Norris Notes - Two years already?

[Mirthy]

Norris is finally getting around to shedding off some of his head. His chin and near his eyes are definitely going! He was up very late last night and was acting 'hang dog' this morning. My husband's description.
He kept his head down even when I had his viv all lit up. When I got him out for crickets, he immediately put his chin to the carpet and held that pose. That's when we saw the lighter colored scales that were just starting to lift. He had zero interest in eating so we stuck him back on his basking branch but he didn't stay put. He took a walk around his viv going places that he's completely ignored before, even into his hides. Every so often he would scratch his chin against something or another. Even though I was supposed to be packing, I got out the bath. He turned such a lovely white belly when I got him out. I rubbed the top of his head and no kidding, he rubbed his chin so hard on my hand he flipped himself over! Did a barrel roll. I almost didn't catch him in time. Anyway, he had a nice soak and then I put him on a baby towel to dry him and he went straight to sleep. I held him for a while then just put him and the towel into his viv and made sure he had some heat on that side. Here are some hasty camera phone shots.

 

[DragonMorphs]

if he is shedding and having problems keep up with the nice warm baths to loosen the shed, he looks like he enjoys them

 

[HaleyMaree]

Puff has never tried to rub it off on me! Lol

 

[Mirthy]

Thanks Dragonmorph, Norris really does like his soaks, even without the shed factor. He shed off his back, tail and legs a few weeks past. hopefully the rest of his face will shed today. Poor little fellow.

Hi there Haley,
He surprised me, too. He actually did it a few times until I got him into his bath. He was seriously itchy. I don't know if you've ever had a rabbit or saw one lay down but that is what it reminded me of. They sometimes will lay down starting with their head...just sort of throw it to the side and the rest of their body follows except this was his chin rubbing against my wrist and my wrist just isn't that wide and he lost his balance and rolled right over.

 

[HaleyMaree]

Thts hilarious! Puff just shed is foot and never really gets tht stressed about tht!

 

[Mirthy]

Despite my hopes, he still didn't shed his whole head. He only got rid of the itchy stuff on his chin. He is looking much more comfortable but still has his faded hat. I'm waiting at home for my laptop to arrive back! Whoohoo! It should arrive today but in the mean time I've sent my husband out on a cricket run and I've taken control of the computer. Muwahaha! We lost almost the total batch of crickets we had...not sure why. Definitely need to buy online. In the mean time I'm going to go tempt Norris with some greens and see how many nasty looks I can earn.
until later!

 

[McSkweeky]

At least he got the itchy stuff off. Dresden's head is starting to get itchy. It's time for daily baths until it comes off.

YAY computer!! I'm so happy for you! I hope you get your crix ordered soon. I just got some small superworms for Dres and large ones for Nezzie and they LOVE them! It might be something to look into if you want to try to something different. Once my colony gets going I can send you some dubia as well. I'll have more than my two will be able to eat. How is he doing with his greens? I can sneak a bite a day in if I'm lucky.

How have your headaches been? Happy almost weekend!

 

[Mirthy]

thanks Maggie
computer is back and working though my keyboard is a might bit crunchy...drat that cat. Norris lost two grams of weight over the last three days when I was gone. My husband has been working with him just about as much as I have so I really don't think my being away had too much to do with it. I'm thinking it is time to bring a vet into the picture to make sure he doesn't have a gut full of parasites that he is working against. I'm going to go do a bit of research to see if there are any outward signs other than extra smelly poo. That is the only one I'm personally aware of. Speaking of which, I took a couple of pictures of Norris hiding from his poo (poo not in photo, you're welcome) I haven't uploaded them yet but if they turned out alright, I'm gonna post them. He had me laughing even as I am worried. Not the brightest, always poos in his favorite basking spot then of course, can't stand to be near it. I caught him holding on to the trunk of his basking tree but leaning as far away from it as his little arms could stretch...not sure if it came out in the photo but I'll leave you with THAT mental image...
Cheers and good health!



PS Migraines are just kind of here or not here part of life right now...this morning, they are not here so it's a good one. Thank you for thinking of me. : )

edit: can you even treat parasites in a dragon who weighs under 10grams?

