Crisandre
Member
I warn you, this is going to be a long read because I am trying to offer as much information as I can. AHBD brought to my attention that Saphira is on the fatty side (I always had my suspicions) :lol:, and because of that Saphira could get sick in the future. I want to make sure that she will have a long happy life with me, and everything that I do now won't negatively impact her future years.
Saphira is approximately 10 months and 2 weeks old. I picked her date of birth as April 18, 2012 (give or take 1 -2 weeks). After yesterday's measurements she is almost 20 inches long, and she weighs 855 grams. When I got her she was around 6 weeks old. Generally, the older she got, the lazier she became. When I let her out her favorite activity is to sit, and to watch outside the patio's screen door.
This is Saphira yesterday. She's not a happy camper
. She has been shedding different body parts for the last month.
I always used the same scale to weigh her; I even got a calibration weight to make sure that my scale was working properly. When I weighted Saphira at the vet office, their scale showed 20 grams less than mine. I treated her twice for pinworms and flagellates once in October, then again in November. Even under medication she maintained her growth.She has always been on the bigger side.
This is Saphira’s weight growth chart.
Genetics:
Saphira comes from big parents. Her mom is 22.5 inches long, and weighs 745 grams. Her dad at 16 months was 21 inches long, and weighted 821 grams. Initially I bought Saphira because she was advertised as being bred for size and color, and she did not disappoint.
Supplements:
When she was younger, around 3 months, she became fussy and refused to eat anything dusted with calcium or vitamins; therefore, I switched her to liquid calcium which I mixed with carnivore care and baby food to add some consistency, or she would refuse to take it.
Since her weight kept increasing, giving her liquid supplements was no longer an option, so I switched back to powders. Usually I give her Calcium Complex Powder with D3 (Serrapeptase & Magnesium) 5 times per week. I also use Multi Vitamins Powder (minerals & amino acids), and liquid Vitamin B Complex 2 times per week. She still doesn't eat anything dusted, thus I give her daily slurries. I use measuring spoons for powders. Her mix is usually composed by a drop of carnivore care, a drop of either calcium or vitamin, four liquid drops of electrolytes (Leapin' Lizard), and one or two smidgens of baby food (chicken or squash). Two times per week I add three liquid drops of vitamin B, and once per week I add some probiotics or Acidophiluz+. Lately I would give her the mix without carnivore care. This mix is at most .5cc because anything more than that she will not take willingly.
I have 2 bottles of liquid serrapeptase which I can't use anymore, because Saphira won't drink .8cc of liquid. In general she doesn’t want to drink anything. The way I keep her hydrated is through her baths, salads, and electrolytes. Her mixes must have some consistency so she can lick it from her nose.
Diet:
Unfortunately she won't eat unless she's hand fed. Luckily for her this doesn’t bother me.:lol:
Vegetables:
I follow the list from beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition. Her favorites are collard, mustard, endives, and watercress. She won't touch any kind of squash anymore though. I tried to grate it, cut it thin slices, I even baked it. I also tried different kind of fruits without success.
Live Feeders:
When I got her the first two weeks she ate crickets, then I switched her to Dubia. I used to buy around 2000 Dubia every month to keep up with her appetite. This lasted until she was around 6 months old when I bought her some yummy hornworms. After she tasted the hornworms she refused to eat Dubias anymore.
I present you exhibit A.
I tried tough love for about two - three weeks but she was barely eating Dubia anymore. I gave in, and I made the switch to super worms. I should add that the month she stopped eating Dubia was the first month when my colony was able to sustain her feeding. I still have the colony, from which I give away regularly, hoping that one day she would know what is good for her.
This picture was taken around the tough love period. :roll: It always makes me laugh when I see it. :lol:
During the middle of December her appetite started to level off. Since January her weekly super worm intake would vary between 15 and 35. For example, last week she ate 35 supers, but they were not evenly spread out during the week. She ate 9 supers and salad one day, and just salad the following day.
Over time she had serious growth spurs. One of these spurs left her with a mark. I think her shedding schedule couldn't keep up with her growing. The following picture shows the mark on her skin. This is a recent picture, taken this month. I forgot the initial date when the mark appeared but it was a while ago.
These are pictures taken this month so you can see how she looks now from different angles.
I would like to add that I kept an eye on one of Saphira's sisters here on forum. I am 95% sure that they are from the same clutch. Over time I could see that they had similar growth and judging from her sister’s pictures most of times they looked as having comparable length and weight.
I also wondered if Saphira may be pregnant but I don't feel any eggs in her tummy, and she does not act restless at all. She is in a 40 gallon breeder right now, and this year she is due for a new 4x2x2 enclosure.
After all this flood of information my question is what should I do? Should I cut from her super worms? How many supers should I give her per week? Should I try to maintain a strict schedule of "X" amount of supers per day? If that, what is the magic number?
