LG ~ The Handi-Capable Bearded Dragon

[jscott]

hey, sorry i havent been on lately.

i used cardboard boxes to make the ramps origionally. just find a cardboard box that is the width of the tank. put it together so its "a box" and tape it closed so its sturdy. put that box against one side, that will be the basking spot. try to find a box that will bring the basking spot to within 8" of the UV-B tube(your not using MVBs are you). instead of using cardboard for the ramp, try to find some kind of sturdy tack board that is very rigid but can still be scored and broke in a straight line. i found some of that stuff and it works great. just lean one end of the board against the edge of the cardboard box and secure it with duct tape. i use tiles for flooring and if you use sturdy tack board then tiling the ramp should be no problem. just make sure the ramp isnt so steep that they cant climp up it.

i hope that makes sense. sorry i dont have any pics.

let me know how it goes. i just lost my job and have been in a depression latley, thats why my threads are going silent.


to everyone whos been watching for my posts: sorry i havent been on. i just cant bring myself to type anything lately.

all the beardies are fine;

LG is hungry all the time. ive been having to go to petsmart every week for crickets. his appetite is non-stop, i feed him a few times a day now that im always home. all that food has to go somewhere and hes been saving up his poops for outside, and when he go's he go's ... hes still very active, hes up at 8AM waiting for me to turn on the lights and he gos to bed about 10-11ish.

i hardly even see Mayze anymore. its almost like theres an empty cage with lights on over it . she has her head poking out from under her "bed" right now, she does that every few days. she hasnt eatten a thing in about a month... is that dangerous? i offer her food at least every other day and she never touches it. she looks good, i dont think shes losing weight like Trouble(im going to see about a fecal for Trouble as soon as i can afford one and he poops).

Trouble isnt coming out of his cave as much any more but i DID get him to eat a couple roaches, the first animal protien he's had in a few weeks. i really dont have money to take him ot the vet right now. i used the $225 i got for christmas already on clothes and food mostly, i have $18 left and im freakin out. its good that i got some clothes but id just as soon wear the old clothes i have and kept the cash...

My new rescue(im leaning toward the name Buddy or Bud for short) is doing great. he wolfs those roaches down like nobodies business; hes eatten half my roach population, no joke(im leaving enough to breed).

he is always starving for attention. when he knows im in the room, he glass dances untill i cave in and let him out. instead of running all over the place, he just sits contently on my lap. last night i had him with me for so long that when i got up to go to the bathroom, i was freaked out to realize i have a BD on me . i started to get up and he moved alittle and i was like "AHHHH!!! WHAT THE?!?! oh yea, right..." so yea, he likes being held. when i go to put him back in his cage he resists like a cat being put in a box .


my agama is a pain in the neck. he is so jumpy and frightened all the time. i really need to find someone that will give him a good home but thats the thing:

who wants a lizard you cant pick up let alone get near its cage? even when i open the cage to feed him he flys back and forth across his cage slamming face first into the walls. i cant clean his cage too often because he bangs himself into a bloody mess every time i do.

i dont know what to do with this guy. i need to find a rescue near me who will care for him properly.

anyhow, sorry it took me so long to post anything. no pics right now, i haven really been taking any but ill try to get some up in the next couple weeks.

thanks again everyone :wink: .

 

[fresnowitte]

Jason your in my thoughts and prayers I really hope you pull out of this depression soon. And that a job drops in your lap. I wish there was something I could do to help. If you can think of anything let me know. :wink:

 

[protiemama]

Jason- try not to be too bummed. God is watching over you, he knows what a great heart you have and will take care of you. Katherine and I are praying for you and your reptile zoo. Hang in there.
It sounds like Trouble and Mayze may be semi-brumating. Bathe them once a week and be glad LG is still awake. Bogie has been sleeping (mostly) since the first of Oct. He has been up for the bigger part of 4 days now, perhaps we will have our dragon back soon. If they are brumating, don't count on a sample from Trouble any time soon. Bogie hasn't pooped in weeks-nothing in; nothing out. We all hate brumation.
Please come on daily and chat with us all. It will help keep your spirits up. You need to be reminded daily that you are special to all of us and you have a pep squad scattered around the world.

OK everybody cheer now- Go Jason, Go Jason GOOOO JASON! YAY!!

Sandy and Katherine

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

Jason,

Since Trouble has been fine, and was eating like a little pig until just recently, I wouldn't waste what little money you have, taking him to the vet because of his lack of appetite, unless you notice him dropping a noticably large amount of weight. Odds are that he's just brumating, and you may find that Maize does it as well. Trouble and Maize are both over a year old, so they will probably brumate, whereas LG is not that old, which is probably why he hasn't. Also, in LG's case, he has health problems, so his biological clock may never tell him to brumate, because of self preservation, in order for his body to remain well nourished so that it functions as well as it possibly can.

Every beardie is different, and they all brumate differently, and there are many different levels of brumation. Since you haven't had any of these little guys for very long, it may take a year or two before you discover what's normal for each particular
dragon.

All three of mine are down for brumation, and have been for about three weeks. Charlie will sleep for weeks on end, and won't drop over 5 grams of weight. Sometimes, if I didn't know better I'd swear he was dead....you can't even wake him up if you bathe him! I don't expect to see him up and active until about mid-February. Eden sleeps constantly, but if you wake her up and offer her food, she will always eat, and then will remain awake until she has a bowel movement, and then goes back to sleep. Ming is the nosey one, and he just takes long naps, waking up periodically and becoming active, before going back to sleep, although he refuses to eat anything at all. We have a standing joke here about Mingie....he doesn't fully brumate, because he's afraid that he'll miss something! LOL God forbid that he doesn't get his share of attention from Mommy every day! He's the clown of the bunch, and is a spoiled litte brat!

If you want to get a better understanding of brumation, and what to expect, check out my article on brumation, which you can find by clicking on the "Care Sheets and Articles" link on the home page. It will explain why they do it, what to expect when they do, and also tell you what you need to do to keep them healthy until they decide to wake up and come out of it. I think you'll find it helpful.

As far as your lack of employment is concerned, I can sympathize. My husband hasn't been able to find work for the last 3 years, although I'm sure a lot of his difficulty is because of his age (he's 60), and because he has back problems. I know what its like to have sick pets and no money. Thank God our vet is understanding, and will let us run a "tab" until we can pay. I'm sure you'll be able to find something soon, and will keep you and all your babies in my thoughts and prayers. I truly believe that God provides...there's no way that he would let someone with your big heart, that has all those babies dependent on him, go without work for too long!

 

[atreyu917]

My new rescue(im leaning toward the name Buddy or Bud for short) is doing great. he wolfs those roaches down like nobodies business; hes eatten half my roach population, no joke(im leaving enough to breed).

he is always starving for attention. when he knows im in the room, he glass dances untill i cave in and let him out. instead of running all over the place, he just sits contently on my lap. last night i had him with me for so long that when i got up to go to the bathroom, i was freaked out to realize i have a BD on me . i started to get up and he moved alittle and i was like "AHHHH!!! WHAT THE?!?! oh yea, right..." so yea, he likes being held. when i go to put him back in his cage he resists like a cat being put in a box .

I was not aware of this one! Last rescue I heard was the agama! He sounds like a sweet boy!

 

[Jasper's Mom]

If you ever need to talk, you can always PM me. I've been down to the bottom of the depression hole and back up again, so I have some understanding of how you might be feeling. My only advice is to keep focusing on your animals and remember how much they need you. Things will get better.

 

[jscott]

hey everyone, sorry i havent been on.

i dont really have much to say. everyone is ok. Mayze is the only one in full brumation right now. everyone else is eating, though only their favorite foods:

LG likes crickets, Trouble will only eat super worms and the new BD especially loves roaches.

i cant really seem to make myself type right now so ill just skip to the good part:

PICTURES AND VIDEOS:

ive been taking LG outside alot lately. here is a video of him running through the dry leaves. he was really getting winded;


today LG found his own food on my front lawn... here he is with a piece of dandilion green in his mouth(it was a freshly sprouted dandilion plant but i still rinsed it);

here is the rare and elusive Mayze, out for a basking session;

here is a video of my new rescue going crazy for butternut squash. before i took him in, all he ate was mealworms crickets and pinkies... i finally have him hungry for veggies;



once again, i appologize for not being on too often. its not like im busy, just bummed :| .

 

[Ethelia]

Thanks for coming back on again.
Ive missed getting updates, especially on LG as I recently rescued a boy with similar disabilities. Ive been spending my time coming on here and re-reading all the posts you made about how you adopted your viv etc for LG.
Honestly it was this thread that made me feel like I could give Ruben another chance at life (he has a thread in the rescue section).
So thank you.

Holly

 

[atreyu917]

Those leaves hardly slowed little LG down haha. He reminded me of a little turtle. So precious!
And your new guy is very handsome. Does he have his own thread?

