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:

 

[blondie098]

what? see all that I miss when I gotta go sit out in the cold freezing weather for 11 hours? Sheesh! Not I gotta go read and see all that I missed!!! (And yes, everyone who is just meeting Deb -- she can be summed up with one word... AWESOME!)

 

[beardie parents]

We've all missed you also, Dawn.

 

[blondie098]

my feet hurt, and I think it will take me 3 days to thaw... I actually had hubby come run the booth for a little while so I could go ice skate to try and get warmed up (exercise = energy = warmth)... I have a heat strip, and an extra heater too... but with a big gaping hole in the front of the cabin all day long, well, I iz FrOzEd!!! And I get to do it all over again tomorrow... LOL ... I gotta be nuts!

 

[beardie parents]

I think you are right, Dawn. You are nutz. But then from all the years I've known you on here, I've noticed that before.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Diane, it was so good to hear about the bonus & raise. Our year end at work is Oct 31, already for Nov I've passed 5 out of 6 calls, so got a food report already. Being off for my leg wasn't good, but it was the best thing for my leg. I saw the physio for the last time yesterday, she said it's healing really well and should be 100% within a couple of weeks!

Yesterday was our Xmas party and I had to walk about 15 min each way to get to it, plus walked upstairs a bit. Got there at about 6p and didn't leave until 10:15, it was a really good party, we all had alot of fun. It went on longer, but my leg was hurting a bit, so I didn't want to push it. Got home at 11:30, so it was great to be out & dressed up!

Lonzo is feeling fine, after that little trip, but he didn't flip over, just got stuck. So I fixed that little area, so he'll now land on a thick towel if he tries that again. I also keep my eye on him. He's walking/running really well and is having a great time bobbing and black bearding at Didi and Leo when he's out. Yesterday I brought Gabriel out, too, had him on my lap, so he kept trying to jump onto Lonzo & Lonzo had fun with that, watching me stop Gabriel. I'll probably do that again today.

Everyone's sleepy today, including me, but they're all awake except Rubio and Gabriel just woke up when I moved him into his tank. So almost full house again. Bunny didn't get alot of handling last night & she's now asleep for the day.

Hi Holly, I love my new slippers, I'm so hard to fit that it was awesome to find a pair that do fit & they're so nice and warm!

Dawn, you poor frozen woman, how many more weekends before you're done and can warm up some & stay home for a abit? Yes, you've missed a bit, mainly my new crestie Bunny, there are a few pics of her for you to see. She's getting used to me handling her, she did open her mouth up to me yesterday a couple of times, but I just looked at her like "you're just not scary, Miss Big Mouth!" and she stopped right away, silly girl. Now to get her to eat Repashy instead of crickets, working on that! And thanks for the compliment, I like being called Awesome by Mrs Awesome herself :love5:

Lori, we've always known Dawn is a bit crazy, but that's what makes her so unique!

 

[ShannyBeard]

...you got a CRESTIE...!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hey Shanny, yes, she's 7 yrs old and beautiful, she has such different markings that any other crestie I've seen. I've called her Bunny, as her prev name was Buddy, so close enough. I've been having fun with her, take her out of her tank every night & play, plus let her lick of Repashy, as she's been eating crickets all her life. She's quite fat, so getting her on Repashy will help get her weight down a bit. Jake has been so helpful getting her organized. Do cresties go through relocation stress? She's hiding almost 24/7 now & she won't eat the Repashy on her own, so I did get her crickets for today. Jake said well fed dusted crickets once a week would be fine for her. I'm still learning, so if you have any info to add, please don't hesitate! She's so soft, her skin is like velvet. Jake told me she doesn't need any heat because I have the living room at 73F all the time. Rocco, on the other hand, is from Vietnamese rain forests, so he needs at least 80F in his tank and very humid. So he's in a smaller tank than the mesh one he had for now, I just bought him a glass tank, same size as his previous one, and a UTH to put on the back, then I have a 75W black light to put on the front, that shoud put the heat up fine. The back of the tank has cork, and I put him on it, he loved it! He now has a humid hide & more cork he can climb, plus small palmetto leaves that he loves to sleep behind. So he's getting a better tank, too. So my geckos will be in what they want to be. Plus I'm using coco fibres as substrate, which really hold in humidity for them. Just learned how to make it up myself & Bunny got the new substrate last week (she was on moldy moss, yuck). She also got some new leaves, which she likes, but still hides in her plastic leaves which came with her.

 

[JenFid]

Deb! I just had to pop in and say that little crestie is super cute! And the boys are all looking handsome as well

 

[sweetiepie9]

Awww, thanks, Bunny is cute, still getting used to me and I'm still getting used to her, but she's fun to have. Rubio is sound asleep, more so than Sarth, the other 4 are up but early to bed. Thanks for checking in!

 

[sweetiepie9]

I got few pics of Gabriel & a couple of Rocco:

New place to hide, find the beardie! "Hey mom, bet you can't find me!"

Ever seen a beardie holding his tail? Why? No-one knows: :lol:

Close up:

Rocco's temp tank, it's much smaller, but much warmer & humid; his fig tree is to the left & to the right is the cork, with his humid hide behind it and new bigger leaves in front of the cork, that's where he likes to hide now. His log is in the middle, crickets still love to hide in the log, he sits on top & eats them as they come out! So that hasn't changed.

Peek-a-boo, I see Rocco :lol: and the cricket right beside him :lol:

I'm still getting his new tank ready to move everything in. Jake & his mom are sick with the flu, so maybe next weekend. There's no rush, he's still getting used to the smaller tank. At least he now crawls around on the glass like he's been doing it for the last 5 years!

 

[blondie098]

aww, great pics -- I fell in love with a crestie at the reptile show last month, she was so sweet and so beautiful, I wish I could have brought her home But we have 5 residents already... gotta behave! She was so soft, she felt like suede, I thought they were hard and spiky, I had no idea how soft she was until I held her. And she was all over me

 

[sweetiepie9]

I know what you mean Dawn, about cresties, I've always wanted one, too, and Bunny just fell into my lap, so to speak. The nice thing about them is they're on opposite shift from the dragons, so dragons in the am, geckos in the pm, works for me!

Bunny's getting more used to me every day. I take her out every night & she runs all over me, it's funny; she's really soft, too. This morning she was still awake & I found her in her water dish having soak. Now she's fast asleep in her leaves.

I took Rocco out this am, too, he's not so happy to be handled, but better than he was & his skin has softened, too, being in a higher humid tank has helped a great deal. I think he's eating again, too, he's not so skinny as he was.

Gabriel was a real brat with his vit/cal this am. I give them all liquid now, no more powders, and he's usually good about licking it off the syringe, well today was a real fight, but as I said to him, I'm strong, so I'll always win, better to relax & lick it off, but no way, it was a real fight, but finally got it into him. Little brat.

Lonzo is running around the living room, I like to give him time out before I go to work. He's walking better since I put him on the Serrepeptase, so will continue giving that to him a few times a wee. I just love my old guy.

Didi and Leo were better with their vit/cal, this am, they're still soaking while I get my lunch going. Good boys!

I'm sure going to miss my boys, but I'm off work from Dec 29 to Jan 10, so we'll have lots of time together then. Can't wait!

So anyone have any ideas why Gabriel would sit like that holding his tail? I've never seen a dragon in that position b4!

 

[blondie098]

all of mine have done it here and there, but Coco is famous for it -- she curls herself up into such a tight ball, I cannot believe she an bend that way... and she lays on the latter half of her tail, like she's protecting it. Not sure what that's about, she's a Fresno baby, so I know she was supremely spoiled and cared for before she arrived here. Crash does it, and its hilarious because he's a fatty... but he has one corner that when he wants "alone time" he goes there, behind his branches. And holds his tail, almost like he's getting ready to preen.

Maybe after the holidays, when I have more time, we may go back up to the repshow in Cleveland and see if there is a crestie that we all love... they have the show in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland every month -- so we got time. We went last month because I wanted to get a large order of mice for Beetlejuice... LOL... still a little creepy to open the freezer for a pizza or munchies and see 50 little faces staring back at me. ack! I giggle every time!

So the guy at the repshow told me that cresties only eat "crestie chow" -- some powder that gets mixed like CriticalCare for dragons... was he pulling my leg? Do they eat live feeders? Do they need UVB? Heat? I haven't thoroughly researched their husbandry yet, so that's another reason that little darling didn't come home with me... I want to know I'm doing right by each of my babies :love5: I know you all understand that! But I still cannot get over how soft and squishball they are, I fell in love with that little goob!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Cresties don't need UVB or heat if your house is at least 72F. They come from an island off New Zealand, so have to stay cool. The best diet for them is Repashy, it's a complete meal for them & they really only need a small cap full daily, they don't eat alot, it's packed with fermented fruit, protein, calcium & vit/min & made especially for Cresties. So that's what I'm getting her to eat now. She gets a few crickets once a week. I use coco fibre for the substrate as it holds in moisture. she also has a small water dish (she was in it this morning soaking away :lol: ) and lots of leaves to hide in. All I've learned, I've learned from my expert Jake, he's been raising cresties & leos & snakes (corn snakes) for a few years & he's only 16 or 17, can never remember which. He's also giving me pointers on Rocco, who's the total opposite of Bunny, he's from Vietnamese rain forests, so needs 80F heat & lots of moisture. They both get misted with warm water every 2nd day, as that keeps their skin moist & have to have a "humid hide" that are kept moist all the time & that's to help them shed. They usually eat their shed & shed in one piece. If you have any questions, please ask & I'll ask Jake. He also knows crestie breeders in one of our buildings, so he gets his Repashy for free & gives it to me for free, too. If you look up Repashy in google, you'll get who to order it from.

My dragons are all doing well, still not sleeping but I think Didi will be off to brumation land soon. He's up & down, a few days up, then a day or so down. Leo hasn't crashed yet, either, with him you never know! Rubio still hasn't even poked his head out, it's been about 1 1/2 mo for him so far. Lonzo still gives me a death glare once in awhile when I wake him up, but he's up daily; he does somehow get himself under his blankie (it's spread out over 1/2 his tank) sometime during the day, so every once in awhile, like today, I come home to a blue lump, so funny. Gabriel is also sleeping earlier & earlier, I come home to a sprawled out beardie along the side of his hide. They're so funny how they react to winter!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well I just weighed Lonzo, whos now 572 YEAH!
And Gabriel is now 496! So the feeding by hand is working and Lonzo is eating supers every day, so it's so good to see him gaining weight, he was really skinny at one point.