Truly Reaching Out For Help...

[Menolly07]

It's a pain, but isn't it great too? That he's fighting you tooth and nail means that he's got the energy to fight, right? That's a massive turn around from only a few WEEKS ago!

 

[nordica]

Well Leo seems to be doing great today! My flight home last night had been delayed, so I didn't even crawl into bed until 4am this morning. Subsequently, I ended up sleeping in later than I had wanted, and honestly, the only thing that got me out of bed to begin with was knowing that I had to take care of Leo. :wink: I was expecting his customary morning runny poo waiting for me in his tank, but to my surprise, Leo hadn't gone yet. I was shocked! I mean, it was 11am and Leo hasn't NOT gone before 9am for weeks and weeks now. Anyway, I drew him his bath to scrub him off (he had some poop on the underside of his tail from the previous day, when I was gone for work) where he ended up finally taking his morning poo. And while it was still a tad bit runny, it was the most fully-formed poop I've seen him have in quite some time now. It's amazing how much attention I pay to poop nowadays...

(**Okay, total sidetrack, Leo has gotten so used to his "scrub-and-soak" routine, that now when I'll gently lift up his tail to use his soft scrub brush, he'll lift up his back end really high for me, so I can get into all of the, ummm... nooks and crannies. It's freaking hilarious.**)

So I gave him his meds, which he took better than I've ever seen, then I gave him just a tiny bit of slurry. I'm starting to wean him off of them, so instead of actually inserting the feeding syringe into his mouth, I just dribbled it off of his nose and let him lick up whatever he wanted. I'm guessing that he only really ate about 1ml. BUT, when I sat down with him on our spot on the couch, I got him to eat FIVE medium dubia nymphs, FIVE butterworms, and FIFTEEN waxworms!! :shock: He put up hardly any fight at all, but the best thing was that he DIDN'T leave a twitching half-masticated mess in my lap this time.

I snuggled with him for a while for being such a good boy, and then placed him back in his tank, where he's been basking ever since.

 

[rdoyle]

OMG that is sooo great to hear that he is doing that much better.

 

[Menolly07]

I could honest to goodness happy-cry! And now you're on vacation, right? That will be amazing for you AND for Spaz and Helen and Leo. Now that he's doing so much better you can spread your time out a little more and also get YOU some time! Oh... And the image of him lifting his hindquarters for ease of access... Yeah.. .... This was my reaction to that ---> :laughhard:

 

[dragonlover3]

I've been following Leo and I'm so very happy he's doing so much better!
Amanda

 

[Drache613]

Hello Megan,

That is incredible about Leo's progress! Finally!
How funny he doesn't mind you scrubbing his underside for him. He likes to be clean.
It sounds like he is enjoying eating his bugs now, too & gradually weaning himself off of the syringe feeding now. It will be better for him to eat on his own, anyway.

Glad to hear of such great news.

Tracie

 

[nordica]

@Menolly07 - I really do need to get a picture of Leo "presenting" his rear end for me; it cracks me up every time. :lol: And unfortunately I'm not on my mini-vacation anymore; that was last week. It was so nice to be able to spend five stress-free days at home with everyone. Flight attendant schedules being what they are at times though, I have to leave tomorrow morning for a three-day trip, then I come home late Wednesday night (technically Thursday early morning), and then have to leave again Thursday evening for one of my preferred two-day red-eye trips. While I don't relish the thought of basically being gone all week, with Leo doing so much better, the prospect doesn't stress me out as much as it has in the past.

@Tracie - I think you're right about Leo liking to be clean. In addition to the baby hair brush that I use to scrub off his body and hindquarters, I have a soft toothbrush that I use to clean off his mouth and beard, for when he decides to be a messy eater. And just about every time, he calmly sits there, without moving, allowing me to clean every little dribble and morsel of off him. He's such a patient and tolerant beardie. :love5: Unfortunately, he's still not eating on his own, per say, as all of the buggies being fed to him are still having to be placed in his mouth. As soon as he's gained some weight back and given a clean bill of health though, I'll play the "tough-love" card and stop the "princess feeding", forcing him to eat on his own. :wink:

*******

So just like yesterday, Leo seems to be doing great. He just... well, he just looked more like his old self. He had his morning poo in his tank, and again it was fairly formed. There wasn't a lot of undigested material either. I gave him his morning bath, and then administered a dose of Serrapeptase as well as one of a Vitamin B supplement. He took both really well. When I offered him some slurry from a baby spoon, he didn't seem interested, so I didn't bother giving him any. After a nice long soak, I brought him out to the couch where I got him to eat five medium dubia nymphs, five butterworms, and TWENTY waxworms. :shock: He ate everything really well too, with only the tiniest bit of coaxing. In fact, with the majority of the waxworms and butterworms, all I had to do was place them against the side of his mouth, and he readily opened up and gobbled them down. I hope he's not getting *too* used to this "princess feeding" though, as he WILL eventually have to eat on his own. :mrgreen: Anyway, he's now once again happily basking under his lights. Here's a couple pictures of him from this morning, before all of the bathing/supplements/buggies excitement. He looks like he knows what's coming:

He looks almost like his former smug self:

So I know that this thread is dedicated to Leo, but I figure it does no harm sharing a little about my other two beardies. :wink: Since Sunday is the day I set aside to give everyone their weekly baths and supplements, I brought both my Spaz and Helen out for a nice long soak, as well as for their weekly Serrapeptase dose and their weekly Vitamin B supplement. Every week I also offer them a nice slurry filled with yummy healthy goodness, and let them lick up as much as they want, kinda like a weekly tune-up treat. They both love them. :mrgreen:

Anyway, here's Spaz emerging from her hide this morning, in all her grumpy glory:

And here's Helen in her bath, looking all adorable and inquisitive:

 

[PonchoandDaddy]

I am so glad Leo is doing better!! I've been so worried about him. Poncho is getting used to said "princess" feeding. He will literally lay 2 inches from his plate and stare at you like "halp halp I will starve if you don't hand me that piece...no not that one, THAT one!" :roll: :roll:

Your other babies are gorgeous as well!! Give them all beardie lovins from Poncho and I and have a safe trip!

 

[Menolly07]

I can't believe how far Leo looks like he's come. That second photo of him is such a difference from the earlier ones. I am pulling for Leo like mad and think Spazz is cute as can be..... But Helen might have just made off with a teeny bit of my heart matter. I love the look on her face. And the heart melting head tilt. I want to scoop and nose bump her so badly! I love how hard you've fought for Leo, and your love for your dragons shows in all of them. Just look at all that personality!! :love10:

 

[Mirthy]

I'm so glad Leo is starting to feel more like his old self again. It's great how much he has been eating for you. I just got back from a trip, myself and was so glad to see this good news!
Hugs all around and happy flying
Carrie

 

[ShannyBeard]

Helen has such a sweet face. :love5:

 

[nordica]

@PonchoandDaddy - :laughhard: Your Poncho sounds HILARIOUS!!! My Fiance thinks I'm ridiculous because I cater to my beardies so much, especially when it comes to feeding them. He just fills up a dish with bugs, drops it in a tank, and walks away, assuming that if they're hungry, they'll chase after them. I, however, fill up said dish (often counting just how many go in there), add supplements as needed, and then calmly hold the dish at an angle (for their increased viewing pleasure), and patiently wait while they eat their buggies one-by-one. And if they don't immediately go after them on their own, I entice them by using feeding tongs, waving their meal in front of their face. :roll:

@Menolly07 - Yeah, Helen's pretty darn cute. I've only had her since October, and it's really only now that her personality is starting to come out. Or maybe I've just been so focused on Leo that I haven't noticed her quirks until now. The other night, I brought her out for some evening snuggle time on the couch. She ended up wedging herself between my face and the end of the couch. Her scales were too scratchy however, so I moved her to my chest. She ended up moving though, basically faceplanting on top of MY face. I pretty much left her there, because she was obviously comfy, and quickly falling asleep. Unfortunately for me, I forgot that Helen is a prodigious drooler... so when I moved her and sat up and hour later, my cheek was quite slimy. :mrgreen:

*******

Alrighty, so I got in late last night, and found everyone blissfully asleep. Leo had left a rather large pile of poop from the day before (no one was here to clean it up, because I was gone for work, and my Fiance is in Utah for his work), but it had looked to be nicely-formed, and he hadn't tracked it everywhere. He was in his hide, so I just replaced his basking towel (where he always poops) without disturbing him.

When I got up late this morning, Leo hadn't had his morning poo yet. I set up my scale, as I had weighed him right before leaving on this last three-day trip, and I wanted to see just how much weight he had lost while I was gone. I *had* fed him right before I had left for work (5 medium dubia nymphs, 5 butterworms, and 20 waxworms), but still... he wouldn't have eaten for two days while I was flying around the country. I was a little worried, as every other time I've left for work, he always dropped dramatically, but I was also cautiously optimistic because of all of the whole food I've been able to get into him. Anyway, not only did he NOT drop any weight, but he's also started GAINING some back, and he weighed in at 610 grams!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: He's been bouncing between 575 grams and 600 grams for weeks now, so this is GREAT news. *happy mommy smile*

I drew him his morning bath, and then gave him all three of his meds (it was his second-to-last dose), which he took great for me. I didn't even bother making him a slurry, though I did mix up his probiotics and bee pollen with a small bit of baby food and let him lick up what he would. Then I brought him to our spot on the couch, where he was SO GOOD for me, and ate five medium dubia nymphs (actually, one was almost full-grown), my last five butterworms, and TWENTY FIVE waxworms!! :shock: I guess he was hungry. I loved on him for a long time, before returning him to his tank, where shortly after he finally took his morning poo (it was small and nicely-formed). While I was feeding Spaz and Helen some superworms, I noticed that Leo was doing his customary "Jaba the Hutt Impression", with his mouth open and tongue hanging out, so I sneakily popped a superworm between his teeth... which he chomped on just enough to decapitate the squirming thing, leaving the rest on the towel in front of him. Eh, it's okay... Spaz ate the rest of it. :wink:

So just for Menolly07, I was able to get a picture of Leo helpfully holding up his rear end for me in his bath (taken right before leaving for my last trip), patiently awaiting my thorough scrubbing of his "nooks and crannies":

BTW, I'm NOT holding up the tip of his tail that's out of the camera shot; he was doing that all on his own. :mrgreen:

 

[ShannyBeard]

How awesome. Every good update makes me smile.

 

[rdoyle]

I am glad that he is doing Great now and gaining his wieght back. It sounds like he is on his road to good heathy again.

 

[dragonlover3]

@PonchoandDaddy - :laughhard: Your Poncho sounds HILARIOUS!!! My Fiance thinks I'm ridiculous because I cater to my beardies so much, especially when it comes to feeding them. He just fills up a dish with bugs, drops it in a tank, and walks away, assuming that if they're hungry, they'll chase after them. I, however, fill up said dish (often counting just how many go in there), add supplements as needed, and then calmly hold the dish at an angle (for their increased viewing pleasure), and patiently wait while they eat their buggies one-by-one. And if they don't immediately go after them on their own, I entice them by using feeding tongs, waving their meal in front of their face. :roll:

@Menolly07 - Yeah, Helen's pretty darn cute. I've only had her since October, and it's really only now that her personality is starting to come out. Or maybe I've just been so focused on Leo that I haven't noticed her quirks until now. The other night, I brought her out for some evening snuggle time on the couch. She ended up wedging herself between my face and the end of the couch. Her scales were too scratchy however, so I moved her to my chest. She ended up moving though, basically faceplanting on top of MY face. I pretty much left her there, because she was obviously comfy, and quickly falling asleep. Unfortunately for me, I forgot that Helen is a prodigious drooler... so when I moved her and sat up and hour later, my cheek was quite slimy. :mrgreen:

*******

Alrighty, so I got in late last night, and found everyone blissfully asleep. Leo had left a rather large pile of poop from the day before (no one was here to clean it up, because I was gone for work, and my Fiance is in Utah for his work), but it had looked to be nicely-formed, and he hadn't tracked it everywhere. He was in his hide, so I just replaced his basking towel (where he always poops) without disturbing him.

When I got up late this morning, Leo hadn't had his morning poo yet. I set up my scale, as I had weighed him right before leaving on this last three-day trip, and I wanted to see just how much weight he had lost while I was gone. I *had* fed him right before I had left for work (5 medium dubia nymphs, 5 butterworms, and 20 waxworms), but still... he wouldn't have eaten for two days while I was flying around the country. I was a little worried, as every other time I've left for work, he always dropped dramatically, but I was also cautiously optimistic because of all of the whole food I've been able to get into him. Anyway, not only did he NOT drop any weight, but he's also started GAINING some back, and he weighed in at 610 grams!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: He's been bouncing between 575 grams and 600 grams for weeks now, so this is GREAT news. *happy mommy smile*

I drew him his morning bath, and then gave him all three of his meds (it was his second-to-last dose), which he took great for me. I didn't even bother making him a slurry, though I did mix up his probiotics and bee pollen with a small bit of baby food and let him lick up what he would. Then I brought him to our spot on the couch, where he was SO GOOD for me, and ate five medium dubia nymphs (actually, one was almost full-grown), my last five butterworms, and TWENTY FIVE waxworms!! :shock: I guess he was hungry. I loved on him for a long time, before returning him to his tank, where shortly after he finally took his morning poo (it was small and nicely-formed). While I was feeding Spaz and Helen some superworms, I noticed that Leo was doing his customary "Jaba the Hutt Impression", with his mouth open and tongue hanging out, so I sneakily popped a superworm between his teeth... which he chomped on just enough to decapitate the squirming thing, leaving the rest on the towel in front of him. Eh, it's okay... Spaz ate the rest of it. :wink:

So just for Menolly07, I was able to get a picture of Leo helpfully holding up his rear end for me in his bath (taken right before leaving for my last trip), patiently awaiting my thorough scrubbing of his "nooks and crannies":

BTW, I'm NOT holding up the tip of his tail that's out of the camera shot; he was doing that all on his own. :mrgreen:

That photo is priceless! :wink: