Alucard's Journey

I'll try not to make this introduction too upsetting.

After the sudden and tragic passing of my two year old, Simon, I had an empty enclosure and a beardie sized hole in my heart.

Simon was buried in my front yard, and a red maple tree was planted on her grave site as a memorial. Richter came to show his respects. As time passes, this whole area will be converted into a beautiful garden in her honor. Rest in peace, Simon. You were truly loved.

I'm on day two now and am still grieving horribly, but if I could turn her empty enclosure into a great home for another dragon and give them a good life, why not start now.

Alucard has been introduced to the house. She will never replace Simon and she knows she has big shoes to fill. She was also taken out to pay her respects to Simon's memorial site. She is a normal morph little girl beardie, just like Simon, and has a lot of spunk and a big appetite.

She's about two months old, 8.5", and 32g.
She will inevitably lose the very tip of her tail, but it looks like this is healing well and will not cause her any concern.

I look forward to the love and laughter she brings to me and appreciate her presence turning Simon's home into something positive again.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Kozmo is also a leatherback and Richter is just a reduced scale So that's probably part of it, too. Alucard is a normal, though, and is like handling a cactus sometimes when she's fiesty.

Dat Richter back

 

[KozmoRox]

Ok! I didn't realize he wasn't a leatherback. That makes sense. By the way, what harness/leash do you use for Richter? I've tried a bunch and Kozmo has hated every one. Which do you recommend?

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

As a baby he looked a lot more leathery but his scales rose a little more as he aged.

This is the only real photo I have uploaded of Richter in his leash
It's Simon's leash, but here's Simon in it

I honestly don't use the harness with him often. He's either in his carrier, being carried by me, or loose and closely supervised.
Now with the tent I just plop him in there

If only it would stop raining daily!

I haven't put Alucard on a leash yet, but I think she would just gator roll the entire time and flop like a fish. She's a fighter

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

So I took my new chameleon to the vet today, along with fecals from both dragons for a checkup on their treatment a month ago.

New chameleon is healthy, clear fecal.
Richter is parasite free, but Alucard still has coccidia. The vet came in with the news and a new dosage for her of .09ml assuming she has grown a bit. I informed her I had a photo of her last weigh in at 161g. 100g more than her last visit. New dosage 1.7ml :lol: took my vet off guard. Alucard is a growing little girl with a huge appetite!

 

[NBGwen]

LOL Your post made me realize I hadn't updated my vet in a while...I can't wait to hear what she thinks of Charlie's growth! She hasn't seen him since he was about 8 weeks old :shock: I took him in for a meet and greet

Hopefully the medication works and Alucard becomes parasite free! Hmmm...I wonder if I should get Charlie checked...I never thought to, but with having had two rescues before it could be a good idea for him.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

It's never a bad idea if your vet is competent and specialized
It's great peace of mind, and I'll probably have them get a yearly check-up going forward unless any other concern pops up as they have no ongoing issues.

Not to mention those on the chameleon forum were telling me my little girl was dehydrated and underweight. Vet said she's perfectly plump, "clearly a good eater", and well hydrated, so it's great reassurance when you're not sure what to be looking for. She even got a tiny little shot of vitamins to boost her. It was the cutest thing to see them administer a shot on a 9g chameleon arm lol, with her little clampy hand flailing around in protest. Poor little girl, but so cute

This all being said, my cat hasn't been to the vet since she was a kitten. She's only gone once in her life and she has to be like 8 or 9 at this point, but cats are far more understood than reptiles

 

[NBGwen]

hahaha I can so picture her little clampy feet waving LOL So cute! Yes, having a competent vet is so important. We have no rep specialized vets here BUT my vet consults with the specialist when she feels she has to - she constantly did it for Evee. She's really wonderful.

