Another rescue.

[kingofnobbys]

The water dragons are beautiful, must be fun to see them out in your yard. It sounds like you have as much wildlife IN the house than outside though.
<<< EWDs are magnificent !!
....only dragons in Australia who a larger are frilled necked dragons .
I was umming and ahhing about EWD hatchies or CBD hatchies when I brought Puff and Rex, was a very near thing, the beardie hatchlings were advertised by a local breeder and that settled the issue.

You'll have to wean Fluffy off of the human smooshed bug guts, she needs to hunt for herself now.

<<< don't know who it will be hardest on , Fluffy or me ?? I quiet enjoy hand feeding her and letting her crawl all over my hands arms and chest and tummy , even if she's very curious and wants to go places I am not willing to let her go to yet .... because she's so small and there are so many places she can disappear under / between , I've become quite fond of the little girl skink .

 

[kingofnobbys]

Cheakie just paid a long visit , was a VERY HUNGRY GIRL .... she really knows how to put the food away = 6 medium crickets + 8 BSF lavae (but they had to be cut open else they are YUCK !!! , cut them open and YUMMMMMM !!!).
She got a shock when she headed for the sunny window to bask, Peppa was already there doing the same , she loves looking at the world outside and taking in the warmth in the sunbeams (unfortunately UV doesn't pass through soda glass as used in windows).

I heard Cheakie make a very fast about turn and she back up on the lounge and peaking out from under the cushion and looking at me " OMG !!! there's a huge spiky monster there - help !!! " not that Peppa cared less that Cheakie was there as when my wife looked ( she was pancaking and her head was down and she having a siesta) - probably never even saw Cheakie , and too lazy to chase and catch her anyway.

Took 4 crickets from my fingers today .... big breakthrough in the trust department.

Pigging out on dead crickets and BSFL

Oops ! well it smells and tastes like cricket ???

I want it !

<<< get a load of that tummy !!! .... she's definitely pregnant ,and will give birth pretty soon >>>

I got it .... nom nom nom ....

I'm still hungry ... gimme gimme gimme

here you are , they are in that little white lid ... Cheakie making another food raid .... she's like an bottomless pit today - really hungry after being absent for a few days.

More , bit a bit more tricky .... she sussed it out in under 15 seconds , and got in and got them ....

 

[kingofnobbys]

More of Cheakie this afternoon

Chilling watching TV with me for a while.

Enough ! that flashy lightning thing is annoying !!!

size comparison Cheakie to the juvie

The juvenile EWS.

Cheakie having spell for eating for while .... "I'm feeling good , and it's nice to let it all just hang"

Back for a few more bugs - I had to cut the BSFL open to get her to eat them, she likes the taste of their meat , not so sure about their smell out of the tub though.

 

[kingofnobbys]

This is how Fluffy slept last night , so comfortable with us now she doesn't bother hiding when she goes down for the night.

She disappeared a tiny bit of banana that I left for her in her food dish with some BSFL & and couple disabled crickets. Never touched the bugs , but the banana pieces were gone when I got up.

In her big 100L tub last night at 3am when I went to bed.

I endulged Fluffy's curiosity this afternoon.

Peppa was having her mandatory mid - late afternoon siesta on her seat next to me and when I had Fluffy out for daily feed and play time she spied Peppa there and I fighting a loosing battle feed her as she was hellbent on checking out Peppa very closely, not the least bit scared of Peppa (unlike Cheakie who is bit wary of the big "scary looking spiky monster".

I'll let the pictures do their own talking :

Reminds me of how Wriggles interacted with bluetongues and the beardies (Rex & Puff) .... is a very water skink thing it seems.

She also wanted to explore the coffee table and I allowed her to do so this afternoon :

What I have to put up with when I'm trying to get her to eat when she just wants to have fun ....

Fluffy the gymnastic water skink who thinks she's a monkey ...

And after all that fun and her adventures , crashed , napping on my chest and ready to go to bed

put herself back into her 10L tub (on coffee table), had a drink and heading into her house - bed time.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Cheakie made three visits today, and polished off more crickets than Peppa did today, all up about 10 crickets , 4 taken from my fingers.

Here she is telling my wife " .... that's my chair !!! "

Huge breakthrough , closest Cheakie has allowed my wife to come to her .

 

[AHBD]

These are action packed times at your house, interesting to read this and amazing to see how far Fluffy has come. The tail has grown so quickly.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Yep , can be exciting at times watching their behaviours.

Speedie showed up today looking for some bugs , needless to say Cheakie who happened to be on the floor near the front door and window waiting for the sun , saw her getting a couple of crickets , took umbrance , and gave Speedie a fright by charging at her , a bit of a tussle behind the tv stand and Speedie was heading up the hall (still all in one piece far as I can tell), and was back again 30 mins later for more food and got another couple crickets.

I guess Cheakie regards the lounge room as her territory and she was just showing Speedie who's boss.

Well - busy day with the lizards today .... so I simply left some BSFL & mealworms & a dead silkworm moth & a couple disabled medium crickets in the excape proof feeder dish with a dozen pellets of Exo Terra soft beardie pellets for Fluffy to nibble on as she chose , she took a look and looked like she was eating something a few times today but all the bugs were still there tonight , so I guess she ate a few pellets.
The plan was to let her feed herself from the dish today.

Come 7pm and our nice seafood diner sturred Fluffy up a bit , as well as another visit from Cheakie ( drawn out by the smell of baked barramundi fillets - a very yummy smell ) , a head nodding competition between Fluffy and Cheakie ensured for a few minutes before Cheakie retired , and then Fluffy became very active - surfing the sides of the 100L tub and looking at me , yes I know exactly what Fluffy wanted = "out and fun time and her 5 Star treatment and a daddy snuggle and she wasn't going to take no for an answer , so I weakened and got her out, well actually she literally leapt onto my hand when I reached in she was so keen , and was really good with the handfeeding tonight , 2 chopped supers & 6 BSFL (the meat only) nom nom nom , then she showed her appreciation by crawling up to snuggle high on my chest and promptly snuggled into me and dosed off - guess she was one happy little skinky with a full tummy and who's got what she wanted (from her pet human) .....

 

[kingofnobbys]

Cheakle and Speedie were tolerant of each other today , Cheakie allowed Speedie to feed while she was watching her from the top of the lounge and i think the pair are hanging out / sleeping in the same place behind the lounge.

The little juvenile was seen foraging for crumbs off the kitchen floor and checking out Peppa in her tank.


And living in our front garden and on our front patio , and often greeting visitors and my wife when she comes home from shops.
Through the rather dirty glass of the front window.

Male feeding , mate arriving to join him in a meal of bugs

Basking in warm afternoon sun after his big meal of bugs , this is I believe the local alpha mail, my wife thinks he's even bigger than Cheakie ,so he's a magnificent skink. I don't think he's my old friend Scrapper from a few years ago, need a better close up of his head and left and right neck sides (spots) to be sure.
Observe how much more beefy he is in the chest, neck and larger head (jaws) than the nubile shape presented by the females.

Wife took this standing the open front door and only 4 feet from the rather skittish little girl.

This little lady lives with the current alpha male EWS who is hanging out in our garden bed and on our front patio.
Note her magnificent long original issue tail , this is what Fluffy will look like where her tail has fully regenerated.

These wild water skinks inside the house are helping me use up the crickets and superworms very fast , i'm using more of these insects than I was when only feeding Rex, Peppa, Toothless, George and Mildred , I don't mind as I enjoy seeing them and interacting with them and there have been very few roaches seen lately.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Cheakie and Fluffy met this after.

Cheakie showed up within a minute of me getting Fluffy out of her 100L tub to feed her , was studying proceedings for several minutes while basking (legs spread out on the carpet , she LOVES the old 25W UVB200 hung in one my old reflector domes under the Komodo lamp stand , next thing I new Cheakie was climbing up the front of the lounge onto the seat and she ambled over to about 4 inches away from me and Fluffy noted all this and she lost interest in eating her BSL lavae and wanted to meet Cheakie, so I let her crawl down onto the lounge to meet Cheakie , and a headnodding competition ensured.

I simply sat very still and watched , their little head nods are very cute to watch . No sign of any aggression from either ( which was a relief ).

Soon Cheakie decided to go back to behind the fax machine and Fluffy went to follow so that was the end of that , I coaxed her onto my up turned hand and placed her back on my tummy to continue feeding her , and she was a very good girl .... 6 BSF lavae, 1 chopped up superworms meat , 6 mealworms (just the meat) and 2 mealworm pupae and she then put herself to bed in her 10L siesta tub.

 

[CooperDragon]

You should start taping these episodes and start a Youtube channel =)

 

[kingofnobbys]

You should start taping these episodes and start a Youtube channel =)

My wife's old Olympus FE-20 and her new Canon 730HX both do video.

But it's hard enough getting photos of Fluffy and the other skinks when doing interesting things - HYPERACTIVE !! & controlling Fluffy (so she doesn't disappear for another adventure !! , and I thought Toothless was a live wire , Fluffy is a force of nature and definitely has her own agenda - which often doesn't include doing what I want her to do - the little lady has a mind of her own and when she gets an idea in her head she is darned persistant).

 

[kingofnobbys]

Gave Fluffy a fasting day today, decided to leave her in the 100L tub and not offer any bugs to her today (she so well fed I doubt it will have much impact on her) and to just observe her activities but not get her out today.

I think she's really settled in very nicely in the George's - Rex's - Toothless' old recommissioned 100L rearing tub.
Spent a lot of time basking and watching TV , and splashing about and just luxuriating in her now luke warm water dish and showed interest in Cheakie when showed up a couple of times , and in the bluetongues and Peppa when I fed them and they had floor time, and in my wife when she was doing stuff in the kitchen. Only surfed the corner of the tub while looking at me a few times and I simply spoke to her and this seemed to satisfy her (guess she was wondering what had happened to our usual daily routine.

Of cause Peppa enjoyed the extra long daddy snuggle today ....

 

[kingofnobbys]

Fluffy enjoyed her time out today, no interest in eating the bugs , so obviously not hungry.

Showing off her tail.

Lots of play, not much eating, visit from Cheakie got her all excited again, but Cheakie was more interested in getting some bugs off me.

And very pleased , she eventually curled up for a nap under by chin

I've decided she probably wants to hunt for herself from now on, so I've placed some nice lively mealworms and some nice soft white wrigglely BSF lavae (arrived yesterday) in a plastic tub and placed her back in the 100L tub so she have lots of space , warmth, and UVA & UVB and will see if she climbs in and helps herself over the next 24hrs. (Made sure they BSFL can't climb out (they didn't).)

Back in 100L tub

PS : Cheakie was been chasing Speedie about on the lounge room floor this afternoon while i was feeding Peppa, they both waited for Peppa to be picked up off the floor before getting "frisky".

 

[kingofnobbys]

Yesterday was blowing gales ( big tropical cyclone on other side of the country and very deep Tasman Cyclonic Low off the coast here --> has been howling outside and the southerly gales are freezing cold ) so if my gang of water skinks have gone outside, they'll be hunkered down somewhere under the house ,and I didn't expect to see Cheakie or Speedie or the little juvenile today.

But Speedie made an appearance and was hanging out for a while on the other end of the lounge and had a good feed ( 4 large crickets + 8 mealworms ) : here she is

Pretty much the same today (windy and cold , never got warmer than 23 degC outside today !, positively wintery !!).
Despite this both Speedie and Cheakie showed up today and were hanging out together on the top of the lounge.

 

[RavenB4Beardies]

I have a bearded dragon that had the same eye problem. His eye was stuck shut and I had to use a wet tissue to brush off whatever was stuck. Does anyone know what this is?