Also how can I make her exercise more? Maybe I should buy some hornworms, and make her run after them around the house.:lol:
If you have more questions, or if you need clarifications please ask.
TLDR: Saphira is a fatty, mommy is worried. :lol:
Saphira is approximately 10 months and 2 weeks old. I picked her date of birth as April 18, 2012 (give or take 1 -2 weeks). After yesterday's measurements she is almost 20 inches long, and she weighs 855 grams. When I got her she was around 6 weeks old. Generally, the older she got, the lazier she became. When I let her out her favorite activity is to sit, and to watch outside the patio's screen door.
This is Saphira yesterday. She's not a happy camper
. She has been shedding different body parts for the last month.
I always used the same scale to weigh her; I even got a calibration weight to make sure that my scale was working properly. When I weighted Saphira at the vet office, their scale showed 20 grams less than mine. I treated her twice for pinworms and flagellates once in October, then again in November. Even under medication she maintained her growth.She has always been on the bigger side.
This is Saphira’s weight growth chart.
Genetics:
Saphira comes from big parents. Her mom is 22.5 inches long, and weighs 745 grams. Her dad at 16 months was 21 inches long, and weighted 821 grams. Initially I bought Saphira because she was advertised as being bred for size and color, and she did not disappoint.
Supplements:
When she was younger, around 3 months, she became fussy and refused to eat anything dusted with calcium or vitamins; therefore, I switched her to liquid calcium which I mixed with carnivore care and baby food to add some consistency, or she would refuse to take it.
Since her weight kept increasing, giving her liquid supplements was no longer an option, so I switched back to powders. Usually I give her Calcium Complex Powder with D3 (Serrapeptase & Magnesium) 5 times per week. I also use Multi Vitamins Powder (minerals & amino acids), and liquid Vitamin B Complex 2 times per week. She still doesn't eat anything dusted, thus I give her daily slurries. I use measuring spoons for powders. Her mix is usually composed by a drop of carnivore care, a drop of either calcium or vitamin, four liquid drops of electrolytes (Leapin' Lizard), and one or two smidgens of baby food (chicken or squash). Two times per week I add three liquid drops of vitamin B, and once per week I add some probiotics or Acidophiluz+. Lately I would give her the mix without carnivore care. This mix is at most .5cc because anything more than that she will not take willingly.
I have 2 bottles of liquid serrapeptase which I can't use anymore, because Saphira won't drink .8cc of liquid.
In general she doesn’t want to drink anything. The way I keep her hydrated is through her baths, salads, and electrolytes. Her mixes must have some consistency so she can lick it from her nose. Diet:
Unfortunately she won't eat unless she's hand fed. Luckily for her this doesn’t bother me.:lol:
Vegetables:
I follow the list from beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition. Her favorites are collard, mustard, endives, and watercress. She won't touch any kind of squash anymore though. I tried to grate it, cut it thin slices, I even baked it. I also tried different kind of fruits without success.
Live Feeders:
When I got her the first two weeks she ate crickets, then I switched her to Dubia. I used to buy around 2000 Dubia every month to keep up with her appetite. This lasted until she was around 6 months old when I bought her some yummy hornworms. After she tasted the hornworms she refused to eat Dubias anymore.
I present you exhibit A.
I tried tough love for about two - three weeks but she was barely eating Dubia anymore. I gave in, and I made the switch to super worms. I should add that the month she stopped eating Dubia was the first month when my colony was able to sustain her feeding. I still have the colony, from which I give away regularly, hoping that one day she would know what is good for her.
This picture was taken around the tough love period. :roll: It always makes me laugh when I see it. :lol:
During the middle of December her appetite started to level off. Since January her weekly super worm intake would vary between 15 and 35. For example, last week she ate 35 supers, but they were not evenly spread out during the week. She ate 9 supers and salad one day, and just salad the following day.
Over time she had serious growth spurs. One of these spurs left her with a mark. I think her shedding schedule couldn't keep up with her growing. The following picture shows the mark on her skin. This is a recent picture, taken this month. I forgot the initial date when the mark appeared but it was a while ago.
These are pictures taken this month so you can see how she looks now from different angles.
I would like to add that I kept an eye on one of Saphira's sisters here on forum. I am 95% sure that they are from the same clutch. Over time I could see that they had similar growth and judging from her sister’s pictures most of times they looked as having comparable length and weight.
I also wondered if Saphira may be pregnant but I don't feel any eggs in her tummy, and she does not act restless at all. She is in a 40 gallon breeder right now, and this year she is due for a new 4x2x2 enclosure.
After all this flood of information my question is what should I do? Should I cut from her super worms? How many supers should I give her per week? Should I try to maintain a strict schedule of "X" amount of supers per day? If that, what is the magic number?
Also how can I make her exercise more? Maybe I should buy some hornworms, and make her run after them around the house.:lol:
If you have more questions, or if you need clarifications please ask.
TLDR: Saphira is a fatty, mommy is worried. :lol:
