hi im a new poster but not to site

[kbro]

I replied to another poster whose beardie passed and thought It would make a good intro for me..... Hi everyone this site answered hundreds (if not thousand) of questions for the last 5 years for me THANK YOU for such a wonderful site with so much info. I wish I would have got more involved sooner so everybody here could have seen my Loki grow up with me. Well late's better than never right?


I felt the same way about being in my room with no lights on and my poor LOKI gone its hard to hide a 6 foot terrarium. He passed away New year's eve so suddenly it was heartbreaking. He seemed perfectly fine the weeks before he passed, woke up new years morning and he was gone already no chance for a vet. He was my first and I got him as a 6 inch baby in '09 and he grew to 23.5 inches, my big boy (i was so proud, everyone I talked to that knew beardies said he was big). He was the best, I miss him laying his head on my neck and trying to sleep. Jumping on my cats (have some pics I'll post eventually) and chasing them (the best). My cats were actually really depressed, precious (was 5 when I got him, my first baby) would just sit there looking for him and looked at me like where's my friend (they would glass dance together when younger and it was just the 2 of them). My other cat Freya was really sad you could tell, she sat in front of his tank and cried and cried (even worked her way past me, ran into the tank looking around for him). Your post has me crying all over again I had to reply. This is my first post even though I've been creeping around this site for 5 years. I'm still sad I raised that little guy and he gave me very little trouble (didn't want greens so I'd have to trick him lol and occasional constipation from not eating greens I'm sure) but otherwise no big scare, besides the newbie freakouts (omg why is he popping out his eyes lol).

So 2 weeks ago I went into a pet store that breeds hundreds of dragons each year saying I just want to look. There are 3 good stores here in the twin cities for beardies snd that was the only one I hadn't been in yet. Well me and my boyfriend had a problem we couldn't decide this male that stick out to me and him or this female that really stuck out for me (I fell in love with the female right when I walked in and him the male). Well after short consideration and an arm twist from the owner of the store (gave us a good deal, a lot of babies are being hatched) we ended up with Pebbles and Bam Bam both about 2. Pebbles is a hypo translucent I believe and Bam Bam is a het hypo leatherback, will have to double check those. Both are settling in pretty good and I believe pebbles is gravid, she's got a bigger belly already. Don't worry everybody although he was not too rough and only mated once a day (only 2 days), they are good buddies and very mellow around each other (havnt seen any aggression at all but am aware it only takes seconds) and were in a 6wx 2'6"dx 4t they are separated now. I couldn't take any chances she is a little smaller than him and if you've never seen breeding yet it'll kind of freak you out. I can't have her getting hurt.

You will find that special dragon when your "just looking" like me and fall all over again.

.......
Will try getting pics of my Pebbles and Bam Bam soon, havnt even tried to figure out how to post them yet. Havnt had to deal with a female yet so I will be on here ALL the time looking for answers (and already have been). And will definitely try and be more involved here.

Thank you again (Brandon, deb and all the other main people, sorry there are so many knowledgeable people I can't remember all your names but if you have posted a good amount of great info I mean you too)

 

[Claudiusx]

Well here's to your official welcome. :mrgreen:
I'm really sorry for your loss too. I'm glad you are sticking around.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of pebbles and bambam. You can post pictures by uploading them to a photosharing site such as Imgur or photobucket, and then pasting the code in your post.

-Brandon

 

[kbro]

Thank you Brandon I'm new to all the uploading pics although I'm the age that should know how to do it lol

 

[diamc]

Welcome to the forum, glad that you will be joining in and sharing some beardie stories and pictures. Pebbles & Bam-Bam are adorable names & they sound beautiful.

Don't ever hesitate to ask any questions, we are always happy to help. :wink:

 

[kbro]

What do you feel about reptaid? Bam Bam isn't eating anymore and has stress marks since the begining, not running around much anymore. I'm very thorough with cleaning and I've got the good lights and temps. Will get fecal but since it's only been two weeks I was trying to let him settle in.

 

[diamc]

Hi again. So, Bam Bam isn't eating? How long has that been going on? Has he been pooping ok?

Just to make sure everything is perfect for him, could you give us detailed info about his setup? The more info you can share, the better so it will help us rule things out.

I have never used Reptaid and I don't think I ever will because it hasn't gone through thorough testing and I worry about some of the ingredients that it contains, especially the Pau D’arco and alcohol in it.

 

[kbro]

I have him eating somewhat, I don't want him to over do it with crickets because he doesn't seem to be digesting them that well. I got him some repta boost and wet down his rep cal pellets mix it all together and he likes that but won't really go for his collard greens or the pellets in the greens (which he did at first). He was raised on the pellets and did eat them. He is a little skinny with dimples at the base of tail but not too bad. The breeder I got him from said he kept them at about 120 which I know is too hot so I'm betting he was dehydrated. He was breeding there so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. I only had one male before so I'm not used to the behaviours of having two. I have been giving baths everyday since my last post (a couple days 2x) and he seems hydrated now. But his stress marks won't go away. They lighten when he's out with me and he turns a beautiful golden color with some orange but other wise he is darker most of the time.

He is 2yo 19inches and 300g (pebbles is 17in and 350g lol)
In 55gal (she is in the huge tank as she may be gravid spoiled huh?)
Non adhesive shelf line as substrate
Reptisun 10.0 can get w/in 8in (in tank no screen or plastic)
Basking is 105-110 (didn't want to go too low since he was kept at 120)
but will gradually lower it what do you think?
Feeding collards, crickets and rep cal pellets. (He is getting the mix I mentioned earlier but offered everything, some crickets but he didn't eat anything the day I posted before and I went into action.

He seems a little better, and was pooping regularly (although a little runny and some undigested crickets) although none today. I am going out tomorrow for bene bac (hopefully they have it in stock). Heard that will help with digestion? Or yoghurt which is better?

Pebbles on the other hand is already settled in great and eating like a pig. And poops are formed better than at first. She even poops right by the door for me to clean so sweat of her since she is in a big space there are hard to reach spots.

They were together for a couple days at the beginning but separated now. As I said I only had 1 male before. I know it's still early but I'm a worry wort. He did have the marks at the store but was put into a 20gal next to some females for display so I assumed he was excited/ stressed. They have tons of huge enclosures in the back though. the owner breeds them and is knowledgeable (except the 120 basking that seemed high) and I've had the bad feelings about buying other places before but not this guy, he actually will refuse to sell to people he doesn't think are up to raising them or just shouldn't.

 

[diamc]

Hi, thanks for the added info, that will help.

Glad to hear he is eating some, the Repta boost was a good idea, sounds like he likes that as well as the moistened (soggy) pellets. I agree that 120 IS too hot, especially for a 2 yr old. My 2 yr old female and 20 month old male won't tolerate any higher temps than 103 or just slightly higher, but 105 is too hot for them and they will avoid the basking spot. Good that you gave frequent baths to make sure he is well hydrated.

Are they in view of each other? If so, that may have something to do with is stress marks.

Is he basking right under the heat light or does he tend to move a little further away from it? If he isn't laying right under it or totally avoiding it, he is probably too hot. What type of thermometer are you using and where exactly do you check the temps? What is the temp of his cool side?

You might want to try some other greens mixed in with the collards like turnip or mustard greens, escarole, endive, dandelion, squash. Here's a site that should help you out in case you haven't seen it. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html The most nutritious foods are in green print.

Good that you're using non-adhesive shelf liner and the Repti-Sun 10.0, it is the strip fluorescent tube, right?

The Benebac gel is great & helps a lot. They really like it too, make sure you get the one for birds & reptiles rather than the one for cats or dogs. Just put some on the tip of his nose & he should lick it off.

I know you mentioned that you thought Pebbles was gravid. If she is still eating quite a bit, either she may not be or it will be a while before she starts laying. Usually they won't eat any protein for about 2 wks prior to laying but some will eat a few greens. If you do think she is gravid, be sure to keep her well hydrated & increase her calcium intake.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[kbro]

It's the tube reptisun btw

 

[diamc]

Ok, good to hear that it's the tube.

 

[kbro]

Your too fast lol thank you. He is on top of her custom wood so he can't see her but I'm sure he hears her and he knows she's down there. He does move some so I will lower the temp some more and try to find the perfect degrees. Cool side ranges 75-80 but he only move toward the middle more (about 90 there) not all the way over to the cool side. I have the accurite indoor outdoor probe from walmart and double check with zoo med infared temp gun. I got collards because that's what they were eating but I will be introducing more variety (love that site btw, I've printed the list a couple of times over the last 5 years).

I wonder about pebbles since they did mate and she has gotten quite a bigger belly than she did before although I'm probably feeding her a little more than she got before (salad and pellets offered all day but crickets once a day for now, she needed some fat pads bulked up)

 

[diamc]

Even though he is on top, I'm sure he does know she is below him, can hear her & smell her I'm sure.

Yes, good idea to lower it a little and when he stays put right under the basking light for a while, you will know it's the perfect temp for him. They don't usually spend much time in the cool side but it's an option if they feel the need to thermo-regulate.

Good that you have the Acurite probe thermometer and a temp gun. Make sure that you wait 45 min to an hr with the probe right on the basking spot before deciding the final basking temp. And, that you hold the gun 2" from the area you're checking.

Yes, good to bulk up her fat pads while she is still eating before she is ready to lay her eggs.

 

[kbro]

Yes I do measure at 2 in away and let the probe sit for 45 min. I feel a little better knowing I'm doing good... just a worried New mommy. Thank you again for your help. I saw somewhere (I think it was Cheryl's site beardeddragon.co) to wait about 2 months before getting a fecal does that sound about right?

 

[diamc]

Yes, of course you're doing good. :wink: Since it can take 2 wks or slightly more for them to get over relocation stress, you can actual have a fecal done after that time. It can take 2 wks for the coccidia level to go down after being in a new home so that's why best to wait slightly over the 2 wk time frame. I have never heard anything about waiting 2 months after going to a new home actually.

 

[kbro]

Ok well that means I can get one done soon, on her website under DIY section, then the do it yourself fecal float exam kit she says that. Maybe I'll just do it and if the levels are not too alarming wait another month and do it again. Just because of the runnier stools.