Meet Loki!! My new inspiration! (PICS)

[jodavis10]

Hi, my name is Jo!! I've had my beardie, Loki for almost two weeks now. I got her from CL, so I didn't know it at the time but she was a rescue. She was very underweight, living on crushed walnut and eating dead crickets with no greens and no uva/uvb light. She was also in a 20 gal tank. I was told she is a year old, but posters in the HEALTH forum, said she looks much smaller than that, but that could be because she was not well cared for. Since she moved in with me, we have upgraded to a 40 breeder tank, a reptisun 10 UVB bulb, and a daylight basking light. I keep her basking spot 92-93, her hot side is high 80's and her cool side is 75-76. She was on playsand, but since been changed to shelf liner. I think she would have done fine on the sand, but I changed it for ease of cleaning. We have been trying to fatten her up!! She is an eater......of crickets anyway. She won't touch her greens, I think because she has never been offered them and her body knows that she needs the fat and protein right now. I offer the greens daily and leave the bowl in her tank all day. She eats crickets by the dozen!! She will put away easily 70-100 a day. I feed her twice a day, and give her all she can eat in 15 mins, which is a lot!! Like I said, I think she knows what she needs and will slow down once she reaches the weight she should be. I spray her down daily, and give her drip drinks each time she eats, and I bathe her every other day. We have been working on bonding. I get her out everyday for an hour or 3. We go outside, play in the yard and she comes with when I take the kids to the park. Here are a few pics of her and the craft projects she has inspired!!

LOKI

Trying to get her to eat some greens!!

At the park in her homemade harness....it needs some improvements, but not bad for a first try!

First stage basking loft. This is the base made from stryofoam. It will be covered in 4 layers of grout soon!!

 

[morphmom]

Welcome! I suggest upping the basking temp to around 105. They need atleast 95 to digest their food proper. She's beautiful and I love the basking loft

 

[Yaaeee]

Kudos for you! She's a lucky one Going from being treated like that to being pampered like a princess!

 

[jodavis10]

A temp check this morning gave me a solid 95 on her basking spot! I've had it hotter and she doesn't seem to like it and gets down frequently. The last couple of days she has been basking frequently and gaping which I read mean they have hit their ideal basking temps. I also see she has a few spots shedding this morning so she is growing!!! Bath time tonight for sure!!!

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

Welcome and congrats on taking Loki in! She looks pretty healthy, to my eyes, but a little weight never hurt anyone :wink: She looks like a sweet girl.

 

[jodavis10]

Welcome and congrats on taking Loki in! She looks pretty healthy, to my eyes, but a little weight never hurt anyone :wink: She looks like a sweet girl.

She is definitely looking healthier. We have really been feeding, bathing and misting often to get her weight up. This is what she looked like on July 27th, a few days after we got her.

She's been eating like a little piggy. I don't have a scale, but I'm guessing she has gained quite a bit of weight in the two weeks we've had her. I measured her length yesterday and she is 17".

 

[jodavis10]

Loki is mad at me tonight. The only store in town that sells crickets SOLD OUT!! So I only had a few left for her dinner, so she is now giving me the cold shoulder and laying on her basking log. Guess momma is going out early tomorrow to seek out Loki's breakfast....and there's just one more reason why I need to start a dubia colony. Loki's first vet check and fecal is Friday (I'm assuming first ever based on the lack of previous care.) Then I will hopefully get a little more info and maybe a more accurate age??? And I will finally get her weight! Oh, and a small success with the salad.....Loki took a bite of her salad out of her bowl this morning, AND ate three pieces from my hand tonight. I wiggled them around and I think she thought they were alive, lol!!