Sarth, Daeds, & Starling **5/28 First Camping Trip Pics!**

I figured I would post some pics of Sarth...even though he hasn't been eating very well the past month he still finds every opportunity to be cute! I think I might just keep adding pics to this thread along with my blog, we will see!

The most recent ones are at the top.

I thought this was adorable...he was kind of lounging against the glass, looking at me like "what?!"

Just trying out a close-up of his face...it's hard to get good pics during the weekdays when the sun is going down by the time I get home

Scoping out his rearranged tank

Morning stretches, as usual

Him looking *really* grumpy sitting in the sun on the back of our recliner. And I put his tail like that, lol

My husband took this :roll:

A rare shot of him actually eating his salad

Watching Glee with me!

He loves to explore the coffee table, not sure why

I did not put him like this, lol. I should have entered it in this months photo competition!

Him still being really mad from the vet's visit the night before. He looked so hilarious, all puffed up with the black beard. I started petting him and he deflated while managing to look confused.

Just looking cute. This was right around when he stopped eating about a month ago.

 

[JenFid]

Daeds, being the Queen Bee, would be doing this, but you're right, hopefully by the end of the summer they'll be best buds. Puff gets along with Cierra but she has a habit of trying to sit on Cierra all the time, just to show she's the Queen Bee, I guess. So they're not allowed out without me watching them.

Daeds and Scully would do that sometimes too, especially outside, Daeds would walk all the way to the middle of the yard just so she could sit on Scully, like there isn't plenty of sunlight for the both of them :roll:

We had one good day last weekend on Saturday...sunny, no wind, mid 70s. We did a morning dive, then came home and spent some time outside. The girls were loving it, I even got Sarth out with a leash, he sat frozen pretty much the whole time, lol.

Starling had her first trip to the brew pub. She did fine, although I kept her on a leash and brought the dragon purse just in case. She would duck a bit when people on the sidewalk walked by but was starting to get used to it towards the end.

I'm a bit worried about Daeds, her fat pads haven't been filling back in despite the hornworms and it doesn't seem like she's gaining any of her weight back (470g). I have some supers on the way though that'll be here in a couple days so we'll see if those help. If not I guess it'll be a vet trip for her. I suppose she could be making more eggs, I really hope that's not the case.

Sarth has decided to put himself away, I found him curled under his scarf in his hide yesterday :roll: I uncovered his head so at least he gets some light changes and can decide if he wants to come out or not.

Supposed to be cooler today but the sun is supposedly supposed to come out, then back to cold and rainy through Friday, and hopefully another gorgeous Saturday. Nate and I are going to a masquerade, I'm pretty excited!

Here are a couple pics! Oh yea, Mulder goes in for his neuter on Thursday, poor buddy :lol:

Sarth really loving his bath. He was splashing around, doing some swimming, I emptied and refilled the water for him so he could stay warm. Black beard because while I was doing the emptying he saw himself in the mirror :roll:

Starling at her first outing!

And of course more Starling/Mulder cuteness

 

[sweetiepie9]

Sarth is so funny, pure male, Nathaniel is like that, any excuse for a black beard or just none will do :lol: Cierra and Puff are on the ramp and sitting beside each other like good girls.

Looks like Mulder has become Starling's best bud, that picture is so cute. And yes, ouch for Mulder, but necessary. I guess Nate's kitten will be getting spayed, too? I've only had a male, do females wait longer?

Gabriel has gotten his eyes on the girls and is trying to get through the glass to "visit" :mrgreen: Sure, Gabriel, that's going to happen.

Cierra is getting bigger and bigger and leaving small poops around her tank. I guess she must be getting ready to lay? I've never had such a small dragon with fertile eggs. I can feel all the lumps, she's got a ton in her small body. I'll just be glad when this is over with. I have her laybox prepared but it's out on the deck, will have to bring it in to warm it up soon.

I'll keep you posted on what the vet says about Puff later today, I'm going the surgery is a go, it's all set up at my end for time off work...

