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]

Good news, Deb. I'm glad to hear that. I hope they are strong tires. We've had one tire blow one month after buying it, just by driving on a dirt road, not many rocks but we had one spare and two tires got flats, miles from anywhere, and no cell phones then and no one around except one person who's cell phone had lost its power. Thankfully we were able to upgrade and get better tires, we haven't had that problem since.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I hope so, too, Laurie, as I don't expect to have to get any more for a few years.

So I thought Rubio was a bit heavy this am, so I weight him & he's gone from 756 to 798g! Talk about heavy!

Lonzo's gained a bit too, he's now 560 from 538.

.0'?73]]----Leo9's been helping with the computer! He's lost a bit from 530 to 522, but he's still my little fatty!

Didi has also lost a bit from 440 to 436, but not signaificant, I just like them to be as fat as possible before brumation hits.

And Gabriel is still at 362, but that's up from 340 a week ago, so he's doing really well.

It's sunny again, so Gabriel's already had some sun time, so has Didi & Lonzo is sunning himself right now. Next will be Rubio, then Gabriel gets a bit more time out if I have time!

 

[ShannyBeard]

Good to see the weights are still good! I can't imagine looking forward to brumation already...! That's the difference in where you live to where I live - it is still 100*F here. Brumation is a passing fantasy, just like winter. HAHA

You keep reminding me there is nothing like the SUNSHINE for our dragons. I need to get outside with them. You do a great job of taking care of them, always having them outside, managing their weights and things that so many people don't think to do. They are all so lucky to have you!!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Shannon,

It's good to hear from you, how are you settling in to the new place. I'm really proud of Gabriel, he is such a funny little guy. I'm so glad he's continuing to gain weight, he's got an awesome appetite. He ate 3/4 of a large collard green leaf all by himself, I couldn't believe so much green could go into his tummy without him bursting & that was after eating over 10 supers. So it's great to see, no more babyfood & no more reactions, either.

And Rubio gained 40g in 2 weeks, which is what he does. He'll lose 40, gain 50, lose 30, gain 60, all in the matter of a few weeks. It's so strange as he doesn't eat a whole lot, either, but he's been pigging out lately, which is strange as he's doing an almost complete body shed & in fact some of his skin is starting to crackle. He's normally so grumpy when he's in pre-shed, hides alot & doesn't like to eat, but this time it's different, don't know why, but then he's a dragon!

Lonzo's lung is off & on but at least it's starting to work better. If it's not 100% in 3 mo I go back, but there's not really much she can do about it. It has to heal on it's own. At least he's not flipping over anymore!

Didi's back to eating roaches instead of supers, but not the adult ones, just the middle size (of which I have hardly any), but doesn't that figure. He was eating all the adult females so I had Jake bring over some of his; now Didi won't eat the adults. But at least that means I have lots & lots of babies, who will eventually grow to mid-size roaches. Just when you figure you have a good food supply for a dragon that loses weight easily...

Leo's also losing weight, not eating alot, but he's still my little fatty. I just like to get alot of weight on them before brumation starts & up here they'll start slowing down next month...hard to fathom the summer is almost over, we're already in August! Boy that went fast!

I love checking out all your threads, love your growing babies, Papa, Rocky, Chief and the rest. And your Rankin dragons, too.
Deb

 

[beardie parents]

You're right, Deb. The summer sure did go fast, it seems like it just got started yesterday and now, next week, I have a 6 day work week. At 40 hours that week but it's spread out between 6 days because of the start of school the following week. It's tough to go from working 4 days a week to 6 the next week.

 

[morphmom]

At 40 hours that week but it's spread out between 6 days because of the start of school the following week. It's tough to go from working 4 days a week to 6 the next week.

hard to fathom the summer is almost over, we're already in August! Boy that went fast!

I work anywhere from 3-5 days a week and the hours are different everyday :roll: It is hard trying to adjust everyday, everyweek, you just never seem to get use to it. As for school, my little one starts grade 2! :shock: Where did my little baby go! :shock: Good thing I have Myah :wink: Blessed are we with the bearded babes. (There's a reason why Myah was my B-day gift and her viv was my mothers day gift!) LOL! :lol:
Myah has yet to burmate and I count my blessings for that. I'd just miss her so bad but it's nice to hear that eveyone is well and gaining weight for their brumation.

 

[beardie osk]

Just checking in Deb, it's been a while.........and I agree, summer has just flown by, I am looking forward to cooler weather though, love all you babies!!!

 

[diamc]

Hi Deb, I can't believe that it is the end of summer already either. We have had a LOT of thunderstorms lately. On my way home from work today, there was a tornado warning in effect and the sky was a purplish/black color. I broke the speed limit most of the way home because I was really worried. The sky opened up as I pulled in the driveway. A tornado did touch down about 15 miles from here so I guess we ourselves were lucky. We had 3 very bad thunderstorms with very heavy rain, no drought here anymore.

Glad to hear that all your babies are doing so well. Hopefully they will all be at very good weights before they even consider brumating. And hopefully Lonzo's lung will be 100% before then too.

Great that you got such a good deal on those tires, what a relief!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi morphmom, you're lucky that Myah has never brumated, I hate it, every winter. I'm hoping that some don't this year. Lonzo, my 9 yr old, is having problems with his right lung functioning, it's been going on since April, when he flipped over on his back a few times, so I'm hoping he won't. And my newest beardie Gabriel, even though he's now in good health, I still want him up, so we'll see. Last year Didi & Leo were only out for a few weeks, then they were up most of the winter. It's too lonley without someone up to take care of, I hardly know what to do with myself!

Hi Christine, I'm very blessed that they're all healthy right now. Even Lonzo is doing ok, his lung is partially functioning, hope that heals up quickly. Gabriel seems to be a normal beardie, just small. He's eating alot every day, gaining weight, too, I'm hoping he'll grow in length a bit more.

Hi Diane, The tires are great & were a good deal. I go back every 10,000K (not sure what that is in miles) to get them rotated, that's part of the service. I just have to get them aligned next weekend. I'm glad to hear that the tornado was 15 miles away, I"m sure you got lots of storm from that, though. We had a big thunderstorm last Tuesday, but the heat is back again, so maybe we'll get another one. Drag that you got so many thunderstorms, though, that's alot of rain. The weather is just crazy this year.
I'm pleased with everyone but Didi, he's now refusing to eat roaches, little brat. He was eating an adult a day, but one day he bit my thumb while trying to grab the roach, ever since then he's shied away from them, but won't eat many superworms either. He doesn't gain weight with just greens & veggies, so has to eat protein. He's already lost a few grams...so I keep trying. Today he finally ate a medium sized roach, but it was the only one. They don't grow as fast as crickets! I have tons on babies & alot a bit bigger, so hopefully he'll get back into eating adults again. Jake filled my tank up with adults a couple of weeks ago.

So I have a few pics, the first two are Gabriel sleeping, how this can be comfy I don't know. I know babies sleep like this often, but adults? :mrgreen:

And I took some pics of my plants, I don't have a big garden, as I have a 3rd floor balcony, but here are the few I have:

This is my out of control Rosemary plant, looks like a wild afro! :lol:

This is my 6 yr old azalea bush. It was given to me by a dear friend that passed away 3 yrs ago, so is very precious to me:
Before I learned that you have to feed them! It had 32 fucia coloured blooms this past spring but the leaves were dying:

Then I asked at a nursery, bought this great fertilizer & voila! A brand new bush!

These are my dwarf lavendar & basil plants. I keep overwatering the basil, so it keeps dropping leaves, will need to leave it alone for a few days:

My cedar tree, got it as a Christmas present when it was about 6" tall 3 years ago:

This little sunflower plant is called a Teddy Bear. It's really small, but I think it would be taller but we didn't have much sun in June. My sis gave it to me:
With flash:

Without flash:

The whole plant is less than a foot high & the open flower is about 3" across. There are 6 flowers on it. It's very cute!

And last but not least, Rubio's impatient plants. Now Gabriel is eating them, too. He sits on the little pots & eats off the bigger pot. I'll have to get a pic one day, luckily Rubio can't see him do it! I think there would be a big fight!

Now I just have to get out early one morning & get over to the office to take pics of the memorial garden I planted. I haven't been able to get out early yet, but hoping to do that next week. I'm anxious to see how the plants are all doing there.

 

[Claudiusx]

Hahahah Gabriel, don't you know only BABIES sleep like that!! :laughing6:

Nice city garden :mrgreen:

-Brandon

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Brandon, how have you been & your girls? Haven't seen a post in awhile.

Thanks for checking in, isn't that the silliest sleeping position? When Rubio was a baby he did that a few times & still likes to stand upright in his tank but while he's awake, not asleep. Gabriel is a very funny beardie, has a great personality & loves to cuddle, for long period of time!

Thanks for the compliments on my garden. I'm not that great of a gardener, but I do like some green on my balcony. The impatients are being constantly eaten by Rubio & Gabriel, so they're not growing much, will need to give them a couple of days to recoup!

 

[Goonie]

Gabriel is reliving his childhood days, with sleeping upright and lots of mommy snuggles

 

[Nicodemous]

I love it when they sleep like that, its cute! Glad to hear that they are all doing well.

 

[morphmom]

Hi morphmom, you're lucky that Myah has never brumated, I hate it, every winter. I'm hoping that some don't this year. Lonzo, my 9 yr old, is having problems with his right lung functioning, it's been going on since April, when he flipped over on his back a few times, so I'm hoping he won't. And my newest beardie Gabriel, even though he's now in good health, I still want him up, so we'll see. Last year Didi & Leo were only out for a few weeks, then they were up most of the winter. It's too lonley without someone up to take care of, I hardly know what to do with myself!

Oh, my gosh! I hear ya. I have one daughter as I'm unable to have anymore children (Very thankful to have my little miracle) So when school started and she became more interested in her friends then poor mommy, I begged my hubby for a pet that 'needed' me. The running joke in our home is, Myah and her very costly viv/hood fixture were my mothers day AND birthday gifts. I 'spoil' her so much that hubby says I've now used up my Christmas and possibly our anniversary! :shock: (It's a joke but, it'd be worth it! :wink: )
I'm so glad Gabriel is now on the up and up. His silly, sleepy, photos are just too much! I hope Lonzo feels better soon. I'm a worry wart. I swear my hair is turning gray from Myah having Coccidia! :roll: I couldn't imagin having so many lizard babies to care for. You must truely be a very loving and very patient person :notworthy:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Gina, isn't he a hoot. Every night when I get home from work, he's in a different silly position, but this was the silliest, he even had his left paw hooked over his log to keep him upright & notice his legs, talk about cramped!

Hi Nicodemous, they're all doing really well, not looking forward to brumation time, but still have a couple of months to spoil them all!

Hi morphmom, I have a miracle baby, too, he's 28 now. I had 4 miscarriages after him, so he really is my miracle baby, even though he say he's a man now. He's a framer & lives with his girlfriend and their little terrier. I'm glad you have a miracle daughter, even if she doesn't want to spend so much time with you (don't you hate when they get to that age?). It's like we're an embarrassement!

Gabriel is a cutie & I'm so glad I brought him home. He's such a tiny little thing, but I'm hoping he'll add a bit to his body length. I'm just glad he's getting fat, he was so skinny when I brought him home, it was heartbreaking. Took 3 mo to get rid of the parasites, as my vet had to give him a 1/2 dose when I first got him, he was very frail. Well, he's not frail anymore, he loves to jump off my hands when I'm bathing him, off the counter, I keep having to move quick to catch him in mid-air! He was worth all the effort and so were the rest of them. I luckily have a double sink, deep enough to have 2 baths going on at the same time. Tomorrow is calcium, vit/min & bath day for all 5 of them. It's gotten quite hot (well 86F is quite hot for me, I'm a coolweather girl) and they found it hot, too, so lots of time each on the balcony or in the living room to cool off & they all drank water from a syringe, too. So they keep well-hydrated. Some weekends I don't hardly leave the house, just to spend alot of time with them, I try to cuddle each of them at least once over the weekend, not alot of time during the week, I only see them until 10:30 when I leave for work. It's alot of work, but so worth it, they're just so cute, all 5 of them. :mrgreen: