Chronicles of Pekoe

[Spunky]

His basking spot got moved this morning so he did not get warmed up as fast. In turn it took a while to want to eat. Then he only 1 roach. He got his bath at noon and ate 2 more roaches. I put a different blanket around part of his viv to keep the temps up this time and noticed it got hot today! He went back and forth between his 105 spot and his 99 spot. (there was even a 107 spot, but he avoided it) The cool side is at 85.5 so I moved the blanket back a bit from the vents for more air flow and less insulation. It dropped the cool side to 83 but the 105 spot stayed the same.

In other awesome news.... The viv has been started! I'll be updating it here.

 

[Zanna]

Lol yeah I tho k he's got some of both to be honest

I'm now convinced Lizzy is a girl again, no bumps on the tail haha. I'm told she's a regular ole beards but when she has her happy pants on she shows orange and gold colors. Maybe they all do lol ... Ok... Here goes some pics. Keep in mind I struggle with unsteady hands

Let me out there human!

You're adding more roaches here right? Like really soon!?!?

Oh happy day! Roaches crunchy yay!

 

[Spunky]

How adorable! Lizzy is a good name I will start calling her a her. Actually, I think I might need to call my guy a her too. I've checked twice and still just 1 middle bump. I thought it might be to early to sex but I have seen several post of sexing ones his age or younger.... so her, her, her. she, she, she. I must practice. lol

About how big is Lizzy? How big are those roaches? Is that bowl she is eating in a typical size? My dubia were the "small" ones but I was surprised at how big they were. They look bigger than yours, but it's hard to judge from a pic.

 

[Zanna]

Lol I have the same gender problem! Lizzy started as Lizzy... If you saw all my posts we've gone Lizzy..Izzy and back (thought I saw some bumps lol! I, like you, have watched many many vids now and can only guess that since I see no bumps other than the one... Lizzy it is!!! It's like in the ultra sound for babies right ... They are only really definitive it seems when they tell u it's a boy lol!!!

Ok so, Lizzy has "Weigh Day" every Sunday and I log it in a little book. As of last Sunday she is ten inches long and 4 inches from nose to tail base, weighing in at 47 grams.

The bowl is a Corningware 475ml about 1.25 inch high so roaches can't climb out. It's oblong but I think a bigger bowl she could get in comfortably would be better. As you see she's lazy and climbs only half way in and waits til they walk the circle to her. If she's really lazy she looks at me to be hand fed. Worse yet, I do it lol. I think the bowl I really up to you and your darlin, yours is still little so not too high sides yet so SHE can climb in. I've seen some with really high sides but no clue how the little ones get in or out ?

Roaches: I always buy and/or order small. Sometimes they come in on the bigger side of small and especially at my reptile shop they grow. The biggest ones I let Lizzy eat are about 1/2 inch, if I get bigger ones or don't feel good about the size I throw them in with the Adult roach colony I'm trying to breed for feeders to save money. I read in another forum that a guy cuts his big ones in half and his baby eats them that way .... I'm not ready to experience "Hostel-Roach Torture" just yet though haha.

Your babes still pretty young right? I'd stick with the smallest ones, u can save the bigger ones as she will likely be eating them long before they grow to adult size

I just had Lizzy outside and a big bird flew over, black black unhappy beardy on my hands. Lol
When's your due date by the way hon?

 

[Spunky]

The Lizzy/Izzy thing is familiar now that you say it but I think I had spaced it. And you are 100% right about the ultrasound thing! We are thinking about waiting to find out gender at birth if we have baby #5 because now after 4 boys, I would not believe them if they say girl! lol

I’m not pregnant but have a (not so little) little baby. He is 7m! Times flies. Seriously. He was a newborn yesterday. Both my sisters are pregnant. One due next week and one in June. The one due in June was the one who beardie-sat, so I think that is where the confusion is coming from.

I need to go thrift store shopping to see if I can find a better bowl. She can climb in because i set it next to some rocks, otherwise she just stares are refuses to climb. She climbs out just fine. I have been giving her the smallest of the roaches we have. She is 7” and 14g on Sunday and so far has been eating 1/2”-5/8" dubia. I think we will get through the week without getting to the ones that are bigger. I’m getting a shipment of a pound of orange head roaches this week. (she better like them too!) They are of all sizes so I should have some that are perfect for her. I will have no issues starting a colony either! I’m also getting some BSFL!

I was slightly worried she would only eat when I fed her too, but it seems she will only eat from my hand/tonges or when I am not looking.

Big bad birdie scaring the little beardie. :lol:

 

[Zanna]

Rofl!!!! She won't climb out and stares.... Gold! Pure and classic spoiled dragon haha! Sorry for confusion... i would like to say it was a rare occurrence but hey, I'm often confused lol haha.

And yes thrift shops are a great place to grab a cheap shallow bowl, stick with the known non toxic stuff and not home made ceramics tho, I'm never sure about the leads and stuff in the paint especially since I sometimes leave her bowl in her cage during a shed when eating in my presence seems to be a crime. Pshhhhh.

