle anyway.
 

SHBailey

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Hello everyone. Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have some major things going on in my family. My father-in-law is near death, and there are also some things going on with my sisters and a niece -- TLDR and complicated story :roll: . But the bottom line is I probably won't have time to post here as often as I have done in the past, at least for a while. I still plan to watch the threads I've been following, and I may find some time to check in once in a while, but I'm not going to be able to spend several hours reading and posting messages on a regular basis like I had been doing.

Puff got his new UV tubes installed for the new year, and watched the whole procedure with much interest. I am not quite sure what caught his eye -- either he could tell that the new lamp was brighter in the visible light, even though it was sitting on the other side of the glass so he couldn't see the UV, or else he thought the power cord on the lamp was a big black worm... :wink:

I have really enjoyed trading beardie stories and advice with all of you. I hope I'll be able to continue to do it once in a while, and maybe more often again in the future. :)
 

SHBailey

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Not always. Sometimes he looks flat out bored. :wink:

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers,
SueAnn
 

SHBailey

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So my father in law passed away on Sunday morning the day before MLK day when my husband would have flown down, but we managed to say "goodbye" over the phone the day before, although we're not sure if he heard us. He was in a coma and the nurse held the phone up to his ear. So it's a blessing in disguise that he's not suffering anymore, and I have a feeling that was the way he wanted it -- maybe he didn't want any of his loved ones to see his last breath, just in case it was ugly... :cry:

So things are gradually settling back in to whatever is going to be the "new normal," but I'm still probably not going to be able to spend hours reading and posting on here like I used to, at least not for a while. The only reason I'm managing to do so a little bit right now is because my husband's cell phone woke us up in the middle of the night with a tsunami warning. Big earthquake (8.0) out in the ocean south of the Aleutions just after midnight, but we're expected to be pretty safe here -- we're at about 100 feet elevation and they're apparently not expecting it to get quite this far up into the inlet anyway. So I got on the computer to check the website and see what's going on, and now I'm on the computer and can't go back to sleep :shock: , so might as well catch up on some emails and posts...

Puff the cuddly couch potato dragon is doing fine -- looks like he might be fixing to shed on his nose and maybe some on his tail too, but his tail has been a patchwork of piecemeal sheds for a long time. :)
 

SHBailey

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I finally decided to put some coconut oil on Puff's tail to see if I can get some of the patchy messy shed off of it, since it looks like it might be getting too tight. Otherwise, things are going along as usual.

It's been really cold here, temperatures below zero at the moment, but that's Alaska this time of year -- nothing really unusual, although I'm more than ready for spring. We manage to keep the indoor temperatures tolerable for us humans and the basking temperatures good for the beardie, with a little extra in the gas and electric bills. Good for snuggling -- Puff seems to appreciate a warm human to cuddle up with once in a while. :love5:
 

CooperDragon

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I'm glad Puff enjoys a cuddle. Hopefully the coconut oil helps. I definitely understand the higher than usual power bills. I keep the house relatively cool and the power bill was still double what it usually is.
 

SHBailey

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I'm not seeing any improvement with the tail shed so far. Might be time for a visit to the vet. But at least the rest of his tail seems fine for now -- no sign of discomfort or of it shriveling up, etc. Puff has always had a fairly unresponsive tail -- most of the time it just sits there, except that it's been know to stick up like a little exclamation mark once in a while when something surprises him. :!:

Business as usual otherwise. Finished off the last of the live bugs on Saturday, so Daddy went off to the pet store for another batch. We're all stocked up again, just in time for another snow dump. Winter in Alaska...
 

