Nathaniel, Cierra, Castiel, Freya, Grrl; RIP GABRIEL

We never expected to get another dragon, but our neighbours next door wanted to give away Cleo, as he was called. We'd babysat him before, he's such a sweetheart. We nicknamed him Velcro because when he snuggles he never wants to go back to his viv, he hangs on as if he's made out of velcro.

So here he is. Today was his first day with us. He ate 13 supers and ate some squash, not bad for the first day he was here. He's only in a 30 gallon tank, which will be ok for now. He's 18" long but weighs only 200g. We figure he's probably 2 yrs old. Our neighbours rescued him last fall, they found him and a female (which they named Puff) on Craig's list. They were in a 30 gallon dirty tank, with sand and a huge log that took up 1/2 the space in the tank. Leo was at the bottom, he was sooooo skinny. He's gained weight, but never got the attention he deserved. I took some pics today, but will take more tomorrow. I think he remembers our place as didn't get stressed as I expected. No stress marks at all. When we let him run around the living room, he noticed our girls and immediate black beard, so his hormones are working!

He had a bath this morning, had a big poop, no smell, so not worried about parasites.

So here are a few pics, he's a yellow & dark gray, light gray colour.

Under the communal power sun in the living room:

Discovering there are girls in those tanks up above, he has a great black beard for such a skinny boy:

On the couch, he's got a pretty diamond pattern on his back:

Hope you enjoy
Deb and my six dragons :shock: :shock: :shock: :love5:

 

[NeosMom]

I had lost track of all your crew Deb, until you posted about Gabriel on the sad and pointless thread. So, here I am on my first quiet morning since seeing the post and I had to come check out the pictures of Gabriel. He is precious! I am so happy that the two of you found each other. Congratulations!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks Neo'smom, he's a real darling. He ate 20 supers yesterday, they've been a big hit. He went to the vet for a health check & he's fine, just really skinny and not very long in the body, but that might change. He's between 1 1/2 yrs old & 2, as has a fully mature head. He loves Sweetie's tank & has fallen in love with her pillow, sits on it all day, sleep on it all night. He has checked out every inch of his tank and has given his approval, so much space after a 10 gallon! He's now is a 40 gallon breeder. He's got parasites, starts his meds today, so he'll be fine in a month, but that was it. Ihave more pics, I'll try to get them on later today.

Thanks for checking my thread, if you look on page 117, there are pics of the whole crew & I have more pics of them to post, too, if photobucket will be good!
Deb

 

[NeosMom]

They are all so awesome! And Rubio always makes me smile. I have to build something like your ramp. I forget where I saw a picture of the whole thing, but the idea is terrific. I built a stackable viv at the beginning of the year. Now we are building a viv for the baby my son gets in two weeks. After those are done and I've enjoyed my peace and quiet for a day or two I will get antsy and want to build something else. So, I'm eyeballing your ramp idea. I think I'm going to design something either in the living room or the bug room so they can have play time out and about.

 

[sweetiepie9]

They all love the ramp, especially Didi, he'd live on it if he could. I had to wait a week to get him a new power sun & I have one at the top of the ramp, so he really did live on it for awhile, just to make sure he got good UVB. So now he's in the habit but with the new light he doesn't mind being in his tank, either. Rubio, believe it or not, is the only one that doesn't care for the ramp, he prefers to be in his tank where he has lots of room to run back & forth. He's a strange dragon, you'd think he'd like the run of the living room, but he'll be out for a few minutes & then he's banging on the barrier to be back in his tank. :mrgreen:

So have you made a thread for your babies yet? Won't that be nice to have stackable vivs & your son (how old is he?) has a new baby coming home? Congrats, I'd love a baby but I'm away at work, with travelling, gone 11 hours a day, so no way a baby would have the care it would need. At least with Gabriel, he's an adult, even though a very small adult, and eats on his own from a dish. Unlike the rest of my crew, including Rubio, that have to be hand fed, *sigh*. Roger really spoiled them rotten, he started it, so I just drop in worms to them, and make a salad & offer it to them. That's all I can do.