 

[Sherri]

Awww, Norris sure does know how to pig out when he really wants to :mrgreen:

Some dragons even lose their appetite while shedding, and although Norris has not shown that to be true for him as yet, it still could happen.

It is possible that he has pinworms so a vet visit (or even just take a fecal sample in as fresh as possible, they will test it and only need to see Norris IF the fecal is positive for anything) may be necessary soon.

He is so sweet and he loves his baths and it looks as though he loves his cuddles as well. Baby burritos are such a favorite offering here, picture wise of course!

Have you tried small butterworms or small silkworms yet? I know he was not attracted to the Reptiworms enough to do anything about it (Razz does not like them either, but loves butters ) but a different worm may just entice him...variety, spice of life and all that :mrgreen:

I order from http://www.mulberryfarms.com/ and am always very happy with the service.

I know I mentioned in a different thread how much I love your cat pic, but want to mention it here as well...they are adorable! (while sleeping I understand :mrgreen: )

I hope Norris decides to pig out again tomorrow...oh, and not to worry about posting a *poo* pic LOL Many of us have done it (I have! lol) to see what the experts think of it! Norris' would be so tiny I imagine that you would need a telephoto lense or magnifying glass over it for a good shot!

He is a sweetie and fortunate to have you both!

~Sherri

 

[Mirthy]

Hi Sherri
I've tried extra small phoenix worms but they turned out a little smaller than I expected. My bad, not theirs. I'm planning on ordering more of everything, I guess. So thank you very much for the link! He did eat a phoenix worm on his own today. His first. I think he did it by accident. He was supposed to be eating a dusted cricket but took to the glass dancing instead so I tossed the worm in there and he walked over it a few times then licked at it to see what it was but it was such a little thing he just gulped it down and ruined his No Eat Today plan. He wouldn't eat anymore until I shoved them into his mouth. So in total, he had four...very small things.

I mentioned above how I found Norris hiding from his own poo this morning. I didn't get a good shot of him stretching away from the trunk (imagine him like he is but pushing away with his arms more) but here he is cowering below...the upper most branch is his normal perch....hehe despite Sherri's constitution, the poo is still edited out for those of weaker spirit!

Norris 'S N E A K I N G' over his tree to watch me prepare and dust crickets he has absolutely no intention of eating...

 

[Mirthy]

I'm sorry there haven't been any pictures just lately. I'm a bit stressed with Norris and his lack of eating issue. We are waiting for a call back from the vet regarding his test.

 

[Claudiusx]

Hope everything comes back ok.

-Brandon

 

[Mirthy]

hi Brandon,
Thank you. I hope so, too. The vet was very kind to do the sample without much warning.

 

[Mirthy]

Hi Everyone,
Good News all around. 1st off, vet called back and Norris has neither pin worm eggs nor worms! 2nd, I found a pet store locally that sells Dubia..they normally don't sell the nymphs and were surprised when I asked for them but gave me about twenty for a buck and a half. I WISH I had video taped his first meeting with them because I still am giggling over it, though it actually was completely gross. I dropped one in and he gave it the eyeball, licked in it's direction, chomped it and immediately spit it back out. When I say spit it out, I do not mean worked it back out of it's mouth. I mean old western, cowboy hitting the spittoon with a PaTING, spitting it out. It splatted on the side of his viv like a bug on a window of a car doing 60mph. However, he then ate the rest of them...all of them. (except for two which maybe got into his viv? they don't bite, right? I moved everything and didn't find them but they could be hiding?) 3rd bit of good news, Norris' tail started to do a pretty good shed...MAYBE that is what has had him so worked up the past few days. All in all it calls for pictures.

 

[Mirthy]

I found Norris cuddling with the top of his cave. He's never been inside it as far as I know. Not the best picture but I was sleepy, too!

Norris as I found him this evening with his tail starting to shed off and all his grumpy colors on. He was not asleep. He was just hoping I'd go away and feeling unhappy.

But I pulled him out for a nice soak anyway and took a before and after shot. Grumpy and happy. Here's grumpy...look how long that tail is!

here he is after a bit of soak...he didn't want to come out. Look at those Happy colors! You can see the spot on his tail where the shed is happening and I just left it be.

close up on the happy colors. He gets very caramel and orange.