Elijah's thread

Hey guys, I know I'm always on here asking questions here there and everywhere so I decided to make a thread about Elijah and his day to day! He has grown up on BD.org with me since I got him Oct 31st. Here are some pics thats I took of him from Oct. to just about a month ago. I just got my digital camera up and working again so more pics on the way.

This was Elijah a couple of days after being home, I didn't realize how snuggly they were (as I type this he is on my shoulder sound asleep with his head under my sweat shirt hoody :love5: )

I let him try Mangos one day! He has never eaten them since! :roll:

This was in his smaller tank, I never got tired of the sexy leg pose :lol:

This pic was taken in Jan I think, he was getting his Facebook on! :wink:

My boy getting large and in charge!

How he loves that hammock!

I'll post more pics and stories soon!

 

[diamc]

Shedding is a good thing but I know it can be somewhat uncomfortable for them, just increase the baths and use a soft toothbrush on the areas that look bothersome and he should shed them soon.

 

[Elijahsmom]

Thanks Diane! I've been doing that, he is much more comfy with baths and I do rub him gently with the toothbrush (esp. his tail which as you know, always has a hard time shedding)! I was just celebrating because his shedding had slowed WAY down since I moved him into his 40gal. He had shed the top of his head at the end of April and then he just stopped. I was worried that I was doing something wrong but he seemed happy and healthy. I was just celebrating since now the rest of him is shedding and I'm hoping that this is what was causing the stress marks and he will go back to his sexy dragon self when it's all over. :lol: :wink:

 

[diamc]

Great that he is shedding. You'll have to post new pics when it's all done. :wink:

 

[Elijahsmom]

Of course!!! :wink:

 

[Elijahsmom]

Elijah is in the course of a shed still and he wasn't too much for pictures but he had some CUTE poses the other morning and I had to share!

This was how I found him in his hammock the other morning after lights on

A little close up

This was him trying to crawl into his hammock the other day! I have to take that thing away from him during the day or he will spend the ENTIRE day in it being a lazy dragon and not bask! He gets it back a couple of hours before lights out time!

As much as Elijah would like to think he is the only owner of my heart (beardie wise he is) but my love is shared for my other animals too! This is Eleanor my doggie that my husband gave to me for my birthday a few years ago. She follows me everywhere and loves Elijah to death! (he could really give a rat's rear about her but at least she tolerates him well) She tries to get Elijah to play by trying to bark at him and running back and forth near him trying to get him to chase her (that's her favorite game) but he ignores her. I'm going to try and get a video of it, it's precious!

This is Abe my beta fish!

And on a side note my husband bought me "just because" flowers the other day, they are so pretty and the lilies and carnations smell so good!

I'll post more pictures soon of Elijah when he is done with his shed and feeling better.

 

[Elijahsmom]

I got a good video of Elijah eating crickets, he is the laziest hunter I have EVER seen! He waits for a cricket to walk practically under his nose and then he eats it! So much for a feared beast!! :roll:

 

[Phoenix17June2009]

he is such the cutie!! gotta love those lazy hunters!! lol! one of my friends is afraid of my beardie phoenix and they were bothering me one day i told htem if they didnt back off i would sick my lizard on them... :roll: my Phoenix isnt doing anything he doesnt have to lol!!! great pics and great stories!! keep em coming!!

 

[Elijahsmom]

LOL! Tell me about it, they are really lazy and won't do anything unless it's a must! Elijah isn't even threatened by my dog Eleanor! She runs up to him and sniffs him all the time and he just lets her get on with it. I'm still hoping to get a video of them together, it's priceless!

 

[Elijahsmom]

Just so you guys know my Elijah is a stinker! :lol: He's got me worked up about a couple of things, his shedding isn't going right again and he has been tucking himself in early this whole week. (I've got other threads about those in the Health board) Anyways why my baby is a stinker. I feed him yesterday and he got a nice full tummy and then I popped him in the bath. (He never likes to poop before he eats and so my theory was that I could get him to poop in the bath) He swam for a while but did nothing, I stick him back in his viv and BAM he poops! :roll: Well yesterday was viv cleaning day anyways so I took him out after he basked for a while and cleaned up his viv. He just sat on the floor and stared at me the whole time. Then I put him back in his viv and again! He poops first thing! :shock: (This dragon usually only poops once a day mind you) It's almost like he was saying "Hey mom I'm going to do this when and where I want and there is nothing you can do about it!" At least is wasn't on my floor!

 

[Elijahsmom]

I don't know if any one had read my other posts (except for Diane) about Elijah no acting right, he has been sleeping a lot and having problems with his left eye. So no luck with getting Elijah to feel better, I had turned off my UVB light for a couple of days (which I very nervously watched him) and he perked up, no closing that left eye and he was active from lights on to lights off. Yesterday I turned my reptisun back on and he was back to closing that left eye and being lethargic, falling asleep on his basking log and not wanting to hold his head up. I turned off my UVB again and he perked up, held up his head and went to glass dancing. So I went out to the petstore and bought him a reptiglo which is what he had spent months under until I bought the reptisun last month. (I know, I know) I think I have a freak dragon. I have positioned the reptiglo a bit farther away then the reptisun was but he went straight for his basking spot right after I fed him crickets in his other cage and he has both eyes open and he is holding up his head. He was not even wanted to bask this morning or yesterday with his other UVB light in. I dunno guys, I want to give him the best absolutely but what happens when he is not happy with the best?

 

[Elijahsmom]

Just putting it out there how much I love my beardie! :love5:

 

[Elijahsmom]

Found Elijah in the most funny pose the other day! He and I are still having issues with his UVB lighting and his energy level and now he is starting to ignore crickets! He eats his worms and roaches and his squash but my roach colony isn't established enough for me to feed him from it everyday. I'm trying to figure out what to do about his UVB situation. I think he may not be getting enough and he is now starting to show the symptoms of it with this lethargy and closing his eyes. I had switched him back to a reptiglo since that was what he was raised under and for a day of two he was back to doing his thing but not anymore. I think the problem is that I have it on a screen, I tried the reflector but that didn't work. I'm trying to get my husband to just cut a hole in the screen where the bulb is. It's all at a good distance (6" at the highest point and 8" where he likes to sit and bask). My husband is just having problems trying to find the right tools to do this as we don't want to mess up the screen and I really want a screen there because we live near the woods and have a problem with bugs and what not getting into the house. I have been taking him outside for a while each day as long as the humidity is low enough (I live in VA and it gets really humid out here in the summers). On top of that my husband and I are moving this week...
Enough of that, on to his funny pose!

Thanks guys as always for your support.
Elijah and Keleah!

 

[Sadona]

I love Elijah's thread, he is really a character.
UVB problems...hm. What kind of Reptisun are you using? Is it a 10.0? Is it brand new, or older then 5-6 months? Is the UVB light right nest to the basking light? Is it a strip fluorescent bulb?
A pair of wire cutting pliers could get the job done very quickly...do you think that would work?
I hope Elijah feels better soon. If you have any more questions about his health, don't be afraid to ask!

 

[Elijahsmom]

Thank you Sadonna. I had put in the Reptisun 10.0 about a month ago. He started to act funny, going to bed early, closing one eye etc. His appetite and poops have been normal just not his activity. I tried switching him out back to a reptiglo 10.0 when I started to notice these symptoms. He was great for a couple of days then he has started going back to what he was doing. What has been really getting me is both with the reptisun and the reptiglo he hides. He doesn't like to bask a whole lot anymore. He will for a while after he eats then he goes under his basking spot and tries it seems to get as far away from his UVB as possible. *sigh* UVB lighting is very frustrating. I'm hoping that I can get this hole in the screen soon so nothing sits between him and the UVB. Once my husband and I move (tomorrow) we can use his Dad's tools and get a hole cut. It's just hard because no one can seem to understand my concern for Elijah (except for on here). My husband and friends scoff and tell me I'm being overly dramatic that he grew up under and reptiglo with a screen and he grew like a weed. I think may be I was just lucky. Ever since I got him in the 40 gal his growing has slowed WAY down. He hasn't had a decent shed in a while. Then this thing with the lethargy starts up. I'm hoping that it's because he isn't getting enough UVB and when the hole gets cut in his screen it will make a difference. I'll keep his thread updated. Thank you for your post. I've been following yours with what happened to Cinder and just know that you are in my prayers. I couldn't imagine losing Elijah, it's never easy.
Thank you guys again.
Elijah and Keleah

 

[Sadona]

Ah, thanks for the kind words , and your welcome.
I have a feeling you already do, but I'll ask a few questions regarding vitamins/calcium.
How many times a week to you dust crickets with calcium and vitamins? What kind of calcium and vitamins are you using?
I can't think of anything else that could be bothering him...does he act the same way when he is outside?
If things don't change, then maybe a vet visit would help, but things don't seem like they have gotten to that point yet...if you feel something is seriously wrong, then that would be the time to bring him in.
Hope you had a good 4th!