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 Gina, not sure about eggs, haven't checked her tank yet, but if it was like last time, there will be more.

Dad did really well considering that there were 11 other people in the house. My nephew Ryder is one of those kids that can't stay still but he was on his "best" behaviour last night. They brought their little dog Choco, so he just added to the night, he kept niffing around for chicken. We all had a good time and my sis & b-i-l stayed over, which was nice.

Dad is doing so much better. The home nurse came in to re-dress his leg, still full of blisters but I think they're gradually going away. The home nurse will come in every 3days until the blisters are gone. He was pretty tired by the end of the night but we all had a good time. Plus we had Emily's birthday, she's 13 tomorrow, and she really enjoyed it. She's growing up so fast!

So I get to stay with my nephews next Saturday night, which I'm really looking forward to, as I get to stay overnight & spend time with my s-i-l on Sunday. I'll just make sure the dragons are fed and bathed.

Poor Didi, he wants to brumate in the worst way but with having to be medicated daily, he can't. So he's still on his pillow right now sound asleep. I just have to leave his light on, but he finds places to sleep anyway.

 

[diamc]

So happy to hear that your dad is doing so well. Must be great being back home & in his own bed again. Those electric chairs are great, Paul's father had one & it was a big help to get him to his feet. Hope his blisters are gone soon.

Sounds like you had a nice "get together" at your parents house. Great that you'll get to spend time with your nephews and S-I-L on Sunday.

So, Puff is starting to lay eggs again. Sure hope she doesn't lay very many this time so that it isn't such a drain on her. Guess she really enjoys her morning cuddles.

That's awesome that Lonzo was able to handle the small supers well, that must be a relief knowing you have a way to get protein into him now.

Gabriel is so funny with the way he acts with HIS ramp. :mrgreen: Guess sharing isn't one of his favorite things to do.

Poor Digi, you're certainly doing the right thing though from preventing him from completely brumating. How are his areas looking?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Diane, so Puff hasn't laid any more eggs, but this is her pattern, and egg here or there, then a bunch & it takes her a week to lay them all. This might be left over from Sept, hard to tell.

Here are the latest pics of Didi. I'm not putting the cream on his beard anymore as there's absolutely nothing but his regular black bearding on his beard or chest. I'm also going to use an antifungal cream now as I don't think the silver sulphadiazine cream is doing any good. And use Betadine under it.





We had a wonderful time yesterday. My mom is still exhausted, so it was great that Dave & Annika brought a salad. Gail brought 4 chicken and homemade coleslaw & we peeled & cooked up potatoes. Then Gail made chocolate cupcakes, regular & mini & this is what they looked like, plus pics of the kids. Emily is 13 on Monday so it was nice to celebrate her entry to teenage hood yesterday.

Ryder, Cole, Emily and Carly


Emily's cupcakes, Gail bought those cute candles. Looked like lollypops :lol:


Pile 'o cupcakes :mrgreen:


Our sweet Emily, I love this picture!


Even caught her blowing out the candles


Carly, Emily, Cole holding Choco


Mom and Ryder (the bruise on her face was because she fell coming out of the hospital last Monday, she tripped on a parking space divider. Not fun but healing. Could have been much worse)


Dad eating a chocolate cupcake. He enjoyed himself but gets tired quickly

He still doesn't look his age :love5:

My sister being funny :lol:


Ryder being the same way, lots of clowns in my family :lol:


Ryder's get well card to his Grandpa. Grandpa is lying in the bed :love5:

Carly & Emmy made a beautiful card, too, but I couldn't get a good picture of it.

My brother Dave, Emily and Cole with Choco. Choco kept growing at Emmy, not sure why :roll:


Annika bought Choco this sweater and it is adorable, it has reindeer antlers on the hood. He wasn't too thrilled but it keeps him warm on walks.


Ryder with Choco.


Annika & Choco, pics were taken as we were getting ready to leave.

 

[Goonie]

Why was Didi's eye closed again?

Thank goodness your mom only suffered a bruise on her cheek after the fall. As if she needed something else to worry about

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'm not sure why he closed that eye, as it was wide open before I took the pictures. I'm getting a bit worried, this week his eye and lip areas seem to be looking worse. I'm starting to think the silver cream isn't meant for this, so I'm going to get a tube of the anti-fungal cream from Safeway tomorrow night & see how that works in the weeks before I see the vet. I'm going to talk to her about a biopsy, as I have lots of vacation time starting Jan 1. I've booked Jan 5-9 off already so can see if can get him in that week. I need to know what this really is. I know the wart she removed was fungal, but seeing as that's where the last biopsy samples were taken, doesn't explain what's going on around his eye and lips. If it's not fungal, don't see why I need to keep giving him the anti-fungal meds.

I'll keep you all posted. We see the vet on Dec 13.

 

[Goonie]

Whew! Maybe it was the flash that made Didi close his eye.
Do you think that the silver cream was burning his scales? Maybe it's too strong for what he has?

 

[diamc]

I have to agree that his eye seemed to look better about 2 wks ago. Maybe he's reacting to the sulfa in the cream, has he ever had a problem with sulfa meds before?

Loved the family pictures, a good time by all. Choco didn't look too pleased in his outfit. :lol: What an adorable dog.

Your mom's eye looks sore, guess she was very lucky though.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Gina, I'm still not sure why he was closing his eye, it's wide open this am, even though he's fallen asleep again :mrgreen: He really wants to brumate but is good about staying under his light & napping.

And Diane, I agree with you, I think he's looking worse. So I'll get the anti-fungal cream tonight, wash off the silver cream and get it on him tomorrow. I'm not going to put any cream on him today, just his water and regular med.

Mom was so lucky, as she fell straight down and her glasses cut into her face. But no bones broken, just a swelling in her hand that's almost gone and the bruise under her eye. Looked much worse at the beginning of the week.

Choco is a very cute little dog, but he's also always afraid, so it's taking him some time to relax. He loves his new family, especially Ryder, they have a special bond.

I'll let you know how the new cream is working. Can't wait to Dec 13, can't get here fast enough. I just might take a morning off work & work on a Saturday, as I don't have any plans this weekend.
I'll call the vet to see if they have an early appt any time this week with Dr Prus.

 

[sweetiepie9]

So I got a call from my mom at 10a, seems my dad woke up at 1a not feeling well, so Mom called an ambulance and got him to the hospital. She called the nurses line b4 and that's who recommended she get him to the hospital. So they did alot of tests and turns out he has cellulitis in his leg that was operated on. He's getting antibiotics by IV every 3 hours and will be in the hospital until his leg is cleared up. Guess the blisters got infected, the docs are going to make sure the blisters are gone b4 he goes home. Luckily he got into the local hospital so my mom can drive back and forth. She went home b4 dark today & is getting some sleep, only got 2 hours last night. So he's in good hands and he'll recover quickly, I hope. I'll be going to see them on Sunday as babysitting the nephews on Saturday night. So busy weekend again.

Gabriel is so funny, it was Puff's turn to be out on the ramp today (they're the only 2 on the ramp, so they're each getting a day) and you would have thought I was killing Gabriel, the way he was acting. Black bearding & bobbing and when that didn't work, he'd lie on the bottom of his tank as if he was dying. He's such a ham :lol: I wasn't feeling well so stayed home & it was hilarious watching the antics.

So the baby supers are working well with Lonzo, he's digesting them well and is actually gaining some weight. I'm giving him 12 every 2 days. So will ask the pet shop if they can get more in. At first I thought they were mealworms given to me by accident, but they're supers, all right, bite when I handle them, just like the big ones :mrgreen: I've been seeing if I can get some online but you have to be home (how do people manage to get bugs online when they're out all day working?), can't find any site that mails bugs. So I'll see what the pet shop says, as these are the best bugs for Lonzo. I've tried phoenix worms (I know the local distributor) but he just spit them out. He won't eat hornworms or silkworms either, so I'm stuck.

Didi is looking better now that I'm not using the silver cream anymore, so will continue with the anti-fungal cream until I see my vet.

Leo is still sleeping, all I can see if a tail poking out of his hide.

And still no eggs from Puff. She not only ate her worms this am but finished off all her collards, too. But then she ate until she laid her eggs in September, too.

 

[Goonie]

I hope your Dad is ok now and will be home soon. He (and your Mom) doesn't need anymore worries on top of what they already have.

That Gabriel, he's too much! :laughing6:

So glad that Lonzo's able to eat the mini supers. I'm sure you're very relieved.
I had always asked for a heat pack if they're shipped during the cooler months. Never had a problem with them dying on me, since they're so hardy to begin with.

