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]

:lol: I couldn't get back to the vet, there was an accident on the on ramp to the bridge, took me over 30 minutes to go 4 blocks, but finally got home. Called the vet, talked to the tech, Dr was busy with other patients, but they'll keep Rubio overnight (they have a tank there) and I'll pick him up in the am. I just checked again & traffic is just not moving much, the vet will be leaving before I could get there. What a darned day!!! We did decide to give him an xray, there was some fluid and he had a poop in him, so xray to be on the safe side, so I'll get the results in the am. He won't be a happy camper to not be with Mom tonight, poor baby, but he'll be home in the am and I'll have a copy of the xray results, too. Will let all of you know tomorrow what's going on with him.

I'm also going back to the doc tomorrow am because of this fatigue that is back again. I'm working tomorrow night 4-8, then Thurs and Fri 12-4, then 12-5 next week & if needed I'll be full time by Feb 3, I sure can't afford to have my benefits cut. I'll know more about that next week. I'll be requesting further blood tests from the doc, I'm also going to ask to be referred to a rheumatologist again to check the fibro & arthritis. Need to know if it's gotten worse as I can't live this way without knowing. Wish I could go on long term, but need to be back to work to make sure I can retire in 7 years, need to continue to contribute to my pensions & can't do that on disability. So will need to bite the bullet & do whatever is necessary.

So update tomorrow as soon as I get home.

As for Gabriel, he's never brumated in all the time I've had him, don't even think he knows it's a possibility :lol:

 

[diamc]

Oh dear, what a day you've had. Must be a bad accident for the ramp to be closed all that time.

Too bad you have to leave Rubio there overnight but you have no choice. Good that you had an xray done just to make sure all looks ok. You'll get to spend some time with him before you have to go to work tomorrow. Yes, we will be anxious to hear, hopefully I'll have time to ck in here quick while at work tomorrow for an update. Sometimes I can't get onto the forum from there though. :roll:

Hope you can get some answers tomorrow about your fatigue. More lab work certainly isn't a bad idea to see what it shows & if anything has changed. Yes, at our ages we have to think about retirement although it can be very difficult working when we don't feel good.

Isn't that something that Gabriel has never brumated since he was with you. Guess he REALLY has a reason to be wide awake now. :mrgreen:

 

[sweetiepie9]

He sure does. Normally Puff would be brumating by now but I guess she wants to stay awake for Gabriel. She was an "only" dragon where she lived before. Must be so different for her to be in the midst of 5 males :shock:

 

[diamc]

I'll bet she is enjoying the 5 males lol. Wait until spring time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BrendaKay]

Must've been a brutal accident that's for sure! We had a nasty one here on Main Street yesterday. Drinking and speeding and three people died. Crashed into a building! Closed the road for hours. Bleh

Poor baby! No I bet he won't happy with no mommy snuggles. But at least he's in good hands.

Puff, funny girl. So different for her now with all the boys!

 

[diamc]

Hi Deb, wondering how Rubio made out? Please give us an update when you can.

 

[Esther19]

Looking forward to hearing that you got Rubio and you're home safely.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I picked him up early this am and he was fine and no black beard. The vet wasn't there, but she wrote in his file that she couldn't see anything wrong from the xray. She gave him a shot of antibiotic just to be on the safe side, seems to have done the trick, he stayed in my coat, all snuggled up, the whole way home. Then I had to rush out again to the doctor, he's upped my Lyrica again at night as I'm just so sore all the time. And said the fatigue was normal after the flu symptoms were gone.

Before I left for work at 2:30, I noticed that Rubio was 1/2 asleep, so I put him to bed. And he stayed there, so will see how he is in the am.

So I've changed my shift to noon to 4p tomorrow and Friday and noon to 5p all next week. I'm supposed to be back to work full time by Feb 3, but I'm really hoping, that with the flu that hit me so suddenly, I'll be given another week or two. I talked to Vanded, the Health Services rep and he said he'd talk to his manager about extending my benefits another week or two. My manager is going to contact him early next week to see what's been done with my file. I told her if I had to work full time Feb 3, then I would, but will be drained. But I have to make a living. So I'll know next week if that time has been extended. I'm so tired of being tired and sick. This has been just a nightmare!

I also fed Gabriel this am, as realized I hadn't fed him for a few days & even though he seems to be more energetic with the weight loss, I don't want him getting skinny. He wasn't very pleased at having roaches put in his mouth but he finally ate 6, so he's good. Tomorrow it's Lonzo's turn, even though he's refusing food, he has to eat, like it or not, as he can't lose weight either. Then on the weekend I'm going to get Leo and Didi up to have baths and weigh everyone again. I sure hate winter!

I'm sorry for everyone back East that's going through this frigid cold blast, wishing warm weather your way. Hope everyone is warm and safe.

 

[diamc]

Hi Deb, that's good that he didn't have a black beard when you went to get him. Bet he was glad to see you though. Great that the xray looked fine. Was the shot for a possible infection in his side? Maybe he was tired out because some dogs were barking last night. Good that he is resting comfortably now.

