RIP Sweet Pogo; Welcome Home Happy Go LUCKY

Has anyone used/had problems with the magic mushroom basking ledge? It attaches to the cage with magnets and can be used as a platform for basking.

There is something wrong with my beardie. I have ruled out just about everything, so now I am checking particular cage furniture. Pogo goes back to the vet on Tuesday (and I am surprised I have been able to keep her alive this long). She has serious eating problems and now she has eye problems too. No signs of respiratory infection, though - like no mouth opening, weird breathing, crusties, mucous, etc. (I use a Reptisun 10.0 T8 Tube - not coil, so that should not be the problem.) I actually turned off the UVB today to see if it would help her eyes - it seemed to help at first, but now tonight, they seem worse again. Her temps are right. I have had two reptile vets (and people here) tell me that my husbandry is fine, but I am taking her back to the vet on Tuesday with multiple stool samples to see if maybe parasites just aren't showing up in every poop, but are there. And now the eye problem, which I thought was just shedding at first but seems to be getting worse . . .

 

[sweetiepie9]

No ridiculous, same thing happened to my Sweetie and the end of the tail fell off on it's own and it was already healed up by then. Was like Lucky's, never got black or moved up the tail, just turned black after the crimp and fell off.

As for that strip of black, Imp has it, too, he did black beard me one morning when in his bathtub because the day before I was out early for a heart test and didn't give him a bath, so he figured baths were a thing of the past, I think, but now, a week later, he's gotten used to them to the point that he's swimming away and no more black beard. But still that little strip, pretty well all the time and he has a pure white belly.

It could be the constant shedding, I know it can get annoying. Otherwise I can't think of anything else it could be, just his colouration. I've noticed the older boys have that strip lightly, even when they're not doing the full black beard, sometimes, too. So maybe it's just a boy thing.

Doing the honey is a good idea, if you think it's a bit raw, a tiny bit of polysporin cream, not the gel, could also benefit. But a visit to the vet would be good, too, next week when you can get in.

He sounds and looks so healthy, but I can understand your concern.

I was hoping to post a picture of Imp, he's turning a bright red/orange everywhere he's shed in the last week, but I can't load pictures lately. Will have to wait to hear from Alex as to what's wrong again.

 

[PogoLover]

Been running around like a crazy person - I will have some stories to share sometime soon I hope.

In any case, quick question - Lucky is 100g and 12.5". I tried giving him 5 small superworms yesterday. He liked them. He pooped once yesterday after he ate them, and he pooped again this morning after breakfast (of dubia and crickets). Do you think it is OK to feed him small superworms in larger quantities? I don't plan on making this a regular thing - but I am going to run out of Phoenix worms and for some reason, he will only eat worms after breakfast. He is happy to eat dubia and crix for breakfast, but after that, if it isn't a worm, he won't eat it. D'oh! I should have more Phoenix worms by sometimes over the weekend.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Super worms can be a regular thing, especially if he likes them. You're giving him 3 meals, right? So phoenix worms, dubia and super worms for the 3 meals. There's nothing wrong with super worms, especially if you feed them greens that he likes. They are a bit high in fat but babies need that fat. Imp eats super worms, too. I've run out of small dubia for him, have to wait for my dubia to replenish until he gets more, so he's now stuck with crickets and super worms, oh well. Plus his mix, I still give him that.

 

[PogoLover]

Great thanks! I read somewhere that superworms can be bad for non-adult dragons (maybe the shells, like mealworms). But the ones that I have are pretty small (relatively speaking), and he LOVES them - and chews them really well. You can see his little jaw going "nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom, YUM!". LOL. And he has been pooping fine - soft and normal, no bug parts or undigested looking things.

So - how do you keep them - mine are just in a plastic cup right now - should I put them in something where I can feed them veggies? Do they need substrate - or can I just chuck them in there with food, and then rinse them out once a day?

 

[sweetiepie9]

You keep them in a plastic container without a top and feed them greens. The substrates should be wheat bran but you can also use oatmeal. They eat the substrate and the greens.

