Nathaniel, Cierra, Castiel, Freya, Grrl; RIP GABRIEL

We never expected to get another dragon, but our neighbours next door wanted to give away Cleo, as he was called. We'd babysat him before, he's such a sweetheart. We nicknamed him Velcro because when he snuggles he never wants to go back to his viv, he hangs on as if he's made out of velcro.

So here he is. Today was his first day with us. He ate 13 supers and ate some squash, not bad for the first day he was here. He's only in a 30 gallon tank, which will be ok for now. He's 18" long but weighs only 200g. We figure he's probably 2 yrs old. Our neighbours rescued him last fall, they found him and a female (which they named Puff) on Craig's list. They were in a 30 gallon dirty tank, with sand and a huge log that took up 1/2 the space in the tank. Leo was at the bottom, he was sooooo skinny. He's gained weight, but never got the attention he deserved. I took some pics today, but will take more tomorrow. I think he remembers our place as didn't get stressed as I expected. No stress marks at all. When we let him run around the living room, he noticed our girls and immediate black beard, so his hormones are working!

He had a bath this morning, had a big poop, no smell, so not worried about parasites.

So here are a few pics, he's a yellow & dark gray, light gray colour.

Under the communal power sun in the living room:

Discovering there are girls in those tanks up above, he has a great black beard for such a skinny boy:

On the couch, he's got a pretty diamond pattern on his back:

Hope you enjoy
Deb and my six dragons :shock: :shock: :shock: :love5:

 

[Esther19]

Thank you ladies for your concern. I'm feeling at about 80%, so I'll be back to work tomorrow. The girl(38) across the hall from me is now sick, and our favorite substitute is working for her. A big relief to have the pressure of the head congestion gone.

I was so proud of myself Thursday night writing lesson plans for Friday with a raging headache. They were excellent plans, too, as I was so grateful to the sub for coming in for me on a party day. I spent a couple hours doing them. I got them sent off, and was told at the end of Friday that they were old plans from a year or two ago. I was so mad at myself! I sent the wrong ones. Thank goodness my favorite sub was there, and all was well. Not as good as one of Gina's stories, but a story nonetheless.

I am heartened by Tracie's research and by Charlie's apparent recovery from ADV. I have honestly toyed with the idea of giving away my uninfected ones (if indeed there are any), but I have decided that we will stick together.

Cissy continues to plug along. She gained 9 g this week, up to 407. She's my longest at 19". Stella weighed in at 12 g, which is up a gram from last week. I've had her 9 weeks. Shouldn't she have gained more than 8 g? She is active, eating and going potty. And she may be a boy. She has shed once, and afterwards I have wondered. If so, his name is Angus.

Deb, your parent's house is gorgeous! I hope it all works out so they can get the condo they like.
Didi looks very good. What a relief it will be to have that all gone for good. The doc has no idea why Lonzo can't take liquids? Poor dear. Thanks for giving him snuggles for me. I hope you continue to improve. Great that you can do all those stairs without coughing.

Thanks to all again for your caring and concern. Deb, I'm sorry for hijacking your thread.
Esther

 

[sweetiepie9]

Esther, so glad you're feeling better and you can hijack my thread any time you want. I love to hear about your crew, you know, so feel free!

I just got the 20 gallon tank of roaches mold free and they're back home. Now the 10 gallon crew in the Rubber Maid container and the 10 gallon tank is in the tub ready to be bleached & Lysoled to death. It has mold, too. I think it's because the oranges I've been putting in are old and carrying mold themselves, so the roaches will have to deal with chow, collards and water crystals until I get to the store on the weekend and buy fresh oranges for them. The ones in the fridge will go into the dumpster where they belong but I can't get that done until my work week is finished. But at least I can get the tank fixed up and I'll be checking them daily to make sure the mold doesn't come back.

Now I"m off to bed as I have to be up in the am to get ready for work.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Well, now I know why Puff has stress marks all the time, she's shedding all over the place, her left side on her back, some of her tail, her head and one of her feet. She hasn't shed since I got her, except around her mouth, so I don't think she's very happy about it. Time to give her a bath so she can soak, poor baby!

 

[sweetiepie9]

GOOD NEWS: So Gail and Ian went to Eric's on Sunday to deliver the gifts they had for the babies but also to give Eric $ they'd been keeping if he ever went back to school. He was thrilled and used the $ to get his license back and buy a little car. Well last night they all went to visit Mom and Dad, Eric, Tara, Leo and Safara (that's how her name is spelled) and spent almost an hour visiting. Mom and Dad were just thrilled. He's not using the car to get to work, too expensive, but he'll have it to get them around. So I'm hoping to hear from him. Who knows, though. I know he was glad to see Mom and Dad before Dad goes in for his knee replacement surgery tomorrow. So that's the update. Neither my sister or my mom said a word about me because I told them not to. It's up to Eric to contact me directly. He knows when I'm home, but it's late, after he goes to work. So maybe on the weekend, even though I'm not holding my breath. I'm just so glad Mom and Dad got to see their great grandchildren! Leo is running around and talking alot. Safara is very pretty and has her mom's red hair. So Mom has pictures for me from the visit. Made my heart glad.

 

[Goonie]

It's about darn (not the actual word I had wanted to use, but this is a PG-13 site so I'll behave) time that they went to visit your parents with the kids!

 

[diamc]

I'm happy to hear too that your parents got to see their new grandchild and to also see how much Leo has grown. Bet that did them good. Hopefully you'll hear from them soon.

Bet Puff will feel better after her shed is done. Does she still look like she's gaining weight?

How are you feeling?

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'm doing much better, Diane, the B12 seems to be working, still waiting for a referral to a lung specialist, but that could take awhile.

I know, Gina, but it still put a bit smile on my face when my mom told me about their surprise visit. All thanks to my sister & b-i-l, too. Gail was upset with herself that she lost her temper with Eric on Sunday but I told her that he deserved it. Now that he has wheels, thanks to her and Ian, he'd better do something for her, like having them over, or taking the kids to visit them. One way or the other, he'd better be good from now on. As for me, I really don't care if he connects with me or not, I have lots of time for that, but my dad is 87, so I was sure glad to hear he did the right thing for them.

Puff is gaining weight but still isn't has heavy as she was last time she laid eggs. I'll have to weigh her to see what she's at now. And no sign of more eggs, either...hopefully not until spring. No brumation yet, either.

 

[sweetiepie9]

My dad flew through the surgery with minimum stress. The nurses were amazed that is vitals were so good and the doc said he did really well. The whole thing was finished in less than an hour. My mom saw him in recovery, then in his room. My sis & b-i-l took them in yesterday am, then Gail picked her up and took her to dinner last night. Kept my cell on all day at work so got updates until 8p.

My brother's taking my mom to the hospital today, then my sis will pick her up again. I offered to leave work early (I can always work a Saturday to make up time) but she said Gail will be ok with tonight. Tomorrow will be my brother Richard again, he'll bring the girls in later in the day & take Mom home and I'm on Mom duty on Sunday, as she thinks he'll be in hospital for a few days. He'll be up walking today, painful, but eventually the pain will go away. He'll have physio once he's home, I think they come to the house 3x a week, but not sure. All in all, he's doing GREAT, what a relief! 'course the morphine pump helps

 

[sweetiepie9]

So I got the weights of everyone but Leo.

Didi was 432, now 404 - so have to fatten him up

Gabriel was 570 now 564, so still a good weight

Puff was 488, now 505 so now she starting to gain more

Lonzo was 562 and now 539, have to work on fattening him up, he's underweight now.

So that's all the news, time to feed Didi and Lonzo daily for awhile to get their weights up. It's awlays those 2!

 

[BlueDragon09]

So glad everything went well!
Glad the dragons are getting
more weight. Glad your dad is
ok. For 87 he's healthier than my
grandpa on my dad's side...but other
than that. I'm just as happy he got
through as you are!

 

[sweetiepie9]

thanks Blue, we were all worried but he's a champ my dad. I think he's just thinking of when he'll be able to golf again, now that he has 2 straight legs LOL

 

[Goonie]

That's wonderful that your dad made it through the surgery with flying colors and minimal stress. Hope your mom wasn't too emotionally stressed out during and after his surgery.

17 grams more for Puff? Rut roh! Hope it's just winter weight and not more eggs.

 

[diamc]

Hi Deb, happy to hear that your dad handled the surgery so well. He sure sounds like a strong man. I imagine your mom is totally drained, the waiting is so hard. Bet you're all relieved it is over.

Hope you're able to fatten up Didi & Lonzo a little. Those 2 seem to be the hardest to keep the wt on for you. Gabriel sure is a big guy. Sure hope that it doesn't mean that Puff is starting with more eggs. How's her shedding doing?

Great to hear that the B12 is helping you to feel better. Hope you don't have to wait months before you can see the Pulmonologist.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I have an appt in January for the lung specialist (is that what they're called, Diane?) which is good because I can then take a day off for the appointment and any other tests I'll need.

My dad walked with a walker today & sat in a chair, all part of the "get you better". He kept telling Mom that he wanted to go home. Mom sounded good, talked to her at 7p. She is just the strongest woman emotionally I've ever known, I sure am blessed. So my sis & b-i-l picked her up from the hospital tonight. My brother Richard will take her over the hospital in the am and then he'll go with his girls to visit in the early evening and bring Mom home. I'm on driving duty on Sunday, will take her over about 9a, then visit a bit. Then get my food shopping/chores done & go back about 6p, spend the evening and take Mom home. Dad's doing very well, but he'll be in hospital until Monday, if not Tuesday. The surgeon wanted to make sure he was well enough to get around on his own without Mom having to get him up, so that will be good for Mom. My sis and b-i-l are always willing to get her back and forth to the hospital, so that's who will probably get them home on Monday. So all in all, it was worth it for my dad to have the operation, even though he's in pain and it will take a few weeks for it to stop hurting too much, it was a big success. He's such a strong man, even with Parkinson. This means he'll be able to golf more often!

Yes, Diane, Lonzo and Didi are the worst to keep weight on. Lonzo was 562g on Oct 19, he's lost that much weight that quickly. So I'm going to have to feed him every day, 8 or so worms, to get his weight back up. At least he's gotten used to calcium on worms and isn't choking when I feed him anymore.

Didi has been a pain ever since I got him in 2010 when he was only 300g. I'm keeping him over 400, which is good for him, but I'd like to get him back up to 332g where he was on Oct 19. Those two drive me nuts.

Puff is now waiting at the worm bowl in her tank every morning, so I'm so glad to see that, no more feeding her. And she loves to chase around the living room now after supers, so in the am, when I have time, I let her play run and catch. She's very good at it!

Gabriel is getting really hefty, but have to admit it looks good on him. I just don't want him to gain any more weight. He's fat enough now. So will cut him off worms and start him on large roaches again. He loves those, I was just running out.

Tomorrow my good friend Saras is taking me out for lunch in the revolving restaurant in Vancouver, then we're going shopping for a couple of hours, to celebrate my birthday early. So I'll be home in time to make it to the hospital, if I want to. I'll see how tired I am. Looking forward to that lunch, never been to that famous restaurant before!

 

[Esther19]

Oh how wonderful, Deb! Isn't it nice to have things to look forward to? We'll be looking forward to the report!