I'm a Mommy Again!! Everyone Meet Ember & Introducing Kai!!

About a month ago I went to check out a clutch of babies at my local reptile store. I wasn't ready, but wanted to look. They were gorgeous! Fast forward to today, I called them and was told they only had one left. Was it a sign? Was this the one meant to be mine? I decided to go after work to see if it was still there and sure enough it was! Needless to say, I'm a new mommy!

I asked to hold it and as the owner of the shop took it out I asked if he could tell if it was male or female. He checked and is pretty sure it's a female. So for now, she's a she. A few seconds after I got her she licked my sweater and I was sold. I just adore that behavior.

On the ride home, she pooped in the container we were sent home with so I had to pull over to change the paper towel. When I got her home I put her right in her viv and she started moving around almost instantly. She started on the cool side, but quickly made her way over to the basking side. She also ate 20 phoenix worms for me.

She's very alert and seems to be very curious. She's been watching me and the dogs like a hawk every time we walk by her. One of the workers at the store said he was very surprised she was there so long and that she's a little ham. I can't wait until she's all settled in.

As for names, I really like Ember and Cinder, but I haven't decided officially yet.

Here are some pics.

 

[Esther19]

They are both so colorful and healthy looking. Very lucky to have a mommy who spoils them so.

 

[hoopyscoop]

I’m so happy that Kai found his way to you! I can already tell he is happy! I love seeing new pictures of them.

 

[dragonscales]

Good looking dragons and great photography skill. Your little Ember reminds me of my own Ember Rose.

 

[DeweysMom]

Thanks everyone! Kai is definitely settling in quite nicely here. I'm not even two weeks into my "rescue", but it's already so rewarding.

So yesterday Ember had her first hornworms. She didn’t know what to think at first, but once she tried them she really liked them. I’m not sure if Kai’s had them before or not, but he’s eating everything right now so I’m sure he liked them too.













Looking content after their breakfast.




Kai outside in the sun yesterday. He’s not as skinny as I thought he would be, but I still feel he needs to gain some weight. We’re working on it.

 

[Esther19]

Excellent action shots!

 

[Drache613]

Hello Mandy,

Fantastic shots of them both!
What a nice beardie tongue, LOL. It looks like they both loved the hornworms, too.

Kai is not all that thin but he will likely fill out more. He looks very good! I bet he loved going outside, too.
Ember is looking awesome also, great colors!

They both look incredibly happy too, wonderful job!

Tracie

 

[BeardedKing27]

She looks great! She is going to be a beautiful dragon

 

[sue09]

Two very beautiful and very lucky dragons to have found you,,Sue

 

[little_gardener_24]

Aww, she's adorable! Congrats on your new baby - I really like the name Ember.

 

[sammmycakes]

All the pictures are amazing! Ember is absolutely beautiful and Kai looks like he is coming along great! I'm so happy to see both these little beardies have such a great and caring momma!!

I'm totally jealous of your setups too! Very very nice

 

[DeweysMom]

Thanks everyone! Kai is quite the character. He's sweet, but he can also be very feisty! His name which means spitfire definitely fits him. He makes me kind of sad at the same though. When I take him out to run around the room (a different room from Ember) it's like he doesn't know what to do with himself. He'll run in one direction, find a spot to crash, and lay down. It breaks my heart thinking he's never been allowed out of his viv to explore like that. Hopefully in time he'll figure it out and come around.

Tuesday night when I had Ember out I let Kai watch her instead of covering his tank. I'm hoping they'll at least be able to tolerate seeing each other since I don't see me ever letting them out at the same time. Kai was definitely interested, but he didn't get as crazy as I feared he would. Here are a couple of videos so you can see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWRLGP6dIcA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PmJ5Cx0iv0

 

[DeweysMom]

Ember’s shed is almost over. Yesterday her back really split up and started peeling off. Of course, now that that’s over I noticed her nose was starting to turn yesterday too so I’m expecting a head shed next.







Kai also appears to be getting ready to shed. The vet said with proper care and better nutrition that he should be going through a shed and it appears that’s happening. I’m not happy that he’s going to be uncomfortable, but happy to see he’s making progress.








I also did our weekly weigh in yesterday. Ember went from 152g to 170g for a healthy 18g gain. Kai went from 366g to 403g which is a 37g weight gain!! Ember was post poop, Kai was before he pooped. So his gain likely isn’t that much, but he is definitely gaining. I’m worrying though that he’s gaining to much too quickly. He eats almost all of his salad on most days. I’m feeding him dubia daily, only about 5 or 6. He’s also been getting hornworms as a treat. Once these hornworms are gone I will not be reordering until fall. They’re growing much too fast in this heat. So what do you think of his weight gain? Healthy or too much?

 

[sue09]

Its got be healthy weight gain after his rough ride,I'm sure it wont hurt him both are stunning colours. Sue

 

[diamc]

You take great pictures and you capture the action & their expressions perfectly.

They are both so colorful, bet Ember will feel so much better with that shed all done. She looks so sweet.

Kai looks amazingly well. sure can tell he is getting what he needs now. Can't wait to see his colors when his shed is finished.

 

[Esther19]

Happy, beautiful dragons. I can't believe how fast Ember is growing!