They have always been a staple for my adults before I got dubia and when the dubia need a rest to get breeding again, back to super worms. I always have adults, mediums and smalls available.

I'm glad he likes them, they're really good for babies to add weight. He's catching up to Imp really fast. Imp's 13" long and as of last Sunday he was 123g, so they're going to be the same soon.

I'm not sure if you saw the picture of Imp with his big beard, this was when I stopped him from getting off my bed. It's my favourite pic of him

Show it to Lucky and see what he does :mrgreen:

 

[PogoLover]

One more super worm question - what is all this stuff about chopping their head off? Do you crush or remove their heads before giving them to Imp?

OK - so GREAT picture of Imp there. I LOVE IT. Lots of personality.

I should totally be working right now, but that picture of Imp has inspired me to tell you the story that I have been trying to find the time to share.

SO, Lucky was pretty good in the car on the way up to my dad's (it's about a 3 hour drive). It was still light out when we started, so I let him sit on me and look out the window. When it got dark, I put him in a large Cricket Keeper that I had half filled with cut up blanket pieces. He dug himself a hole in the blankets and went right to sleep.

When we got to my dad's I set up the travel cage and put Lucky near the little cave (cage furniture) . . . he went right in and curled up with his tail around his face! That is the first time that he has ever used a cave.

The next morning, I turned on his lights and put him in the basking area (I brought the ledge that he uses every day with us, so it would be familiar). I was on the floor puttering around getting his breakfast ready when my husband came into the room, and said "WOW, SOMEONE IS SO GRUMPY THEY ARE GIVING ME THE BIGGEST BEARD EVER." I looked up and Lucky had learned the "frill" beard - like what Imp is doing above but bigger and blacker even - it was not only black and puffed out, but that ridge thingie that makes them look like little Suns was sticking out. Even though I had seen many picture of frill black beard - I had never seen one in person, and it was truly impressive. This made me realize that while Pogo loved travel, Lucky HATES travel. He calmed down and I got him to eat his breakfast. He didn't eat much lunch or dinner though. The next day, he at breakfast again, but NOTHING for lunch or dinner. The final morning (before we were leaving), he wouldn't even eat his breakfast. I was scared. He did OK in the car on the way back - sat on me and looked out the window - he seemed really interested in looking outside except when trucks went by he would beard and duck down.

We get home. I moved the little cave that he liked into his big viv. I turn on the lights and put him on his favorite ledge. AND HE DOES THE HUGE FRILL BLACK BEARD AGAIN. Then he starts popping it in and out over and over again - like LOOK AT ME - THIS IS MY CASTLE - I AM BACK - AND I AM THE KING. Then he does a HUGE yawn. A few minutes later, he was completely back to normal and ate a huge lunch!

He has been normal every since, so I think the travel fear wore off. (Thank goodness!)

His tail looks almost like it is healing. The part that I thought was going to fall off is still colorful and doesn't look dead and the broken skin part is getting better. I have been cleaning it out and putting honey on it every day (and Lucky likes honey - I let him lick a tiny bit off my finger - I hope that is OK).

So, we are back to normal. It is starting to get nice here, so I have been taking him outside on sunny days. The birds scare him to death, though. And we have a ton of birds where I am.

I fall in love with him more every day.

 

[CooperDragon]

Chopping their heads off comes from a myth that they could bite or eat their way out of a dragon. This isn't the case and they can chew and eat them whole without a problem.

 

[PogoLover]

Chopping their heads off comes from a myth that they could bite or eat their way out of a dragon. This isn't the case and they can chew and eat them whole without a problem.

Thanks CooperDragon! I thought that it would be pretty hard for anything bad to happen, especially if you were hand feeding them directly to the dragon.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I was going to say the same thing, some people do but it's not worth it as the dragons crunch them to death when eating them, so there's no way they can bite.

I'm glad you enjoyed Imp's picture, it's my favourite of him so far. I was surprised that he could make a beard that big!

