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]

Hi Nathan,
That was Lonzo on my shoulder sleeping, but Gabriel did spend the rest of the evening snuggling with me. He's a good snuggler, just like the rest of my crew! And I"m so looking forward to the ligher colours coming out more often. Aren't those sidebars extraordinary, just like Cyrus? Thanks for checking in Nathan!

 

[sweetiepie9]

I just weighed my crew & I"m very impressed, they've all gained weight:

May 27 - April 17

Leo 504 532

Rubio 770 786

Lonzo 496 522 YEAH!

Didi 422 440

Gabriel 275 292 YEAH!

I'm so glad Lonzo & Gabriel are gaining a goodly amount of weight, it just eases my heart, those are the two I worry about the most. Gabriel ate 7 supers & Lonzo ate 10 (I cut the adults off at 10, it's more than enough, even though they don't eat them every day).

I also checked Gabriel's eyes & they're fine, the shed is all gone, so I'm going to change the appointment on Friday to Lonzo only, I'll take Gabriel in when I get the next fecal, so the vet can give him a checkup. But I"m more concerned with Lonzo right now, his lung really isn't functioning & he keeps curling up around it, so that concerns me even more. No respiratory infection that I can tell, but I don't want it to be non-functional, so need some tips on how to get it to work better. Lonzo's spine is also curving so want to know what that's about, may just be age, but he's always had a stiff spine, so I'm glad I ordered Serrapeptase liquid from Tracie, maybe that will help him overall. I've always thought he had arthritis, so that may also be a factor.
Deb

 

[Nathan1995]

Ahh that's so good! Well done you, and your whole crew for gaining! Gabriel is similar to Cyrus in weight now, I weighed Cyrus today and he was 275g, exactly what Gabriel was last month! Well done Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks Nathan, it's nice to see them all gaining. I don't know if Gabriel sleeps over the winter like the rest, but we'll see when October shows up. I'm hoping not, as it's very quiet when they're all sleeping. Leo & Didi didn't sleep much last winter, so kept each other & me company. So I'm hoping it'll be the same this winter. I'm also hoping that Lonzo doesn't sleep the whole winter like last year, as he lost weight & I didn't like that for him, he's too old to lose weight over the winter, it's seems to take forever for him to gain the weight in the spring. They all don't eat much during spring fever, it's a right pain in the ***, but having gone through it as many winter/springs as I have, I'm used to it. Hope Cyrus & Lia don't decide to sleep all winter, too, you'll have to let me know how that goes!
Deb

 

[dragonlover3]

Hi Deb,
3 words....They are beautiful. Gabriel is looking amazing! I love the positions beardies can get into, sometimes I think they can defy the laws of physics. :lol: I hope Lonzo starts to feel better and the serrapeptase helps his stiffness. I've got my fingers crossed about his lung problem and hope the vet has some good advice for helping him. Does his beard stay black cause he's not feeling good or is it from seeing his brothers and showing his brawn? :lol: ....Hurray on the weight gains. Our beardies sure keep us on our toes! I don't always post but I lurk here often and thanks Deb for all of your wonderful help and advice for my Moya! You are wonderful!
Amanda

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Amanda, thanks for stopping in. Lonzo likes to black beard all the time, but when he's on the ramp, he enjoys bearding his brothers. Because I'm in such a small place, the living room is where the 4 boys live. Rubio's behind the couch, so he only gets to see the other 3 when he's out. He black beards Gabriel more than his other brothers, though, guess he's used to them! But Lonzo is a true black bearder, it goes right down his legs & always has, lots of male hormone, and to think he still does this at 9 yrs old! When he's in his tank & there's no-one on the ramp, his beard is light grey, had never been white.

Yes, I'm hoping the vet will be able to help him. She thinks he pulled the muscle that controls that lung when he kept flipping over, but he hasn't done that in 2 months. She also said it takes a long, long time for the muscle to heal, but even so I still want him seen. I want to talk to her about arthritis, because I think he has it in his spine & joints. His spine is rounded & I do think he's in some pain, so I think the liquid will help him alot. I know I'd never be able to manage the pills, I'm thinking of taking them myself, as I have osteo-arthritis in all my joints & I don't want to take any pain pills, they upset my stomach. So I'm thinking the Serrapeptase myself, see if it helps me any. I find this rain we're getting is making my joints worse & suffering severely from allergies for the first time in years, is making things worse, too. Yuck.

I'm glad to help Moya, sometimes they can be very difficult to figure out. If I hadn't been through so much with Sweetie, Angel & Issy, I wouldn't have the expertise I have now. It's always 20-20 hindsight, right? So any questions, feel free to ask.
Deb

Speaking of strange sleeping positions, I turned all their lights off at 4:30 'cause went to my nephews to babysit. When I got home at 10p, Gabriel had climbed down off his basking log, went over to the cool side & parked himself on the Bailey houses in that corner, with his full head up against the glass, he looks so funny, I wanted to take a pic but my battery was dead.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I just checked Sunlife's website & my orthodics claim is pending for payment! I'm so pleased. I left a message for the lady who helped me so much on Friday, but I sure wan't expecting the claim to be approved so quickly, even though she said it was going to be. My faith in my insurance company has been restored. Now if only my eyes would stop burning. I didn't even go into work today (not good) but even with Reactine my eyes are burning, I have a massive headache & my nose is still running, so hopefully I'll feel better. I have to go to work tomorrow, can't take any more time off, luckily I see my doc on Friday, so hopefully she'll be able to help me figure out what to do about these darned allergies. I've never been hit like this ever before.
Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

Update on Gabriel:

He's gained another 6 grams so is up to 296! Yeah! He also ate 8 supers & real squash on Wed, but didn't eat anything yesterday, which had me worried, but today he ate all his babyfood, so he'll get supers & greens when I get back from my doctor visit.

I've had to change Lonzo's visit to the vet, to the 19th of July. Eric needed some financial assistance, he's now found a good job that he's enjoying but was out of work again for almost a week, so Ient him the money & have put off the visit. Then Lonzo & Gabriel will go to the vet & Gabriel will get his fecal test to make sure he's clean. He only has 2 more panacur doses but doesn't seem fazed by it anymore. His beard was also creamy white & so was his belly when I put him back in his tank, so sounds like he's getting more used to being here. All good news.

I've got Lonzo out right now black bearding his brothers, so that will give him some exercise, running up & down the ramp. I'm hoping to get some lung function before he sees the vet in July.

The others are doing fine, all gaining weight & shedding like mad. Lonzo & Leo are now pre-shed on 1/2 their backs, feet & neck. Didi has shed his face & nostrils & now is starting on an arm. Leo just shed 1/2 of his tail. Rubio just shed one of his arms, and 1/2 his tail is getting ready. He's shed his lips and now starting his neck & up the side of his head. So they're all busy with that & just being themselves. Hoping for some sun tomorrow, it's going to rain, again, today. We're looking at high 80F temps starting the beginning of July, so we may have a summer after all, we just didn't get a spring. I'm having to replace the plants I planted on the girls grave, there was so much rain, they rotted. So I'll see what I can find this weekend and will plant more than just the 4.
Deb

 

[NeosMom]

I'm so glad everyone is doing so well! I'm sure they will both get great vet approval in another month. Sorry bout the weather. We have been overcast for 3 days and I love it! This really is the sunshine state and sometimes a bit of a break to cool down and give my yard a breather is nice.

BTW... love the signature! He fits in just right. One day I'm going to make one.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Impressive and encouraging weight gain numbers for all your dragons. You've really done an amazing job with all of them, and they all needed to gain, so I know that is so time consuming to worry about, pay attention to and keep track of. The pics of Gabriel so light colored remind me of Smurf! I wonder when they will be more colorful and lighter for real, like all the time? Have you seen the recent pics that Amanda posted of her crew sleeping? Her dragons are rescues and the last batch of pics that she posted were just incredible. They are all getting more colorful and lighter and look like regular dragons and not rescues. I hope we can get ours looking like that. I know it takes time.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Mindi & Shannon thanks for checking in. Isn't it a great pic of Gabriel? Gina added it to the sig she put together for me.

I'm so glad mine are starting to gain again, I worry over the winter when they're brumating, then spring fever hits & it's never mind eating, so I like them to gain tons of weight over the summer so they're good for the winter & spring.

Gabriel is doing really well & I think he's starting to shed in places, but not sure, it's hard to tell with him. Lonzo has started a shed on 1/2 his back & leg & he's just miserable. I was out until just now & he was sound asleep, so he'll have lots of attention tomorrow, as I have nothing on the agenda but going to the library & store in the am & that's it. Leo is doing an almost body shed, 1/2 his tail shed yesterday, now his whole back, neck & one leg are in pre-shed, he doesn't get as miserable as poor Lonzo. Didi has started an elbow, he shed his whole face a few days ago. Rubio is waitiing on 1/2 his tail & now his neck has started. He just shed an arm (his bad right arm) so I had to help a bit, which he hates, but that shed is so thick it's hard to come off. He'll get a soak tomorrow to help it come off.

I also got lots of impatients to replace the ones that have died in my memory garden (even though it's not my garden, it belongs to the office). I found them at a nursery, so got red, pink & pink/white combination, enough to plant the whole horseshoe garden, so now have to wait for it to stop raining! They're used to our weather, so they'll do much better than the New Guinea impatients did, they're more for inside the house. Now I find out!
Deb

 

[dragonlover3]

Hi Deb,
Just poppin' in to say hi. That's great Gabriel is gaining weight! and great weight gain for the other boys too! Sounds like your guys are having a shedding party Their beauty coming thru!
I know it takes so long for reptiles to heal and that's frustrating to say the least but I hope Lonzo's respiratory issues resolve soon! Is it easy to see that his lung isn't inflating? Is he sunk in a bit on that side? It's got to be scary, and the poor guy has some arthritis too! I hope the Serrapeptase helps! I bought some Serrapeptase to have on hand and switched everyone to liquid calcium from Tracie. Soooo much easier!
Thinking of you and the guys!
Amanda

 

[Nicodemous]

Good to hear that they all are doing great!! Hope to hear more!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Amanda, I have to get over to your thread, seem to have lost the notifications, but I'll find it when I get off here, just have to look up Talon!

Yes, it's great to see the results of good health, they all stopped eating much after spring fever & because it's been so cold & wet up here for the last month, they didn't have alot of appetite. But when I started giving them calcium 3x/week instead of twice (per Tracie) and bee pollen in their water, their appetites really picked up. And so did their weight.

Lonzo's right side looks the same as the left side, it just doesn't move in & out. It did for awhile, then quit. My vet said when he flipped over those multiple times, it pulled the muscle that controls the lung & it would take a long time to correct. I've been letting him out to roam more often & also more baths, where he likes to try to jump out, that would only give minimal movement & that stopped, too. He's never had difficulty with just the one lung working, at least so far, but he's now shedding the whole back of the side that's not moving & that seems to be wearing him out. He was asleep at 3p today, which is a bit earlier than usual & not his nice happy colours either. So tomorrow I'm home all day & I'll be cuddling him alot, plus a nice long bath & time out, so maybe that will all help.

I'm really pleased with Gabriel, he's got so much more energy & is gaining weight well, eating well, pooping daily. He only has 2 more panacur doeses & he's done, then he & Lonzo go to the vet on July 6, so hoping for some good news on Gabriel's fecal. It's been a long 2 1/2 months! But I've also learned that if you feed a dragon before giving him meds, it makes a huge difference in the way he feels. He's been eating great since I started doing that & his dose is .3 ml every Sunday now, twice what he was getting before. So that has really helped. I ordered liquid calcium & Benabec gel from Tracie, as well as some liquid Serrepetase (sp?) for Lonzo to help with his arthritis, as it's been flaring up & that's also why he's not been as active.

Hi Nicodemous, thanks for looking in. Good to hear from you, what have you & yours been up to?
Deb

 

[Nicodemous]

My little ones are ok, they're not eating alot right now but they're not losing weight...yet
Im having problems finding work, my back is causing me major problems.

I applied at a petstore and went and looked at the baby beardies, I'll have to load the pics cuz they are sooooo cute!!