I have two cats...they used to go more regularly when they were younger, but they are strictly indoor cats so unless something pops up, I don't usually take them. My dog goes every year...but it's also law to get their rabbies shots done. He's a huge goof that loves car rides and loves everyone, so it's not a big deal. The cats on the other hand - one drools from the stress and the other one tries everything to get out of the carrier. It's NOT worth the stress on them.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

My cat does not handle it well at all. She's strictly indoor as well, although with the tent she may get more outdoor time so not so strict anymore. During all my moves, she screams nonstop, and years ago pee'd her carrier when going to get fixed. I don't want to put that stress on her, and she's a super active and healthy little kitty, so I don't see any real concerns that would warrant the stress.

I miss that little chameleon. I always miss the dragons, but the movement of the chameleons is so cute and charming and I just want to watch her right now. She has new little buggies coming today, I'm excited for her lol. I want to go home! (I'm at work.)

The exotic vet that saw Simon when she was ill and passing was very nice and helpful... but also very inexperienced compared to who I go to now. She knew enough about them medically to help in a sense, but wasn't experienced enough regarding husbandry and everything. She basically was able to inform me Simon was retaining fluid and may have kidney issues but never even asked about her husbandry. Going to the specialist and immediately being asked everything about their housing was amazing.

It's also suuuppperrrr awesome to be told by the vet and vet assistant that I know what I'm doing and that it's a breath of fresh air for them. I had a different vet assistant this time and she made the comment on how I am really good with reptiles, and the vet goes "yeah, this guy did his homework, there's no worries there" 8) got me right in the ego

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Alucard is in the backyard in the tent while I clean her enclosure. Found some loose crickets, tossed them in the tent, HAPPIEST BEARDIE EVER

 

[SHBailey]

Nice to get a pat on the back from the vet.

Sounds like your having lots of fun with that tent, and finding lots of uses for it.

I used to put my beardie in his little carrier (a cooler with little holes drilled in the lid for air -- add a hot water bottle and it becomes a "warmer") when I need to clean up a poop in his tank and if "daddy" isn't here to entertain him, but I've discovered that I can just put him on his basking platform and he usually stays there while I'm cleaning up. That's where he spends most of his time anyway.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

I let Richter loose in the house while I clean his enclosure, unless he ran through poop and became poopy.
Then it's bath first, towel snuggle, kisses, and perched in a window where it's warm.

The tent is a great tool in the dragon wrangling arsenal, and I think feeding in the tent would be a fun experience for Alucard and I don't have to worry about them hiding behind enclosure decor. I can even set it up inside and let her run around and eat, then plop her back in her basking spot to digest.

I had to dismantle and remove almost everything from Alucard's enclosure to clean. She pooped on her hammock in several locations and had her last shed explosion everywhere along with kicked around dried BSFL. Much much cleaner now and disinfected. I really hope she doesn't poop on the hammock again...

She's already in a tail shed and her face is starting to discolor. Here we go again

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Someone was loose in the house again on lunch.
Not naming any names

 

[SHBailey]

About the only place in our house that's really dragon-proof is the inside of the tank, so Puff doesn't get to run around loose in the house when we're cleaning up after him unless both of us are available. Then one can supervise/entertain him while the other cleans up.

We do the towel snuggle after his bath too. Tried kisses, but His Nibs did not appear to be particularly impressed. :| We put him back in his favorite spot on his basking platform when we're done -- much warmer than the typical Alaskan windowsill for most of the year, although he does show an interest in windows like most beardies do.

Sounds like Alucard made one heck of a mess for you to clean up. I'm not sure I want to imagine dragon poo mixed with dead BSFL mixed with shed... Unfortunately, beadies poop when and where they want to, and usually not where their human slaves prefer, unless you get really really lucky. :roll:

But they get away with it because they're so cute.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Friday weigh day!
Holy cow, 41g in one week! And another .5"

She's getting so big, it's hard to notice when compared to Richter, but she's catching up fast!
Her beard color is coming in a gold color, very pretty

 

[KozmoRox]

Wow! She is a big girl!! Giving Kozmo a run for her money! And that golden beard looks fierce!

Kozmo found her new favorite spot by the window. She sits for a while then wanders, and then back to the window again!