Claud's Crew! - New Girl In The House! - New Pics

Welcome to my journal for my crew! This will be the thread I post all my pictures and updates in regards to my crew! This is going to be like a journal of sorts. A tool I can use to look back on and see how I was doing things, and important events that have occurred for my crew! I really like being able to go back and look at things like that.

To start off with, since all my dragons had a thread previously, they will all get their own post under this to kind of catch up to where things are right now.

A bit about me (EDIT: Ok it's a lot about me now..)

I've had dragons for almost 20 years now. My first dragon was named Shredder. Information was so scarce back then, and I was so inexperienced, Shredder didn't last long under my care. He was housed on walnut shell, typical petstore setup (you think they are bad nowadays, think back 20 years ago) and I honestly don't remember much else about how i cared for him besides the fact that I had grown attached to him. After shredder died, I dedicated a good portion of my free time to learning about dragons. I knew I wanted another, but I didn't want him to suffer the same fate. I read, I learned, I talked to other owners that I would meet at petstores. I read every caresheet I could find online. I even talked breeders ears off when they'd let me. I got another dragon eventually, Hawk. And then another, Buttercup. Then I rescued Scorpio. And shortly after that, I saw a runt in a petstore that I bought, Rusty. For awhile, this was my crew. They all lived for 5 or 6 years. Their care wasn't perfect, but it was better and I was learning and growing as a dragon keeper.

One day the petstore owner and I were talking, and he wanted to give me his dragon. He didn't want to take care of her anymore. I had never taken in an adult dragon. I had always only had babies that I raised myself. I wouldn't have said yes if it wasn't for the fact that I wanted to stay in good with the petstore owner (this came into play massively a few years later)
So, now I have a 3 year old dragon, who I named Naughtica. Her name is based on Naussica, a character from a movie (she was the start to how I name all of the rest of my future dragons, after hayo Miyazaki film characters). Around the same time I got an adult Male, Spyro. I don't remember exactly how I got him, but I believe also from a friend I had met at the petstore. He was trying to produce white dragons (back then they were basically unheard of, and light grey hypos were the closest most people had gotten to that) and spyro was a light-grey hypo.

Naughtica and spyro were the only two dragons I had for a few years now. Around this time is when I also found this website, and my knowledge, care, and love for this hobby grew immensely. I loved being surrounded by people who understood. I loved being able to talk dragons all day long if I wanted. And I loved being able to help people. Obviously in the beginning, it was me being helped. But I soaked it all up like a sponge. I loved it.

Eventually I decided I wanted to breed. So, Naughtica and Spyro were put together for a week. And, it was successful. It was honestly a lot of fun, it was scary, but it was rewarding. Coming home that one day and seeing that a few hatched was one of the happiest moments of my life. I was so filled with joy and excitement.
But now a new learning curve. Caring for around 20 baby hatchlings. And it was a learning curve for sure. I was not at all prepared for how much they eat. I wasn't prepared to separate ones that started to get picked on. For that reason some lost parts of tails, some lost toes. One even completely lost a foot. But, i grew and I learned with later clutches.

Remember wanting to stay in good with the petshop owner? It came into play now. His shop was how I was able to sell my babies. It was either just my town, or the time, but he basically couldn't keep dragons in stock. Worked out great for me, and great for him. I had a solid consistent place to sell my babies to, and he had a reliable person to buy from.

I only did that for about two seasons before life changed and breeding as a hobby was no longer a viable thing to do. Spyro had died a year or two later. I really don't know how old he was.

But Naughtica was going strong. And a few more years passed and I had bought Kiki. I had always had a thing for red trans, and Kiki was the perfect girl to fit that bill. I had gotten over breeding and just wanted a dragon or two of the "higher end" morphs to enjoy. By this time I was very active on this site, and Naughtica and Kiki both had their own threads here (I will link to later). So did Calcifer, a uromastyx that I had bought from that same petshop I used to sell to. Naughtica was getting pretty old at this point. But, my care and knowledge had grown so much that I knew she was gonna be with me for the long haul, and that's what I was hoping out of kiki and calcifer. These three were my new crew. I was happy with everything I had.

Long story short, life got in the way again, and my crew had to be put under someone elses care. They were entrusted to my family. Unfortunately, that didn't work out well at all. And I feel awful. They were not taken care of properly. They eventually all passed. Naughtica was around 12 I believe. And I have no doubts she would have lived even longer if she were to have been under my care, I just wasn't able to.

It took me a long time to feel like I could get back into this hobby. One thing never left me, and that was my love for this hobby, and my love for these creatures, and my love for talking anyones ear off about them that will let me.

And here we are today.

-Brandon
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
vrenee1018":ztuvmuv3 said:
Kiki looks so gorgeous! I'm sorry to hear about the troubles with Moro, but I'm sure she's gonna pull through whatever it is she's going through. She's got the best dad EVER to watch her. Haha Overall the crew looks to be doing good and that makes me happy :D

I'm so glad your little girl has taken such an interest in the beardies. It makes me excited when little kids, especially girls, are into reptiles. Like we can be into "boy" things too! Love love love it! I just had a co-workers little 5 year old daughter ask where my iguana is (talking about my beardie, Tampico), because she remembers one time she came in and I had her at work. Kids are adorable. Lol

Take care, crew!!

Vanessa

Fact that a 5 yo even knows the word iguana just shows how smart kids are these days! ?
-Dee
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Thanks Vanessa! Moro seems to be getting more and more active and alert, so she's making me feel better. I have some updates on her but I'll save them for later in the post :)
My daughter used to love all the dragons, and loved watching me get out the supers. She even used to say COOOOWWWLLL when i'd open the dubia colony up. But now, she beelines it to kiki, pokes her head over (Kiki is in an open top tank still) and says "HEWWOO!" She loves to watch Kiki eat too. She pays no mind to the other dragons anymore lol.

Dee, I might be partial, but I really think my little girl is a genius. She just seems to be developing so quick and so ahead of schedule! She makes her daddy proud.

Crew update


So, every morning I go and I give everyone a salad. Moro typically hasn't been touching her salad as of late, so every morning I've tried hand feeding her some. Doesn't take much time, because she tells me no almost instantly. Yes, she knows how to communicate "no". I bring the salad near her mouth, just like I do with everyone else. What Moro has been doing lately, is closing the eye facing the salad, and turning her head away. And keeping her eyes closed until I remove the salad from her face. Pretty clear NO lol. Today she didn't say no, she looked eagerly at it and took a bite. She had trouble "latching" her tongue to it, but eventually got it out of my grasp. Leaf number 2.. she gets it, and starts actually chewing it which was nice to see. But, she's not swallowing it. She's not even starting it down her throat. She worked on it for probably 15 seconds before finally putting it down. 15 seconds doesn't sound like a long time, but time how long it takes your dragons to swallow once something is in their mouths. I'd be not even 1.5 seconds lol. Anyways, it was worrying seeing her struggle just to handle a relatively small and easy food item such as a ripped piece of collard green. I'm contemplating taking her into the vet just to get some imaging done to see if there is a reason for all this. And of course when I start thinking of getting imaging done, I think the worst. Such as a tumor pressing against her throat, or her spine growing wrong and putting pressure against something. All of me wants to just think it's just her own little quark, and she does it as a mental issue not a physical issue. But one can't help but worry.

In lighter news, I've been BSFL-less for a couple months now. Kiki has never had BSFL to my knowledge. But, I got my order in from smyton today. Much to my excitement, Kiki loves them. And, she ate them one at a time and even chewed them! So double kudos to her!
Surprisingly, Mei ate the dozen or so I gave her. She didn't really care for them last time i had them.
Suki ate up quite a bit of them.
Moro looked intrigued by them, but she just wouldn't make the move. Finally she ate one of them, and I thought for sure she would eat more after that. But she just continued to look intently at them. Was really hoping she'd eat them so I can stop giving her hard bodied insects. I left a bunch in her bowl and I counted them. Hoping she will eat some. I will check in a bit.
And Tombo, I won't insult him by even offering him those. He didn't like them as a baby, didn't like them as a big boy, and now that he's a goliath and one would probably fit in his nostril, I'm sure he won't like them either. He got some big fat supers instead lol.

Sorry for the wall of China text post lol.