 

[BlueDragon09]

Choco is adorable! I like that dog.
I hope your dad gets well and gets to
stay home longer this time. How is your
mom's cheek? I saw the bruise. Gabriel
is really not much of a sharing kind is he?
He's too funny. Glad Lonzo eats mini supers
and also for gaining weight.

 

[diamc]

Oh dear, so sorry to hear that your dad developed cellulitis. It must have gotten worse quickly or you'd think the home nurse would have noticed that it was getting infected. Your poor dad, that must have been very painful. IV antibiotics kick in very quickly, it's good that he's being monitored closely. Will be easier for your mom with him being in a local hospital. Hope they were both able to get some much needed sleep.

I can just picture Gabriel laying there with his head down & sad eyes, boy, they sure can pout when they don't get their way, can't they? :mrgreen: Sorry to hear you weren't feeling well, are you any better?

Great that the mini supers are working out so well for Lonzo. What a relief being able to safely get some protein into him. Hopefully you can get some more easily.

So, Didi is starting to look better again? Sounds like the silver cream was maybe too strong and making the skin more raw.

That's good that there have been no eggs from Puff. She sure has a good appetite.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well the roaches worked on Didi, he's back to 423g up from 404 at the beginning of November.

And I can't find mini supers anywhere. Every place I've looked online you have to be home to get the package, as they don't mail bugs. The mini supers I got from the petshop was a one off, normally they are full sized. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'm going to have to start giving him roaches and see if he can swallow them. I'll see how it goes, I still have about 50 of the mini supers and will be giving him at least 10 a day, he got 12 today. When those are gone I'll get into the roach bin and find small ones so he won't choke on them, have to get his weight back up, he's 538g but you can see the bones on his tail. I did ask at the pet shop but they can't order mini's in, they make their order and if they come in small that's the best they can do. The lady in the reptile room would have to pick through their order, which they can't do. So I'm going to see if I can find some hornworms in Dec when I have some $, if he won't eat those, then it's roaches for him.

Gabriel is still a brat. He was out all day today, he was all over the place, then settled in front of the TV. Meanwhile, Puff is slow bobbing him every chance she can get and she's gotten bigger without eating that much, so maybe eggs...

The anti-fungal cream seems to be working, he seems to look better, but I'll know better on Sunday when he gets his bath. The cream seems to sink in better than the silver cream, so I'm going to stick with it, at least until I see the vet.

So my dad is in the hospital until this infection is completely gone and the blisters are gone, too. Mom seems to think he'll be home on Friday. So I'm planning on going over there on Sunday.

Hi Diane, we were posting at the same time. I took today off because across my hips was still a bit swollen, hard to walk or concentrate but I'm back tomorrow no matter how I feel. Can't miss too many days at work, goes against me. But I'm less swollen than I was yesterday, so that's good.

 

[sweetiepie9]

So I got all their weights:

From Nov 2 to Nov 19

Didi: 404 - 423
Gabriel 564 - 550 (this is good, he was too fat)
Puff: 505 - 507
Lonzo: 539 - 538 - needs to be 575 to be a healthy weight.
Leo 610 - 590 - still needs to lose weight.

So Leo is awake, so he's back under his light after a bath.

No eggs from Puff and she's still eating.
Gabriel is doing his pouty thing because he was out all day yesterday and today it's Puff's turn :lol:

Lonzo ate more of the mini supers I got, but I can't seem to get anymore. Will get to PetSmart on the weekend to get some tiny hornworms, see if he'll eat them. I have to get weight on him, he should be 575 at least. And if that doesn't work, I'll get some roaches into him.

Didi's doing better with the anti-fungal cream, it actually sinks in and doesn't leave a crust.

Lonzo and Didi are going to the vet on Dec 13, Didi will get a blood test again and Lonzo needs his mouth & chin checked out more thoroughly. Plus I want to talk to my vet about another biopsy on Didi, on his mouth, to determine if it is fungus. So far, there haven't been any lesions showing anywhere on his body, so he definitely doesn't have Yellow Fungus, this should prove that to my vet.

 

[zandi202]

Their weights look really good. Sorry Lonzo is still having trouble eating/putting on the weight. I hope the hornworms help - those usually help my babies and they love them more than anything in the world. If I could afford to, I would buy them more often as treats, but now that I can afford to, it's getting too cold to ship them. You're lucky your pet store sells them. Tell Lonzo and Didi that I demand they get better now.