New to the Site - My Girl Pogie

[Pogie]

:

Hi Everybody

Got my first Beardie on 1 March 2010, She (Although I didnt know the sex at the time) was 5 Months old.
She was about 28cm (11") long - weight unknown :-[

This is what she looked like the day after I got her........ Terribly small for her age, underfed and sad looking.

Then after she got dhiorhoea I took her to the Vet who diagnosed with Worms, Parasites and Bacterial infection... She weighed in at 71 gramms . SHEESH !!! Thats small

[size=10pt][size=10pt]On 15 March she measured 30cm (11.81")
This is what she looked like[/size][/size]

On 25 March she measured 33cm (12.99")

On 14 April she measured 36cm (14.17")

I'm gonna start kind of a cartoon / scrapbook for her under the general discussions post for those who would like to follow her progress and antics...

Hope to see and hear from you all there ;D

 

[li]

Good job...she looks wonderful!

 

[renich]

Hi and welcome to the forum! What a wonderful story. Congrats on the new family addition and hats off to taking her under your wing and getting her the care she needed! Definitely looking forward to hearing about her progress.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Welcome !
Looks as if Pogie is well on her way to a long and happy life !
Feel free to ask any questions, as well as to check any products you might be choosing for her.
Congrates on a job well done !
Janie

 

[Pogie]

Thanx for the welcomes and well wishes

As I said I started her Thread under General discussions called Pogies Thread


C U There

Monique

 

[zebraflavencs]

Say, Monique.. I would love it if you can share what veggies you feed to Pogie, and availability of what supplies are there in S.A. for dragons !
Welcome again !
Janie

 

[Pogie]

Well feeding used to be a real headache for me. But I googled the names from the Beautifull dragons website and managed to get a variety here that Pogie will eat.

Firstly I have to say, she refuses to eat salad if Butternut isn't added (LOL) Picky one I've got here.

Thus Butternut is her staple.............

Then I mix in either Endive, Green beans, Snap peas, Swiss Chard, Rocket, Apple, Okra, Cactus pad or fruit. In summer I will try "Kappertjies" and Dandelion as theyre out of season now. I'm also trying to get hold of one of the farmers nearby to get Alfalfa seeds.

What exactly do you want to know by "Supplies"... Accessories for the VIV's or Lighting and Heating.?
Or BUGS?????

Thanx again for the welcome

 

[zebraflavencs]

Everything actually. It helps to know someone who has actually placed hands on feeding, heat, uvb in distant areas, that we personally are unfamiliar with.
Alfalfa ... you are wanting the whole green plant, yes ?
Dandelions I can get you a on line link.. perhaps you can order from there ?
Thanks !
Janie

 

[Pogie]

He He, Sorry, but you make me sound like an expert..... Which I'm definately not. Theres so much conflicting advice on the web, so I tried to use the info that appeared on the Most sites

Yes I'm gonna try the whole green Alfalfa plant, BD''s are supposed to be able to eat he leaves.

For the Dandelion and "Kappertjies", they grow on my plot, just not now in winter time, will be back in spring. (Sept)

Well where to begin... Probably the basics.

BUGS:

I feed Crickets... Byuing from a pet shop but this is getting to be rediculously expensive so..... Started a colony 4 weeks ago, 3 containers have hatched so far and the 4th is due on tuesday. Then 2 more in the pipeline. Figure I'll be self sufficient in about a month with a steady supply weekly from breeding. I also tried ordering bulk online... not a success, ordered 400 medium sized, got approx 300 extra small ones. Was really upset.

I have silkworm eggs, they'll hatch in spring (Sept) so will then alternate between crickets and them.

Got lotsa earthworms here, but read they have too much parasites and will make the BD sick, too bad though, cos here are kazillions of them.

Gave her 3 mealworms once, but then read it was a very BAD idea as the shells dont digest easilly and she could become impacted quite easilly... So hope she enjoyed it 'cos it was her first and last. He He
Also saw a necropsy pic of a BD where they removed over 30 undigested mealworms from her stomach... YUK, poor thing, died of impactation.

Superworms I can get, but shes still to small for them, maybe when she's grown up (Only 6.5 months now)

Roaches are hard to find... Only get the hissers freely but theyre way too big for her. Tried to breed my own, but breeding crickets are easier.

As for red worms, wax worms, pheonix worms and horn worms... havent been able to get them here.

LIGHTING
BASKING....
Well I use the Reptapets basking lamp, You also get Solar glo and sun glo types.
I also have a infra red heat lamp for winter nights, but the light keeps her awake, so now I use a heat pad. Winter only

UVB
I use the Repti Sol 10.0 UVB tube (900mm)
You also get Exxo terra repti glo tubes, Repti glo compact lamps, Repti sol and repti sun types.

HEATING
We get heat pads and ceramic heat emitters here

OTHER STUFF
Then we get cage acessories like fake rocks, fake plants, hides, repti carpet... all very expensive
Stuff like water and food dishes, incubators, fittings for lights etc...
Ready built VIV's and the usual calcium poweder and disinfectants for the VIV's. The Animal clinics here said the multi vits here are inferior, so I dont give her that, suppose she will get all the vits from her salad??

I can ramble on and on, but does this help?

 

[zebraflavencs]

Yes that is exactly what I was interested in 'hearing'.
Now, you can use the nymphs of those hissers as feeders.
as for breeding them, yes it takes a bit of time, but if you have 1 male :to 3 females ratio, you should see new nymphs hatching in around 3 months time.
It's all about getting enough adults to get the process started.. And they smell better or rather less than crickets, make less noise too.

Heating pad might bring out some hesitancy. The chances that a pad will over heat to the point of burning the belly of a dragon is pretty good. Might I suggest instead of that pad, under the belly, mount it on the side of the enclosure, so your dragon can snuggle to it, but not lay on it ? Also, a Ceramic Heating Element will warm from above, but not emit light. You may want to consider that instead of that heat pad.

Monique, I didn't think you would have similar products to what we have here in either the states or in Europe. I do however, know that you can with a well balanced diet, fulfill every nutritional need for a dragon. It just takes a bit more paying attention to what is available, and what it's values are.

thanks again !
Janie

 

[Pogie]

Thanx Janie,

Yeah I suppose I'll look into the roach thing in a while.

As for the heat pad, its placed under a newspaper with a piece of sheet over that, under her floor tile, so doesn't get that hot to the touch... Now if I could only get her to sleep near it.. She sleeps on her branch, sometimes in the basking spot before I changed her VIV.

Any ideas on how to get her to sleep on the floor????

I see everywhere that people put blankies in the VIV's, did that approx 2 weeks ago, but she wont lie on or under it, just walks over it. Also gave her a "Fluffy" (Stuffed frog toy) but she just stares at it from high in her branch....

See what I mean

 

[zebraflavencs]

well, if she's happy snoozing there.. I'd leave well enough alone
No, I didn't mean to make you sound like you are an expert, however you do have actual hands on experience, that we all can benefit from, just because of your locality.
It's like in the USA we have roaches, supers, crickets and what not to offer our dragons, but in the UK/Europe the staples there are locust and crickets.
In Australia/new Zealand there are crickets and 'woodies' that are naturally found there.
So you can see why I was curious as to the feeder end of things. The same goes for lighting and uvb as well.
Janie

 

[staylor]

Welcome. Your story sounds a lot like mine and your pictures look similar to mine as well. It is amazing how fast they turn around with proper care.

 

[Pogie]

Staylor

Yeah,

I didnt tell the whole story 'cos I tend to get upset, but the short is

She was only fed 2 crics every second day.... NO SALADS EVER
Cage never cleaned, No baths...
Manhandled a lot, theyd grab her and she would hiss and bite like crazy, then theyd grab her by the tail and hold her up in the air... BAD, BAD, BAD :'( :'( :'(

Took me 3 weeks to gain her trust.....Just to be able to touch her for brief seconds, Can now almost pick her up to take out for some cuddle time, although she doesnt know what that is.

But I guess PATIENCAE is the answer here ..... Hope she comes around soon, cos I love her to bits and really want t cuddle, If I had my way she'd never be in the VIV, I'd take her everywhere with me.

And YES, I agree, shes come a long long way.

Are there any pics of your pooper??? Would love to see, BD's are the BEST

Monique

 

[ladyknite]

welcome aboard!

 

[Vesta]

You've done a wonderful job Monique!! Welcome!! : )

 

[Pogie]

Thanx all for the welcomes

 

[staylor]

Staylor

Yeah,

I didnt tell the whole story 'cos I tend to get upset, but the short is

She was only fed 2 crics every second day.... NO SALADS EVER
Cage never cleaned, No baths...
Manhandled a lot, theyd grab her and she would hiss and bite like crazy, then theyd grab her by the tail and hold her up in the air... BAD, BAD, BAD :'( :'( :'(

Took me 3 weeks to gain her trust.....Just to be able to touch her for brief seconds, Can now almost pick her up to take out for some cuddle time, although she doesnt know what that is.

But I guess PATIENCAE is the answer here ..... Hope she comes around soon, cos I love her to bits and really want t cuddle, If I had my way she'd never be in the VIV, I'd take her everywhere with me.

And YES, I agree, shes come a long long way.

Are there any pics of your pooper??? Would love to see, BD's are the BEST

Monique

That is sad, poor baby.

here is a link to one of my dragons, Slyder. He is my baby: http://mybeardie.com/bearded-dragon...ore-and-after-pics-warning-fat-happy-boy-now/

This is Oscar, there are more pics down the thread a little
http://mybeardie.com/bearded-dragon-forum/introductions/meet-oscar/
this is when Oscar met the dog
http://mybeardie.com/bearded-dragon-forum/beardie-pictures/oscar-met-the-dog/

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Welcome home and good job!

 

[Pogie]

Thank you, everyone here has made me feel at home )