The Popcorn and Tatty and Their Eggs Thread: Also new Babie

[tigristusha]

February 15, 2009. Well, unfortunately tatty’s slave is really sick today. I don’t know if it is a flu, cold, or something else. Whatever it is, it sure makes me miserable. Baby #22 is all perked up looking around. The egg sac is still large but is shrinking. I will keep him/her in the incubator at least another day until the sac has been absorbed.
I use two things as criteria for when to put a baby in the vivarium. First, the egg sac must be absorbed or gone. Second, the baby must be active, up, and exploring. Once you see these behaviors, it is time to put the baby in the vivarium. This is more important than hatching order. I will reiterate, don’t throw an egg away unless you are certain that the hatchling is dead. I would keep the black egg until I was sure it was no good. Help the baby out as a last resort before you throw it away.
My babies are chasing week old crickets with gusto. Some are tasting salad. I have been spraying the babies with water twice per day. I treat the crickets daily with liquid calcium. I got a tiny eye dropper and some berry flavored pedialyte and dropped a little on their nose. They really liked that. This will train them to take a slurry from a syringe and I can make a nutrient slurry flavored with fruit juice. I use the slurry in between cricket feedings. I use the dry powder baby bird food from pet stores to make a milkshake like slurry that all of my babies have loved. This way they get used to fresh veggies, week old crickets, water, pediatlyte , and the nutrient slurry and everyone goes to bed with a full belly. Its also a great way to get them used to a little handling and human interaction.
This may take some time to do, but it is well worth it in terms of growth rates and bonding!

Tatty
:mrgreen:

I absolutely LOVE this idea. Would you be so kind as to share the exact recipes? I have to say tho, my boyfriend and I both working at different pet stores certainly helps when it comes to feeding our herp friends. Yay discounts!! I love preparing foods for my iguana and beardies. This definitely appeals to me

 

[Tatty]

tigristusha: I will send you the recipe later tonight. It really helps out especially if you run out of live feeders. Also, Tatty's second clutch is hatching. I have 14 babies out of their eggs and lively! I have one that appears to be stillborn, dead in the egg. I have three left to hatch :? . I don't know whether to call them the new year's eve babies or the flood babies since they started hatching during a horrible storm which caused us to get two inches of water in our finished basement. What a week. Maybe they should be the midterm exam babies since they started hatching while I was taking my midterm in GIS and the local community college. :study:

Tatty

 

[Elly]

Hi all. Firstly, I just wanted to say a HUGE thanks to everyone that has shared their knowledge, and particularly to the Tatty and Popcorn household - the pics have been extremely helpful for our "unplanned" additions to our family.

We have 2 dwarf bd's, Rex and Xena. Rex is currently off his food and sleeping, so I'm assuming that he is doing the hibernation thing they all go through. Xena is a very canky little girl with the ROUNDEST belly. I think she is gravid with her 3rd clutch, though I'm waiting for the eggs to drop.
Her 1st clutch was laid on Jan 8th, and our 11 eggs have all hatched about 2 wks ago, a week earlier than we were expecting. All are healthy active little things that eat absolutely everything that moves. We are currently waiting on the second clutch (laid on Feb 21) to hatch, but all are looking very round and pink. We anticipate another 11 babies to be hatching in about 2-3 wks, if the timeframe stays consistent.

I do have a question though... What is the ideal amount to feed both bubs and mum (since dad is off his food). Both Xena and her bubs eat EVERYTHING, including the vegies that I give them, and are so keen for food that they race down to the front of the enclosure and start scratching at the glass...

Keep smiling all, and good luck with the basement

 

[Tatty]

Give them all they want to eat. The babies need this for growth and mom needs it to replensih her reserves. When they are full about 10 minutes, they will quit and you can remove leftover feeders. My second clutch of 18 beardies is all hatched but one and I have pinhead crickets, phoenix worms and mini mealies on hand for them.

Tatty

 

[Tatty]

Newest members of the household. 16 of us waiting for #17. We were born on New Year's Eve and we started hatching during terrible rainstorms and basement flooding. We are special and Tatty is our mom. :mrgreen:

 

[Ethelia]

Hello storm babies!!

 

[Krisymof2]

SOooo cute!