-Brandon
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
Love the update, both on the dragons and baby girl. ?
Moro concerns me. Hope she'll be ok. I think I'd be giving serious thought to having her checked. You have a good vet? Keep us posted if you do take her, I'll be thinking of you both.
-Dee
 

DorgEndo

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Devlyn
Thanks for the detailed update.

Any decision when it comes to testing is always difficult. Yet if you don't take a step you will stay in the unknown. There is a strange mental thought process that seems like the default in prople that goes on where people are in the present that they don't know if things are going to get better or get worse. Avoiding anything that might bring them to getting worse prognosis. In my (somewhat biased) opinion the sooner you can reach a point with more knowledge whether the prognosis is for worse or better, either way that information let's you make informed decisions on how to proceed next.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Thanks for the wisdom Dorg.
I definitely will keep you all posted Dee.

I unfortunately do not have a vet. It shouldn't be any trouble finding one in my area though. I'd assume some good ones should be near me seeing as I live nearby Zoomeds HQ. I will look. I'm not 100% sure if I will take her in. It's not over fears of finding out something bad though.
Anyways, this has only been day 4 or 5 of her really seeming to get back active. And.. I have a good update...
Moro is currently basking!
31715-223133462.jpg
Not in her hottest spot, but still, she had to physically climb up that rock to lay there. This is huge! I haven't seen her bask on her own accord for MONTHS! That spot is probably only around 90, but still... it's the fact that she made an effort.
That's all I've been hoping for, effort, energy, trying. And this week has been full of it :)
She didn't eat any of her BSFL, but I'm going to try with some salad in a bit. I know she will eat supers.. :roll:

-Brandon
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
claudiusx":19rgtnvg said:
Thanks for the wisdom Dorg.
I definitely will keep you all posted Dee.

I unfortunately do not have a vet. It shouldn't be any trouble finding one in my area though. I'd assume some good ones should be near me seeing as I live nearby Zoomeds HQ. I will look. I'm not 100% sure if I will take her in. It's not over fears of finding out something bad though.
Anyways, this has only been day 4 or 5 of her really seeming to get back active. And.. I have a good update...
Moro is currently basking!
31715-223133462.jpg
Not in her hottest spot, but still, she had to physically climb up that rock to lay there. This is huge! I haven't seen her bask on her own accord for MONTHS! That spot is probably only around 90, but still... it's the fact that she made an effort.
That's all I've been hoping for, effort, energy, trying. And this week has been full of it :)
She didn't eat any of her BSFL, but I'm going to try with some salad in a bit. I know she will eat supers.. :roll:

-Brandon
Glad to hear she's basking! That's always a good sign. She looks lovely!?
-Dee
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
Hoping Moro pulls through whatever is going on with her. It is concerning that she couldn't eat much of her little salad piece. Although I will say that it did make me smile when you explained how she says no to you. Tamp does the same thing and I'm like, Soooorrrry you're highness. Haha But sending out good vibes for little Moro! I hope she continues upward and basking on her own again.

Vanessa
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Yeah I was really excited to see that Dee, can you tell? ha.

Ha, I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets given the "royal treatment" when I offer her salad. They know how to communicate things for sure :p

I was a bit bummed because last night I saw Moro back in her "brumation cave" but I wasn't gonna bother her. Today though, I was very happy to see that she was back out in the middle of her tank. Not basking, but still more so on the hot side than the cool side just lying on the sand. I really do think the sand is helping her feel more comfortable. She used to never do this really before. I do think she wasn't found of the tile for whatever reason.

But then, more good news. After looking at her, I looked over to her cool side, and noticed that her plate was empty! She had ate the 20 BSFL I had left in there the other day! I was literally so excited that I shouted at her "good girl Moro!!".
This is truly because I have been programed by my parenting skills to say good girl to my daughter every time she does something we want to encourage. I laughed at myself that I instinctively shouted it at Moro... :lol:

-Brandon
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
claudiusx":1mp5mdva said:
Yeah I was really excited to see that Dee, can you tell? ha.

Ha, I'm glad I'm not the only one that gets given the "royal treatment" when I offer her salad. They know how to communicate things for sure :p

I was a bit bummed because last night I saw Moro back in her "brumation cave" but I wasn't gonna bother her. Today though, I was very happy to see that she was back out in the middle of her tank. Not basking, but still more so on the hot side than the cool side just lying on the sand. I really do think the sand is helping her feel more comfortable. She used to never do this really before. I do think she wasn't found of the tile for whatever reason.

