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:

 

[beardie parents]

Hi Deb, We were looking at Cierra clinging to her piggy. It's almost as if she's informing you that you won't be allowed to take her piggy away from her again. :lol:

 

[Esther19]

Liz is probably right. My Angus has started to slow down and not eat very much on occasion. It's worrisome, but probably normal. Who could eat that much continually?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Liz, I'm thinking you're right, so I"m glad I cancelled the cricket order. She likes her small supers so she'll be fine with those & I can give her some crickets to chase every couple of days, just won't dump them in like I've been doing. Makes perfect sense.

Hi Lori, she does love her piggy and now, when she poops in her tank, she does it away from her piggy, as I think she realized that it's not a good idea to do that! I don't do a wash of their things every week, so she didn't have it for 2 weeks, poor sweet darling.

Hi Esther, that must be as Liz said, if it's like that with your Angus, makes sense for Cierra, too. This way I can put worms in her dish & feed her a few in the am, too, after she eats a few crickets.

I just found out that my friend who sold phoenix worms doesn't anymore. So it'll be crickets and supers for Cierra. I was going to try hornworms, but if they like them they tend to want only those & they're way too expensive for my budget. So I'll keep those for Xmas treats instead. I'm sort of glad I'm not spending $20 a week on crickets anymore, I'll just buy a few extra with what I get for the geckos every week so she can have a few a day.

 

[Goonie]

Tara was the one who insisted on going to your parents' dinner party?! I am truly shocked, but glad that she finally realized just how much her kids had missed out on with the rest of the family.
Smart move on Eric's part. They definitely don't need to worry about having more kids.

Thank goodness Rocco is all better now. It must have been the shedding issue, because his legs are a totally different color.

If the piggy is Cierra's favorite stuffed animal, then she'll take more caution to no longer poop on it.
Just like how Pookie could have poop smears on nearly everything in his house but Mr. Bear, even if it was sitting on the floor instead of the couch (I still have no idea how he continues to avoid getting his BFF dirty, hardly ever).

 

[sweetiepie9]

I know :shock: I was amazed at the change in Tara, all hugs and wanting to talk to everyone, while handling the kids like a pro She made me very proud to be her m-i-l!

And I was also very proud of Eric going through the vasectomy yesterday, considering he's going to be home for a week. He called me yesterday & said it was practically painless, too!

Cierra is being very careful with her piggy, she pooped today but on the other side of the basking brick and she's sleeping on the same side as Mr Piggy, just next to him instead :mrgreen: She's a very funny girl. Still hasn't gotten her appetite back, so now I'm concerned she might have parasites after all, will drop off a fecal next Saturday when I have the $ to pay for it. Hopefully she'll give me a sample by next Friday.

Gabriel looks so funny, his nose has a shedding patch just above the nostril on one side and that's it :lol: Poor guy was sound asleep, but he still bobbed me when I put him to bed, he's just hilarious but is staying on the ramp. Now when I talk to him he gives me his full attention, guess he wants to make sure I don't leave him in his tank for the day. I guess being strict with him that one time really worked

I cleaned out all of Rocco's tank, as I realized that in the past I've just cleaned the bottom and the front doors, so now when I clean his tank, all the walls get cleaned to avoid any further issues. That was mentioned in what you sent me, Gina, that dusty walls prevent geckos from clinging to them, so I'll be doing the same with Bunny, too, going forward.

 

[Goonie]

I had always wondered if Tara suffered from postpartum depression after Leo was born. Glad that she's back to her old happy self again.

Hope Cierra doesn't have parasites, that she just got tired of chewing so much.

Gabriel is more and more like Pookie, where he's the only one to be trusted being out all day long, and how he learns from being punished.

Guess you'll have to do the squeak test on Rocco's tank walls. If it doesn't squeak, it's not clean enough for him to stick to

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Gina, well the washing of Rocco's walls worked wonders and he's his old happy self again. I'm so very glad, now to get him eating again

As for Tara, that could be, I think her dad had a talk with her and Eric and told them to stop their nonsense, that they needed our family as much as Tara's. At least I think so, whatever happened it was to my benefit. I hope I do see them more often going forward, but I sure have great memories of last Saturday!

Gabriel has been good as gold at staying on the ramp when I'm home. Whatever he gets up to when I at work, have no clue, but he's not getting behind the barrier anymore.

They were all awake when I got home at 6p, and Sierra did another stinky poop, so she's on the ramp watching cartoons. Gabriel is settling down in his tank and Nathaniel is not sure if he wants to sleep or if he wants to keep an eye on Cierra. Either way, his lights are off, as are the others. He'll have his turn out tomorrow. I'm dropping off fecal tests to the vets on Saturday am, before I go to the chiro (again :roll: ) and I'll be home on Tuesday if I have to pick up meds. I'm going to see if I can get a sample from Nathaniel, too.

I did figure out how the roaches are getting out of Nathaniel's dish, when he bounces around his tank (which is he does most of the day), I think he takes them along with him. He runs through his food dish constantly, no matter where I put it. I'm always finding them in his hide, or under newspaper or under his log. I think he's eaten and he hasn't. I weighed him today and he's down 17g again, so we're to me feeding him as often as I can.

Cierra hasn't lost any weight, which is good, and she's grown to 16"!

Puff has gained a bit more weight, she's up to 448 now, so getting closer to the 470 where she should be.

Leo has lost a bit more weight & he's down to 528g, looks good on him!

Gabriel has gained a bit more, from 487 to 499, so I'm glad. Now to hold him at that weight!

So except for Nathaniel, I'm very pleased with their weights. Now to get Nathaniel's weight to go up, you can see the bones in his hip bones. :roll: My problem child :lol:

 

[Goonie]

What could be causing Cierra's poop to suddenly stink if she had been fine before?

Sorry to hear that Nathaniel has lost more weight and been refusing to eat on his own. Do you think he wants to be pampered more, though he hates force feedings?

Happy that everyone is at or close to their ideal weight.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I think it was all the crickets, which is why I'm not going to get a fecal in right away, give her a few weeks to see how she does. She's maintaining her weight, has a beautiful white belly all the time & her poop doesn't always smell, sometimes it's a sweet smell. So I'll take in poops when I take Leo in on April 10, see how it goes in the meantime.

I fed Nathaniel again, a bowl full of roaches, so I guess I'll continue doing that on days that I"m home, maybe even once a week while I'm at work. At least I got all my chores done today & just snuggled Leo for over an hour after feeding him his greens. He's doing really well, too, enjoyed the snuggle, too :love5:

Nathaniel's been out on the ramp all morning, so when I go over to Joanne's, Puff will be out. Then I'm home for the rest of the day, which will be nice. I'm glad I cancelled Dana's coming over with her daughter, it would have been just too much for today. I really have to take it easier, I"m starting to cough again. I'm taking my puffers, but sometimes I forget. I'm going to try to get an appt with my doc on the 31st, their new computer system's server has been out of service for the last 10 days but supposed to be up & running by Monday.

I also checked my results from the lab from the blood tests I had done on Thursday am & most of them are missing. I thought there weren't enough vials of blood taken. Silly nurse didn't do the ones I really needed, blood sugar results, kidney, liver, etc. All not done & I'm supposed to see Dr Bondy on Tues afternoon. So I have lots of calls to make on Monday am, 1st to the lab! I don't have the original requisition anymore and can't get in to the lab Monday am anyway, have to work. So I'll call Dr Bondy's office and keep the appt just to pick up an up to date requisition, then I'll make an appt in April so can get proper results again. What a pain in the neck!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well, Cierra has discovered the dragon in the glass in her tank and stares at herself a good part of the day :lol: Seems to have affected her appetite, even though she did eat 3 crickets this am and 1 worm. Then she pooped & no smell, so not having to take a fecal to the vet. I think I'll just wait until I take Leo on April 10th, see about it all then.

When I went to my folks on Saturday, there were 24 bald eagles in the trees along the way. 2 red-tail hawks were hunting. Then on the way back I saw a crow chasing an eagle and another 2 eagles having fun together. I love seeing them all!

And a few pics: Puff and Cierra on the ramp:

Cierra in the bath:

And Nathaniel doing the splits in the bath. He'd gotten out & I put him back & he was very put out :lol:

 

[Goonie]

To this day, I still can't understand why none of my babies ever reacted negatively to their reflections from the tanks like everyone else's beardies have. I wonder if it's because I had always shown them their mirrored self after baths, with me behind them, asking "Who's that cutie pie in the mirror? That's you!" then point to their chin.

Wow, Cierra is going to catch up to Puff in size in no time. How is Puff's appetite lately? Is she still steadily gaining weight?

That Nathaniel is quite the little stinker anymore, huh? Guess he learned from the best

How cool it must've been to see that many eagles and hawks.

Yes, you do need to slow down and not try to do so much on the weekends. We don't want you to be sick again.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Gina, I don't want to be sick anymore either.

I love seeing the eagles in that grove of trees. The most I've seen there was 34 And I always see red-tail hawks, too. Makes my trips out there so much nicer!

And Nathaniel is more of a brat that Gabriel ever was. I have to "find the roaches" in his tank every night, as he dumps them out when he runs through his food dish. I wouldn't leave any in there but he has to eat sometime during the week, right? I'm home for the next 2 days, doc appts, so he'll be fed by hand, then we'll see what he does on Thurs Fri, I have no plans this weekend and leaving it like that. I just always feel tired. I had blood tests done last Thursday and my WBC and RBC are all normal, so it's not my blood. I think this asthma is just wearing me out...hopefully it will just go away!

Puff is gaining steadily, she's eating lots daily. I found her wedged in the opening of her hide today, I think she was trying to get into her bed, which I fold up & put in her hide during the day, so put her in it and she fell right back to sleep. Sweet girl :love5:

As for reflections, Rubio used to play with his :lol: Would race it back & forth in his tank. Leo likes to black beard his once in awhile, nice to see he can still black beard when he wants to :mrgreen: Cierra likes to stare at hers, then gets close to the glass & wants out, think she wants to play. Nathaniel ignores his; Puff and Gabriel don't even notice theirs. They're all so different!

And I never thought to show them in a mirror after their baths. I have a square mirrored planter and we used to have it in the living room. Sweetie would get SO upset about the dragon in the mirror, she'd black beard and run around it trying to find that dragon so she could fight it. She'd get very upset, so we removed it to the bedroom and I've never put it out. I might try it one day to see their reactions. :mrgreen:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well I had a few surprises this morning, some good, some not so much.

Saw my eye doc & she had test results & my blood sugar is back to normal!!!!!! So that was good to see. Also don't need glasses, this will be 5 years since I've had to change them Lutien works well to keep eyes in good health.

So I folded up Puff's bed, come home, she'd pooped away from it and was lying on it. Guess she does love her bed! There were 2 eggs in the poop, not sure if from the last time or she's laying eggs again, will see what happens tomorrow. She still has a normal appetite & is eating out of her bowls, so not sure what's going on.

And Nathaniel has entered the sphere of Super Brat. He pooped in his food dish again, it was full of roaches! So no food dish in his tank anymore, he doesn't eat from it anyway. Guess I'm back to feeding him...sigh...

Cierra still isn't eating...sigh...guess I'll be feeding her when I get back from shopping, too. Then I have to be on the 3p bus to get to my appt with my diabetic specialist. He'll be glad to see the good results, too. Guess not eating chips has done me alot of good!

 

[BlueDragon09]

Nathaniel you butt! Did Broly take lessons from you or what, he doesn't poop on paper towels anymore.

As for Cierra, I hope she's ok and not full of parasites.

Glad your eyes are well and blood sugar is normal. I had glasses since I was 5. Good for you though glad no glasses.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I still have glasses, Kami, distance & reading as bifocals and computer glasses anti-glare for work. Don't need them at home. It's just great to not have to dole out $400 for a pair of glasses this year!

Cierra is fine, she looks great and her poops don't smell anymore. She'll eat a few crickets and then a few small supers but that's it. Guess she feels that she has enough weight on her for now. She did gain 75g in 3 weeks!

Nathaniel is #1 Brat in my house now. No more food dish in his tank. He spends alot of time on top of it as he's touring his tank, he is just too funny :lol: