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:

 

[Oki05]

I'll have to come visit where are you! :lol: I will fly to the ends of the earth to see my precious Rubio. Anyway Deb go check out my thread there is a pretty sad story you need to read because it also makes me so upset that it happened

 

[sweetiepie9]

I did, Matt, it is really sad and I'm glad that person followed through with the vet and also is working to get that petshop closed. There is no excuse for that type of abuse. Even though the petshop where I go to get bugs isn't always taking care of babies the way they should, they are all in good health because I make sure they are. Even Titan was in good health when I brought him home, even if too small. Now that the parasites are gone, his appetite is up again and he's gaining weight really well.

So thanks again Matt, it was criminal that he had to pay for Sunny just to bring him home, that video was a wonderful tribute to that poor dragon. I'm just sorry Sunny wasn't found earlier so he could have at least lived a longer life.

 

[Oki05]

I know what you mean Deb it pains me too to know that such an innocent life was taken because of *bleep* employees who want to save a buck or two. Ok so quick update for you guys. Since Noodle is asleep and I decided check her temps tonight since I didn't have her to worry about her on the branch. Holy crap her basking spot is 113 F :shock: oh my poor baby I have been slowly cooking her alive because I thought checking the temps once would be enough to know what they were. Well I know you guys told me the best way to lower the temps are to lower the basking spot and/or the bulb. Well since the bulb is on the screen top I turned her branch around to where the basking spot of her branch is now lower than the last one. I will wait for the lower part of the branch to heat up and re check the temp to make sure it is good to go but oh my poor baby I feel so bad for her. Ideal temp for basking is 100-105 right Deb?

 

[Oki05]

Ok just checked the temp of the lower part of the branch her new basking area and it is 103 F thank god it is normal I'm so sorry Noodle

 

[sweetiepie9]

She forgives you, it's first time beardie ownership, or slaveship I should say, you learn by your mistakes.

So I got my new bed, my brother, sis-in-law and younger nephew Ryder came over, we all got the new mattress upstairs, Annika and Ryder (who loves my dragons) checked out ALL the dragons and the geckos and then we all got the old mattress downstairs and into their van. It was wonderful and now I'm going to bed to check it out!

 

[Oki05]

Was it comfy?

 

[morphmom]

How is your leg Deb? Are you able to get around better? I've been wondering for a while now.

 

[sweetiepie9]

The new bed has made an enormous difference just in one night. First of all I slept in until 10:30a :shock: I've never done that before. My feet didn't hurt, my legs didn't hurt, I didn't even have to take a reactine for house mites. My sis-in-law still has a mattress cover & 2 sets of sheets to give me, too. Which is so awesome! My brother Dave, sis-in-law Annika & my youngest nephew Ryder came over, got the new mattress upstairs, took the old one out, put the new one on the bed; then they took a break and I introduced all my boys to Annika, who'd never met them before. She was fascinated by Rocco and his golden colours and handled Bunny, too. When she saw Rubio, her eyes were huge, :shock: as his is a huge beardie. Ryder loves my dragons, he wanted to hold Didi a lot and he also wanted to put him down on the ramp to see what he'd do, but I explained that Didi was still sleepy and needed to be on his cushions. Then we took my old mattress downstairs & stuffed it into their van, so I don't have to do anything!

The new mattress is divine, it is like sleeping on a cloud and I'm so glad they though of me when they decided to get their kingsize bed. It was a great evening and even though the place was a mess with all my bedroom stuff on the couch & floor in the living room, Annika thought it was a good size for one person. She was amazed at all the tanks & how well they fit into my place and that I have room for myself, too. So all in all I was amazed at them willing to give up their Friday eve and help me out.

Holly, it's not my leg that's been bothering me, I somehow wrenched my back on Wednesday and even though it's been getting better and better daily, it was hard to work the last 3 days, so I decided to take the weekend off. I didn't go to my sister's (she has my nieces Emily and Carly since Thursday night) today to meet up with them and then go to the stables to watch Emily ride her new leased horse. I told Emily I'd be there next weekend to check her out. And I cancelled gym tomorrow, too, as I just don't want to take the chance of another injury, but will get back into that next week.

All in all, it's been a great weekend so far. The boys have all had their baths, they've all pooped in their baths & I've been feeding pumpkin to Rubio, as he's doing the not pooping thing again, so I'm hoping for a pile tomorrow. Now to feed them all, then I'm off to the libraray, I have a bunch of books waiting for me! Then it's home to play with the boys again, have supper and probably have a nap, also have a movie and a few shows I've taped, so I'm set for the weekend! I'll get some stretches in tomorrow and Monday, but gently and nothing that will sprain my back again. I'm even going to let Titan out!

So thanks for checking in on me & Matt it is the most comfy bed in the world. I can't believe the difference between it and my old lousy bed that I'd been sleeping on for 7 years! I just think I'm going to feel lots better day by day with this new bed. If I ever replace it, it will be with Sealy, that's for sure!

 

[zandi202]

Sounds like you have a very busy night :lol:

 

[sweetiepie9]

I did, I had to herd Ryder where I wanted him, as he's so keen to help but he's only 6, so can get into trouble without much help :lol: It was great to see him, though, I just love him. I've been babysitting him all his life, his mom and dad prefer I take care of the boys and I do a lot of overnights there, too, so I've become really close to Ryder and his older brother Cole. I'm close to my nieces, too, but don't see them quite as often.

 

[JangoMom]

glad to hear everyone's doing well... hope your back feels better and also glad to hear you got a new mattress.. Oh how I wish I had one LOL.. I lay on mine I roll to the middle from Nathan jumping on it.

 

[Esther19]

So glad to hear the bed is making such a difference! Hoping to hear a report of Rubio poo tomorrow!

 

[sweetiepie9]

It was so funny yesterday, I gave him the pumpkin and then let him soak and he must have just exploded, because when I got back to check on him, the sink was full! So I think he pretty well emptied himself out. Yesterday, everyone pooped, so it was a perfect score :lol:

The bed was as wonderful last night as the night before, I didn't want to get up & I was so lazy last night, watched a movie with Gabriel and Titan, watched a few shows I'd taped and didn't get up much, it was fun to be lazy for a change.

And I'm to get roaches for Titan today, I haven't tried crickets, but I will before giving him roaches, just to see if he'll eat them.

 

[sweetiepie9]

So Brad & his wife dropped in with the roaches, was great, he gave me more than I expected, will feed Titan for awhile, 'cause he's only going to get a few daily with a couple of supers. They had dropped off their dog at the groomers, so spent awhile, such a nice couple, introduced all my babies to them, they were awed at Rubio's size, as is everyone. Had a nap with Gabriel and Didi, they're still both asleep on my shoulder, so I'm going to go watch a movie, after all, it's a long weekend!

I tried him with crickets again & he actually turned his head away, so glad I didn't buy anything but mediums for the geckos!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well Gabriel is no longer grounded, he tried to climb the couch today & I don't know if it was his cut nails or his extra weight, but he couldn't do it :lol: So he's been running around the living room for the last 2 hours and as I have to go out soon, Didi will be back in his own spot. It was great to see Gabriel running around and I've decreased his worms and upped his salad, as he really is huge! Got to find a scale, too, and get a few things, so I'm off to do that. I also introduced apples to everyone and Gabriel and Titan liked them, the rest just made faces!