Fluffy & Figment

I have posted random tidbits about Fluffy all over this forum. And I tried a blog, but somehow just not my thing. I don't know why I think giving them their own thread here will work any better, but let's give it a shot. Ok? I'm going to try for lots of pictures.

Let's start with the Fluffy-Monster...

No matter how fabulously I plan her viv, she finds the oddest place possible to sit. She seems to think the corner of her sandbox is a good perch.

And I went in this weekend and put a stuffed animal under the lowest platform of her viv so she could have a friend. She decided to snuggle with it tonight.

This was her day sitting in the sun at work with me. Wow! She was one seriously energetic little thing for about a week after that!

I'm sure most people saw this when I posted Fluffy's time around town, but I still love, love, love it and wanted to post it again anyway. Fluffy bowling!

And Mr. Figment! He is my little pudge-opotomus. Not quite there yet, but he is gaining weight nicely since we added hornworms to the diet two weeks ago.

I adore this picture. Walked in and found him sitting in his hammock like this. I have never seen a beardie sit up like a dog before, but that's just what it looks like to me.

This one was taken tonight. I finally spruced up his viv a bit this weekend and he is still adjusting. But he figured out that the vent next to his basking spot gives him a perfect view of anyone sitting on the sofa. That seems to make him feel better.

From a couple months ago. His first black beard. He thought we was so macho and we just kept taking pictures and giggling. Poor little fellow.

This is Fluffy and Figment's viv. He lives on top and she lives on bottom.

The entire living room. It's a nice large viv, but not overly intrusive.

My bug room. Under the cover is my superworms. They like the dark. And Fluffy's original viv is in the corner.

Neo is 12 years old now and for his birthday he got a beardie. We will be picking her up at Repticon in Ft. Lauderdale on May 13. I will see if I can get the photo into photobucket and I will add that onto this thread.

 

[sweetiepie9]

They'll learn, especially Neo if he wants to take care of Crystal. Once she gets used to her new home & her temps are a bit higher, she'll be eating like there's no tomorrow. I've seen babies eat 50-100 bugs a day, so good that you got all those crickets & other bugs & good that you're there at night to keep an eye on things. It'll all get better, but wasn't that great that she slept on that comfy couch? Awwww

 

[NeosMom]

Super long day and I'm exhausted. But Crystals temp is now 105! Yay! Just a matter of settling in now and I know that is only time. Tomorrow I will get my shipment of hornworm eggs. 250! Sounded great when I placed the order, but right this minute it's sounding a bit intimidating. I see another long day in my future. :wink:

Neo posted new pictures tonight so I wanted to add a link to his thread here. I will be in a better place to post on Thursday. I hope all is going well with you, Deb.

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=169669

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'm doing ok, but not loving going back to work, even though I was sick & recovering I was home & I sure miss my boys. I leave Didi out for the day, Jake puts him to bed when I get home. This way Leo & Lonzo have someone to bob at & don't get bored being in their tanks. Didi's the only beardie that will actually stay at the top of the ramp & not hide after an hour of being out. And I have a power sun at the top of the ramp, so he gets lots of UVB. He's actually gained weight since I've been leaving him out & as he tends to get skinny, that's great. Check out my thread, I just put an update on there.

I'm glad you got all the temps good for Crystal, she is such a cute baby. I checked out Neo's thread, so got to see some pics of her.
Talk to you soon,
Deb

 

[NeosMom]

Such a week here! Oh my! If I post everything I will take up pages and pages here.

First, everybody got their weigh and measure today. Crystal only gained 1 gram, but she grew half an inch!!! My goodness. I can't complain. She has been here for exactly a week and I know they tend to eat less when they are settling in and all. Today she ate 10 phoenix, a micro super, and about 15 crickets. Not too shabby. Fluffy is still same length, but gaining weight like a good girl. All the way up to 276 grams! Yay Fluffy! I tell you... hornworms are God sent! Figment has me a little confused. He grew about a half inch, but lost about 15-20 grams. Hmmmmm... Had an enormous poop this afternoon. Plus, maybe growth spurt stole his weight. :wink: I'm not worried just now. I am, however, keeping an eye on his poop and stuff - just in case. If anything gets concerning, it's off to the vet.

And Figment gave me a nice little scare late this afternoon. He was sitting out on the floor watching me sift superworms and the phone rang. Ok. Fine. It was my father. He called to tell me that his chemo is not going well at all and the cancer is spreading. We've been dealing with this off and on for about a year now, so I'm getting used to these calls. Well, sort of. Anyway, as I am distracted with my father, Figment takes the opportunity to run away and hide. Rotten little bugger. It's like he has radar to tell him when everyone is distracted and he can get away with this stuff. He wasn't gone 10 minutes and we found him under the living room end table. But I'm sure everyone knows those few moments of heart stopping fear when you don't know where they are.

Fluffy is her usual little Diva self. She got her walk down Fifth Avenue again last night. This time she was wearing her pretty new necklace. I swear, she can preen... So, needless to say she was in an outstanding mood this morning and has utterly worn herself out. Now she's asleep in the cool spot under her sandbox.

I honestly haven't figured Crystal out yet. She seems to be adapting to her new home very well. It's obvious that she has chosen some favorite spots. Her eating is sporadic. Once day she's gluttonous and the next she won't eat. Pretty good on salads for a baby, though. There's not a stress mark on her. And she loves to be held. She sits on Neo's chest for hours just a sweet as you please. She is just so docile. It's just sort of like I don't see a personality there. And the longer she is with us, the more I'm looking for it. Fluffy is my diva. Figment is just the sweetest angel - the big ole teddy bear of the bunch basically. And he never met a meal he didn't like. Crystal is just sort of here. I will be interested to see "who" she is.

Neo is doing wonderful. He got his new hair cut this weekend. Ooh-la-la... Spikey! And he was accepted to National Junior Honor Society this week - the induction is Tuesday. His computer teacher had him come in early to school to help out with a video project and she told him that he should really join the yearbook club next year, so I am making him. :twisted: Evil Mommy. I know. (When a sponsor teacher for a club specifically asks you to join, you join. Period.) He also talked to the school news crew sponsor about staying on the crew next year and getting more days (since he won't be a lowly sixth grader anymore) and so she has him coming in early all this week to learn more of the technical stuff on that. And he plans to join the newspaper next year, too. Mind you, writing is the kid's LEAST FAVORITE part of school, but he insists that he just wants to join because he just wants to join. Uh-huh. Can you say pretty girl is on the newspaper team? Add to that his bowling league and having joined the travel team for his bowling group next season... this kid is going to have one seriously intense school year for 2012/2013.

As for me... I am in buggie hell. Had to sort my baby supers out of the old substrate and get them into fresh stuff today. First time I have ever done that. There HAS to be an easier way to do that chore. Maybe leave them alone until they are bigger. The mail totally messed up my hornworm egg order and when I received them on Friday I had a completely hatched mess on my hands. I have managed to salvage about 40 worms from the 300+ eggs that were shipped to me. But I have to say that Rob has been a saint through all of this. Not only did he talk to me like crazy about ordering eggs, put up with my incessant questions, AND promise to take care of making my egg order right (without my having to ask)... But during our initial conversation about why I wanted the eggs and trying to fatten Fluffy up, etc, he actually took the time to play 20 questions with my about my dragon husbandry to make sure that there wasn't another problem with Fluffy besides being a picky eater. He did not have to do that. Would have been so easy for him to take my money and run - or at least limit his help to the worms and not my dragons, too. He has earned himself one seriously loyal customer.

And I can't really be too public with this one, but I talked to my future new boss on Friday and it still looks like I'm going to have a new job by the end of the summer. My kingdom for a nice 9 to 5 job in an office! More time with my kid. Better pay. More time with my kid. After I work and do all of my bug and dragon chores I'm not falling into bed exhausted. More time with my kid. I so can't wait to get my official start date so I can start counting down. :mrgreen: Shhhhhhh! Can't exactly scream that one where locals will see it though. It stays confined to my family and here.

Well, life should be quieting down here, so more pictures next week I hope. Yay!

