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:

 

[CountofCasualty]

Deb, there's a website called voltageconverters.ca and you can get a 200w Step Up/Down transformer for 19.99+shipping. Which seems to be pretty fair. Not sure of the prices you were looking at, but it might be worth looking into.

 

[JangoMom]

Hey Deb just checking in to say hello.. hope all is well. Hope all is well with Didi and the others too. I got a vet appt. tomorrow for Jango finally. Sorry you got denied for long term and about your diabetes.. I have a few friends with it and know it can be nasty at times, hope you're feeling better soon.

 

[diamc]

Deb, to give you an idea of the step-up, step-down converter that Todd recommended to me, here's the exact one that we're using for Loki's tank. Got the 500 because Todd said that if we decided to go from an 80 watt MVB to a 100 watt, this transformer would do the job nicely. You might want to check Amazon in your area, maybe you can get free shipping too which would be a big $ saver as they can be heavy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0022QOSDK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#

I'm happy to hear that the extra diabetic med is helping, yes, a high glucose level certainly can be scary. It's fun getting old, isn't it? NOT. Hope you can feel so much better after your ankle surgery is done.

Yes, Gabriel is a riot with those worms. Can tell he really enjoys chasing them though. Guess Gabriel thinks of that ramp as only his and doesn't want to share. :mrgreen: They sure can pout when they don't get their way, can't they?

Funny how Lonzo can change his coloring like that. I imagine it could be a little scary seeing him so white.

Hope Puff isn't getting ready to lay more eggs, she needs to give herself and you a break.

Good luck at the vet tomorrow, hopefully the vet can prescribe something to clear it up so it doesn't get any worse. Does Didi act like it bothers him? Odd about the black dots that fade away when his beard is bright.

Won't hurt getting labs done on Leo. Gizmo always had big eyes too but I tend to think that is a hereditary trait, will be interesting to see what the vet thinks about it.

Must seem great getting a full paycheck, bet you earn every penny of it and even more because of the pain you go through when you're trying to work.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Jolene, that`s the converter that I found on Amazon.ca and it`s $29.99 as I need to convert 110W to 230W. I couldn`t find it on the site you sent me for $19.99 but will look further when I get the wash done.

So just one more day & your little guy is home!!!! That`s so exciting!!!!

Hi Tammy, glad you`re getting Jango to the vet, sometimes they need a checkup. Did the new UVB do the trick and get him to be more energetic? Hope so, he's such a beautiful boy. Mine aren't as energetic as usual either, but get paid on Friday & ordering Arcadia bulbs in, then converters. My need to wait two weeks to get the converters, but either way, within 3 weeks they'll all have new bulbs.

So Didi is back on antibiotic shots, she didn't like the looks of that spot on his lips and that darned abcess is growing again inside his mouth. So hopefully another 2 weeks of the shots and a new type of antibiotic cream for the outside will work this time. We've been working on this since November when the original abcess burst. Plus I have to put Betadine on the black spots on his beard, daily, hopefully that will do the trick for that. The cyst that's near his underarm is growing a bit, but nothing serious at this point and when I take him back in 2 weeks she'll think about removing it again, it's very small & not bothering him at all. So that was my morning...at least he doesn't have fungus of any sort, thank goodness, I couldn't deal with any more fungus.

Hi Diane, isn't Gabriel funny when he chases worms? And no sign of eggs from Puff, but she's not eating as often either, so we'll see. That's the converter that I can get thru Amazon.ca for $29.99, not sure if shipping is free or not. It's the one that Todd recommended and he found it for me on the Canadian Amazon. I checked the site that Jolene sent me and it's the same converter. So guess I know which one to get!

 

[CountofCasualty]

Hi Deb, here is the link: http://www.voltageconverters.ca/p-155-200w-step-up-down-voltage-transformer.aspx. Here is the other link for all of them: http://www.voltageconverters.ca/c-2-voltage_converters.aspx

They're based in canada and have positive reviews, so I'll be going through them when I get the converter when I pick up the Acadia MVB for Thresh. Thinking about getting the tube as well for the new dragon but I need to buy a new fixture for that so we'll see, the Reptisun does just fine.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks Jolene, I'll find out if this is enough voltage for the 80W Arcadias that I'm ordering on the weekend. I'll let you know. That would be a great savings as I have to get 3 at least.

 

[JangoMom]

Hi Tammy, glad you`re getting Jango to the vet, sometimes they need a checkup. Did the new UVB do the trick and get him to be more energetic? Hope so, he's such a beautiful boy. Mine aren't as energetic as usual either, but get paid on Friday & ordering Arcadia bulbs in, then converters. My need to wait two weeks to get the converters, but either way, within 3 weeks they'll all have new bulbs.

Hey Deb.. yes he seems abit more energetic.. he does move around more than he did before but he still doesn't run around like he use to and doesn't seem to have his bright orange colors like he did. Hoping in time he'll be back to the dragon he was before. But the vet said he was in good health today so I'm happy with that.. but his breathing still has me abit on edge even though she said it was nothing to worry about.

 

[sweetiepie9]

If he was awhile without the UVB could take him awhile to recover, but he's also getting older and they get less energetic as they get older, could be that, too. Glad he had a good checkup, did she do the sample?

 

[sweetiepie9]

So Jolene, I'll be ordering from the site you sent me for the converters, they're just what I need, now to make sure they take paypal.

So I've ordered 4 Arcadia MVB as that's all Todd had in stock. He'll have the 5th & 6th (for the ramp) if I can afford 2 more, I'll have to check when he gets back to me. Gabriel will be the one without for a couple of weeks. Now to get groceries in, get the 2 bills I pay done & if I have enough left I can get 2, if not 3 converters. Will be good to get the new lights up for the crew, then I'll be good for at least a year, if not longer. YEAH, they're finally going to get good lights on them!

Puff is in her hide, no idea if she's laying eggs, will check on her b4 I leave for work. Lonzo's been in the sunshine for the last 2 hours, so I'm pleased about that. Gabriel will be out until I get home, he loves having the ramp to himself for the whole day, gets so excited by that. Then I have to search for him as he's asleep b4 I get home, but I always find him. He's such a sweetie.

Everyone got fed yesterday and had baths today, everyone pooped, so that was good. The only one I didn't get into the bath today was Puff, she'll get an extra long one tomorrow am. Then Sunday they get their supplements and feeding again, then the weekend if over, not going out except for food runs this weekend, so will be nice to spend time with my babies and if Puff is laying, I'll be there to help her.

 

[CountofCasualty]

Hey Deb, glad that site will work for you! That'll be the one I'm going for too. I'm going to buy the Acadia off of lightyourreptiles.com, you can get 2 for $100 and the shipping is fair. I can't put a MVB on Fizz, I can't fit the stand+deep dome under the table(I can barely fit the regular lamp) so he'll stick with the Reptisun 10.0. But I am excited to get the Acadia for Thresh in a few months.

 

[sweetiepie9]

That's who I just ordered from, he had 4 only in stock, so gets more in a couple of weeks, so I'll order at least another one then. Then I found out that I need to pay $250 down payment for the CPAP machine & mask when I go in on Thursday, so can't get the converters yet. So after I pay a couple of bills, then we'll see how much $ I have left, maybe I can get a couple of converters so at least I can set up The bulbs I'll have. I'll know after I see my bills...always something. I can always put the CPAP appt aside if need be as my crew really need new lights.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well I just heard back from Todd and I'm going to need 2 500W converters, then I can get the 200W converter for Didi. The 500W converter can run 3 bulbs at a time and that's what I need because I have at least 3 bulbs in one power bar, then Puff and the ramp in another power bar, so that's how I have to get the converters connected. Didi is on his own, so he gets the small one. So that'll be $30 x 2 + $20 x 1. So still not too expensive. So I'll have to see how much $ I have, hoping can get the 2 large converters, then Didi will have to be on the ramp more often than Gabriel, as Gabriel is with Leo and Lonzo together, can't separate them. So when I get the last 2 bulbs, I'll be able to get the last converter, oh my this is getting complicated. I might just put aside the appt for the CPAP for the first pay in July, as I can last until then...

 

[beardie parents]

That sounds good, Deb. It must be frustrating to have to decide who to take care of first, you or your babies. I know we would say "babies first" but remember, if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of them, besides, wouldn't it be better to have that cpap mask so you will sleep better and then won't be as tired as you have been? At least that's what I remember from a post of yours awhile back.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'll know more I get the 2 bills I have to pay, both of them are probably less than I think, so that will help & yes, Lori, you're right, but they need UVB more than I need the mask right now, I can wait another month. But I still might be able to do both. I'll know next week.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I got the 4 Arcadia MVB's yesterday am & the 2 converters I needed. Now I order 2 more when Todd gets his new order in July & a 3rd converter and my beardies are all set with new lights. I'm so stoked. I didn't have time to get them done yesterday, my dad had a fall last Sunday, luckily nothing broken, but had 8 stitches in the back of his head. He was headed up the stairs last Sunday night when he missed the guard rail & fell backwards, luckily just off 1 step. He has a very purple swollen derriere, plus his left arm is swollen, on top of the 8 stitches. They kept him in hospital until Tuesday afternoon. Luckily my mom is in good health & can care for him, as he can't walk very well, very shaken up. I spent Wed afternoon/eve with them, running around for my mom so she could have a rest. Then I spent yesterday afternoon, eve with them again & my sis & b-i-l brought supper over for all of us.

Then Gail called Eric to let him know about Grandpa (I've been afraid to call him) and he called me, we were on the phone for 1 1/2 hrs last night, with both him & Tara & he called me this am & we met at a park near their home & I spent 1 1/2 hrs with my grandson. I have pics, will post them tomorrow, too tired tonight & still have to get the lights on.

All my dragons are seeing the vet in July, I have 2 pays with few bills, 3 pays in August, so Leo & Didi are first on the 9th, then Lonzo & Gabriel are in on the 19th and Puff is in on the 26th. Want to get blood work done on Leo, plus check up on Didi and possible a biopsy on his beard. I'm giving him a break on the betadine & cream for a couple of days, will start up again tomorrow, want to see if it's spreading or stopped. All of them need their mouths checked.

Gabriel has yellow gums, I've never seen that before, but as it's difficult to get his mouth open & I only get flashes, not sure what I'm seeing, so that's what's being checked on him. I may get fecals done on all of them, too, have to see how the $ goes. But I can always take them in separately...I just always try to get them in for checkups yearly & after Titan and Rubio, it's even more important, as none of them are getting younger. Lonzo's doing really well, still has a great appetite and his weight is 561, so I'm trying my best to keep his weight up. I weighed them all on my new scale, it works great. $20 at Walmart.
Didi: 444; Gabriel 527; Puff 530; Lonzo 561 & Leo 567, which might be too much for him, have to check with the vet on all their weights.

So that's all, my dad's doing much better than he was even from Wednesday, he's seeing the physio weekly & has daily exercises to do. I'm so glad my mom is there for him & knows him so well (they'll be married 60 years in January).

I'm still working on my appeal to long term, even if they turn down this one, at least I've tried. Being back to work means I'm accumulating short-term & I found out that the small operation I need on my ankle won't happen until at least Jan next year if not later. At least I can walk well, so that's a good thing & also why it's taking so long. So once I'm in for it, I'll be allowed to apply for short-term at 100% pay; if I"m approved for long term that will take care of it anyway. So either way I'm covered, which is good to know.

My geckos are both doing well, too, in fact they both recently shed and are looking well fed, fat & happy. I just have to clean their tanks, haven't had a minute, so probably tomorrow night.

So here are some pics of Leo, 1st a video:








Eric and Leo and the top of Tara's head:


Leo likes his mom's scooter:


He crawls really fast and is almost walking, walks well holding a hand.


Ta Da!!!


So there's our time in the park, it went very well..he even gave me a big hug before I went home