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:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Shanny, I feel the same way, it is as if I've always had Gabriel & he just finished his first shed, most of his face & his eyes, plus one nose plug so far. His head is showing alot of bright yellow! He's mostly brown but does have touches of yellow here & there. His chest is getting ready to shed now, so I'm hoping for a complete body shed & get rid of some of the stains that were left from his previous owners They didn't take very good care of him. His latest thing is jumping off the counter when it's bath time, I have to watch him every minute! So he's got lots more energy now than when I first got him. And yes, I love all my boys to pieces, my life would be empty without them! Thanks for checking in!

I just ordered some things from Tracie, liquid calcium, plus Benebec gel for Gabriel, plus liquid Serrapeptase for Lonzo, I know his joints are painful for him & his back end & tail keeps going into spasms, so I'm hoping this will help him out a bit. He is 9 years old now, so this will all help, I want him pain free & feeling better so he can enjoy his life more. There was actually some sun today, but it's gone now. Rubio & Lonzo got out for an hour each, Didi & Leo aren't so much liking being in the sun, they'll sit out for about 15 min, then they're looking for shade, but they'll spend hours basking under the power suns, go figure!
Deb

 

[ShannyBeard]

Yes these dragons can be jumpers! I had my new baby jump out of my hands onto the floor about a week ago. My heart almost stopped when I couldn't catch her, but she is fine. They are very tough, but we still hate to see them hurt themselves. Scarlet tends to be impulsive like that!

I really do believe in the power of serrapeptase, and I believe it will help Lonzo. He is 9 years old! WOW good for him and for you. I would bet the serrapeptase will help him with other age-related problems, too. I have read that it can help break down arterial plaque and cleanses the liver. Amazing. We should all probably take it.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Probably, but I want it mainly to help Lonzo. He's such a happy beardie & still thinks he's a juvie! He's very active, more than I thought a 9 yr old would be. He went through a period where he was flipping over alot, so he pulled a muscle in his lung & it's still not functioning 100%, may never get back to normal, but it's not bothering him & my vet is aware, I take him back in July for an update on it. She said when they pull a muscle like that it can take a long time to heal. So I make sure he takes lots of baths, he loves to try to jump out & makes him breath from both lungs & to get out in the sun & run around in the living room. It's hard to find all this time when I'm working full-time, but it's great on weekends & when I have a day off, like today.

Gabriel drives me crazy with this constant need of his to jump off things, like my shoulder, the counter, and my bed. He's quick when he wants to be, too!

I'm glad your girls are fine, the smaller they are, the more they want to jump, it's nuts, but also instincutal, what can you do, at least they don't hurt themselves, so far at least!

 

[diamc]

Deb, I'm happy to hear that Lonzo is doing so well, hopefully his lung will be back to 100% before long.

I read that Gabriel enjoys jumping and is getting ready to shed? That is awesome that he is so active & he must be gaining wt too. Good job!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Gabriel shed almost his whole face today, he just has his eyelashes left. I noticed his chest was crackly today, too, so that won't take too long. I think by the time June is into July he'll have shed alot of his body & I can't wait, I think there's alot of yellow under all that brown, so we'll see if I'm right.

I'm going to weigh them all on Sunday, when I have more time, I"m off early to the chiro tomorrow, then getting my car washed inside & out & the guy who does this lives right around the corner. I'll be so glad, the inside hasn't been vacuumed out for a long time.

I got onto the phone again today, as had alot of trouble with Sunlife over the orthodics claim, so got to a Cst service rep who handles complaints. By this morning I was seething & loud about it. I've been dealing with Sunlife for so many years & no issues. This time they've help up this claim for over a week now & it's over $400 that they owe me. So I talked to a lady who pulled out the original docs that were faxed & sure enough, even though the wording is different than "scan" it's the correct info & there should have been no issues. So she's handling it herself with claims & will get back to me, but as far as she can see there should have been no issue to begin with! I had the secretary fax the paperwork from the lab, just to be extra sure that the info they got is now confirmed by the lab. I mean, I'm wearing the darned things since yesterday & my feet are SOOOOO greatful, I wore them for 12 hours yesterday & without any pain. I have flat feet & was without orthodics for 4 mo, so my feet are so well supported now. If I'm wearing them, then the doctor sent the right info over to the lab, right? So I guess I'll see my money sometime next week, but it means I can't pay a bill I was expecting to pay today, so just more phone calls to explain the delay I'm also putting in a formal complaint about the way this has been mis-handled.