 

[KatieKat]

Your dragons are beautiful I love the picture of Fluffy on the dash, just cruisin 8)

I'm in the same boat with you, having a very small new baby. He won't eat a ton, and basicly only eats many pheonix worms when I hand feed them to hi, I'm desperatly hoping he will grow out of this :roll: Babies. And I feel you on the terror of not knowing where they are, I had one of my girls outside and I had her on the asphalt, closley monitored by me, I picked her up, a helicopte flew over, she FREAKED, clawed her way out of my hands and darted into the bushed. I was about to cry, no joke. I scooped her up and she hid in my neck. I wonder if they know how easliy we worry about them?

 

[sweetiepie9]

I know that heart-stopping feeling, too. When my first beardie Sweetie went missing I was frantic, I looked everywhere for 2 hours. Had no idea she'd gotten out of the living room when my hubby went out there for a smoke, he didn't realize she'd gotten out, but I did check there & she'd crawled up the stucco wall & was on her way around the corner. So who knew that beardies could climb stucco? Leo is also one who's gotten away, one day the barrier wasn't put up properly in the living room, he got out & hid under my dresser at the farthest corner, took ages to find him & then get him out. Needless to say the barrier doesn't come down anymore, I have to step over it daily (which is good exercise anyway) so none of my beardies can hide anymore. Yeah, no more heart attacks!

So I know what you mean, glad he was found quickly. As for Crystal, it's been so long since I've had a baby, but I do remember pounding my head against the wall a few times trying to figure out why they wouldn't eat (I had two babies at the same time), but it's all lost to memory. I'm sure that even though she's laid back, she is probably still going through some relocation stress. Is she under her UVB light at least 8 hours a day? If not, that's really important. I know the temps are right. So give her some more time, her appetite will pick up. At least she's growing, it's amazing how fast they will grow!

Good luck with the new job, I am so happy for you, more time with Neo makes it all worth while. You work such long hours now, it'll be such an improvement. Let us know when you've got the go ahead & when you start. That is such exciting news.

Glad you got a good bug guy, that he would actually ask about Fluffy & find out why you want eggs & I'm so glad she's liking her hornworms, they really put on weight, I've heard. I haven't gotten any for my picky eaters, they still love their supers, but there is a store I need to visit one day as they do sell adult hornworms, but for $1.79 each. I only want to get a few, just to see if they'll even touch them. They'll be treats only, though, as they're just as expensive as silkworms, hopefully they don't die like the silkies tend to do.
Deb

 

[NeosMom]

Not up to posting tonight. I promise to respond to the comments on here soon. All three humans in the house have a pretty severe stomach virus and now Figment is sick, too. Here is the link to what's going on with him under health: [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=170287 f=6 ]

I was supposed to be sleeping and resting all day and got sidetracked with Figment instead. I'm off to bed. I promise to post this weekend when I am off work.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hope you guys feel better soon, that stomach virus is really nasty, I had it for 4 days, yuck. I checked in on Figment's thread in Health, glad your instincts were good and that you got to a vet. Those meds are harsh, but I added some info for you that I learned from Gabriel, he's on panacur, too, but only has one dose left, I hope!

 

[NeosMom]

Thank you very much, Katie. I know what you mean about them flipping out over loud noises. Figment jumps at every noise. If you find a cure for that one, be sure to let me know. :wink: Do you have a thread for your babies? I would love a link to it if you do.

I am so sorry you had that virus for four days, Deb. Wow! I think I got lucky because I had a flu shot this year and I was able to shake it in only one day, whereas my son had it for three days and hubby is starting on his third day now. Neither of them had a shot. But during that 30 hours I suffered through, it was the worst. I lost 7 pounds in 30 hours. :shock: I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Just grateful I was able to shake it off so quickly otherwise I'm not sure I would have had it in me to deal with Figment's needs yesterday. I guess sometimes things happen for a reason. Maybe I was meant to be home sick just to be there for Figment.

For Figment updates, check his thread under health. I gave a good update there.

So... back to beardie tales... Waiting in my mailbox when I got home from work was my Mommy's Day present! Yay! A drag-a-long for Fluffy. I love it and she hates it, so it must be working. :wink: See Fluffy's angry face?

And here is a side view of what it looks like...

Also thought I would throw a couple other pictures since I am on here. Fluffy came to visit me at work for an hour on Tuesday so I got some super cute shots of her exploring the shop.

But a customer came in so I grabbed her and put her into a laundry cart. I think I offended her:
"Hey Mom! What's the deal?"

And then the full escape attempt!

Finally, I know I am totally naughty doing this because Fluffy is my dragon and I need to accept that and stop mothering every one else's, but I just can't resist... Crystal. :wink:

 

[KatieKat]

The escape attempt! XD Aw, little Crystal. Its so crazy taking car of the big guys, then going to take care of the wee ones, such a difference! And, I'll be sure to If I can find a cure 8)

Here is a link to my babies thread, viewtopic.php?f=30&t=162839

 

[sweetiepie9]

So you finally got a harness, she'll get used to it or maybe not. My gang don't like to be anywhere but on the balcony, which is beardie proofed, so I don't deal with a harness anymore, but for you, having her outside, that would be important. So she didn't like being in the laundry basket, can't say I blame her, after all she had the run of the place before the customer came in. That would have been funny, if they'd seen her in the laundry basket :shock: can you imagine the look on the customers face :mrgreen:

I'm glad you were home, too, and got Figment to the vet, I'll get over to his thread & get updated. Yes I had that awful flu for 4 days and I had the flu shot, too. We had an awful winter for flus this year, I think I just fought off too many. It doesn't help that I live in a closed in office, you can't open any windows & people aren't allowed to be off sick, especially if they're new. So they come into work sick & give it to everyone else. I really was fine until that first weekend in April, but when I thought I was better I got such an awful fatigue, I was off for a month in total. Just messed up my sleep patterns, luckily I've been at work for 20 years & we have great insurance, so it was ok. This is only my 3rd week back, but feeling so much better.

Thanks for that pic of Crystal, she is such a cute little thing, but not really all that little anymore!
Deb

 

[NeosMom]

It has been so long since I posted on this thread. Between everyone being sick (especially Figment), I have been distracted. I'm sorry. Big news in the feeder world, though... We have our first moth in our efforts to breed hornworms!!! Yay!!!

I have totally overhauled my feeding setup. Although Figment getting sick and Fluffy getting in "a mood", it's tough to tell how they feel about all of it. But I ditched the crickets! Woo-Hoo!

I now have hornworms ranging from tiny to pupating, so at this moment I could feed any size critter their choice of hornworm. And my first moth emerged tonight. So, I should be moving forward quickly from here on the hornworm supply. I already have quite a supply going for my supers. And I purchased 2,000 minimealworms so I have a supply for Crystal that allows for leaving in her viv at all times. It makes life so much easier because I know she always has bugs when she wants them.

Anyway... I'm feeling good about my bug situation and am very excited about the moth. I just need Figment to decide he wants to eat some of these worms. :mrgreen:

I'll try very hard to post a better update tomorrow.

 

[sweetiepie9]

So for Crystal are you talking minisupers? Or minimealworms. There's a difference & mealworms hardly have any nutrition, so make sure you feed them up well. Hopefully they'll stay small. Baby hornworms would be much better for her, as long as they are babies, then mealworms, though & phoenix worms would be even better for them, as they're high in calcium & much more nutritious than any of the others, even hornworms. So be careful, the mealworms get a really hard shell, faster than the supers & can cause impaction in babies. Sorry I didn't realize what you were going to order or I would have warmed you sooner. If your supers are making babies already, then those are better than mealworms.

Hope your hubby is feeling better & how's Figment doing. Did you get the set up to monitor his poops? And is the help from Tracie helping him with his eating?

Take care,
please update,
Deb

 

[adkpugmom]

I really love the pictures <33 I am a new beardie mom to Clayton..any info would be great !

 

[NeosMom]

These aren't mealworms. They are minimealworms. I'm no scientist, but the minimealworms come from a different beatle than the mealworms. The bodies are much softer so the impactation risk isn't there like in a mealworm. And no, these are not just baby mealworms. Like I said, different species. I looked around this forum at older info and Brandon (Claudiusx) used to feed them to his beardies. He only stopped because of them being such a pain in the rump to get out of the substrate. And I understand that now that I have some. Everyone gets horns. And once in a blue moon Crystal will get a micro super or two for a treat. She's at 10" now so it will be a while before she can have supers.