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:

 

[Tonja]

I am sorry to hear about Imp. Im sure in your hands he will thrive and get to be a big boy. Everyone knows you do the best you can for your babies and it shows.

 

[AHBD]

Sorry to hear your new baby is having such health issues. Just a quick thought, depending on how much electrolytes he's getting, those are symptoms of possible overdose. Here is a link to some info on it :
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0ahUKEwiWk5aszNDKAhUM1R4KHUwICngQFggsMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drugs.com%2Fsfx%2Felectrolyte-side-effects.html&usg=AFQjCNG7KxN72KDp1-fDc6VXZuh3nP_f9w&sig2=FkHcAqrrq4zK8nq4hyyQAA
Maybe just plain water for a while to be on the safe side.

 

[sweetiepie9]

He's about 13" from the light, maybe a bit higher and that seems to suit him. He was sound asleep 1/2 on his log, bottom 1/2 on that shelf and no tremors at all, so I'll see how he is in the am. The mix I'm making seems to suit him so much better than what I made him last week. The critical care is full of vitamins and minerals & has D3 in it and he loves it. He ate 2 ml in the am, after panacur, electrolytes (he had a seizure in the bath so took him right out), calcium, then the mix. Then he ate 2 ml's more before I went to work.

I had to snuggle Gabriel this am, he sure misses our snuggles. So once Imp is done with me, Gabriel gets snuggles and he'll get more time with me on the weekend. Castiel and Nathaniel don't seem to care but when I pick them up, they launch themselves at my shoulder and snuggle into my neck. Oh my boys :love5:

Now to get my Cierra up on Sunday for her bath & see if she wants to stay up. Maybe seeing Imp in his tank will keep her awake for awhile. I've never seen a dragon sleep as much as her, but Gina told me that her MoMo slept for 6 months one winter, so now I don't feel so bad.

I'll keep you all updated on Imp as the weekend progresses. I'm going to keep feeding him the mix for another week before I start introducing bugs to him again. I have a large critter keeper than I'll use has his feeding box, so he will have room to chase him in a smaller space. He's just so tiny!

 

[AHBD]

I think the Critical Care mix is a great solution, and it's really encouraging that he likes it ! I'd be sure to cut out the electrolytes now though, the article I linked in my last post mentioned that it can cause the seizures and vomiting. Your good feedings will give him all he needs.

 

[PogoLover]

I came here to look at pictures of your dragons tonight. I have been so busy and self-absorbed . . . and I just saw that you got a new little guy! What a cutie. I needed to see a cute little guy like that right now. I am sorry that you are having trouble with him and I will definitely send good prayers for him. I like his name too

 

[sweetiepie9]

AHBD, I must have been reading your mind because I've stopped with the electrolytes today. I don't know if it was that or the poor care at the pet shop that started the seizures, but they've stopped now. He sometimes has tremors but I can stop them by just picking him up and covering him with my other hand. I also realized today that the sink I bathe my crew in is just too deep or him, so I pulled out a square glass cake pan & had him in his bath & he stayed the whole 15 min. The only problem is I forgot to change out the water 1/2 way thru & he got cold, but he warmed right up under his lights. So I'm finally getting things better for him and he seems to be turning around.

I also spent time snuggling my boys this am before I left for work, my first full time day. Have to say, it wasn't that bad. I was up at 7:30 & made sure Imp was under his lights, which he was. I got a couple of good pictures of him, too. He has lost alot of weight since I first brought him home, I'm hoping he'll start gaining again now.

He must be feeling more comfy, first sexy legging picture

And in his new bath, much happier

And a friend wanted pics of the rest of the crew, so here they are in all their glory:
Gabriel, sexy legging partially, strange pose or is it just me?

Nathaniel, the perpetual black bearder :lol:

Castiel, the other perpetual black bearder (because Nathaniel was in his tank and Castiel was on the ramp...)

Cierra, looking mad because I pulled up her hide to take this picture and she'd just gone back into it after her bath :mrgreen: But I'm the Mom and I'm allowed to take pics of her, like it or not. She's now back to sleep...I miss her...

I'll keep you updated about Imp, I'm only going to weigh him once a week, but hopefully everything I'm giving him now will help him. And yes, I've stopped the electrolytes now that he's taking his bath for 15 minutes and without any tremors. He gets a few drops of acidophilus before eating, though. And even though he's eating lots, he's not throwing up anymore either. He's digesting everything he's eating, YEAH for Imp :love5:

 

[PogoLover]

OMG - Gabriel looks like he is getting ready to do a jig!

It is good to see them. Thank you.

 

[Tonja]

wonderful pictures of your crew as always and that's good news about Imp. I hope he continues to improve.

 

[Goonie]

I'm glad that Impy is doing better with the seizures/tremors, and that you gave him a cake pan for baths instead of the kitchen sink.
With the change in diet and environment, I hope he'll start to put on some weight and feel better overall.

When I saw Cierra's photo, I thought that her tail had been broken into two and for a micro second, I was mad that you didn't see it. After looking at it longer, I realized that it was a piece of the newspaper covering a portion of her tail that made it look like it wasn't connected. :roll:
(sorry, Deb; my brain had been very fuzzy today)

 

[diamc]

When I saw Cierra's photo, I thought that her tail had been broken into two and for a micro second, I was mad that you didn't see it. After looking at it longer, I realized that it was a piece of the newspaper covering a portion of her tail that made it look like it wasn't connected. :roll:

I thought the same thing when I first saw it Gina. Thinking, what on earth happened to Cierra's tail?!?

So happy to hear that Imp's seizures have stopped, that he is eating & digesting well and he does better in that baking dish for his bath. Would think he should start gaining very soon. You are doing an amazing job with him.

Loved all the pictures, some of them didn't look very happy with you at all. :lol:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi everyone, glad you enjoyed the photos. So for Cierra, she's normally covered in bits of newspaper when I pull up her hide to get her out. That was less pieces because she'd just gotten into there. Sorry I didn't explain about the newspaper on her tail, but she really rips it up when she gets in there, dig, dig, dig...she's too funny but I sure miss my girl.

Yes, I think Gabriel was getting ready to jib, too, he's also too funny, he's very sleepy but he can't seem to let his brothers get away with anything so he stays up as long as he can. I find him often sleeping with his head up. He can't seem to make up his mind if he want to brumate or miss something.

Nathaniel and Castiel love to give me stink eyes when I take pictures. They watch me all the time when I come into the living room because they're wondering if it's time for them to go back into their tanks...NO MOM...NOT YET. That's the look I get every day LOL And when I do pick them up, the grab onto me and try not to let go, makes it a bit hectic in the am when I'm trying to feed Imp and get ready for work...at least this week I have Thursday off, too.

Imp is doing much better, I'm starting to read his needs better, too. I did try crickets, that was a complete no go, so they ended up in the cricket tank with Bunny's crickets. At least I only bought 8 small ones, so they'll eventually grow.

I set up a 60W household bulb to put more heat into the corner where he basks, too, as I had to pull the UVB up higher, Diane the reading was over 8! So now it's just over 3.5 which is a good reading but the 100W isn't giving off enough warmth. So the basking light is adding just enough heat for him. He doesn't like to be too hot. I can't measure the basking log because he's always there, but I measured the heat on him and he was 99F, which I think is good, when I tried to add more heat he ran to the cool side. So I'll leave things as they are, he's pooping daily and a good poop, too.

Thanks again for enjoying my crew. I just wish I didn't have to work so I could snuggle them all every day

 

[Goonie]

Imp is just like Gianna in that she didn't like it above 100°F. They know what temps their body can endure.

 

[sweetiepie9]

That's really good to know. The new light (and on a timer that works) was on this am with the UVB and he loves it. He sits under the two of them all the time, so it must be just the right temp for him. There was a good sized poop this am, too, so he's digesting. I have him some acidophilus this am before breakfast and he ate almost 3 ml. I'll be feeding him a bit before I go, too, if he manages another ml that will be good for him.

He was a bit fiestier in his bath, too, which was fun, but did the whole 15 min. He did fill himself with air but being as I watch him in the bath I was able to just push his little butt into the water and that worked. He even swam a bit, which was great to see. He'll be in the big sink not to long down the road.

So all in all a good morning, hopefully he'll want to eat bugs again soon, but I'm not pushing that yet. He's still so little, though, has grown 1/4" in lengh but that's all.

Castiel grew another 1/2" in length, so he's 20 1/2" long now, wonder what he'll be when he's full grown, a giant, I think LOL

 

[PogoLover]

How old is Castiel now? Do they only blackbeard when they see each other, or do they just do it all of the time? I have a while before Lucky is a teenager - but do all of them go through the bobbing at you period when they are teenagers? Yes, I am full of questions tonight. Pogo never bobbed at me, or at all, the entire time I had her.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Castiel is 17 months old and he's been black bearding ever since he saw Cierra (who was on the ramp) when he got home last June. The boys bob each other constantly and pull out the black beards because they like to show who's the BOSS. So for Lucky it may not happen right away, but once they're past 5 mo old, they will sometimes discover it on their own, that's what Rubio did. He actually crossed his eyes when he produced his first black beard, so he could look at it and fell off his log, it was hilarious. Once he hit 2 years old, you hardly ever saw that huge beard (Rubio, RIP, was a huge beardie, 22" long with a tail nip and 840g!). So his beard was huge and when he pushed it out, it was an amazing thing to see!

So you'll have to see. Lonzo, when he was out, would black beard and bob at everything, all the furniture even, to tell everything that he was the BOSS. I love watching the boys posture, it's a hilarious show every morning.

Nathaniel gets a black beard when he wakes up and keeps it on all day, he's my wild cowboy LOL

Gabriel doesn't bother much with a black beard anymore, he's trying to figure out if he wants to sleep or keep an eye on the boys and me :mrgreen: But he has a big beard too when he has a mind to put the two others in their places.

Even Imp has tried to black beard me when I did something he didn't like. He's 3-4 mo old and very small for his age, so it was just too funny when I saw that.

Males tend to black beard when things aren't to their satisfaction, other males are in the area and there is a female around. But some like to black beard because they can, too.

You'll have to see what Lucky does as he grows older.