 

[fresnowitte]

Hi Jason we miss you.
Hope the cloud above you disappears soon. :wink:
Man I'm jealous.......you have sun down South?
I can't take anyone outside even if they were awake, it's been very cold and dark here.
Althought it looks like the sun might make an appearance today.

I love the video of LG as usual, he is such a cutie little booger. :love5:
Looks like the New Guy is doing good.

(((HUGS!)))

 

[Eventide]

Hee, LG is so cute rustling through those leaves! He's so cute when he wiggles like that.

 

[lizardgrrl]

Hi Jason,

I hope things are getting at least a little bit better in your corner of the world. You know there are so many of us rooting for you and your crew! Except for the babies, my group is bouncing in and out of brumation like a bunch of psychotic yo-yos, and I was rear-ended on Saturday while I was stopped for a pedestrian, so a little haze of pain is part of the current beardie care routine. The last few days, Fib, Kang and Diver have all been up, headbobbing and showing off, and Fib is seriously annoyed at me today because he knows there are women here and I am hiding them from him. I keep telling him he must be patient, but today he does not want to hear it. I ought to take him outside, and let him get a nasturtium snack. I like LG with his dandelion treat and wiggling through the leaves, and with the weather here today, it might be a good idea to put Fib in a harness and get outside. :laughing6: I am also happy that "Bud" is turning into a cuddle bug. :love5: Right now, no one here wants to sit still long when they are out! :roll: :headbang: rotest: :love5: :laughing6: :dontknow: :laughhard: :twisted: :love10: :whip: :help:

 

[dolcedragon]

Hello, that video of LG was adorable. I haven't read through your whole thread yet, but I imagine the little guy has been through a lot and he looks so healthy and happy with you now.
And I'm sorry you've been bummed. Beardies can be great therapy though. I hope they help you the way they help me. C'mon who can't smile, looking at that little guy shuffle through the leaves?
Please give us some more pics/videos! I'd like to know more about the new rescue, Bud is it?

 

[jscott]

hey everyone, thanks for the replies.

hey ethelia, i got your post and i left a couple on your thread. thats a very cute 2 legged beardie youve got there . looks like you made a great viv to accomodate the handicap; good job :wink: .

thanks atreyu. the new guy doesnt have a thread. i kind of let my trouble & mayze thread go too. i just havent been able to make myself type lately. everyone is good, nothing really to report on. the new guy is always out whenever im home. his favorite spot is on the couch, he'll just sit there for hours on end if i let him. i dont have any new pics of him but i did takes some interesting vids of LG(see below)... thanks again.

hey barbara. yea weve had alot of sun down here actually. its been almost HOT these last couple days, but then it dips back down at night... ill wake up in the middle of the night with my extremities freezing... i curl up under my blankets and shiver myself to sleep. im looking around for cheap or used CHE's. ive been using the one for trouble some nights and LG others. i think i only need a 25 or 50 watt one. i found them online for pretty cheap, im going to look into those. anyhow, thanks for the comments. hope you like the vids of LG :wink: .


thanks again everyone, i appreciate the support. ill try to get some pics up of the other 3, i just need to get myself out of this rut :roll: .


now for those pics. LG was acting really strange the other day. he looked like he wanted to go outside and poop. its not unusual for him to hold his poops in for outside so i figured thats what he wanted. well all was going well; i picked him up and walked outside with him but when i put him down on the patio, something scared the living heck out of him!

here is a video of the same behavior:


i dont know what scared him so badly but he sure gave me the evil eye when i picked him back up.

here is a short video of him eatting crickets. my battery died while i was shooting the vid so it kinda leaves you wanting more .


whoops. i didnt stop to think about shooting it sideways on my phone because i can just turn my phone sideways to watch it;

- "Alright Everyone? Flip your computer moniters on their sides for this 20 second clip ok?!"

thats all for now i guess. im going to go make myself something to eat i think :| .

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

Jason,

He was sure upset about something! When I watched the video, I heard some background noise that sort of sounded like an airplane. Did one fly overhead while he was outside? If so, that's no doubt what spooked him, and made him go into defense mode. Its hard to take him seriously when he tries to look scary, because we all know he's so darned sweet! :love5:

We live quite near Mercer County Airport here in Jersey, so sometime either planes, or helicopters from the National Guard Training Base, fly overhead. All of mine go into a full display whenever it happens....I guess they think that its some sort of predator that's coming down to eat them! LOL Even little Charlie manages to look quite ferocious whenever it happens!