But then, more good news. After looking at her, I looked over to her cool side, and noticed that her plate was empty! She had ate the 20 BSFL I had left in there the other day! I was literally so excited that I shouted at her "good girl Moro!!".
This is truly because I have been programed by my parenting skills to say good girl to my daughter every time she does something we want to encourage. I laughed at myself that I instinctively shouted it at Moro... :lol:

-Brandon
Positive reinforcement! Goes a long way whether kids or animals. Glad she ate and it does seem like she's had a lot of improvement since you let her have sand. Maybe it just seems more natural to her. Being that they are all different, maybe some don't do as well on an unnatural surface. Who knows? Just good to see her feeling better.
-Dee
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Thanks Dee! I got a picture for you especially... :D
Tombo poo'd again today.
31715-7986387936.jpg
Normal sized and nice white urate :D
Tbh, I really did slack on giving him extra water like I said I would. He just ate his salads like normal. When the urate and poo stays in their bodies for that long, a lot of times it discolors despite hydration levels.

Anyways, now you dont need to worry about Tombo, just Moro LOL. But on that note, another great day with Moro today.

This morning she was on the hot side next to her basking site.
When I got home she had once again finished the BSFL that i left in there yesterday afternoon.
So, here is a big improvement for her.... I went in to give her some more BSFL in her plate, when she saw me dumping them she literally bolted from the hot side all the way over to the plate. It almost scared me, it definitely caught me off guard. She has never been so quick. I was hoping that was her roaring appetite kicking in, but she stopped at the plate and paid no attention to the BSFL.
I left her alone for a bit to see if she would eat... nope. She will hopefully eat them during the day tomorrow like she has been.

But then I started wondering why she would run at me like that. And I figured maybe she wanted to jump onto my hand to get out? Lol. So I took her out and let her explore around the couch.
31715-2353158645.jpg
31715-2961090533.jpg

And here is her famous black tail. She gets it every time shes alert and exploring
31715-5429049875.jpg

I let her hang out on the couch with my wife as I started getting dinner ready. I came back to check on her....
31715-417946419.jpg
My heart melted. Laid right up against my wife's leg and just fell asleep. My wife has always been ok with my dragons, but I think today was the first day she realized there can be a deep relationship or emotional connection with these "lizards"
Shes not there yet, but shes coming around. And Moro has always been her favorite. Moro knows what shes doing :)

-Brandon
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
Awww hon. So glad to hear how well Moro is doing! That she was energized enough to want to come out and explore is wonderful. Keeping fingers crossed she eats her nums tomorrow.?
Tombo and a normal poo? ? surprising! Lol!
-Dee
 

DorgEndo

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Devlyn
Way to go Moro! Scaring the main guy of the house, walking around taking over the house, then winning the lady of the house over. Sounds like Moro is in charge now
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Dorg I didnt even think of it that way. I suppose you are right huh lol!

Sorry dee, I meant to update a few days ago but my daughter had another seizure and has been sick the past few days. Me and the wife are starting to come down with a real bad sore throat too. We are hoping it's what she had and that we aren't gonna be giving her a new sickness.

Moro was back basking a few days ago and still eating good. Then the other day she spent the whole day in her hide again. And then yesterday I saw her out basking again but she hadn't ate the BSFL I had left her. She still hasn't poo'd so I'm gonna start daily baths and hope that she will soon. Hopefully that makes her feel better. It's coming up on 3 weeks or so since she last poo'd.

Here's a picture of her from the other day.
31715-1247495767.jpg
31715-8984771478.jpg

Kiki had just finished shedding the thick part of her tail, now her whole body is starting. I'll have to get a picture of it tonight when I get home.

-Brandon
 

DragonPete

Sub-Adult Member
Oh my. Sorry to hear everybody has been or getting sick. Always tough with a little one.?
Moro is so pretty, just love her creamy soft coloring. Her tail cracks me up when she's exploring! That's amazing! Its so obvious because she's so light.
Hope y'all come thru your cold or whatever in short form.?
-Dee
 

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

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.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
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.

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

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,687
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom