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 osk]

Thinking of you and Roger, Deb..........and your babies that are missing daddy. Well wishes are coming your way and your in my continual prayers. ((((((cyber hugs))))))

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks so much Diane and Christine, the well wishes & prayers are gratefully accepted from everyone. It's such a great help to me.

Roger was a grouch tonight & I was annoyed because Eric finally came with me to see him. Oh well, he knows his dad & his grouchies. I told Eric it's probably best to visit him before noon, then he's in much better shape & not exhaused like he is after 6p when supper's handed out.

It's been a long day, so I'm going to lie down. I see my doc tomorrow morning so not going to the hospital. It's time for the nurses to deal with Roger's non-eating habits. He refuses to take a meal replacement of any sort, but at least he's getting that darned tooth out Tues am, so he'll be able to handle regular food again. He'll gain weight more quickly if he's eating solid food.

He's getting a biopsy of his liver in the next couple of days. At last we'll know what that mass is made of & how to get rid of it. I'm trying to keep an up mood when I'm with Roger, it helps. If I get on his case about anything, the tears start. He was grumpy with his nurse this am, but she knows how to handle grumpy patients. She's a great nurse & I'm glad she's had alot of shifts taking care of Roger, she has a real good way with him.

I caught him with a cig stub & a lighter in the pocket of his robe. I confiscated it to the nurses station & told him I wasn't taking him out for a smoke this eve. He'll just have to wait until tomorrow. I only found out today that he was caught smoking in his bed. I forgot the cigs/lighter in his robe pocket & the nurse caught him the next am, so they're now confiscated to the nurses station & I'm the only one allowed to remove them from there. And they're put right back when Roger comes in from outside. After smoking for 50 years, it's been very difficult for him to cut down so drastically. He has the Emerg doc's permission to smoke so he won't go through withdrawal so badly. He did go 5 days with any cigarettes, then when he got properly hydrated, he remembered. Too bad!
Deb

 

[beardie parents]

I understand, Deb. My father smoked from the time he was 15 until he was 69 or so. It was hard for him to quit. He quit because the Dr. told him that he needed to quit so he would be alive when he Granddaughter graduated from High School. My mother thinks he quit also because he was tired of not being able to breath good.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Lori, I know Roger's frustrated & he used to be able to get around & smoke outside at home. At the hospital, he's very tottery on his legs because he's so skinny, so can only go out with me or an aide that smokes. I'm not seeing him this am, have to go to the doc, so I'll see him when I'm done there. I'll take him out for 1/2 hr, then tomorrow am he goes to the dentist, so I have to get up really early tomorrow am. The dentist is across the street from the hospital, so I just get him over there in a wheelchair. Can't get here fast enough. Then he'll be able to complain about real food!
Deb

 

[Goonie]

Tell Roger that he should thank the doc for allowing him to continue smoking. Given the unknown conditions that he's experiencing, he technically shouldn't be putting anything 'bad' in his system.

I'm sure he'll start putting on the weight and feeling better once he's able to eat solid foods. But it might take awhile for his taste buds to revive themselves.

Good luck at the dentist tomorrow.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks so much Gina. I guess when you've smoked as long as Roger has, the doc was more concerned with nicotine withdrawal. He only gets outside twice a day, so isn't smoking all that much. I'll be talking to the doc about a patch, maybe, after he has the biopsy, which will be this week, so we'll finally find out what that mass in his liver is all about.

He's looking forward to the dentist as much as I am, so he'll be going tomorrow am & hopefully within a day or two he'll be able to eat regular food.
Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well, got Roger to the dentist & the dreaded loose tooth is out. They also cleaned out the root canals. So he'll be going back for a cleaning when he's past the biopsy & is eating again & getting stronger. I'll keep you posted. I'm home until about 3p, he'll be back from the biopsy & awake again. I can't wait for the results. I'll keep you all posted.
Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

A few pics for you to enjoy:

Leo, getting ready to swim in the bath:

I might be small but I have a BIG pancake:

Talk about a beardie smirk!

Rubio: I can get on top of this, really Mom, won't take long

Another Beardie Thigh Master pose:

Didi, I can get into really tight places in my home:

Lonzo: Just leaning on my logs:

Sweetie & Rubio exchanging a kiss :shock: :

I'm hoping to get some news from the hospital after the biopsy this afternoon at 1p. I go back to the hospital at 2:30 to wait for him to get back to his bed. Really hoping they'll be quick to give results. May not be until tomorrow or the next day, depends on how fast the test goes.
Deb

 

[Goonie]

Sweetie & Rubio exchanging a kiss :shock: :

Awww, how sweet is that!

I'm hoping to get some news from the hospital after the biopsy this afternoon at 1p. I go back to the hospital at 2:30 to wait for him to get back to his bed. Really hoping they'll be quick to give results. May not be until tomorrow or the next day, depends on how fast the test goes.

Are they only testing the tumor or also the surrounding areas??
Hope they'll have some answers for you guys soon.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Gina, isn't that a sweet pic? He tried to grab her shortly after that pic, so Sweetie went home!

Roger has had his whole body scanned in one way or other. The only test they didn't do was the stomach scope. They're doing the biopsy on his liver where the mass is, in an hour, so hopefully we'll have some news as to what the heck is in his liver already. But they had to check that there were no tumours anywhere else before the biopsy, as if it is cancer & started elsewhere, they had to find the source to make sure treatments covered both the liver & the source of the tumours. So far, Roger's clean of anything anywhere else but his stomach. So that would be the next test after the biopsy. The docs have to make sure that Roger is in good enough health to have any treatments, as he has no fat whatever on his body right now. He's on a high calorie, high fat diet. The dietician was so concerned, especially since Roger won't take any sort of meal supplement, to the point that they're talking about giving Roger a feeding tube. They're going to discuss that after the biopsy. I did get him to the dentist this am, and got the loose tooth out plus debris left behind in the old root canal. They took xrays as well, so Roger will be going there for his teeth. When he's well enough I'm going to take him for a thorough cleaning. I'm so glad he's found a good dentist, as our dentist is 30 miles away, too far for Roger now.
Deb

 

[slavetoIzzie]

Awww, your crew is so darn photogenic! I'm sending you and Roger all the good vibes I can. Hopefully, it will turn out to be a benign cyst or something similar, in his liver, and not cancerous. I'll check in again later tonight for any updates.

PS- If Roger pays the shipping, I can send him some of my body fat! (I really need to lose some weight, and it would be for a good cause) :mrgreen:

 

[Jiffy]

Deb, hugs to you and Roger and your whole crew. I really hope that you get good results from Rogers tests. I am glad he got the dental visit over with.

 

[fresnowitte]

Great pic's of the crew Deb!

Please know....

Thinking of you and praying for good news for you & Roger.

 

[Goonie]

Since the stuff works so well for our babies in gaining weight, why not try CC on Roger? (sorry, I had a rough day and operating on ~3.5 hrs of sleep)

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hi Deb! Sorry to hear things are so slow going with finding what is going on with Roger. I am sure you are just as frustrated as he is. So Roger isn't up to eating much, huh? Have they tried giving him Ensure. I'm sure they have, but thought I would ask any way. When my father was ill and lost all taste for food, I would make him Ensure/ice cream shakes. He tolerated them for a while.

I loved all the pics of your darlin's, especially the one of Rubio and Sweetie swapping saliva, LOL

Please take care of yourself as well as Roger. You are in my thoughts!