 

[JenFid]

Yes Ponzu will be spayed as well, we're planning on having her done at 6 months. There's a bunch of different thoughts out there on spaying/neutering timing. Some say as early as 3 months. My breeder recommended 4 since at around 5-6 months as a male he may start spraying the house. 6 months for Ponzu because apparently maine coons don't reach sexual maturity until they're a couple years old (no idea to the validity of that claim). Our vet likes 6 months because the kitten's immune system etc should be able to handle it, but they were fine with doing 4 for Mulder since it's not a big deal for the boys compared to the girls.

And of course I've read the female cats can have their first heat as early as 5 months so that just sends me into panic mode, haha, Mulder must be fixed ASAP!!

Daedles might be next on the list if she doesn't stop cranking out eggs. We think she's maybe a year older than Sarth so that would make her somewhere between 6-7. You said Puff is 8 right? I need to get her in for a check-up soon anyway, maybe I should ask my vet what she thinks about fixing her maybe next year or the year after depending on how she does with clutches.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Yes, I think, she's mid 7 or early 8 yrs old, never knew her age when she was rescued back in 2010, but at least 2 then so 7 now. Hard to know, but she's getting on and this constant egg laying, 5 clutches since September and she might have more eggs in her again, was why my vet and I decided it was better. It'll eventually affect her health, no question. She's too old for this.

I'm glad Mulder is getting fixed soon, better for Ponzu, just in case she goes into heat at 5 mo & yes, it's not unusual. My cat Squeakers was born when his mom was just a year old. And I've hear do kittens being born before the mom is a year old, so better safe than sorry. And you're right, so much easier for a boy than a girl.

 

[JenFid]

So I had 100 or so repti worms left yesterday and figured that would tide everyone over (including Jess's gecko that I'm babysitting) until tomorrow when my shipment of horns and supers arrives. So I dumped the rest of them in the metal bowl that I use and put it in Starling's tank. She's not the best at eating from the bowl yet so I sprinkle them on the ground for her and she chases them. I figured she'd maybe pick at them and then I'd have some left for everyone else.

We left for a dive around 5:30...come back around 9:30, I look in the tank and the bowl is *empty* :shock: so I guess she figured out the bowl after all and decided she was hungry! Well, no one got feeders this morning because of that, and Linus (the gecko) didn't get any dinner!

So I went to our reptile store and picked up a cup of horns, 20 discoids, and 10 supers for Daedles. The horns are a decent size mostly so I'll give Starling and Sarth (who decided to come out of hiding) a couple of those, Daeds will get all of the supers, and I'll see if I can get Linus to eat the smaller discoids.

 

[CooperDragon]

That's a great photo of her at Town Hall. I love that place.

 

[SDragon]

Sorry, I'm not a thread regular, I did want to add that its not really ideal to cross contaminate feeders between species. (Truthfully I wouldn't do it between Dragons knowing one is A+ but that is based on precaution over fact)

 

[sweetiepie9]

Sounds like Starling is getting the hang of eating out of a dish, that's great news. Keep that up so you don't end up having to feed her by hand :roll: like Gabriel & Leo, they'd starve if I didn't feed them. :mrgreen:

Puff goes in tomorrow, she had a great wellness check and my vet couldn't feel any eggs, seems I was feeling her abdominal fat pads, not eggs (shows what I know :lol: ). So I"m hoping all goes well...I'll let you know tomorrow afternoon when I hear from them.

 

[JenFid]

That's a great photo of her at Town Hall. I love that place.

Ah I see you're from IA, you've visited before? Yea it's our favorite, we're pint club members which means free beer from 3-4 every Saturday, so we try to get there every week.

Sounds like Starling is getting the hang of eating out of a dish, that's great news. Keep that up so you don't end up having to feed her by hand :roll: like Gabriel & Leo, they'd starve if I didn't feed them. :mrgreen:

Puff goes in tomorrow, she had a great wellness check and my vet couldn't feel any eggs, seems I was feeling her abdominal fat pads, not eggs (shows what I know :lol: ). So I"m hoping all goes well...I'll let you know tomorrow afternoon when I hear from them.