Sure hope you can get an extension of your benefits for another wk or 2. Doesn't sound like you're quite ready to return full time yet.

Thinking of you & hope you can feel better and less tired & achy real soon.

Your babies sure keep you busy, must be hard to keep track of all their feedings.

Yes, VERY cold here. Spring can't arrive soon enough for us!

 

[sweetiepie9]

hi Diane, I think that thing on his side is bugging Rubio, but don't think there's infection there and it's not YF, thank god. He had a bit of a black beard when I got home, but he's sleeping well, so I'll see how he is in the am. Going to put polysporin on it tomorrow anyway, that might help. I'll be glad when he sheds it all off.

Working from 12-4 today was much better, wasn't tired until just now, so I don't think I'm ready for full time yet either. I'm so sick & tired of being sick and tired. I just want a break & feel as good as I felt in 2012 before I hurt my ankle.

And it is hard to keep track of when they eat, so I'm going to have to make a chart & keep track that way. None of them really want to eat anyway, but sometimes they have to, don't want them getting too thin.

And yes, Diane, I'm sure hoping your weather starts warming up. Spring can't come too soon, for sure! It's getting cold here, too, but nothing to what you're putting up with.

 

[Tonja]

I am so glad Rubio is ok except the white patch. Sorry you are so fatigued and sore, I know what that is like. I feel for you and my prayers are with you. This may sound really dumb but bear with me. I sleep on my left side pretty much all night long and since switching to that side to sleep has messed up my right shoulder. I cant bend it and raise it, it freezes up. Most of the time its like tiny electrical wires running through it and someone turned the switch on. The pain is a intense burning pain. It catches when I try to raise it then I can raise it after a second or two. When I switched sleeping from my right side after so long to my left, it left the right shoulder in a position its not used to. Now I am not saying this is the cause of yours. My doctor said my mattress was conformed to my right side and not the left. He told me to flip my mattress so I would have more support to my left side allowing my right shoulder to come into a comfortable resting position. After months of shoulder pain, its lessening and the burning pain is gone. Try flipping your mattress and if you cant, use a small pillow between your arm and chest to bring it into proper alignment for sleep. I know that really sounds dumb but sleep habits can affect your joints badly. You don't know how you move when sleeping so it may help you like it did me. I know you have a frozen shoulder so this may help, I don't know for sure in your case though, worth a try.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I strained my left shoulder lifting weights during a personal training session in April/13. After seeing a physio for 4 months it wasn't any better so she suggested I see someone with more experience as she was relatively new. That strain became a frozen shoulder, which is what you're dealing with, too. My chiro sugg I get a 2" foamy to put under the sheet on the side of the bed I use, but can't afford that, so I'm doing exercises during the day & see my physio for almost an hour once a week. Frozen shoulder takes a long time to get better. If you have a good physio in the area, that's who you should be seeing to make it better. I have to do my exercises more often, but frozen shoulder can take months. I also have spurs along the top of the gone from neck to shoulder joint and calcification in the shoulder socket. All of these things have made it more difficult to heal. If the pain is receeding in your shoulder, you're in phase 2 and on a plateau, so a physio would help you get in the last phase so it will get better. I'm still in the 1st phase because of the damage in the shoulder, which is old and was found in a shoulder xray. It's a pain, and got worse when I had the flu, but is now starting to get better again. So now you know what you really have been battling. And the lupus you have probably made it worse, too.
So we'll both be better soon! I also take codeine at night to help dull the pain so I can sleep and it works well, as I tolerate codeine well, which helps. Ibuprofin & Tylenol were not helping with the pain. So now I'm getting better sleep. I was asleep at 9p last night, woke up at 1a, took my pills and slept until 7p, so I was very tired last night.

Tonight after work I'm going to my nephews for the night, which will be a lot of fun!

Rubio and Gabriel are in their baths, so better check on them. Work 12-4 again today, working earlier in the day is better for me than at night. Next week 5 hours, then see if I get some xtra time to build up another hour before going full-time. Should be interesting!

 

[zandi202]

Hey Deb,
Sorry to hear about your frozen shoulder. Sounds like a terrible ordeal you must be going through. It has to be a shoulder thing this month because this is the second morning I woke up to a sore shoulder, most likely from sleeping on it incorrectly. Sorry you can't afford the pad - wish I could help. Take care and take it easy.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Liz, heat on the shoulder will help you. It helps me. And move it a lot during the day, too, helps get blood flow that will help it a lot.

As for the pad, I'll get it when I'm back full time. I have to be careful with $ right now, but that will be rectified by the end of Feb. So won't be too long before I get the foamy.

 

[Tonja]

If you have a walmart or a target close by you..they have the eggcrate foam pads really cheap if you want to go that route...I have one on my bed and have for years. I change them out every 6-8 months. I have bone spurs on my spine growing on the backside towards my spinal column but they don't bother me yet. Its my shoulder, x-rays never showed anything on mine but they were looking for a torn rotator cuff. I just hope you get to feeling better in both your shoulder and ankle along with getting rid of that pesky flu which makes you miserable especially when hurting elsewhere. Take care.