The Life and Times of Helen Hawking, dbnr

I first noticed Helen Hawking in a classifieds ad, looking for a fellow companion in a lonely world. Her piece sang to me and one picture in particular caught my eye.

I felt that I had found a kindred spirit, someone with the same zest and zeal for life that I possessed. We spoke at first through an intermediary before finally deciding to meet. She came to me in a rather unorthodox fashion- boxed up and restrained.

But we quickly found common ground and chatted a bit over a light meal.

Something I said must have disturbed her however, because she cut our talk short and scuttled over to a corner, seeking solitude in an unfamiliar environment and leaving me to clean up what was left of her lunch.

 

[ohmybandit]

She is absolutely beautiful.

 

[TheWerewolf]

Wow, such a beautiful beardie. I don't who would let her get like that though. But she is in better care now. Good for you for rescuing such a beautiful beardie.

 

[randommonks]

She's got quite the personality to match. I had to give her a short bath yesterday since she had decided to lay down in her own poop, and she was definitely friendlier when I had to pick her up than Darwin was at her age.

 

[randommonks]

Wow, such a beautiful beardie. I don't who would let her get like that though. But she is in better care now. Good for you for rescuing such a beautiful beardie.

Oh no she wasn't a rescue. She came from Tom of TnD Dragons. She somehow got wrapped up in her yolk out of the egg and he had to manually cut her out of it. You can read more here:

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But yeah I'm definitely glad to have her!

 

[TheWerewolf]

Oh, I thought she had MBD. Egg deformities do happen, we had a deformed chicken come out of an egg. But as he grew the deformity made it harder for him to walk. It got so bad we had to euthanize him. Her deformity doesn't look like it'll get worse with age. But she still must be glad to have you.

 

[randommonks]

Yeah I'm hoping that she'll stay relatively small as her back doesn't seem to be causing her much problems now. Tom asked me to stay in contact about her, so I'll have plenty of advice should I need it down the road.

 

[diamc]

Congratulations! She is adorable.

 

[randommonks]

Thanks Diane!

 

[diamc]

How is she doing now, is she starting to settle in a little? Her coloring is awesome!

 

[randommonks]

She's still pretty dark and stays mainly in corners. She ate two small dubia this morning and I found the rest I left her hiding under the shelf liner. Would it be safe to duck tape the edges down?

She still tenses every time I come near her tank but that's understandable as she's still getting used to being able to see through her walls. Anything you'd recommend?

 

[diamc]

Good that she ate a little bit, it's gonna take a little time for her to adjust to the changes.

I know duct tape is very sticky but I would be worried that she might get stuck to it if any part of it came loose. Perhaps you'd like to try handfeeding her, that helps with bonding too. Perhaps using a plastic medicine dropper to put drops of diluted 100% juice on her nose would interest her.

Might be a good idea to cover the front of her tank if that's where she can see you heading toward her. If it's the side, then perhaps covering that instead would help. Would also make sure to start talking to her as you are heading toward her tank, before she can see you at all, perhaps that will keep the tension down a little for her.

Have you checked with Tom to see what basking temp she liked before? All beardies are so set in their ways, I was just thinking that if her basking temp now is about the same as she is used to, it might help too.

I'm just trying to think of all the things I would do to try to help her feel more at ease. :wink:

 

[snazzyglasses]

Congratulations! What a little darling! She's beautiful :love5:
I love the narrative too, hehe

 

[randommonks]

Hm...yeah maybe I'll just hold off on the duck tape. Darwin eats supers now and I've forgotten how wiley dubia can be.

I have the 2 sides of her tank completely covered and the back is against a wall. I could cover the front if you think it'll help, and her entire view would be of the produce sales at the local grocery store. I'll try babbling lightly before I approach her, but when I force myself to talk, usually I just say words that don't have any relation. Hopefully she won't mind

I did just email Tom to ask about her basking temp to see if he remembers. I haven't noticed her basking much so maybe that's why.

Greatly appreciate the help Diane!

 

[randommonks]

Congratulations! What a little darling! She's beautiful :love5:
I love the narrative too, hehe

Thanks! She's definitely a looker. I didn't even realize she was a leatherback until I pulled her out of the container!

As if she heard me, she went up to her basking spot, but was scared back down again by Darwin freaking out and making a huge fuss in his tank. Looks like I'll have to cover up the part of his cage he can use to see her...