The Odd Couple Of Sandhill- Oscar and Mia

Just a short update on my boys, as I can't sit with my leg down for very long.

Putzy seems to be spending most of his day, dozing. Except for when we go out for some sun, which is when he perks up and tries to escape. I need to order him a new light as his present one is about 6 months old now. Hopefully that will help wake him up and get his appetite going again.

Oscar, on the other hand, is, well, a bottomless pit. He will eat any thing, anywhere, anytime. This includes my fingers, my hair, my feet etc. If it moves, he tries to nom it. As soon as I have the $200+ for his vet visit, it's fun time. (loves going for rides) But his poops are getting firmer and less stinky, so I think it was mainly due to his cricket diet and suddenly getting as much food (bugs and salad) as his not so little tummy could hold.

I'll be posting new pics as soon as I get this dinosaur 'puter to upload the software for my camera. Night all, from me and my boys!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Glad to hear Osca got rid of her eggies, 35, that's alot, shades of Sweetie! Good for you Osca, now stop with the eggies, it's time to do other things, like run around in your tank & drive Mia mad!

Sorry to hear about Mia, it's a drag when they have neurological issues, they can't really fix them. Lonzo has some, too, causes spasms in his tail & back end. I was told bee pollen might help, so got granules & melt them in warm water & give it to everyone, not just Lonzo. We'll see if it improves Lonzo's back end, good luck with Mia, hopefully they have something that she can take that will help.

Also glad to hear you got the water working again, I wouldn't like to have my water stop, it's difficult to give 5 beardies water/baths when you don't have any water. I got over to Off Topic but haven't had a chance to read your articles, so will get there soon.

Any news on the testimonial? Just wondering.

Take care, give your Osca a hug, tell her Auntie Deb said to CUT OUT THE EGGIES already!
Deb

 

[Goonie]

WHAT?! 35 eggs?! EGOD!
Don't let MoMo hear that. She may take on the challenge of outdoing Osca :shock:

 

[slavetoIzzie]

The adventures continue. Osca has been eating like crazy (on her own, thank God) and looks a bit grey around her muzzle. So, hopefully, she'll start shedding soon and no more eggs. Unfortunately, the dandelions are gone for awhile, have to wait a week before they start blooming again. In the meantime, since all I had in the house was some squash and romaine, I gave her that with her worms. Now the snarky miss won't eat the yummy escarole I bought for her. She wants the romaine! Not the tender parts, just the dark green. bitter outer leaves. Ripped into nice, small pieces and dripping with her liquid calcium. I've discovered how to get it into her without a fight (she doesn't like the syringe). After washing her salad, I wet it again with the calcium. As she dives right in, it doesn't have time to dry. Everybody happy!

Mia, on the other hand, is not so happy at the moment. We've been brushing her several times a day, removing "kittens" from her long fur. She doesn't mind it, as long as we are doing her back and sides. But it's her belly, chin and tail that are getting mats in them, and we have to hold her down, brush and dodge her flailing paws. Not to mention, trying to stick a syringe in her mouth to give her the dewormer! It has also been comfirmed, Mia has a mild form of vertigo. It was probably caused by a an infection of the inner ear, due to an infestation of ear mites when she was still a semi-barn kitten. The vet says Mia should live a normal life, and that she has learned to compensate for the dizziness. It is also, it turns out, the reason Mia doesn't like being picked up. It aggravates her vertigo, which makes her panic and struggle to get down, which makes the dizziness worse.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Poor Mia, but that does explain alot, doesn't it. And those mats, guess it's not possible to get her fur shaved for awhile to get rid of them? I'll wish you luck with them, I know how long cat fur matts, it's awful to get out.

So Osca likes romaine? As long as she eats other greens it's ok & what a great way to get calcium into her. My gang have fallen in love with collard greens again, for the longest time they wouldn't eat them, now they all eat lots every day, so that's great! I get them at Walmart for $139 a bunch which last for at least a week, if not longer. They stay fresh if they're damp in a plastic bag, so will continue to give it to them. Even Leo "I don't eat anything green" eats them like there's no tomorrow. And Lonzo, too. Even Gabriel ate a small piece this am, plus he ate 6 supers this aft, on top of all the babyfood he eats in the am. So I'm hoping he'll gain lots of weight over the summer. He had his last panacur treatment this am, so fecal off to the vet next Saturday & hopefully no more parasites.

Fingers crossed that Osca is done with eggies for this year!

Take care,
Deb

And I had a question for you, what do you think of Reptisun 5.0 tube lights. A friend of mine found out her dragon was calcium deficient & her vet told her that 5.0 was the best tube for calcium injestion. I personally think mbv's would be better, or at least Reptisun 10.0. But wanted someone else's opinion. Thanks Frances, talk to you soon.

 

[slavetoIzzie]

I believe the 5.0's are smaller, putting out only half of the UVB rays that the 10.0 tube would. Main problem with the 10.0 is that you can rarely find them in the pet store. I have to order mine from online. Depending on where your friend is, shipping can be expensive but worth it for the health of their dragon. Personally I'd prefer a MVB, but can't use them as Osca's house is too enclosed and would get way too hot for her. I think the vet was recommending the best option that would be readily available to everyone. Most pet stores do carry the Reptisun 5.0 as well as a full line of the less reliable ExoTerra brand lights and the useless, crapola coils.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks Frances, I'll let her know what you said. I think the 5.0 is more for tropical reptiles, so I'll let her know that maybe the vet thought that would be the easiest tube to get, or maybe the vet doesn't know what she's talking about, they're not always experts on lights.

 

[slavetoIzzie]

I planted a small salad garden for Osca, in order to have some nice fresh greens for her. It be gone! Midnight visits from the local deers, early morning raids from the fat groundhog and even some birds did it in. All that's left is a wasteland of dirt and discarded bits of plant. Next year I'm planting in a cage!

Osca news- We are currently in the process of shedding. Very grumpy and uncomfortable at the moment. She's still chowing down like a little piggy, but now that there's dandelions again, is refusing the romaine. However her little tummy is looking a tad lumpy, so I'm starting to suspect she's going for clutch #3. She is NOT to know how many eggs MoMo had laid last!!! I had enough stress and worry with her last clutch of 35, don't need more.

Mia news- Mia has a new job as night watch cat. A family of raccoons have been visiting lately. Our garbage and recycling bins are right under the dining room window, where Mia spends a great deal of her time. Our outside light was coming on and off and driving me nuts as I couldn't see anything, but Mia was acting the same way she does about the morning birds. I finally caught a glimpse of one of the babies (cute little bugger) and realized the PARENTS weren't tripping the light, just the babies! Since they aren't able to open our bins, I think it was a training session. The light no longer comes on but Mia is still in the window, complaining about the visitors.

Thursday, I went and took my exam, passed and now am the proud possessor of a learner's permit. Now I need to take my road lessons and next year I'll be a real driver! I'm lucky as I had already had a learner's permit before, so I don't have to take the whole driving course. By Quebec law, new driver's have to take an accredited course before getting their license. That's about $1100. I'll only need to take their road practice sessions. I just pay per session and can take as many sessions as I fee I need. I can't wait! No more waiting and begging for rides, just hop in the car and go.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Good for you Frances, you'll finally be mobile, what a treat!

You think Osca is getting ready for eggies again? What is it this summer, so many clutches. Hopefully it will be small & no, no-one from here has been on the computer to check on MoMo, so she didn't hear it from any of my boys (not an area they'd be interested in anyway!)

Glad Mia is on guard duty, as least you know you've got visitors at night. I'm so sorry to hear about your garden. Makes me glad I"m on a balcony as I've started a garden, too, Barbara sent me seeds for mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, Swiss chard & parsley. Put the seeds in today, the weather here has been awful, at night it's in the mid 50s, yuck, so hopefully there will be some sun today as we haven't had any sun for 2 weeks.

Give Osca a hug & tell her that she needs to stop with the eggs already, she doesn't want to be a Sweetie girl at all!

Thanks for the info about lights. I got back to Lisa, who's Bulldozer's owner, Tracie told me the same thing. Lisa talked to other vets & they all agreed with us! So she's to see the vet she sees today & will let her know that she's incorrect about beardie lighting. Lisa already had a power sun, so put that back up, but it's on a top, so I suggested she do as I do & put low furniture in the viv, take the top off, get a lampstand & have the power sun give Bulldozer full UVB. I don't have tops on any of my tanks, the basking spots are low enough that not even Didi (who tries daily) can get out of his tank!

