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]

I'm glad the surgery is over. I hope it works out the way it is supposed to work.

 

[diamc]

Hi Deb, glad you're home. Bet your own bed will feel good to you. It's great that you have family and friends to help you out. Your sister sure was a big help to you. Pain meds sure can make you dizzy and groggy but no choice when having a surgical procedure. Good that you only have a few more days on those and soon the other will be less strong. Yes, very important to have food in your stomach before taking and keep an eye on your glucose reading since that can be affected by them.

Bet Castiel and Nathaniel were glad to see you since those were the only 2 awake.

Take care and please don't do too much. You still need lots of rest to help the healing process. Elevating your foot will help keep the swelling down too. So glad the surgery was 100%.

 

[PogoLover]

Glad to hear that you are doing well and that you and your babies have some people to help!

 

[onceblue]

So glad to hear that your surgery went well! That's wonderful. I'm glad your sister was a big help, too. I bet your babies missed you!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks! I'm feeling better today but yesterday I had a sick stomach, no fun. My sis came over for a few hours, which was great.

The dragons are a bit upset that I'm not letting them out of their tanks but I can't chase them around, so they'll have to put up with it. I get into the living room in the am. I use crutches to get into the kitchen where I have a chair with wheels. Once I'm in that chair I can propel myself into the living room, which makes it much easier to feed everyone. I even got the worms and roaches fed, too. So all good until tomorrow. They haven't had a bath since Wednesday and I can't give them baths, don't have the energy yet, but I do have a 30ml syringe that I'll fill with water tomorrow and I can stand on one leg to drip it on their noses so they can drink. That should help alot. I'm hoping that on Saturday when my friend Joanne comes over, I can then give them baths. I'll try on Wednesday to give them their regular calcium (I use liquids for calcium and vit/min, they all have their own syringes). Should be interesting to see how I manage that!

I see the surgeon next Tuesday, my sis is taking me to the hospital for the appointment. I'm supposed to be fitted for a boot then so hoping that works out. I think having the boot on my foot will make a difference, still no weighbearing, but I think after my appointment on Nov 3 (my sis is taking me to that, too, she's a wonderful sister and being retired she has time to do all this!) I'll be able to start physio therapy. I'm asking for that to be moved to the local hospital, which is only a few minutes drive away from my place, so we'll see how that works out. I'm not spending much $ right now, which is also good. No bus tickets saves me over $100 every month, which is just sitting in my account. I also think I'll be allowed to drive after I see the surgeon next week. I'm probably allowed to drive now (luckily it's my left foot) but don't have the energy. So being able to drive will make a big difference, I can actually get around better and don't have to depend on anyone to help me.

 

[Goonie]

Will you be able to wheel yourself to the bathroom, to reach the sink? If so, perhaps you could bathe the kids there instead of the kitchen sink.

Thank god that your sister decided to retire when she did, huh?

Hope your follow-up with the surgeon next Tuesday will be a good one, and that you get the walking boot so you won't have to deal with crutches anymore.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'll be getting the boot next week but won't be any weight bearing until 4 weeks later, and then only partial. So it'll be another 6-7 weeks before I can weight bear. I gave Leo a soak this am, in the kitchen sink, as I can reach it fine. That chair was a good idea, because I can get myself into the living room and back into the kitchen, so can use the kitchen sink. I gave Gabriel and Castiel water and they drank tons of it. Gabriel, as usual, tried to keep it in his beard pouch but luckily he leaked it out of his mouth and didn't choke on it, bad boy. Have to watch for that. Leo didn't want any, he'll have another soak in the am. I'm figuring this all out, luckily have only 3 beardies awake right now, Nathaniel's back sleeping and so is Cierra. I pulled up the little blanket I have over her hide entry, oh the superb stink eye I got :lol: She's so good at that. By the weekend I'll be strong enough to get those 2 up as well for soaks & supplements. Tomorrow I want to get supplements into the 3 that are up and get more roaches into Leo. I want to take him to the vet but not until next pay and not until I'm cleared for driving.

I've been so lucky that my sis is retired now. She wasn't completely until the end of July but that contract finished and now she's free. She still gets funds through the contract she negotiated with the new owners. So that's good. Meanwhile she's keeping herself busy. She's free to take my mom to appointments if need be and has been helping with my dad, too. He had cataract surgery a couple of weeks ago & gets the other eye done on Oct 7, then he'll only need reading glasses and not even prescription, just the ones you get at pharmacies. Big improvement!

I have to say I have a great sister, she helped me so much, I wouldn't have been able to handle the last few days without her. Luckily I heat quickly, so now I'm ok on my own. Still hate using those crutches, but grateful for them, too. The fleece beardie blankets are helping my armpits :lol: I knew they'd come in handy!

 

[sweetiepie9]

I also got the pics in to the calendar, remembered at the last minute! So will be anxious to see how all of our pictures did! Alex said they should be ready end October, I think.

 

[diamc]

That chair with wheels sure helps make things easier for you. Great that you were even able to give Leo a bath using that. Good that most of the others drank for you too. The surgical boot will be less cumbersome for you but you have to be careful that you don't get around too much or it will swell and you sure don't want that. Was there a lot of scar tissue & inflammation in your foot/ankle?

Your sister is awesome, her retirement sure came in handy for you.

I cut it close with the calendar pics too and I didn't even have surgery. :roll: Submitted Laura's & Loki's Saturday night and Angie's late Sunday morning. Seems like the time went even quicker this year. Alex said he may be making up 3 calendars since there were so many pictures sent in.

 

[sweetiepie9]

That's awesome that he might be making 3. I have to contact Barbara, it's been awhile but her son gave me a # that works. So I'll plan tonight.

I got mine in Sunday night, had forgotten all about them, so hopefully I wasn't too late

And yes, my sister is wonderful and is enjoying her retirement. She stays busy but likes not having to be somewhere at a certain time every day. They have some trips coming up, 3 weeks in Nov they're RVing down south. Then Dec 30th they're off to Costa Rica, meeting their stepson, d-i-l and 2 grandkids, plus their daughter & s-i-l who have been living in London, England for the last 2 years. They're not sure where they'll travel next! Then, after a month in Costa Rica, Gail and Ian are going to Cuba on their own for 2 weeks. They're really enjoying their retirements. Ian has been retired now for 10 years.

I'll be the next to retire in 5 years, then my 2 brothers not long after that. Weird to think of me and my sibs being retirement age. Time just goes so fast!

That chair, Diane, has been a great idea on my part and has helped me get around so much. Leo, Gabriel and Castiel all got some sun this am. Gabriel is still out and I'll go put him back into his tank after I've rested a bit. Takes alot out of me to just get around.

My ankle is healing well, I can tell by the way it feels. I have all feeling back, can now move my foot in the splint, so that tells me that the swelling is almost gone as I have alot of room to move in the splint. I still keep my foot up a good part of the day & sleep on my back with my foot up all night, too. Yesteday I only took 4 pain pills. 2 Ibuprofen during the day & 2 codeine pills when I got sleepy as by then my foot was aching. But all in all, having taken those strong pain pills for every 4 hours for over 2 days, that helped with the healing and now the pain is bearable.

So it's all going according to plan. I'm able to get into the living room easily with the chair, can get food to the dragons, feed Gabriel and Leo (just sitting them on my lap is great!), feed the bugs and getting stronger to stand on my foot and take the dragons out one by one. So that's a relief. Now I'm going to rest and a bit later, get Leo in his bath, maybe even get Gabriel and Castiel done, too. Tomorrow is supplement day, so will figure that out.

It sure is good to be home!

 

[PogoLover]

So glad to hear that everything is going well. You are so lucky to be able to retire in the forseeable future . . . I wonder if I will ever be able to retire . . . it's a long way off in any case!

 

[sweetiepie9]

It's still a long way off for me, too, 5 years doesn't seem long but it's taking forever to get here. I just have to maintain my health, get to work every day once I'm able to and put $ away as much as I can. If all goes well I'll have 4 pensions so may not have to find another job, we'll see when the time comes!

 

[sweetiepie9]

A few pictures I took before the hospital & a couple of my splint.

So Leo has been moving around alot & actually walked today for the first time in a long while. I found him sleeping like this, which he hadn't done for ages, just too funny :lol:

Gabriel decided he'd try to jump out of his tank the other day, he was just showing off, as you can see by his expression :mrgreen:

This is what the splint looks like on my leg. It's heavy as heck and if I don't feel strong, like today, it''s difficult to get around with the darned thing.

Can't weight bear on it either, hurts like the dickens if I lose my balance on those crutches, so I try to be very stable when I'm getting around. It's better when I get on the dining room chair, then I can just propel myself with one foot sitting down. So glad I got those dining room chairs over 20 years ago, it's coming in handy now!

 

[Goonie]

That photo of Leo glued to the side of his tank is too cute. It looks like he was in the process of climbing up but then it became too strenuous, so he just gave up and went to sleep.

That's great that you're able to reach the kitchen sink while sitting in the dining room chair. I wonder what the kids think about seeing you propelling across the house :lol:

Wow, they sure wrapped your foot up! I'm sure it's just me (brain had been fried these past few months), but the first thought I had when I saw those pics was a mummy. Yeah, I know, "Go back into your corner, Gina." :roll:

 

[sweetiepie9]

My thought, too, Gina, that the surgeon was into mummification. At least the end of the thing is open so I can move my toes & get some air in there, my foot is constantly hot.

I hadn't seen Leo sleeping like that for the longest time, he hardly ever moves, so it was good to get that in a picture.

Well, they sure had strange looks on their face, especially Cierra, as she'd just woken up this am. So I have her on my chest sleeping, she'll stay with me until tonight. I put her under the sheet if I have to get up, which isn't very often this week!

I had Gabriel and Leo out on the lazyboy this am in the sunshine & Gabriel didn't even look at Leo. Then I brought out Castiel, he couldn't figure out how to climb up on the lazyboy to get to Gabriel, so they all 3 got sunshine at the same time with me watching from my chair. :lol: Then I went to have breakfast, had Castiel in his bath & he did a huge poop, so got him out and put him back in the sunshine. Well he's gotten himself well hidden as now I can't find him. He didn't get out of the apartment, so he's in here somewhere, but even Cami couldn't find him. So I've left everything open and the light on at the top of the ramp and I'm going to go check again in a minute to see if he's come in...he's a big hider, but really, at 11a? I'll let you know when I finally find him. I'll keep the door open to the balcony open, just in case, & leave the light on at the top of the ramp, too.