The Life of Saphira! New viv pics!

I decided to make a topic about Saphira and her life as she grows up, and a place to put all the pictures i take!


First things first, i finally finished her permanent Viv! Was given somemoney for my birthday so i went shopping for some stuff to fill up the space.


Her viv is a 4'x2'x2', made out of melamine (got the plans from crossfiredragons).

Enough talk tho, heres the pics!

Heres the entire viv:

It has sliding glass doors, i personally hated trying to reach down into something.

On the left side i have a thermometer that measures her basking temp:

And on the right is the thermometer for the cool side:

On the hot side of the tank i have a little stick that leads to a stone structure thingy, which leads to her hammock, and her log is under that and has a blanket for her to sleep on:

In the middle i made a little rock wall that has a small cave in the center, got those from my garden and yes they were sterilized and baked in the oven, and then her veggie dish and water dish are in the middle as well:

Then on her coolside i have another little cave with some fake leaves around it, she seems to like to climb on the leaves lol, also i put a dragon statue in the other corner, i thought it looked cool lol.

Well thats it for now! ill be sure to add more pictures as i take them! Hope you Enjoyed the grand tour!

 

[Backlash]

Well i decided to take your guys advice and order some crickets online, the daily run to the pet store is definitely becoming a pain. So Wednesday afternoon i will be recieving 1,000 crickets from ghanns. And all i can say is wow. $11.99 + $14 shipping. compared to a dozen crix for $1, so that would come to about $80 for 1000.

I geuss i never really crunched the numbers before and just went for the convience of the petstore guy bagging individual servings of crickets, but i have definetly been paying for it majorly. So now with a cheaper way to buy food for my little girl, i can potentially start looking into getting her a little brother as well! I have been looking at Tom's little guys and they are really tempting me to buy right now, but first i have to do a couple things.

Heres the check list:
1. Build a new viv (thinking of a 4'x2'x18", might get a regular tank until i build it)
2. Get new lighting and fixtures for the tank
3. Get all the furniture for the tank.
and finally:
4. convince my parents im not wasting money lol.

Unfortunatly i am currently between jobs, just quit my job at a dog groomers and was hired at petsmart (yes i know the all evil petsmart, but i love animals and i figure i can help the animals get the correct care)

So right now its just waiting for the paycheck from petsmart (i start tomorrow) to get things back into the correct routine.

THEN after all that is done, i will be giving tom a call so i can go pick out a little guy. He definetly has been tempting me with his "its a male sale" (grrrrr so tempting!!!!). But i think i will try and stick it out for a month before i start my check list, hoping craigslist will come up with a cheap tank.

Soo anyway, back to spoiling my little girl while she enjoys being an only child

 

[CrystalReptile]

AWW so cute. WE just cant resist but have more than one

 

[Backlash]

So I weighed an measured saphira today! She is now 12 inches long and 75 grams!

Today i had saphira on my bed as i was checking my email and stuff, after exploring the a little she came walking up the me and snuggled right into my elbow! It was so cute, she kept wiggling her head and body trying to get under my arm lol, then fell asleep! Also ive noticed that she is starting to sleep in the front of her log hide, before she would go all the way to the back and curl up next to the towel i have blocking the back of it. I see this as a sign that shes getting more comfortable and doesnt feel the need to completely hide anymore. She is definetly becoming a lovable little girl.

 

[Backlash]

Got a couple more pics of the little girl, she is growing very nicely.

Here she is on the scale, its only her second time so shes no so sure about it lol.

The after that she had some dinner, then pancaked her self on her basking branch, she looks so big! Her legs should be shedding really soon, and her head is just about to go into shed. I cant wait for her to leave her first little glove!

Then about an hour after she ate, i brought her out to play while watching tv, she decided to explore the bed a little bit. after a couple minutes of watching the Phillies game i noticed she was no where to be found!! i thought she fell off the side of the bed or something, after looking around a little bit i noticed this:

And after slowly peeling back the covers:

She looked so cute in there i didnt want to risk waking her up lol.

Well theres your pictures for the day lol.

 

[CrystalReptile]

AWW! it was an explosion of cute! my girl only climbs on top of the covers..

 

[SARBEAR]

How did I miss this thread?!
I love Saphira's colors!!
Her last shed really brought out some pretty colors! Keep the pictures coming!
My favorites so far are:

"can i have some more......pweeeaase!?"

"im scared, can i hold your hand daddy?"

Too cute!!

 

[Backlash]

Wow, so i got home from running a few errands, and as usual i took saphira out for some playtime. Well something was spooking the hell outa her. I had her on my shirt while i was sitting in the chair. She started getting all wide eyed and looking around like crazy, then with a burst of speed that ive never seen outa her, she scrambled off my shirt and jumped on the floor. It was so fast that by the time i could react she was already on the ground. I picked her back up talking in soothing words and wondering what was wrong with her. she still has the spooked look, then she did it again, but this time she hit the floor and scrambled under my bed! It took me 5 minutes to get her out, my bed has a pull out bed underneath so i could barely stick my arm underneath and i couldnt see what i was doing. I think the fan was spooking her, because everytime i had her in hand she kept staring up at the ceiling, and thats the only thing up there.

All i can say is she scared the crap outa me, i just dont know what got into her. shes usually very calm when i handle her, and only tries to get away after a good while, probally as she gets colder and wants back in her viv. It was extremely odd behavior for her.