SHBailey

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So Puff's beard has been a little dark once in a while lately, but so far not accompanied by any other obvious signs of "spring fever." Pooping a little more often than usual (including some pretty sloppy ones), but no head bobbing, glass dancing, or beard flaring so far. His annual exam is due in April, but we'll consider taking him in sooner if it appears necessary. Still doing the coconut oil on the tail -- no major pieces of skin have come off, but no signs of "tail rot" either. He's working on a nose shed as well, and has been sitting around with his mouth half open a little more than usual (he can get out of the heat if he wants to). His nostrils look clean, but I suspect that they're going to be included in the nose shed, so that may have something to do with it -- maybe he's feeling the need to breath through his mouth once in a while. It gives me a chance to take a look though, since he absolutely HATES having his mouth forced open. The inside of his mouth looks nice and pink and healthy, at least to me, although I'm not a vet.

We are gaining over 5 1/2 minutes of daylight a day now here in Anchorage, although the outside temperatures are still below freezing, and we're still getting snowed on regularly. The late afternoon sun now shines in the window on Puff's tank when I have the blinds open, although it doesn't yet have enough power to make a difference as far as overheating the tank, but I'm sure that he can tell that the days are getting longer.

"Daddy" used his mouse cable to lure him over to his salad a week or two ago. Puff ended up with at least one hand in the salad, but didn't eat any of it -- he wanted the long black "worm" on the other side of the glass. Nice try. But at least my husband is still able to slip bits of green leaf in Puff's mouth while he's drinking water during his bath, or while he's chewing on a bug.

Typical Alaska native subsistence diet suitable for the climate -- 95% meat and animal products (insects, in Puff's case), and 5% plant products such as berries (mostly collard greens, in Puff's case). So much for the 80 - 20 rule for beardies. :roll:

Yesterday I discovered him sitting right in front of his salad, but since I didn't actually see him eat any, I don't dare hope that he did, since there didn't seem to be much (if any) of it missing. I thought he was going to poop, since that's what he usually goes "downstairs" for -- doesn't usually seem to like to mess up his basking platform, although there are other times when he doesn't seem to care. But he didn't do that either -- just climbed halfway back up the ramp to the platform and stayed there till bedtime. Oh well...

It seems that a number of other beardies are starting to go hormonal, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere. Enjoy the springtime craziness, folks. :blob5: :blob8: And if it's driving you nuts, it may help to remind yourself that if your beardie is healthy enough to be thinking about making little dragons, it's probably a good sign. :wink:
 

SHBailey

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So all of a sudden, Puff has decided he likes greens again. :blob8: :blob8: He's been going "downstairs" and pigging out on his salad like he used to do before he got sick a little over 3 years ago -- several times a day even, for about the last week now. Must be something to do with spring. He's been more active too, and pooping more often as well (more fiber in his diet). I'm expecting him to go hormonal any day now, although I still haven't seen any obvious signs of that -- the beard hasn't turned really Really black, no flaring and no head bobbing, at least not yet. But this is a major dramatic improvement in his appetite. :D

I'm still a little concerned about his tail. It's not shriveling up or anything but something doesn't seem quite right. We're still dealing with a stubborn shed. He's due for his annual exam next month, so we might go a little early. I may be worrying for nothing -- I've been known to do that. :?

...And we're all trying to adjust to the time change. My husband hates changing the clocks but I actually kind of like it. This is when it gets really obvious that the days are getting longer.
 

SHBailey

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So Puff is still pigging out on greens -- "Daddy" has to make it to the grocery store after work this evening because we're almost out of green beardie food, even though it's awfully sloppy out there today. It's finally warming up around here so we're getting rain on top of snow and the roads are not pretty. :roll: This is what we call "spring" (aka "breakup") in Alaska and even though it's ugly, we like it because it means summer is just around the corner. :wink: Of course, we're not out of the woods yet -- we could still get a huge snow dump around Easter -- that does happen sometimes. :mrgreen:

Meanwhile, Puff apparently got his greens mixed up with his paper towels -- I caught the little klutz chewing on the paper towels instead of the greens that he had dropped on the outside of his dish, so I picked up the beardie and the salad and sat down with both of them and tried to hand feed him the greens instead of the paper, but he didn't get it and wouldn't open his mouth... :banghead:

(At least paper towels are just pulped wood fiber, so I'm hoping it won't do too much damage if he does eat a little bit by mistake.)

I'm considering checking in with the vet to make sure this sudden increase in appetite isn't too good to be true. The possibility has crossed my mind that something may have gone haywire with his pancreas or his thyroid or who knows what else, or I may be worrying for nothing again. Still no obvious signs that he's thinking about making little dragons or else I could probably chalk it up to spring fever for sure.

As for the tail, I think it's probably okay. Puff just seems to have a really "mellow" tail, but just when I start to wonder if he's lost motor control and feeling in his tail because it's limp all the time, he'll twitch it just enough to let me know it's still alive. It looks fine, not swollen or shriveled or unusually darkened or anything like that. And he has also become really good at the sloppy, asymmetrical, piecemeal, one-scale-at-a-time shed, so his human "parents" just have to learn not to stress out about it because his shedding skin will come off whenever it's darn good and ready. :|

BTW, it gets even worse with my husband. He takes hating time changes to a whole new level, and thinks the whole world ought to be in the same time zone. :p
 

SHBailey

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Happy belated Easter, everyone (or Spring Equinox, or whatever you celebrate). :D

The "glaciers" in our backyard continue to retreat, and there will be dandelions soon. Puff will hopefully enjoy them this summer, as he continues to pig out on his salad several times a day. We even got him some better than usual organic greens at the local health food store, since he's actually eating them now. To my surprise, they turned out not to be any more expensive than the ones we've been getting at Freddie Meyer's, and I learned something too -- "Frisee" is just a fancy word for "curly endive." :mrgreen:

One afternoon I got tired (as I often do) and went to bed before "Daddy" got home from work and gave Puff his daily bath, so he brought him into the bedroom for his after-bath cuddle. I thought he was going to get wiggly and head for the window pretty quick, since there is light coming in the window in the evening now, and he did get wiggly, but instead of going for the window, he crawled over and propped his chin up against my chin and zoned out, so the after-bath cuddle turned into the bedtime cuddle. My husband said he was a happy golden color when he came to get him and tuck him into his tank for the night -- I couldn't tilt my head to get a good look at what color he was without disturbing him.

He's been more active during the day, so I guess he's usually pretty tired by the time bedtime rolls around, even though the sun is still up. By the end of this month, complete darkness will be gone for about 4 months, and we will have varying degrees of twilight throughout the night here in Anchorage. On the longest day of the year the sun still goes down (we are south of the arctic circle) but it doesn't get very dark. They compromise with the fireworks on the 4th of July and do them at about midnight, even though solar midnight is about 2am here, but it won't be really dark even then.

We had a bit of a scare last Friday -- in the morning, it looked as if Puff was having a problem with one of his eyes -- keeping it closed most of the time, blinking a lot, flicking the nictitating membrane over it, and in general acting like it was bothering him. I'd received the cute little postcard I get from his vet, addressed to him ("Puff, it's time for your annual checkup"), so I went ahead and called for an appointment, only to find out that both of the reptile vets at that office are out of town until later this month. :banghead: There is only one other reptile vet in Anchorage (according to ARAV's website), and I found out he wasn't available either, although he had some openings this next week. But meanwhile, Puff's eye showed some improvement. There was no visible gunk in it, no extra tearing, and the nictitating membrane looked white and clear and not inflamed, so I figured maybe he just had some "sleep" or a stray scale in his eye. He's been working on one of his famous sloppy take-forever sheds on his nose, and it looks like his nostrils and his eyelids are probably going to be included at some point, so maybe nothing to worry about after all.

Grabbed him an appointment for a regular exam right after the vet is scheduled to come back, and the backup vet had openings sooner last time I checked, just in case.

We've settled in to a new morning routine -- as soon as I turn the lights on, and even if I'm a little late with his good-morning cuddle, he gets out of his "burrito" and goes "downstairs" to attack his salad, then plops a big green turd on the floor of his tank (green stuff in = green stuff out), and then goes back up to his basking platform to worship his light bulbs. He's usually pretty good about staying out of his own poo, but not today -- time to go clean up the mess... :roll:
 
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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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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.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

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