Noel in Action

Woot Woot! Order number 1500!

Last night at 10:37 pm (my time), I got my 1,500th Etsy order.

I can't believe I did 500 orders in just over two months! The 1,000th order came in on September 20th. The 1,500th order came in on November 28th.

Noel, a beautiful red iguana --or-- Why I should NEVER go into Pet Stores

I needed crickets and I wanted to follow up on some baby bearded dragons I had seen in the store 3 weeks before that appeared to have yellow fungus. 

Bad news. It was yellow fungus (YF). They are being treated for YF still with no improvement. YF is always fatal and it's only a matter of time before they are put down. :( 

And the two incredible red iguanas they had was still there. 

I really shouldn't go into pet stores. 

And I shouldn't look at the beautiful iguanas. 

And I shouldn't tell the manager that I adore the beautiful red ones are. 

And I shouldn't ask to hold one. 

And I shouldn't listen to the managers tell me the Iggy is the calmest one they have. 

And I shouldn't listen when they tell me the Iggy is 50% off. 

And I shouldn't stand there as the baby Iggy gives me kisses and is super calm. 

Because..... 

He will end up coming home with me. And I will call him "Noel" because he's red and green and it's Christmas time. He slept in my hoodie the whole way home and is sleeping on me right now. 

I think I need an intervention! ;) 

Oh and I did actually leave with crickets too. And the first Iggy I asked to hold actually was sick as I thought. Poor baby had a massive mouth infection and was badly malnourished. He's headed to the vet on Monday. No one had noticed so hopefully I helped save his life. 

Another Etsy Milestone and a FREE gift certificate

Getting very, very close to my 1,500th Etsy order! The 1,500th order will receive a $20 gift certificate to the shop plus free shipping!

THANK YOU all for your support!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pamperedbeardies

Taming the Shrew--- I mean, Peanut

Peanut has become a bratty beardie! Because he couldn't be held without hurting his fragile bones, he was left in his tank a lot. 

This boy is a pill. He puffs out his little black beard at me and scratches to get down. 

I've been taking him out more for short periods to get him used to being held. It's sorta working. 

I let him run around awhile tonight to wear himself out and then I wrapped him up in his blankie. He's sleeping in my shirt. 

Baby steps forward. 

He'll always walk on his wrists and look like he's army crawling so he'll always be a "special needs" beardie. But as long as he's friendly, it will be ok for him in the long run. Plus he's gorgeously colored and a leatherback. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm super grateful for my healthy critters and for you, my faithful blog readers & supporters. THANK YOU!!! 

Half Pint, rescue 108

I had to get this little buddy. Small tank, never a UVB, lettuce for food. He was on clear glass in the tank. 

Surprisingly, his shell is firm. No MBD! I was shocked. It's rather distorted and he's very small, but no squishy shell. 

I got him set up in a 40 gallon tank with a hot enough heat light and a brand new UVB. He doesn't know what to make of the hide-- I don't think he's ever had one. 

His eyes are super goopy and get sealed shut once a day at least. I have a vet appointment on Monday. I'm hoping that a nice tank with the right set up and a good diet will help him be healthier. 

He may eventually go in with another tortoise so he has friends. Plus I need to find out if he really is a boy or if he's a she. :) 

He's much smaller than my other red foot Lil Foot who just came back. 

Lil Foot was as small and as sickly as Half Pint when I got him two years ago. Hopefully Half Pint will start growing quickly too. 

So maybe I have a Wee bit of a Problem...

Here's the babies- from Left to Right-

T-bear, sulcata; Half Pint, red foot; Lil Foot, red foot; Georgie, leopard; Heidi, sulcata. 

T-bear is 45 grams; Heidi is 860 grams. 

After we got a line up pic, they walked around. 

The sulcatas-- 

The red foots-- 

Like herding cats! 

T-bear is so adorable! 

Helpers in my Etsy room

One was cute and soft and one was a brat! But they both made a mess. 

Calcium Syrup

I use so much calcium syrup from my vet to rehabilitate reptiles that they finally just bought me my own bottle. :) 

THIS is very good stuff. 

Occupational Hazards

I goofed today. I made a mistake and let my guard down while holding an unknown 6 month old Savannah monitor. I let my guard down by looking away from it for a second. 

In that second I looked away, the savvy chomped down on my finger. 

And would not let go for several minutes. 

My vet finally took a pair of metal forceps and forced the monitor's mouth open. I yanked my finger out and it immediately started bleeding. 

 I'll admit it-- I totally cried. It hurt so bad! 

The right side of the finger is where the teeth went the deepest. The bite must have hit one of the tendons in my finger because I have pain radiating down the tendon into my wrist. 

A painful reminder to never look away when you're holding a new reptile. My over-confidence was my undoing. 

Lesson learned. 

And no, it was not Gary Dean. This monitor was 4 times as big. 

Growing Babies

This is Georgie and Heidi when I first got them. They were about the same size. Georgie (on left in pic below) is a Leopard tortoise; Heidi (right) is a Sulcata tortoise. 

The picture below was taken April 23, 2015. 

This next pic was taken July 21, 2015. Heidi (on the left) started growing like a weed! 

This next pic was taken August 25, 2015.

The next pic was taken October 22, 2015. 

And then Today, November 14, 2015. 

On July 24th, Heidi weighed 325 grams. 

On Nov 12th, Heidi was 831 grams. 

On July 24th, Georgie was 269 grams. 

On Nov 12th, Georgie was 522 grams. 

They are both growing fast, but Heidi is putting on 200 grams every 2 weeks. 

Update on the Seizure Beardie

He hasn't had another seizure since last night. He did have some tremors last night, but those have stopped too. He got another dose of calcium syrup this morning, and then he spent over an hour in the sunshine for direct UVB. 

Since seems to be doing so well, I think he'll go back home tomorrow. With a new UVB light and better calcium, I don't expect a repeat of his seizures. 

He's so pretty! 

Seizures

Sometimes low calcium in bearded dragons caused Metabolic Bone Disease where the body robs calcium from the bones, making them weak and rubbery. Sometimes, though, low calcium causes full body seizures that are terrifying to watch. 

Tonight a friend brought me her son's juvenile beardie who had been having seizures for 2 hours. The only way to stop his seizing was through an injection of calcium glubinate (which I have on hand and used to save the life of Yoda). 

I also have him some calcium syrup to help get calcium into his bloodstream quickly too. So far his seizures have stopped though he still has some trembling. His bones are firm and he has no indication of MBD. 

He's in a sick tank with a brand new UVB light. Tomorrow I'll get him in the direct sunshine too for some intensive sun therapy. Hopefully he'll be able to go home by Sunday or Monday. 

There's a couple possibilities for what happened. Baby beardies grow so fast that if they are borderline deficient in calcium, a single growth spurt with sink them into deficiencies. It's possible his UVB light was ineffective and he hasn't metabolized his calcium and it's also possible he needs a different calcium. 

I'll send him home with some vet- grade calcium syrup too. Some dietary changes/additions and a new ZooMed UVB tube and he shouldn't have a seizure repeat. 

New Girl, rescue 107

I picked up this 4 year old female yesterday. She was in better shape than I feared. 

Today I took her to my vet who was puzzled by her. She appears to have no perception of her limbs and where they arare at. Her legs and arms flap around when she's moving (sometimes even going backwards). 

There appears to be some sort of neurological damage that is preventing her from having total limb control. 

Because we have no history on her, I'll have to watch her for awhile to see if her problems are really impacting her quality of life. 

She does eat great and doesn't have any problems catching her food. She's underweight, but I can get her fattened up quickly. 

I'm still trying to think of a name for her. Would it be rude to call her Gumby? ;) 

Pinkies!

Gary Dean started eating pinkie mice last week! He's eaten 3 so far and is pooping normally. 

Yay! 

                (Glass on tank is dirty) 

He comes out of his hide more and us more active. I think we are on the upswing. With the second Calcitonin shot last week, he should be able to recover from his MBD quickly. 

I expect that his spine and legs will always be crooked and a bit wonky. It will be interesting to see if he is able to grow to full size (around 3 ft long including tail). 

Lucy, my Beautiful Snake

Lucy's hanging out on the bed with me tonight. 

Mooshy

In some ways, Mooshy is doing well. He's shedding and has put on some weight. In other ways, he's less coordinated and struggles to catch any flood at all. He used to be able to grab a roach or worm on his own, but now he can't even doing that. :( 

Here's some pics of him tonight. He's a cute & goofy looking beardie.