So let me know when you have pics of your little ones so I can slobber over them! Thanks for checking in, I'll get more pics up later, I have a few taken, photobucket is not co-operating these days, so will see how long it takes. I still have 2 days before back to work (I've been off sick with a fatigue from a nasty flu virus), so maybe I can get it all done tomorrow. Have pics of Rubio being his funny self & the others, too.
Deb
So had Gabriel out for a snuggle & he managed to poop all over me, so he want back in his tank & went & had a bath. So that's the 2nd time, he won't be coming out anymore for snuggles unless he's pooped already. I think the panacur has given him an upset tummy, he didn't eat today, so I'll see how that goes for him. At least the meds are done in a month & it's only a small weekly dose. He's still a cutie & still won't let go of Sweetie's pillow. He sat on it all day basking today & now he's sleeping on it & wrapped up in his blankie, too.

 

[NeosMom]

I made a thread for Fluffy & Figment last night. You motivated me. :? Okay.... maybe more like embarrassed after seeing your fabulous thread. But, hey, it got done! Ha! Ha! There are two sets of pictures. Further down are my sons baby. 12 more days!

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'll have to check it out later, on my way to the docs.

So everyone ate salad today but no worms except Gabriel, he hate 3 & a piece of squash. Didi ate a roach. I did get some pure applie juice, put 1/4 juice to 3/4 water & Gabriel just drank so much yesterday & today. Leo & Didi drank some today, too. Lonzo & Rubio will drink tons of water as long as its warm, that was my problem was giving them cold water, no wonder they wouldn't drink it!

So they're all doing well. I'm on my way to the docs, feel worn out, still not sleeping well, so we'll see if I go to work tomorrow or Monday. I'm eating properly, good fresh food, veggies & fruit, so blood sugar is good. No pain re: arthritis or fibromyalgia, so meds are working (I don't take anything for arthritis, like knowing if I'm feeling pain), have recouperated from my gym session on Saturday, so not sure what I'm doing well. Take forever to fall asleep, then toss & turn most of the night. So will discuss with my doc today. Yuck!

I'll have pics later, didn't have time this am.
Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well, I finally got the bulkloader to work, so here are some pics:

I went to visit Jake's house & got introduced to all his animals, but only got a pic of the new baby leo:

Here are there two dogs, I can't remember the name for the little one, but the black dog is Ozzy.

Here are a few of Gabriel, he's finding his new home very comfy:

Sexy leg, but only one!

Here's Leo, he's shedding part of his face, his left paw & already shed his right leg:

I made a video of Leo doing his bobbing & running around his tank, and wasn't able to load it thru photobucket, so will try later with Youtube.

Lonzo was all over the living room yesterday, he went under the dump truck, then popped out on the other side, surprise!

Played with my fingers, Hi Lonzo!

Back in his tank, looking cute:

On his log:

Didi playing on top of the toy cat, if you push on the cat's back it purrs, but that didn't phase Didi!

On his basking spot back in his tank, not very pleased about it either

Rubio sleeping last night, notice the tail in the dish

And that's all for now, time to make supper.

My doc had me get some Melatonin to help with my sleep & I slept really well last night, hopefully it works just as well tonight!
Deb

 

[NeosMom]

As always, your family is adorable. Just love all of them.

Glad to hear you got some sleep. I hope you get some again tonight and start feeling better.

 

[Goonie]

Wow, you weren't kidding when you said that Gabriel loved Sweetie's pillow! Look at how he's hugging it! How sweet!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Neo's Mom, thanks for the compliment, I think they're all cute, too, but then they're my crew. I'm hoping to be sleeping lots from now on! I've been keeping track of your thread, will be looking out for that ramp!

Hi Gina, yes, but he pooped on it today, poor guy, got down from his basking spot (he's been good that way) but the pillow fell over, oops. So he's using Lonzo's & I'll wash the other one soon.

Gabriel hasn't been eating, so introduced him to baby food, well, you'd think he'd struck gold, he ate so much of it, so that was really good to see. I guess the panacur upset his tummy, poor baby.

Lonzo's lung is starting function really well, he spent 3 hours out in the living room today & didn't flip once, good boy. So if he continues this way until it's fully functional, he'll get his hide back, but that may still take a couple of weeks. I'm back to work on Monday, so he'll be in his tank all day, that will prevent any further flips, so all should be back to normal in a couple of weeks I'd figure.

 

[Goonie]

x 2

 

[diamc]

They all look great Deb. I'm happy to hear that Gabriel ate quite a bit of baby food, bet he enjoyed that and the fussing over him too. You know, you weren't kidding when you said his face is very long, reminds me of Widge, wonder if he could have a little GG in him.

Loved ALL the pictures.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Diane, thanks, that's what I thought, too, but if that's the case, he's really stunted. I was so glad he ate the babyfood as he hasn't eaten since Saturday & I was worried about him. The chicken went over so well, he ate 3 tsps of the chicken & 1 tsp of the butternut squash, so he'll get more tomorrow. He also loves the water with the bit of apple juice, his urates are already softening up. Didi & Leo also love the water with applie juice & I've already seen a difference in their urates, too.

Gabriel is a real sweetie, he always wants to snuggle, but always have to wait until he's done a poop first & boy is it stinky. He did a poop today & could smell it in the hallway before I even got to the bedroom. So I'll be glad when the panacur is finished & he's back to normal, maybe then he'll gain more weight. I'm going to weigh him on the weekend & see if there's any difference.

Didi is up to 412, which is a great improvement from 394 from February. I'm so glad, he looks much better with the extra weight, not so small. He's still up, watching The Voice & so is Leo. Lonzo, Gabriel and Rubio have been asleep since 5:30p already. These two would stay up all night if they could!

Glad you liked the pics, I"m very proud of my crew! And Lonzo is doing really well, hasn't flipped himself over for a few days now!

 

[NeosMom]

How are you feeding Gabriel the baby food? Syringe? In a bowl? I'm considering giving some to Fluffy. I'm desperate to fattening her up, but she is just so picky. Was wondering how Gabriel took to it so well.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I use a syringe & put a dab on his nose, he can't help but lick it, but to start him out I put my fingertail between his lips, he doesn't like it & flicks out his tongue, found the chicken with 5 veg & scarfed it down, literally. It's Heinz and it's not the straight chicken, which is really full of fat. I've been using it for years & because it has protein & veggies, it really does put on weight for them. Just to make sure re: veggies I give Heinz organic butternut squash, which is very watery, therefore giving them lots of liquid, too. When Sweetie was 6 mo old she stopped eating. She lived on this combination for almost 6 mo before she started eating crickets & then supers. So it's a sustainable food source for dragons but it will help Fluffy. My whole gang are really fussy, they only eat butternut squash (the real thing), collard greens (sometimes), bok choy & worms. That's it. I don't think it's a really good diet for them, yet they're very healthy & thriving. They get the babyfood in the spring when they don't eat alot of real dragon food and it helps get their appetite back after brumation. So give it a try. Barbara (Zak-n-Wheezie's mom) found a Gerber greens babyfood, as the boys don't eat regular food much, they choke because of the way their neck is made, so they live on babyfood mostly. So check Gerber, too. You just don't want babyfood with any rice, macaroni, or any other starch like that in it. If you're still giving powder calcium & vit/min, you can put it in the babyfood, too. I also use a small baster I guess you'd call it, a friend gave me one from the hospital where she works. It works better than a syringe, as the chicken tends to stick to the inside & no matter how well you wash it, it becomes difficult to use the plunger. The baster doesn't have that problem. It holds about 4 tsp of babyfood & Gabrielle ate two full ones of chicken yesterday. He wasn't so thrilled with the squash. Another thing for water, if they don't like to drink it, I add 1/3 pure apple juice to 2/3 warm water & give that by syringe, well Gabriel, Didi & Leo (who all have hard urates) lapped it up like it was gold! I got that from Diane, a moderator on this site. So hope all this helps!