Hah well, I would be lying if I said I didn't feed all of my babies by hand :roll: but they can all eat by themselves too so that's fine. I left a pile of butternut squash for Starling a few days ago and it was all gone by the time I got home. Now that she knows what it is and that it's yummy she will gobble it up! She's also learning to take the syringe really quickly, which is good, since that's how I give everyone their vits+calcium now instead of powders.
Daedles inhaled all 10 supers yesterday, and I sprinkled some probiotic powder on them too for her. My next round of horns and her supers are getting here today.

Good luck to Puff! I'm sure everything will be fine. I dropped Mulder off this morning too. I'll hear from them soon, and should be able to pick him up after work today.

 

[sweetiepie9]

So Mulder went in today? I'm sure he'll be fine, too. I'll just be worried until I hear she's ok.

I feed mine, too, on occasion but I make Cierra, Nathaniel and Puff's bowls are always full of food. I haven't tried squash on the twins yet, how do you prepare it for yours?

 

[JenFid]

So Mulder went in today? I'm sure he'll be fine, too. I'll just be worried until I hear she's ok.

I feed mine, too, on occasion but I make Cierra, Nathaniel and Puff's bowls are always full of food. I haven't tried squash on the twins yet, how do you prepare it for yours?

I just buy a squash from the store (usually around $1-2), cut off a slice from the top, peel it, then dice it up. The squash will keep for quite awhile, even in the fridge, I keep it in a ziplock bag. I used to buy pre cut-up squash chunks but found they don't last nearly as long and are more expensive anyway. Sometimes if it's a bigger slice and I know they won't eat it all, I put the extra diced bits in a small tupperware.

Sorry, I'm not a thread regular, I did want to add that its not really ideal to cross contaminate feeders between species. (Truthfully I wouldn't do it between Dragons knowing one is A+ but that is based on precaution over fact)

Sorry I just now saw your post! I'm not sure what you mean, cross contaminate between which species? The bugs? I don't mix those together, they all stay in their separate bins. Or do you mean feeding two dragons from the same dish?

edit - I think I see what you mean, I forgot I mentioned Linus the gecko. He does not eat from any dish, I have to hand feed him. I am careful with my girls, and am going to order an adeno test for Starling. Given her lineage, I would not be surprised at all if she was also A+, but we shall see.

 

[sweetiepie9]

That's what I do, too, but I've found they're not digesting the squash very well. I think I'm going to use a peeler to get smaller pieces for them.

And I hope that Starling isn't adeno+!

 

[JenFid]

Aah gotcha. One time I used either my stand mixer's shredding attachment or a cheese grater and made a HUGE pile of grated squash, so finer than what you would get with dicing, maybe a little more digestible for your crew? Let me find the picture...

Haha yes, she was so overwhelmed with all that squash! I must have used my stand mixer to pump out that much. Turned out to be way too much, obviously! I went through all that too and discovered they like the diced texture better anyway!

 

[sweetiepie9]

I've tried that, too, they all turned their nose up, so I'll try smaller pieces, see if they'll like them. They love red pepper, have to get a new one. Leo will eat lots of red pepper and so will Gabriel, seems they like the colour red.

So Cierra is sitting in her lay box, butt down, but no action, not sure if she knows what to do. She's been digging for 3 days now. I'll leave her there for another 20 min, then give her a bath & she can dig somemore on the weekend when I'm home. Still waiting to hear from the vet...

 

[JenFid]

Poor Cierra! I remember I had to give Scully a bit of help with her first clutch, she dug her hole but was going to lay eggs with her butt up, head in the corner :roll: Daedles is a pro now, she used to do all these shenanigans with a big tunnel, now she just digs a bit in the corner, turns around, and does her business.
Scully was also a multi day digger before she laid though :/ Sounds like Cierra might be the same.

I'm sure Puff is fine. I haven't heard about Mulder either and I'm sure by now (3:20pm and I dropped him off at 8am) he's had his procedure done. Either they called Nate and he hasn't told me or they forgot -_-