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]

Thanks!

 

[sweetiepie9]

So Cierra laid 26 big eggs, they're now in the freezer. She had no trouble at all, now she's had her warm bath & she's in her tank warming up. I'll offer her some roaches soon.

Talked to my vet, Puff is awake & resting in their incubator. They'll offer her food tomorrow when they get in, she'll probably be moved to the tank they have. Dr Pruss said there was alot of yolk around the follicles, so the operation took a bit longer than she expected, had to flush out her abdomen a few times to make sure she got everything out but she's sure she did. Puff sees her next Thursday for a checkup, then again in June, I think. She'll be on an antibiotic for awhile. I have acidophilus and serrepeptase for her at home. I'll be so glad to pick her up on Saturday am. I said best to feed her tomorrow, as I doubted she'd want to eat tonight.

So that was a big day for my girls. I weighed Cierra and she's 271g from 364g, which is a normal weight loss. Hope she gets her appetite back now, so glad I'll be home starting Saturday.

 

[Goonie]

There were yolk around the follicles? Does that mean that some of the eggs had burst while inside of her and she was trying to reabsorb them?
Thank god everything went well and she's ok.

Cierra laid 26 big eggs?! Oh my goodness! That's a lot for such a little girl.
I guess you didn't have to show her what to do once she hit bottom, huh?
Let's pray that she'll only have this one clutch, or if there were another, only two total.

Did you check the eggs for veins? I was curious if they truly were fertile.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Gina, yes, they were fertile, could see the veins right away. Now they're in the freezer to be thrown out on Saturday when I go pick up Puff. I had to turn Cierra around, move her tail aside and then she started laying the eggs. I knew she was full but I sure didn't realize there were that many. Perfect eggs, too.

And not sure if she had eggs or what and my vet was puzzled, too. So we're hoping everything was removed but it would be a long while before we'll know for sure. Hope it worked and no more eggs for Puff! I pick her up on Saturday with antibiotics, can't wait to get her home. Then she's back to see the vet next Thursday.

 

[BlueDragon09]

So Puff is ok thats a relief!

26?! Is Cierra ok? Thats a lot for her.
Nathaniel I know it was natural instinct and all but
with your sister? Really? Oh well boys are boys and can't
stop them from doing deeds.

I like the pictures Deb! I love Choco the dog
and those Cierra pics.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Kami, I'm just glad it's over (for now at least) for Cierra. I found another smaller egg in her tank after I put her in there to warm up, so 27 altogether.

And I just got an email from my vet, she said Puff had a strong heart beat and was breathing well but wasn't as responsive before she left the clinic tonight. I'm hoping that means she was just exhausted but my vet will call me 1st thing tomorrow am when she gets in to let me know how she is. It was a long surgery for a small dragon, poor sweet girl. She got electrolytes during the surgery, so was well hydrated & she's in their incubator overnight so stays warm. I'm going to be worrying all night now but will post first thing when she calls. I hate that I have to work tomorrow but no matter me & my manager did, there was just no way to get the day off.

Cierra got a long snuggle tonight and is now sleeping well in her tank. I'm hoping it will be awhile before she lays any more eggs.

 

[sweetiepie9]

So there are more pics from the picnic on Mother's Day:

Choco standing on my brother's back:

Emily and Ryder

My folks, me and my sibs

My sister taking a pic of the kids

my brother David and Ryder in the driftwood city Ryder and a couple of other kids made, kept him busy until we left.

So it was a great day and we all enjoyed ourselves. Playing bocce in the sand is really different than playing on grass LOL

 

[sweetiepie9]

So I've been wondering about this constant noise in my bedroom. I thought after catching 7 or 8 mice I was done with them but no, now I have one living behind my dresser. It's a huge thing, can't be moved & hard to get underneath, so I'll move the trap I have between the dresser and the credenza beside it. I only realized it because I was watching TV & saw the darned mouse poke his nose out of the side of the credenza, which is also very heavy and hard to move but luckily has space behind it. So that's where the 1 trap I have left will go. Hopefully the building manager will have more traps so I can put more back there as well as behind the stove. I'm so annoyed but have to deal with it but not tonight. Guess I won't be sleeping much either, between worrying about Puff and this darned mouse.

 

[Esther19]

I'm sorry to hear about the dumb mouse. I hope you were able to sleep some. I'm glad you are picking up Puff today. I know how much you missed her, and I'm sure she is missing you, too.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Esther, I did sleep well, knocked myself out actually, so that was good & slept right through. I'll deal with the mouse another day. And I'm sure hoping Puff made it through the night, gave me nightmares that she wouldn't. I'll be hearing from the vet within an hour, when she gets in, and I'll let you all know.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'm just crying my eyes out. I just got off the phone with my vet & my Puff didn't make it, my vet found her dead this am. We're not sure why because she was doing fine last night. I'm so sad, I asked my vet if we shouldn't have done the surgery, but she said she was full of eggs again and her fat pads were very low. So we think she would have died eventually of egg making, as this would have been her 6th clutch since September. I'm just so sad, I'll bury her tomorrow with Rubio, Didi, Lonzo and Titan.

 

[JenFid]

Deb, you saw my post in my thread. Big hugs again. Keep your little ones close today, they will help buffer some of the hurt

 

[athenacp]

Oh dear, I am so so so sorry to hear this, RIP Puff

 

[BlueDragon09]

What?! She died!?

RIP Puff. I guess all those eggs did her in, too many.
I'm sorry, sending hugs and healing thoughts your way and keep the other babies closer. She's with Vash, Alucard, Scully ( I read your thread Jen), Geico and the boys you lost Deb. You know Rubio is driving around a new Rainbow Bridge member to where the best greens and bugs are.

 

[Goonie]