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! You got to see him! Oh my gosh that's great! What were Eric and Tara like? Any explanation from them?! Will this be continuing?!

 

[Esther19]

Oh Deb, I'm speechless! I am SO happy for you!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Yes, there were lots of explanations from the conversation on Saturday night, but none of them really made sense, so I just said we'd go forward and forget the last few years. Best thing to do, then I can concentrate on Leo and the new baby and that's all that's important to me. Let the two adults figure out that I don't mean any harm & they can just concentrate on raising their kids. I'll help as much as I can. I told him they have all my weekends if Tara needs any help once the new baby is here. It will be up to them to contact the rest of my family, as Eric has it in his head that they all hate him...I'm hoping that will all get figured out because me telling him it's not true, just digs his heals in more. Only time will tell, but for now I see my grandson and that's all that's important. All I know is Leo is a beautiful baby, I love his innocence and his intelligence and thirst for life & fun. Bella (their terrier) as jealous of him but now they're best bugs and she's very protective of him. She was so glad to see me, she remembered me, and was so excited!!! All in all a great time at the park!

My dad is improving daily, too, which is great news. At 87, it's so much more difficult to get over a fall, I'm just grateful that he didn't break anything. We're a strong boned family, which comes in handy when you fall!

I couldn't get the new lights to work right, I was up until 11:30 last night, so frustrated because I had all the connections right. So I emailed Todd and he's going to help me. I can't do anything until Thursday night, so maybe it would be best that I call him and he can help me figure it out. I'm wondering if the domes are too old and that's where the connection isn't being made, but I'll figure it out, I want my crew to be under these great lights! Keep you all posted.

 

[Goonie]

Oh Deb, I am so happy for you that you got to see Leo (grandson)! Hope this will be occurring more often from this point forward.

Sorry to hear about your Dad's fall, but glad that he's improving.

 

[BlueDragon09]

Hey Deb you've been waiting to hear this
but I've been accepted by SS!

Glad your dad is improving and glad
you can see your grandson, that's great
news! Hope you're having a great day.

 

[beardie parents]

It seems like Leo is a really curious guy. He may be a runner when he starts walking better.

 

[beardie parents]

I'm glad you were able to spend all that time with Leo. He sure is cute!

 

[diamc]

Hi Deb, wow, you had a lot to fill us in on. So sorry to hear about your dad's fall, even though he had to have stitches and is bruised (as well as his pride), he sure could have been hurt worse. Good to hear that he is healing and getting therapy too. You're right, you mom knows him very well so she will help him heal and know just what to do to cater to him.

Awesome that you got to see Leo. He is just so adorable, can tell that he really enjoyed the time at the park & with you too. He sure is growing up fast & soon will be running all over the place. How did Tara say she is feeling? What's her due date again? You're right, forget the past and go from here, hopefully you will be spending lots of time with Leo & your new grandchild too.

Great that you got the new bulbs. So, none of them are working? Once one the MVB's was going on & off, was driving us crazy and we thought the transformer was bad. We looked inside the dome and there are 2 gold tabs toward the top of the dome, one wasn't making good contact and once we bent it, the bulb worked fine. So, maybe the bulbs you were using before were a different diameter than these new MVB's so the tabs need to be moved slightly & very gently. Paul used a rubber tipped pair of pliers to bend it. If I can help in any way, let me know. The bulbs do need about 2 to 3 days to reach their full heat potential so thought I would mention that, I was checking the temps quite often just to be sure. It sure IS frustrating when things don't work right & the more you fuss with them, the more maddening & exhausting it gets. But, we'll all help you get it figured out & Todd sure is great. If you do talk to him, remind him of what I had told him about the tabs as he said he had never dealt with that before but would keep it in mind.

Good luck with everything. You sure are a busy & strong woman!

Take care.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Blue, I"m so glad to hear that!!! So it gets back dated, too, right, oh this will help you so much!!! Congrats!!!

Hi Jolene, yes I'm hoping this continues but only time will tell. Seems there have been misunderstandings all around (I guess Tara didn't make herself clear with her "rant", she expected this to get me moving instead of me not being comfortable contacting them...oh well, kids :roll: ) She's due again mid Oct, and Eric can't take any more than a week off, so hopefully she'll need me on the weekends to help out, we'll see how that goes. As for seeing Leo, will have to see how that goes, too, but it was a great time yesterday.

Hi Esther, yes it's just wonderful!

Hi Gina, yes, I saw him He's so cute!!! And so bit!! He babbles alot, but his favourite work is YEAH, he says Daddy alot & other words I don't understand. I think he's going to be very verbal as he grows up. And he loves their terrier Bella. She was jealous of him at the beginning but now she's his great protector, so cute!

Hi Lori, I think Leo's going to be a runner like his dad. Eric let Bella (their terrier) chase him around the park many times to exercise her, he runs like the wind, she's even faster. It was fun to watch!

Hi Diane, it was so frustrating to set everything up & nothing worked. I have a feeling my old domes aren't connecting either, so I'll have to check on that, but I just don't have the energy to do that until the weekend, so they'll have to put up with the UVBs they have until then. As for the heat, well it's really hot in here during the summer, so I don't think they'll have a problem with it. They find the 100W Power Suns too hot as it is & spend a good part of their day on their cool side, so I think, once I get the lights working, they'll like them better.

I emailed Todd and he gave me his #, he's also going to detail out what to do, but I think it's the connections in the done, like you said Diane. I'll figure it all out on the weekend. Besides an appt with the CPAP machine I have no intention of leaving the house except for food shopping and seeing Leo, if I get a call. I'm going to call them on Saturday night, just to keep in touch...I have to keep doing that to prove to them both that I am an interested grandmother

My dad is getting better daily, my mom knows just what to do to get him walking, exercising (which he's always been very good at). Next is driving them to the hospital for about 6 hours of heart tests. My dad was concerned that I'd be bored, but I won't. As long as I have a book and can get up & walk around, I'll be fine. There's nowhere else to go, I'll be too far from home to go back & forth, never mind the gas usage, so I reassured him that it's not an issue for me. I reminded him of the 19 days I spend looking after Roger in the hospital & I had no problem doing that either. It's the least I can do for them. I just have to get my car through the car wash tomorrow night or Wed morning, didn't have a minute to do that on the weekend!

So all in all, except for the lights & I"m sure I'll get those fixed up on the weekend, it was a great weekend. Now to get the appeal in to long term to see how that goes!

 

[babyheartthrob]

Oh Deb how wonderful for you. I'm so happy that you got to see Leo .

He's such a little cutie. Hopefully this is just the first of many fun outings with him (and I guess his parents :lol. I just love the photo of you and him looking at each other. He looks like he's got something important to tell grandma .

I'm sorry about your dad taking a fall, but I'm glad he's doing better. Geez our dad's like to scare us, don't they?
Speaking of which, my dad is going home from the hospital today (we hope he's not going to be going back any time soon).

Hope you can get the new lights to work. I may be changing out Kingsley's light to the Arcadia when his PowerSun needs to be replaced (the others will be at least 6 months, I just ordered their new ReptiSuns last week :wink

Sabrina

 

[JangoMom]

Hey Deb Glad to hear you finally got to see Leo after so long such great news! Sorry to hear about your dad, but glad he's doing better. I'm always worried about my mom, she lives alone..well she has my niece with her but she had a cardiac arrest a few years ago and is brain damaged and can't remember anything that happens after a few minutes so if anything would happen to my mom, she wouldn't be no help because she would probably go off into another room to call and forget why she was there.. so I worry about her all the time, she's in her mid 70's.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Sabrina, yes, he is a beautiful boy & I just don't bring up any subjects beyond the dog & Leo...makes life easier. As for future visits, well we'll see how that goes. Not holding my breath so if I'm invited over it will be a nice surprise. But I will be calling every Saturday eve to make sure everyone's ok. No more not contacting going forward! I'll keep you posted on the Arcadia, as that's what I'm doing this weekend. I have Todd's # and I'll be calling him to put me through the paces of attaching everything.

Hi Tammy, so does your mom have one of those alert bracelets or necklaces that connects her with aid if she falls? I have no idea what they're called, just heard an ad about them. Wonder if that would work for her. My mom's in good healthy, but she'll be 79 in Oct, so yes, I worry about both of them, call Mom every 2nd day. She takes care of dad 24/7 now, but she also knows how to get through to him to make sure he's doing everything he's supposed to, so she's the best thing for him right now.

And isn't Leo the cutest thing? but being grandma I see him through a cloud of love. He's very well taken care of, so all of my worries were without foundation & Eric calls Tara his angel, so he's firmly entrenched, for which I'm glad. I would hate to see him being in a loveless marriage, especially with a 2nd on the way.

I'll get more pics next time, I want a picture of Eric holding Leo. Tara hates having her picture taken, so that's a no go, but maybe she'd take a picture of Eric, Leo and me together. Guess we'll see how that goes.

My niece graduated yesterday from elementary school to high school & had a dance afterwards. Her dress was just beautiful. She sent me a picture yesterday on Facebook, so I"ll try to copy it and post it here. She's the horse woman. She actually has a show this Sunday but I'm not going, I went to the last few, so will go to the next one. I know I'm going to be tired this weekend, so staying home for a change, unless I get a call to go to the park again

So here's Emily all dressed up, you'd never think she was 12 yrs old :

 

[beardie parents]

Wow, she looks beautiful!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks Lori, I think so, too.

 

[Tonja]

I have not been on to much lately had a lot going on here. I am so sorry to hear about your dad's fall and glad he is improving. Its great that you got to spend time with Leo, I know that just tickles you to death. Maybe now you will be able to see him more and that Eric and Tara realize you are his grandmother and deserve to see him. Leo needs to know his grandma and deserves to have you in his life, likewise with the new grandbaby when he/she arrives. Sorry to hear your long term did not go through but hopefully it will on appeal. I think things will be better for you once you are able to get the surgery on your ankle. That alone will take so much stress off of you since pain is a great stress factor. Sounds like your crew is doing pretty well. I have missed reading about their antics, they are so funny. I need to get Em and Em fed breakfast now so have a nice day.