I don't know a thing about orange roaches! You will have to educate me hon Lizzy has taken to leaving behind the smaller roaches in lieu of the meatier bigger ended ones. If I put a tiny one on my finger she turns her head until a find one that resembles a Big Mac instead of a McNugget lol, further adding to her fat Buddha belly!

Ok so 7 inches, about 2 months old?

 

[Spunky]

when eating in my presence seems to be a crime.

:lol: :lol: :lol: speaking of eating in human presence, I walked into the room as she was walking down to presumably eat. She saw me and turned around and walked right back up. Our girls would be great friends :wink:

I'll keep an eye out for the right kind of ceramic.
I am with you on the confused thing. I try to do too many things at once and somethings skip important sentences or even whole paragraphs.

I don't know a whole lot about the other roaches, but read about them on here. From what Rankins tells me, their care is just like dubia but they breed more quickly and are suppose to be prettier.

She is currently exploring her tank and trying to claw through the glass. I have left her alone today for the most part (well, compared to yesterday!) I wonder if she is looking for me and wants to be held? One can hope! I'm going to see now. I probably missed something, so I'll probably reply more later

 

[Zanna]

Glass dancing? Oh yes I'm sure it's that she wants to be held, I know they tell me it's not that sometimes but I'm unconvinced hahaha. She MUST need me!

I'll catch u up tomorrow hon... I'm trying to get Luzzy to eat some greens, she's worse than my teenager, except he definitely doesn't eat his when I'm not looking ?

 

[Spunky]

Sure enough, she gladly let me hold her!

My boys are liking the name Pekoe. DH is not convinced. He is still coming up with odd names. He likes boy names. He said she is a lizard, she won't care if it is a boy name. I told him that I have 4 boys, and now I finally get to name a girl. A lizard, but a girl non the less. It would be a girl name.

Today we were gone so I missed her antics. She pooed in her "water" bowl (just wet enough to keep greens moist... not the same one as pictured below). She ate a total of 9 roaches! Guess how many she ate on her own? Two. I had to feed her the rest. :roll:

I put some new roaches in at supper time and she came down to see, but would not eat. she just circled the bowl watch ing them.

When the tongs went in to pick one up to give her, she ran to the branch. I put a roach in front of her. She watched it but did not move. I had to pick it up for her before she would eat it.

yum

yum, yum

Haha. I have you wrapped around my finger.

 

[Spunky]

It's official. Her name is Pekoe! DH decided he will just call her "The Dragon" though. lol.

 

[Zanna]

I love it! Of course that was my vote hahaha.

Had a chuckle that the glass dancing was a "hold me" request .

I came home from my class last night late to find Lizzy asleep on my sons chest, also asleep. No blankly no bribe apparently. I think I'll make him feed her all weekend and clean her cage. They can both be in the dog house together!!! Lol

 

[Spunky]

I love that they are both in the dog house because Lizzy won't cuddle with you. lol. If she would just get her act together there would be no issues!

I found a 100w bulb. I put it in last night and with the tank covered for a few hours still this morning, she warmed up fast and ate 4 roaches before I even uncovered her. (the roaches are in a bowl they can not escape from and I gave them greens to eat over night. She did not eat them for supper so I left them.)

Our orange head roaches arrived, but no BSFL. Not sure what was up with that. The roaches are in their home. Adults are so gross. Who am I kidding. They are all so gross. I am not sure I can raise them any more. DH said it would be worth driving 150 miles to get $15 worth of small ones a week just to not need to deal with a colony. He would be complaining about the needed trips in no time though. lol I'm back to everything looking like a roach again.

Pekoe was weighed and measured today. 19cm and 19g! She gained 5g this week, but only 1cm. Hopefully it is still just her building up an appetite and she will have a growth spurt next week. I think I have some more pictures, but my laptop charger might be dead, so I am conserving battery life until I can see if it is fixed. I'll work on pics later. For now it is back to grouting fake rocks. My non-artistic side is showing :roll: I hope it comes all together. I'm sure it will look fine, but I keep looking at the Moors post and oooing and ahhhing over his creations and know I am not at that level.

 

[Spunky]

You can really tell she is thickening up!

She is really enjoying exploring the tank today. She has a little here or there, but this has been all day. Back and forth. Pose here, pose there. "Are you watching me, human?"

 

[Spunky]

She decided to hang out on the edge of the "pool" today and trick me into thinking she might eat her greens.

 

[Spunky]

She has been doing the sexy leg pose all morning. She also tried some butternut squash. She licked it a few times but nothing substantial.

ETA: She had a bath today too. She likes her baths and we usually finish with her pooping or time being up (it being 20min or I need to go do something) instead of her doing the frantic swimming at the sides trying to get out. It ended in poo time today and I noticed she stops what she is doing and looks at me too poo every time. She did that the first time too but seemed more like she was sticking it to me. This time it was more of a "look at what a good girl I am." I swear she had a smile on her face. I need to be better about keeping my camera ready for moments like this.