So Lucky doesn't like to travel...doesn't surprise me, they tend not to want their home disturbed in any way, even in cleaning it up. I'm glad he got through the 3 days of torture (in his mind :lol: ) and is safely back home. Funny how he enjoyed the car rides, though.

I'm so glad his tail is healing, that's great news!

I'm so enjoying my time off with them all, it's just going way too fast!

 

[kingofnobbys]

I nip the superworms' heads off , not because I am scared they will eat their way out, but because they have a hard indigestible exoskeleton and I want to make it easier for Rex , George and Mildred to digest them, essentially making it easier for their stomach acids to get into the worm.

That said, if I am giving a superworm as treat, I'll simply drop it in the floor near the lizard where it can see it without doing anything to it.

 

[PogoLover]

Thanks for all of the superworm info! Lucky loves them, so they will become a more routine part of his diet.

He is getting big fast now. I swear he grows a lot overnight! He is up to 13" and 120+ grams.

Here he is beginning his tour around the lizard-care supplies and extra stuff:

Hiding among the supplies:

Found out he could climb up bubble wrap (and he is eyeing the top of a pedestal to see if he can jump up there from the bubble-wrapped UVB light . . . the answer - he cannot make that jump):

He is liking using me as a jungle gym more now:

And finally, he is starting to have a place to snuggle before bed (he fell asleep there last night):

(Sorry for the sideways pics!)

 

[sweetiepie9]

Awww, love the pictures! He's going to have a big shed again. He has a beautiful smile! Glad to help about the superworms. And he sure can climb. Imp still loves my shoulder as his favourite place to perch so he can see what's going on. He's eating so much he ran out of crickets today, so pulled out some dubia for him. He's just so cute. Weigh and measure him on Sunday am, so will let you know.

 

[PogoLover]

Here are some new (and one old) Lucky pics.

I cannot believe how small he was when he first came home~

Now he is becoming a big boy ~

And he sheds a lot ~

Here he is enjoying his window ~

Today, I splurged and bought him a screen tent that is for cats to go outside (or inside). It's supposed to be about 30 square feet!!! That way I can take him on the porch and let him run around in the tent without having to worry about him scurrying off! And the screen is nylon mesh that many of the commenters said their cats couldn't rip through, so it should work for him. I am so excited - it is supposed to be here on Friday. I also bought him one of those beardie chaise lounges . . . we'll see if he likes that. He is so spoiled.

He gave my son the full on pancake body, frilled out black bead and hiss treatment today. Not sure what that was about. He wouldn't cut it out until my son left. Then he calmed down and ate his dinner! I haven't seen him do that before. He used to hiss at us if we tried to touch him right after he woke up in the morning, but never the full display like that! Is it too early for teenage? He's about 6 months old. I didn't get an exact hatch date, but it was between Oct. 15 and Nov. 1 of 2015. He has always been good with my son (and other family members) before today. The only family member he doesn't appear to like is the dog (but the only times he sees the dog is through a glass door or when he is being carried from his room to outside or to my room). He grabs on to me really tightly when he sees the dog. My dog is a big one, so I would never let her near him anyway. She's old and set in her ways - no way are they going to be friends.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Yes, for sure, he's starting displays! No rhyme or reason why he'd want to do that to your son, but that's what male dragons are all about. 6 mo is when they start teenagehood, hormones start to kick in and they start bobbing everyone and everything. Hope your son doesn't take Lucky seriously :mrgreen:

Loved all the pictures. Imp isn't shedding as much as Lucky but he's shedding one arm and I think his back is starting again. I'm so pleased with his growth, he sure is doing well now. I'm glad we have babies that are the same age, it's great to watch them both grow.

I just loved all the pictures, he sure has captured all your hearts :love5: even if his hormones are starting to kick in :lol:

 

[PogoLover]

I think my son did take it a little personally, but rather than have a fit, he just started to bob at Lucky (Lucky has not bobbed yet, only big black beard, pancake body and hissing). My son is also starting to be hormonal so the two of them will have quite the time trying to out macho each other!