 

[SARBEAR]

Wow, so i got home from running a few errands, and as usual i took saphira out for some playtime. Well something was spooking the hell outa her. I had her on my shirt while i was sitting in the chair. She started getting all wide eyed and looking around like crazy, then with a burst of speed that ive never seen outa her, she scrambled off my shirt and jumped on the floor. It was so fast that by the time i could react she was already on the ground. I picked her back up talking in soothing words and wondering what was wrong with her. she still has the spooked look, then she did it again, but this time she hit the floor and scrambled under my bed! It took me 5 minutes to get her out, my bed has a pull out bed underneath so i could barely stick my arm underneath and i couldnt see what i was doing. I think the fan was spooking her, because everytime i had her in hand she kept staring up at the ceiling, and thats the only thing up there.

All i can say is she scared the crap outa me, i just dont know what got into her. shes usually very calm when i handle her, and only tries to get away after a good while, probally as she gets colder and wants back in her viv. It was extremely odd behavior for her.

lol, Howie hates fans! She will stare at them forever and kind of cower at the sight of them.

 

[Backlash]

lol, Howie hates fans! She will stare at them forever and kind of cower at the sight of them.

I think saphira does too! i put her back in her viv for a little bit, turned the fan off and brought her back out and she was back to her normal self! It definetly gave a little scare lol.

 

[CrystalReptile]

Whoa. WEird. mine LOVES fans. i have a mini purplue one behind my bed (bout 7in across) and Alex was very close to it, so i turned it off scared she might get her tail cauat. i look back a few moments later and shes RIGHT on top of it. 'oh, hey mom. i decided to come sit on this icy cold fan' :mrgreen: that weird little girl.

 

[Backlash]

All i can say is wow. Since my brother killed almost half of my crickets by throwing the tub around, i had to order another thousand online. Well i thought that the 3/8in crickets were way to small for saphira, it would take alot to fill her up and they were really tiny. Well i look at the size page and decide to go up to the 5/8in crickets, was comparing them to the penny like on the site, and compared the penny to saphiras head and though "oh they arnt that big, she can handle those!" hahaha i didnt know what i was getting into. The crickets come in today and i see a couple through the vented hole, and the were pretty small. But when i started dumping these in the bin my eyes went :shock: there was one or two in there with wings and they were HUUGE!!!

So i thought, well i drop them in a couple at a time so she doesnt gobble up 3 at on, like she always does, i should be fine. I dropped maybe 5 in her feeding tank and what do ya know, of the crickets decided to hump each other or something!!! And saphira went after those two!! I watched in disbelief as she took 2 bites of those crickets at the same time, then went and ate the remaining ones in about 10 seconds! Shes gotta learn to chew her food when shes eating >_<.

Well upside of the story, it only took 20 crickets to fill her up where the small ones were around 50 or so. Now shes got a big chubby belly and shes pancaked out basking, most likely thinking "my tummy hurts!". To be on the safe side im gonna make sure she has plenty of greens to make her poo a little easier and give her a couple of belly rubs in the bath.

Anywayz, time to get ready for class.

 

[Backlash]

Ok so today was measuring day for saphira. She now measures in at big 12 inches, and measures in at just under 100grams!!!!!

So in about a month he has grown 4 inches and gained over 50 grams! I have to say i am really excited lol!

I do have pictures, but ive been pressed for time this afternoon and now i have to go to work, so i will be sure to upload and post the pictures when i get home!

 

[Backlash]

Ok i just have to vent, i have so much anger built up i have to release it. Better in writing where i can catch what i say before i say it.

KIDS ARE STUPID!!!!

And now for the explanation:

Since i started working night shifts, and not being able to feed saphira in the evening like i usually do, i thought up the wonderful idea of asking my little brother to feed her while im out. The night before i went step by step on how to feed her, from how to handle her and get her out of the viv, to how to get the crickets, where to feed her, how much to feed her, and then what to do after shes eaten. I said the last thing you do is place her on her basking log and close the viv doors, and if theres crickets left in the feeding tank, put a lid on it and put it away.

Well i txt my mom to remind her to make sure he feeds her. After a long day at work, i come home and i smell the wonderfull aroma of beardie poo, stronger than it usually is. I go over to the viv to clean it up, and what do u know.....the viv door is WIDE OPEN, her log is out of place, her basking branch is knocked over, obviously she was in the hide when feeding time came around. But thats not the worst part! SHE WAS STILL IN THE FEEDING TANK!!!! CURLED UP IN THE DAMN CORNER WITH CRICKETS ALL OVER HER!!!!!! So for basically FIVE HOURS! shes been in my 70 degree room with no heat lamp, in a tank full of crickets. Oh my god.....i am still shaking with anger! How stupid can you be to forget the simple steps less than 24 hours after they were explained in full to you.....


So right now, instead of sleeping, saphira is warming up under her basking lamp, hopefully digesting her food that she should have done five hours ago! And god knows how many cricket bites she has from the 2 hours after lights out and when i got home. I have to say this is the last time i trust that kid with anything. UHG!

ok rant over, althought i am still shaking....

 

[Freeie]

*hugs* its ok vent all you want it helps sometimes.

Shes so beautiful

 

[SARBEAR]

Aww poor Saphira!
I'm sure she's okay though.
I never let my little sister take care of Howie or Cobie, just cause I know what will happen.
The rule in my house is, "Don't touch the beardies if I don't know about it" lol.
Did she at least get a treat or extra snuggles this evening?