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]

Wow, Brandy, that is alot of work, so welcome to the present! I'm still very sad about Puff, I blame myself for bringing her into a house full of males, but never thought she'd have this happen to her. She was a very special sweet dragon and I'll always miss her.

Well, of course, wonder twin Nathaniel is the reason that Cierra is laying eggs and wonder woman me is the reason they got together in the first place But she is a real trooper. I have pics from last night of her watching me repot those plants:

Earlier in the afternoon; she is obsessed with the balcony and climbs that barrier every chance she gets :roll:

She was out for awhile when I started repotting but she kept trying to eat the vermiculite, so in the house she went.

"MOM why won't you let me OUT?"

So I did let her out on the "Bear Danger" piece of wood I've had for years. She was very good and stayed on it until I was finished. Then I let her roam around for a bit.

She is such a curious little beardie, she's always into everything. I was so impressed with her energy level yesterday, though, considering she'd laid 24 fertile eggs at 11a :shock:

 

[brandymulvaine]

Silly Cierra! The sign is in French, lol :lol:

 

[NeosMom]

Hi Deb! Sorry I haven't been around. It's been a CRAZY ten days! I caught up on what I missed. So glad Cierra got those eggs out so quickly. Her energy level is amazing.

Love all the pictures of everyone. Castiel is so gorgeous. And they are so entertaining. Just fantastic.

Things are quiet here now. Hubby is on a business trip in South Carolina. School is over until August 10, so Neo is sleeping in late and goofing off playing video games a lot. Can't let him do that all summer, but it's so ridiculously hot right now I figure it's ok. I could use the peace.

Hope you are doing well. I will check in soon.

Mindi

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Brandy, the sign is in English and French, which is what is normal in Canada. The English part is "Bear Danger", the French part is "Danger - gare aux ours". We found it years ago in Banff Canada when we were on a vacation, I think that was in 1990!

Hi Mindi, Cierra was a whirlwind yesterday, it was so funny to watch her checking out everything after the egg laying. Even when she was in her dig box, she was digging to China, I swear. She dug like that for an hour before she turned herself around (by herself) and lay those eggs like a champ.

So she's in the sunshine right now and then she'll be eating.

Nathaniel is still put out about Castiel, he spend the night in his hide, which he's never done and I had to haul him out this am. He's not eating either, which is not usual. I'm hoping he gets back to himself soon! Gabriel was put out when Nathaniel joined our crew, so I guess it's just normal for the youngest to be put out by a younger beardie. Meanwhile Castiel hasn't a clue that he's the cause of Nathaniel's angst. They're so funny!

 

[BlueDragon09]

Haha Cierra you and vermiculite!

Broly is almost the same with paper towels..

She's grown huge..big girl!
Nathaniel is a big boy too.
Castiel is nice looking boy definitely bigger than his
baby picture.
Leo..I love you bog boy!
Gabriel is well huge and I love how huge he is.

I love all your reptiles including your geckos.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Kami,
Thanks for checking in. I love all my guys and your Broly, too. He's growing so much!

 

[Esther19]

Hi Deb. Cierra looks good. And so adventurous! You loved Puff and gave her an excellent home. Please stop blaming yourself for what happened. There was no way you could have known the outcome. Thanks for all the pictures. They are wonderful, as usual, and we love seeing all the things they get in to.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Esther, thanks for the compliments. You're right, I never had any idea what would happen to Puff. I'm glad you're enjoying the pictures

 

[brandymulvaine]

Hi Deb, how are things there? Haven't heard from you in a while, how's the blackbeard trio? And Miss Cierra?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Brandy, Cierra is really doing well, she's eating tons and gaining weight. We're having a heat wave out here, so they're all getting lots of sunshine. Right now Cierra started out in the sun but even at 9a it's too hot, so she's sitting out there in the shade. She'll come in soon for her bath & Nathaniel will get his turn, then Castiel. Even the older ones will get a turn this afternoon.

They're all doing well, but it's getting too hot for them, so I've changed their lights to go on at 6a, then off at 2:30p, or else they get overheated. I've been feeding them water in the afternoon when I'm home, in the am when I have to work.

Got my order of 3000 worms and 250 small supers. Perfect order. Was just so worn out by the heat I couldn't even count them, but I know the count was good. Not one dead! I had bought 6 bags and bran and used 5. Put them in a bigger rubbermaid container with tons of food for now as I already had 500 left from the last batch. I picked them up at the Fed Ex hub on my way to work, so they sad in the office all day. I kept checking that they were moving. It's great how Gillian (Rainbow Mealworms) get them ready. Tons of pages of newspapers so they have something to chew on, in a burlap bag, that they can't chew through. I bring a big black canvas bag with a zipper. Considering I work in a bank, they quietly stay under my desk and no one notices. It's great! In Canada in 2 days! I can't say enough about Rainbow Mealworms, great customer service, too. I'd recommend them to anyone for any type of bug. Great prices, too.

I have some pics, too:
Castiel on one of the bricks I have on the balcony to hold the partition in place. He loves being outside.

Nathaniel doing the same thing because Castiel was in the living room :lol: I went inside & forgot to close the door, glanced back and Nathaniel had actually climbed down the inside of the partition & was almost to Castiel. Boy did I run to grab him & put him back in his tank, he's such a brat!

Cierra is eating alot, check out that belly

"Mommy, are you going to give that other dragon away? I don't like him" :lol: Nathaniel is still pouting over Castiel.

Nathaniel posing in his tank, looking good buddy

Castiel is enjoying his new tank

Castiel has been sleeping in his hide but I found him sleeping like this last night, just like Puff used to:

Gabriel is getting fat :mrgreen: He's on a diet to lose a bit, makes him very lethargic:

Love that stink eye, Leo does it best :roll: :lol:

So there they all are, can you tell I had the day off on Thursday? :mrgreen:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Cierra has been an eating machine all week, after a ginormous poop just now, I weighed her today and she's already 371g :shock: I never knew a dragon who laid eggs could gain 70g in 6 days Now she's resting after all that eating (two bowls full of 10 supers and 10 roaches, plus roaches that escaped last night, she chased them around her tank). Gave me a chance to clean out her tank and put down new newspaper. She's such a good beardie :love5:

 

[Goonie]

Great photos of the kids!

Was Castiel sleeping inside his branch??

I still can't believe how fast Cierra bounced back from laying those eggs. Good for her!

That Nathaniel is such a brat! Would he had attacked Castiel if you didn't catch him in time?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Glad you enjoyed the pics and yes, Nathaniel would have attacked Castiel. I put them down together and they started in on each other right away, so they can't be out together. Now only one is out at a time. Just to take no chances.

I know, Cierra is doing really well, she's well past the weight she was when she started the last clutch.

Castiel just has his head on a shelf on the log, that's where Puff would sleep, too.

Another heat wave day, it's 8:30a and already I can feel the heat. It's already 79F in the hallway. Cierra and Leo are out in the sun, then the others get their turns. I'm already having to put a towel down so their bellies don't get too hot. I hate this consistent heat! I'm so hoping for a week of rain!

 

[brandymulvaine]

Ugh! That's too hot, your poor babies(and you). I wish it would rain here too, then I would get a day off! :lol: On weekdays I do landscaping and on Saturdays I take care of someone in a wheelchair, so Sunday is my only day off...unless it rains.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Yuck, only 1 day off a week, Brandy, that's difficult. I enjoy my two days off. I just checked the weather station and it's another week of sun & 85-90. Oh well, I've found alot of tricks on how to stay cool. I did get my hair cut, really short, so nothing on my neck, that's been helping.

The "kids" don't like this weather. My crested gecko hates it, so does Rocco, so they are getting sprayed as often as I can manage. Glad to have Wed off (Canada Day in Canada). Guess my friends in USA have Friday off for the 4th? So we have holidays together this year!

I'm off to feed everyone. Found Nathaniel in his hide again this am, he's still grumpy about Castiel. Guess he'll get over it one day. Castiel, on the other hand, isn't bothered by him at all. :lol: I've been feeding Nathaniel his bugs, he'll eat his greens, but not his bugs. Hope that doesn't continue for too long, he's such a brat!