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]

Good luck with the job hunt, sorry to hear about your back, it's always difficult when you're having major back issues.

How old are your babies again? I tried bee pollen in my guys water & it made an amazing difference in their appetite, so you might want to try it. It's really good for them, a friend started me on it, who knew? You buy it at a health food shop, not sure how expensive it is, I bought a big bottle, it was $12 & it will last ages. I'm going to have to put it into the freezer as I don't use alot, just a tsp in a small bowl of warm water & it's enough to last a week! They all like it & drink alot of it & they've been eating tons ever since, so I really think it does a good job.

Babies are just the cutest, good luck, hope you get it. Keep me updated!
Deb

 

[Nicodemous]

I will have to try the bee pollen, sounds like a good idea. They both turned one year old on the 3rd of June. I weighed them last night after a bath and poop, Shen-ron is 244grams and she is 16 1/2", Tamyas is 250grams and 16 1/2" as well.
Im hoping to find work very soon, Im almost outta supers.
Im not sure if they will eat salads only, but I really hope so.

-K-

 

[sweetiepie9]

They should be fine on salads for a few days, did you hear from the pet store yet. I know how hard it has been to find work. I'm so lucky, I've been at the same bank for 20 years & just have to get through 8 1/2 more years & I retire. But I also know alot of people who are looking for work, or having to find temp work. Have you checked in with an employment agency, that's how I found my position to begin with.

My son is a framer, has worked in the business for 8 years & he was laid off suddenly one day about a month ago. Just like that after 3 years with the company. So he found another job, but hated the boss & the way the work was done, plus the other workers were using his tools, which really didn't go over well. So he quit, but found another job right away. He's been working really long hours but he's happy to as likes the boss & the crew. So I'm really hoping this one works out for him. Construction was booming here for awhile (Vancouver, BC, Canada) but is slowing down. There's always work if you know what you're doing, so I'm really hoping he continues to work. He's 28 & his girlfriend is disabled, so unable to work, so it's all on him to pay all the bills.

So good luck & hope all works out for you.
Deb

Your little ones sound precious and already a year old! Wow, time goes by so fast!

 

[Nicodemous]

I was working at a metal shop making siding and roofing panels, then I found out what was wrong with my back and I can no longer do anything like that anymore! I have not heard from the Petstore yet but Im hopeing. The doctor wont say Im disabled but what I can do is very limited. (doh)
People dont want to hire someone with back problems apparently. Dumb people!!
I hope my luck improves with job hunting! Ill take almost anything as long as I can feed my little ones!

Speaking of little ones, mine both decided the weather sucks so they went back to bed.
Thanks for listenin

-K-

 

[sweetiepie9]

So why won't the doc let you go on partial disability or is it all or nothing. Do you live in the US or Canada. I know some docs can be stupid when it comes to back problems, but some make it very difficult to do anything. Maybe you should see another doc, but if you're in the US, that can be difficult, too. At least in Canada we have national health, so docs are always paid, as if you have no income you can go on welfare & they pay your premiums, if you have an income under $20k your premiums are paid by the province you live in. Mind you, that system is going broke & we have a real lack of doctors, but that's what happens. I can only wish you luck in your search.
Deb

My guys have been hating the weather over the last month, but they haven't lost their appetites yet and I'm hoping they won't. I'm just cleaning out Leo's tank & found a super beetle (I knew I lost a worm in his tank awhile back) and Didi ate it. Boy are they stinky!

 

[diamc]

Hi Deb, Didi really likes those superworm beetles, huh? You're right, they do stink. None of my adults would have anything to do with them but the chickens liked them. :lol:

Hopefully Lonzo will do better tomorrow, I know how concerned you are about him and trying to get him straightened out. Great that they've all gained wt though, that must make you feel better.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Diane, Didi seems to be the only one who loves them, so when I find one I always offer it to him & he always eats it, no matter what time it is. Right now I'm off to clean out Leo's tank, he pooped in it, never saw it until now. They've all had alot of time out today, which has been great, I even got a small nap in today. And I'm off the Reactine & feeling a bit better, my doc has me taking two puffs off one of my puffers a day, to see if that will help my breathing out. I also got alot of blood tests done yesterday & she's going to call me with results. She's working every Friday over the summer, which works well for me as I have every Friday off in July/August so I can see her really soon if I need to.

I'm hopeful that Lonzo's lung is finally starting to function on it's own. It looks like they're all starting to fall aslelep, so best get that tank cleaned out so Leo can get to sleep, too.
Deb

 

[diamc]

Guess you better get your babies to bed, don't wanna keep them when they're ready to sleep or you'll get those "beardie death glares." I imagine they were all happy with the time they had to run around. Naps are good, I took one myself today until a thunderstorm woke us up. Great that you're feeling better. I imagine all the rain you've had hasn't helped your breathing either. That works out well with you having Fridays off now and your doctor being available too.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Diane,

Only Didi was death glaring me, as he was sleepy before I got him out again, poor dragon, as if he's not out enough during the week, but he is my diva (what is a male diva called :mrgreen: ) and gets really upset when his brothers are running around the living room. He hates to share!
Hope the thunderstorms cooled down the heat at your end. I just read Angeline's thread, what a sweet beardie she is, and so smart! I'm so glad you have her.

I tried to get Gabriel to sleep, took awhile, he kept jumping up & trying to jump out of his tank. Then I snuggled him a bit until he tried to jump off my shoulder! He's become a real jumper lately, always trying to jump off the counter (that's 3 feet up in the air) or my bed, that's almost as high. I have to constantly watch him when he's on the counter, so if I have to leave him for a second to take care of something, he's back in the bath. He wouldn't eat any dragon food today, just babyfood & not alot of that, so not sure what's up with his appetite. He gets his 2nd to last dose of panacur tomorrow, so will fill him up first. i'd like to feed him a few times during the day on the weekend, but he won't eat more than just once, most times. At least he's still gaining bit by bit. He's just so light compared to my other big galoofs!
Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well Rubio has a new food to add to his list: impatients. I bought a bunch to plant next weekend & they're on the balcony, well, after he'd done a nice poop in behind them, he came over to the front, in the sun, and started eating them, leaves, buds & plants. Don't think he did any damage, but he took about 5 bites & really enjoyed them! They are on the list of edible flowers for beardies, so I wasn't worried, just fascinated to watch him plow right in!
Didi's on my lap, it's time for calcium & vit/min, bee pollen for all of them, then food. God some collard greens yesterday & they all had a few mouthfuls, so hopefully they'll eat more today.
I didn't sleep well, so called my trainer & told her I couldn't make it today, first time I've missed a session, but I feel like a wet noodle & she knows I've been fighting allergies or something like it, so she was very understanding, especially when I called her at 7a, thinking it was 9a. So went back to bed for a couple of hours nap & feel a bit better. I'll be glad to find out what the heck has been bothering me for the last 6 weeks.
Didi, Leo & Lonzo are next & it's sunny out, so I'll ge then out one at a time to sit in the sun.
Deb

 

[sweetiepie9]

So here's Rubio, munching down on the new impatients. Diane, these are going to be planted in the memory garden & each of our babies will have their own plants.

Nummmy Mommy, something different?

Didi's tummy, it's looking fine!

Gabriel's little beard:

You can see it better here, even though the flash washed out Gabriel's colour:

Didi in my garden basket:

Leo peeking out, keeping an eye on Didi:

Poor Lonzo's got a big shed going on, it sometimes wears him out but I'm trying to soak him every morning:
1/2 his back, 1/2 his tummy, an arm & a leg:

The garden flowers (silk) that I bought at a dollar store for a "Summer's coming" contest at work. It's nice to have flowers that stay lovely & don't have to be watered, just dusted. Brings summer into my living room!

 

[beardie parents]

They look great, Deb. You little boys are all looking great! Glad Rubio enjoyed the flowers you bought, now you must buy some for him.

 

[ShannyBeard]

We were just reading about the plants we could plant at our new house we are renting soon. I want to plant everything the dragons can eat, and I was amazed to see you have the impatiens! That was on the list. Do you leave them outside for them to eat, or do you put a little bit in their salad? I have greens and dandelion seeds that I am going to start indoors tonight in the apartment. When it's time to move into the house they should be ready to plant.

Didi is a nice bright color and she looks like a really good weight in that picture. I like to see some belly starting to show. I've got Scarlet trying to catch up to our Fat Ginger now. It's amazing how fast they grow when they hit a growth spurt.

Lonzo's shedding makes him look very sad. Smurf had shedding like that - just a thick looking shed that covered big, weird patches. It peeled up very slowly in one big thick layer and for a few days even Smurf's blankie itched him. :| Poor guy.

All of your pictures are very sweet. It's good to see them all doing so well and enjoying the beautiful outdoors.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Didi's my one boy that is difficult to keep weight on him, so it's great to see him gaining & see his belly hanging. He was only 300g when I got him, full grown at 17". The power sun his owner used hadn't been working for more than 6 mo, not sure if that had something to do with it, but he looks much better now.

I bought the impatients to plant over the grave where Sweetie, Issy, Loish & Dino are buried. It's a horseshoe garden on the patio behind my building manager's office & she was kind enough to let me use it. I'd already planted some New Guinea impatients, but they all died, too much cold & rain up here. So these are planted & raised in our weather, so should be ok. I was surprised when Rubio took 3 huge bites out of one of the flowers :shock: , first time he's ever done that, so I might keep a plant just for them to nibble on. They've never shown an interest before. So we'll see, we're finally getting some sun, so they're out on the balcony a bit more often.

I have some seeds to start, too, but it's been way too cold at night getting down to 52F, but next weekend we're supposed to have better weather, so will start up my little pots & see how it goes. I've got mustard greens, turnip greens, swiss chard, collard greens and some lettuces & dandelions. So we'll see. We've had a solid month of cool rain, so hoping it will go away for awhile now!

So Papa has the same type of shed as Lonzo? I've never seen him with such a large shed in a long time, usually it's just in patches, so we'll see how it comes off. Leo is shedding his whole back and 1/2 his tummy, not sure how long that will take. Rubio is now shedding the back of his neck & part of his head, he's not very pleased. The more colourful ones, Rubio & Didi, seem to have even more trouble with their sheds. So far they've always come off. Gabriel seems to be starting a tummy shed, we'll see how long that takes.

I'll bet you can't wait to get into that house. When do you move there? In August?

The pic of Didi doesn't give him justice, he really is a bright orange/yellow combination with pretty blue sidebars & he's got yellow polka dots on his tummy, never seen that before!

 

[NeosMom]

Hey Deb! Well, I did one of those write a long post and it disappears things. Oh well. What are you gonna do? Question about the bee pollen... I made up a little when I first got it and nobody liked it. So, I'm going to give it another chance. I used your description from before and made up a batch. I used a ziploc screw top container that is 2 cups. 1 tsp of bee pollen and I filled it to where there is less than a half inch at the top with warm water. Everything wouldn't dissolve, so I screwed on the cap and shook it up really good. My only question now is where do I store it? Does it need to go in the fridge and be warmed up each time you give it to them or can it be kept at room temperature for the week? Thanks for the help.

Also... glad to hear about the impatients. I loved the pictures of Rubio with them. They are VERY common flowers around here, along with hibiscus. I am going to have to get some of them to test out.