 

[protiemama]

Awwww, another bowl-o-beardies. :love5: :love5:

Sandy h

 

[sunkist]

Ohhhhh sooooo cute!!!!

 

[beardie osk]

Oh, this thread is so exciting, CONGRATS, on the new babies!!!!!!!! I'd love for you to share your slurry receipe here, when you have time. :shock: TIME..............what does that word mean??????? :wink:

Christine <><

 

[Tatty]

Here is a slurry recipe that has served me well in jump starting babies and nursing sick adult dragons. I have saved a few lives with this recipe. It is very simple. Purchase a high quality posdered food for hand feeding baby birds. You can go on the Fosters and Smith website. I used Kaytee Exact baby bird formula. You spoon the dry Powder in a plastic cup and add enough flavored pedialyte (fruit flavored baby child’s drink with electrolytes) so that it is the consistency you could draw it up in a small syringe or an eye dropper. It should be about like a milk shake. Next add a pinch of calcium supplement. You draw up the slurry and put some on the tip of their lips. If they don’t start licking it in immediately, gently take your fingernail and work it past their lips. Once they taste it they eat ravenously. It is very high in nutrition and calories, so it is very good to put weight on babies that are small or you can even use it in between live food shipments when you are completely out. I feed them til they stop lapping. I do it three times per day. Pregnant beardies like it when you can’t get them to eat anything else. It also workls well when you have a beardies with a sore or injured mouth that doesn’t want to chew. I hope some of you try it and tell me how it goes for you. Please let me know. I have one little egg left from the second clutch that has not hatched yet.

Tatty

 

[beardie osk]

Thanks Tatty, for the slurry receipe!

 

[haleygirl272]

Sorry I dropped off the ends of the Earth Tatty. I cant take baby number 22. Im sorry.

Great news on the new beardies! Im so excited for you and Tat!

 

[Tatty]

March 14, 2009. I have 16 healthy babies that are eating pinhead crickets. They are very energetic. Yesterday, Saturday, Popcorn, Cooper, Tatty, 6 babies, my husband , and myself went up to the local petshop in canton, Illinois to sit with the beardies and educate people on reptile care. It went over very well. This lady will be purchasing some of my babies in a few weeks to sell in her shop. The thing I like is that she won’t sell them until she is convinced that the person has everything they need and proper knowledge to care for them. Everyone was tired when I got them home. Cooper, my little adoptee, is getting so spoiled that now he scratches and flails against his enclosure door because he wants out then he falls asleep on me! What a miraculous changed from the wired little pitbull he was when I first brought him home to the loveable pussycat that he is now. I can’t even do anything to make him flair or beard at me. The only thing he bobs and beards at is the ladies. Twizzler just laid 19 eggs on Friday, so I now have two clutches that are hatched and 5 in the incubator. The 18th egg from the 2 clutch still has not hatched yet. I am going to try to candle it to see if I detect life. Sometimes you have bad luck and they are stillborn. I hope folks found the slurry recipe helpful. Also, the first babies are eating a wide variety of foods, They are eating small crickets, phoenix worms, mini mealies, all manner of beggies. I introduced some rehydrated beardie pellets in their enclosure today and they vigourously ate some. I will keep everyone posted. The first of Twizzlers clutch (a small clutch will hatch in the next two weeks!)

 

[JubJubLizard]

How nice that you went to educate about reptile care. It is nice that you have a store that you are really happy to see the babies going to. How old will they be when you do let them go? I wanted to let you know how the little one that you helped me with is doing. Which is......... GREAT! He/she is the friendliest little thing around. Runs up to the glass they very second he see you and when we handle him he never wants to get back down. He is sorta the monitor of the tank runs around and checks in with all of the others lol. My daughter says he is thanking us. I can't thank you enough for your help and suggestions as to what we could try. For this little one is was the right move. The other 9 are doing wonderful. I made the slurry that you posted and it is something that these little ones love love love. They all have chubby little bellies. They are eating feeders and greens as well. I have the pellets but they steer clear of them. I see you rehydrated yours. Did you do it with water and if so do you do it till they are real soft or just sorta? Also do you put them in a seperate bowl or with the veggies? Thanks for the slurry recipe. Glad to hear that your babies are all doing great.