RE: Pumpkin Still not well Need immediate Iron help.

[Drache613]

Hello Shonna,

How is Pumpkin today, is she eating anything right now?
She must be very tired, absolutely especially if she isn't sleeping very well either. I am sorry to hear that. Is her color any better in her mouth/gums yet?
I am glad to hear that the babies are all doing good & eating too! A lot of mouths to feed.

Keep us posted on her.

Tracie

 

[waltersgirl]

Oh Pumpkin eats...like she is a ravenous wolf who can't get enough. I worry sometimes at how she eats like she is starving to death. Her appetite is not waning in the least. Sometimes I think she is going to hurt herself eating that fast. I only give her a few roaches at a time and let her eat them, then give her a few more. If I hold off on feeding her the roaches she eats her veggies. But if she thinks there are bugs in the mix, she won't touch her veggies. Is it better to let her eat the roaches like that right now or should I continue giving her veggies in the morning and roaches at night-sometimes if she has eaten a good bit of her veggies before I leave in the morning I will throw a couple roaches in too. I want her to get her fat pads back and to see weight distributing to other parts of her body...her belly is already getting big again. I really worry she is just going to keep laying eggs until she kills herself. Hopefully this hormone stuff will help. Do you know if it should be daily on the frequency for it? I just give it to her straight, not as a top dressing because I want to make sure she is getting it into her system. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Shonna,

Are you starting her on the Releaves? If so, that can be given for a 5-7 days to see how she does on it. Yes give it daily. She is developing again possibly? If the Releaves doesn't work, I would really consider either a hormonal shot or spaying her if she lays too many consistently.
I would continue giving her the veggies in the morning if she is eating them & then the protein/insects later on is fine. Is she gaining any weight at all? I am just glad that she is eating.
She is smart, preferring her insects & picking them out of the greens. LOL

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[waltersgirl]

Pumpkins tongue is nice and pink but her gums still look kind of whitish. She is also sporting her black beard again but I believe as ABHD said it is just her nature as she gets ready to lay-Pumpkin is going to lay another clutch of infertile eggs in the next week or so...my poor girl. My vet has ordered a hormone that was recommended by 3 different specialists she spoke with for her. It will be here on Tuesday and we will get her started. Hopefully this will be the last clutch.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Shonna,

I am happy that Pumpkin is doing a bit better. At least her hematocrit levels are somewhat improved.
That does make sense though, having a black beard before she lays. I hope it all goes well for her!
Let us know what the hormone injection is once she starts on it. Maybe that will work for her.
Has she completely stopped eating also?

Keep us posted on her.
Tracie

 

[waltersgirl]

No Pumpkin continues to eat fine. She eats like she is starving to death and can't get enough. I think she would eat the whole order of 500 dubias if I let her! She continues to get big and fat and is showing signs of laying again soon. Probably later this week. I pray the hormone shots work. I will let you know what it is she is giving her as soon as I know. All she said is it is something that they use in birds that is very successful. I just want my girl to feel well and be comfortable and enjoy her life. I have three babies sold...can't leave yet but they are sold. They are growing so fast. Third clutch starting hatching Friday so my numbers are increasing fast...too fast. I went from 29 to 46 in 48 hours with little heads popping out of more eggs. Exciting but man are they work. I feel like I took on another full time job...but an enjoyable one. I like seeing the differences in them. A family from church came over yesterday and the boys loved them. Mom says they can't have one but it was really cute. They were full of questions and loved seeing the hatching babies. It was a joy to share the beauty of it with them.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Shonna,

That is great the babies are all doing so well. It has to be tons of work! I hope you are able to find homes for them though.
I am anxious to see whether or not the hormone shot will work for her. That would be great if she didn't lay like that anymore, it will exhaust her.
If she is still eating a lot then she isn't quite ready to lay, but soon though. She needs the food.
At least she is doing well & seems to be improving right now.
Keep us posted on her.

Tracie

 

[waltersgirl]

Pumpkin had her first hormone shot on Tuesday. She is doing well. I thought she was ready to lay again as she was starting to dig but not in when I placed her in the lay box. She has since quit digging. She continues to eat well and was basking quite a bit this evening while I was doing my nightly hatchling cage cleaning. I can't believe how much those little guys poop... eat and poop... eat and poop... I have a fourth little guy assigned to a home when he is ready to go so that leaves 54 to go! I need to see how many the pet store is willing to buy now that I have babies instead of just eggs in the incubators. Speaking of eggs...I have two that have not hatched. How long should I hold out before giving up on them? It is in the 30's here so I am not too concerned about needing to freeze before throwing out, I just don't want to kill a baby. One of the eggs is from the 2nd clutch and the other from the 3rd. Is there something that I can look for to tell me the eggs are not viable?
Thanks again for all the help. Hopefully, we will be checking Pumpkin's hematocrit again late next week and I will keep you posted. I hope it continues to get better. Her mouth appeared to be nice and pink when she was basking tonight so that is a good sign.

 

[AHBD]

I know about having all those little babies, and the Fedex or UPS driver bringing all those boxes of crix thinks you must be in the cricket business. :lol: As for the eggs, just leave them be.....sometimes one will hatch very late. Eventually if they don't hatch it will die and you'll be able to tell as it starts collapsing and looking off, developing a tell tale odor.

So good to hear that Pumpkin is well.....I was pretty sure that even with the low hematocrit that she was O.K because her activity was not that of a sickly dragon. I hope she continues to improve.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Shonna,

That is great news Pumpkin's mouth is nice & pink now. It sounds like her hematocrit levels are up finally. I am sure she is feeling better too!
I am sure you are working hard trying to keep all of those babies fed. LOL They are going to eat you out of house & home.
Hopefully the hormone shot will help her out so she will stop laying. She stopped digging also?
I am glad things are going well!

Tracie

 

[waltersgirl]

Pumpkin is doing okay she is getting ready to lay her eggs, hopefully the last clutch for a long while. I am worried about Popeye as he is eating since I moved Pumpkin into the other room as suggested by the vet to help keep Pumpkin from laying-will it really help her or can she be moved back? These guys are stressing me out! I sure love them though. The babies are doing great first clutch should be ready to go to new homes next week. I just ordered my second batch of 10,000 crickets. They are going to eat me out of house and home and their parents vet bills are going to put me in the poor house. Thanks for all of your support and advice. You guys are great.

 

[AHBD]

Glad to hear that she's still doing well. And she can lay multiple clutches whether they are in the same room or not, especially since she's mated. As long as she's eating well + gets her supplements hopefully she'll do well. And 10,000 crix coming in ? You have earned your " master cricket wrangler" degree. :lol:

 

[Drache613]

Hello Shonna,

Most time it doesn't matter if they can see them or not, she will still lay.
I hope that that the hormone pill helps her out right now. I am happy she is doing good though!
If Popeye isn't eating, you can try hand feeding to see if that helps out for him. Is he black bearding?
I am sure the babies are eating tons! So you did find some homes for them? That is a lot of crickets! LOL That in itself is a lot of work to upkeep them all.
You are doing great!

Tracie

 

[waltersgirl]

The babies are eating like crazy...The last 10000 crix didn't last anywhere near as long as I thought they would. So here we are with another round. Unfortunately the mail room at the crix farm messed up and shipped them without the heat packs...most of them didn't make it so we have another shipment coming tomorrow to replace them. I was impressed they didn't flinch at replacing them at all.
I still haven't gotten them all homes but they are definitely getting attention. I have several people coming to look at them in the next week. Two have homes for sure. Petsmart's sale on beardies last week didn't help as they had them priced lower than I do for the sale. Unfortunately I know from experience that those ones are not always in the best of health and most are smaller than they should be to begin with (at least the local Petsmart listens to me some and they give out a food list I gave them from one of the beardie sites that lists safe foods, how often it is okay to give them and how to prepare them -don't remember what site the list is off of. They were telling people some of the worst things before that-like romaine is good daily food for beardies!!!). I have someone driving 2.5 hours to get one or two on Friday. Hard to believe my first clutch is 6 weeks this weekend, except that they are all 7.5-8 inches long and growing.
I also have about 5 more that I am certain will have homes. I need to reach out to the pet store that has agreed to buy a lot of them and make sure we are still on board. I have learned of another private pet store up there that may take some as well. I am kind of sad at the idea of them leaving but will not miss all the time and energy they require and will be happy to have some freedom back-since I just had one hatch on Saturday that is still about 6 weeks away. I can't go to a car auction (I have a used car lot) as I can't exactly leave this kind of responsibility with anyone...I have no trust with anyone watching my babies normally, let alone this many little ones.
So do you think I can move Pumpkin back in the room with Popeye? They have always been in separate terrariums but next to each other. If I can move her back it might help Popeye but I don't want it to be bad for her. I think the "nursery" gets a bit warm for her sometimes too but not sure. The ambient temp in there is about 80 during the day with all those lights on in such a small space. Better get myself to bed so I can do it all again in a few hours. Thanks again for your help.