In other news, everything else is great! Everyone ate today, Rubio & Lonzo got an hour each in the sunshine & they're all sound asleep. Time to finish a book that's due at the library!
Deb

 

[NeosMom]

I'm so glad to hear that Lonzo and Gabriel are both doing so fantastic. I hope Gabriel gets through everything soon - including his shed. He will be just beautiful when he is finished.

I was just looking at your signature. You know... you are gonna have to add Gabriel to that soon. :wink: Hope you have a nice weekend, Deb.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks Mindi, I'm very pleased with both of them, even though I worry about Lonzo alot, he's not breathing from his bad lung hardly at all, so I have to give him daily baths so he can jump around & get him out on the ramp more often. It's hard during the week when I'm working, but I'll just have to make the time.

And yes, I realize I have to update my sig, will have to figure that out!
Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

I was uploading pics to Photobucket & Gabriel was helping by trying to eat the mouse thingy on the screen :mrgreen: so here are recent pics:

Gabriel checking out the pen holder beside the laptop:

Lonzo jumping into the dumptruck beside the ramp, without flipping over!

Aren't I cute, Mom?

Gabriel after bath, it's the only time I see these light colours:

Resting his rump on his pillow :mrgreen: , basking:

Cooling off on the other wood, yes, he's suspended between the two parts of the log:

Showing off his belly, it's getting bigger every day!

Self portrait: I was watching a movie with Lonzo on my left shoulder sleeping, Rubio on my right shoulder, just noticing that there's ANOTHER DRAGON IN THAT TANK!

So Rubio jumped off my shoulder, I tried to grab him but he got away & rested on my foot. He glared at poor Gabriel, then looked at me as if saying "Why can't I reach him & eat him, Mom?"

Gabriel, in his tank, eyeing Rubio, probably thinking "good thing that big dragon can't get at me!":

Hope you enjoy. Gabriel is resting on my lap while I write all this down, he's very patient, but I think it's because he's sleepy. He ate a bunch of real squash today, no babyfood, which was very good to see!
Deb

 

[NeosMom]

Just one thing to say about those pics... Awwwwwww!!!!

 

[Goonie]

Cooling off on the other wood, yes, he's suspended between the two parts of the log:

:laughhard: What a silly boy! Very talented, but still silly.

 

[blondie098]

My most common comments with dragons:
"That sure doesn't look comfy"...
and
"how in the world did he/she get into THAT position?!"
LOL!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Gina & Dawn, I have no idea, I just found him like that. At least he's getting stronger! It's great to see, even if it is silly!

 

[diamc]

I just typed a post here and then lost it.

I'm sorry to hear that Lonzo isn't using his one lung to capacity, hopefully that will change soon. Great that he can still jump into the dump truck though, he's trying so hard.

Gabriel's colors are sure popping out, can't wait to see him when he finishes his shed. I can't get over the length and width of his head, still say it looks like he has some GG in him. His laying positions are so funny, must seem awesome to him to be able to get around so well now. You're doing a great job with him and he sure looks happy even though Rubio looked like he wanted to get at him.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Diane, don't you hate it when you've done a long post & it disappears? I hate it, too.

Rubio's a caution, he wants to eat everyone, they all look like snacks to him, but he's more used to Lonzo, Leo & Didi now; Gabriel is new & smaller than the rest. He sure was disappointed when I wouldn't let him leap into Gabriel's tank; I put Lonzo to bed & when I got back into the bedroom, Rubio had given up & was lying down & sleeping on the comforter. But Gabriel still was on the alert so I got Rubio to bed right away & then snuggled Gabriel for the rest of the evening. So they all got snuggles today. It's almost a full-time job juggling them all, but I wouldn't change them for the world.

I have a vet appointment for Gabriel on Friday am, I'm going to take Lonzo along to have that lung checked. It doesn't seem to be working at all & when it does it's minimal. He doesn't seem to have any problems breathing, but I worry that it will eventually make him tired. That dumptruck is his favourite thing to play on, he jumps from the ramp into it & I watch him carefully, but he's been very good, he hasn't flipped over for more than 2 months now.

I find Gabriel's head to be very strange, it's so long & narrow, so you think he might have a touch of GG? I wonder how badly he was treated that he ended up to be so small. He's grown 1/2" in length besides gaining alot of weight since I got him. I was so pleased to take that pic of him stretching between the branches, it shows that wee belly of his that's getting bigger every week. He really is doing well. I'm looking forward to him always being as light-coloured as he is after his bath. I can see yellow on his head & face already.
Deb

 

[Nathan1995]

Hahaha I absolutley love those pictures Deb. Gabriel is looking amazing, he looks just like Cyrus in fact. Even the same colorus when he's light, with the bright yellow and blue/black side bars. He looks adorable and so comfortable asleep on your shoulder, bless him!