Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

[Embee]

Thanks to this informative (and friendly) forum, we've been learning SO much. Our baby, "Cloudy" has not been thriving as of late. He (or perhaps SHE :wink: ) has been increasingly sluggish, getting off to bed early, and the appetite has been waning. He is approximately 4 months old and only 6-7 inches. We did some researching here, checked posts for other beardies having similar issues, and the one thing that kept coming up continually was his UVB (or lack thereof!). The pet store sold us a bill of goods. Clearly not a new story, huh? *sigh* They "recommended" a Zilla Compact, and like the newbies we were, we said "great!" :roll: After reading here, we learned otherwise, got on-line, and ordered a ReptiSun 5.0 (it's a small starter cage, 2 feet long, but quite "squat"), and a fixture. It came today. It's been a mere 5 hours since we got it up and going, and Cloudy, is already a totally different dragon.

For one thing, at 7:30pm, I went up to check on him and he was well, AWAKE! :shock: It's been 4pm bedtime around here so this was a wonderful surprise. He was actually hanging out at the end of his viv that looks to the stairway, like he was waiting for someone. He used to this when we first got him. So, I gave him a little cuddle and doting on, and then plopped him back on the warm end of his little home, hoping. Lately, he'd just head for the cool side, and to sleep but NO, tonight, he hung out, basked a bit, then went tooling about the viv, checking himself out in the glass, a little dancing, gave himself a bath. It was unbelievable! Now, we've (myself, my son and my husband) been up and down the stairs all night, checking to see what our little beardie is up to! At 9:30, My son and I went up to turn out the light and snuggle him in for the night, and he was STILL AWAKE! He was hanging out in his vine, and looking ready for bed, but still very responsive to us. I'm going to go up and check on him in a little while and see if he's gone off to sleep. And I'm looking forward to tomorrow...hoping to see him eat more than a few crickets which has been the norm lately. My son is over the moon (Cloudy is technically his, although I've been bogarting the beardie quite a lot, I admit ).

I just can't thank this forum/website enough for all that we've learned. We've been all around the web, reading, researching, but this site in particular, has been immeasurably helpful. *fingers crossed for continued beardie happiness* We're hoping, hoping, hoping that this is a new beginning for our LITTLE guy/gal. It's certainly looking good so far. I still can't believe how he's changed in a matter of a few hours.

We're currently searching for a larger enclosure (75+ gal), for which we're planning to use an MVB. Again, thanks to all the excellent information provided here.

The best,
Em

 

[msmaui]

That is just GREAT that the light has made such a big difference. I'm so glad that Cloudy (and his family) is so happy now!

 

[lilStewie]

I am sure that everyone else agrees that your thankfullness for this site has been something we have all felt at some point. This online community is insanely helpful with all aspects of beardie slavedom. When you put together all of the people and their experiences(Good and Bad) we are able to continue to have the most knowledgeable and informative dragon site. I am glad to hear the correct UVB is having such a great impact on your little guy. Just wait till you get the MVB(Megaray I hope)! It is absolutely amazing the difference it makes! Welcome to the site and a whole slew of new friends! I think we would all Thank You for becoming a knowledgeable owner of these absolutely wonderful reptiles.

 

[sunkist]

Agreed... I was able to educate someone recently about the UVB lighting and this website for his 5 year old dragon who is sluggish. I am hoping he comes on here and reads and orders it. I know my kids/boys just love their lights.

 

[Embee]

This online community is insanely helpful with all aspects of beardie slavedom. When you put together all of the people and their experiences(Good and Bad) we are able to continue to have the most knowledgeable and informative dragon site.

Indeed. I couldn't agree more. I feel lucky to have stumbled upon this site. I had been doing quite a lot of online reading and my husband even posted a question on another board (someone's personal dragon site) and received a very short and snarky reply. It was very discouraging. I must say, the extreme LACK of snark on this board has made it all the more helpful but all around, it's been the best source of information and support.

I am glad to hear the correct UVB is having such a great impact on your little guy. Just wait till you get the MVB(Megaray I hope)! It is absolutely amazing the difference it makes! Welcome to the site and a whole slew of new friends! I think we would all Thank You for becoming a knowledgeable owner of these absolutely wonderful reptiles.

We are much looking forward to upgrading Cloudy's enclosure, and of course, his lighting. I have read so much on here about how amazing the Megaray MVB are, and how they have changed Beardie's lives! Can't wait for Cloudy to have the "pleasures."

Update on Cloudy as of this morning is... he ate 8 crickets for breakfast! That's more than he's eaten in a whole day in probably ten days, so things are looking up. He's also quite ALERT, very expressive, which has me realizing just how listless he was becoming. My husband wakes up early so he turns on the heating/lighting. When DS and I went up to feed after a time, Cloudy was waiting for us at the end of the viv, again! Lately, we've been having to actually wake him up so it was nice to see his little face ready and waiting for love. Of which, he received much!

:love5:

Thanks again all, and also for your kind replies. We feel like we've found a true place of information and support for the Beardie Slaves we have become. :mrgreen:

The best,
Em