Take care
Deb

 

[Goonie]

What great news that you'll soon be a licensed driver! I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors.

How about lying to Osca about how many eggs MoMo had laid? Tell her that I had miscounted and it was only 28 :wink:

 

[slavetoIzzie]

Yesterday morning, I got up and checked on Osca, only to discover she had once again exploded. She's shed her entire belly and vent area. Gave her a bath and instead of swimming as usual, she parked herself at the shallow end of the tub and let her belly and back legs float. After her bath, she ran around the living room (Mia was locked up in the bedroom), jumping in and out of her house, and acting like a nut. No matter how much I put her in her laybox, she refuses to stay in it. She ate 2 worms but used her salad to decorate the place.

This morning is the same, except she won't even look at her worms. She has also made it pretty clear, eggs are laid in caves! I tried to block off her cave with a couple of rags and she burrowed and dug until they formed a cave of cloth. Osca then wiggled in and out a few times, to test it, and went back to being a nutcase!

Thanks to the heat wave here in Quebec, Mia is pretty much flaked in front of the fan in the bedroom. It's on the west side of the house, shaded by trees and has a wood floor, so stays cooler than the rest of the house. Which means, Mia barely notices lately when I close the door and let Osca run free. Unfortunately, it also means we have a cat that wakes up soon after dark and goes mental for most of the night.

As for me, if this heat doesn't break soon, I might not survive. I can handle hot weather, but humidity.... It's 30c but feels more like 40c! Plus, my sinuses feel like I have a bowling ball inside them. Constant headaches, nausea, and insomnia don't make me a happy camper. I can't sleep or eat when it's this hot. Right now, the thought of moving to the North Pole is very tempting!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Frances,
So Osca is still making eggs? Poor you to have to put up with the antics.

I so feel for you, having lived in Montreal most of my life I sure understand high humidity & heat, which is why I moved to Vancouver, BC. It's the most temperate & least humid area in Canada, mind you it costs alot to live, but I have a good job & dragon expenses aren't great, except for the lights, so I'm ok. Got an apt with cheap rent $775/m for just over 600 sq ft, so I'm happy. Don't know if I could survive living back east anymore, glad I don't have to find out.

I'm hoping your heat wave goes away, too, I've been hearing that Quebec, Ontario, New York & even Ohio are having record breaking heat waves. Barbara says its usually over 100F at her end daily & it's not even summer yet. And we're gearing up for a heat wave (well for us, anyway) of 29C or so starting first week of July. At least it won't be Juneuary anymore. We've had almost winter temps & rain for the last month, enough so that alot of plants have died. So much for putting in a garden!

Here's to you keeping cool, guess you'll have to take breaks in the bedroom with Mia!
Take care
Deb

By the way, Gabriel has been added to my sig & the good boy has gained 16g in the last 2 weeks, he's up to 296 & eating every day. Good boy!
The rest of my crew are shedding big time, too, almost body sheds but in bits & pieces! They're not at all happy about it all :mrgreen:

 

[Goonie]

She has also made it pretty clear, eggs are laid in caves! I tried to block off her cave with a couple of rags and she burrowed and dug until they formed a cave of cloth. Osca then wiggled in and out a few times, to test it, and went back to being a nutcase!

Her too?! Had she been telepathically communication with my girls again? I'm sorry

 

[slavetoIzzie]

And the winner of the Egg Wars is...

MoMo

Osca laid 3 in her bath, on Monday and another 25 today. As advised, I lied about MoMo's last clutch and I guess I was convincing enough. That, or Digi sent a telepathic message, threatening Osca if she continued to compete with MoMo. Osca is presently sprawled on her basking rock, too tired to even crawl into bed. She did eat 10 worms and 2 salads before falling asleep with a piece of romaine hanging out of her mouth. So, I covered her up, with her blankie, and left her on her rock to finish digesting. That big chunk of slate stays pretty hot for a long time after lights out.

 

[Goonie]

Whew! I know you're very relieved that Osca decided not to compete with MoMo on this clutch, and I'm very glad too because then MoMo won't lay more than her last :roll:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Glad to hear this latest batch of eggies are done & not as many as last time. Do you think she's done already? Hope so, this constant egg laying is giving me a headache, never mind you!

Glad to hear she had a good appetite right away, she must be so tired, but I'll bet she'll feel better tomorrow!