One Less Dragon

Jabba went to his new home yesterday. Actually, I delivered him there as he was adopted by my good friend Kim who I've known since college. She saw a picture I posted on Twitter and fell in love so Jabba is now living close to the city with a hedgehog and a ball python as siblings. I also get the added benefit of being able to visit him which makes me, and my boyfriend, very, very happy indeed.

While I am now down a dragon, the work has not diminished much other than having to make one less salad in the morning (today he missed mustard greens, turnip greens, strawberries, and cilantro), minus one struggling beardie during bath time, and a half an hour where I don't need to lock my cats in the basement so a dragon can safely explore the kitchen and living room. Still, miss the chubby guy but I know he's with some great people being adored upon and I now can plan for rescues in the future.

In other reptile new, despite only accumulating about four hours of sleep last night, I managed to go shopping this morning for dragon salad ingredients, made said salads, bathed Fuego and Katara (separately), and took my rescue leopard gecko out for a bit of exploring while I cleaned his tank and gifted him with a new hide thanks to the accessories I got from Katie. Before I go to sleep, which may happen at any moment as my eyelids continue to grow heavier with every key stroke, I still need to feed Memphis and mist down his cage. Tomorrow, he'll have his cage cleaned thoroughly and I'll continue working on his socialization. Maybe, just maybe, I can get him to stay still for more than thirty seconds so I can take some photographs not utilizing my cellphone.

This week, intend to write entries on Katara's continued battle with parasites, the process of trying to find a new home for Vader, and my plans for making Memphis' adult tank.

(One of) My Dragon Hates Me

It's difficult owning an animal that really cannot stand you. Katara has been through a lot, more than I can imagine, and intended to spoil her rotten so she would realize how amazing her life is/going to be with me and shower me with dragon kisses and general affection. My plan started out well as she happily explored when I took her out of her tank but also made sure to scuttle over and investigate me and even take short breaks perched on the pillow besides me or even on my lap from time time.

Then came the vet visit.

Seeing the vet wasn't all that bad for her. She handles travel pretty well and didn't mind people picking her up and taking her picture. The problem came about a week afterwards when I got a call from them letting me know Katara had two different types of parasites and needed separate medications to treat them. One of the medicines she took fine (must have tasted OK) but the other she fought with all her will and underdeveloped muscles to try and not have to ingest which then forced me to force her into taking it.

Ever since she bats me with her front legs when I try to pet her, wiggles to get out of my hands when I pick her up, and spends all of her time out of her tank ignoring me. I know she's an animal but it honestly hurts a bit that what trust I had started to build with her disappeared entirely due to a medication.

Trying to keep faith that in time she'll "forgive and forget" and we can work on building a bond again.

Jabba Available for Adoption

The bittersweet moment has arrived as Jabba got the all healthy assessment at the vet yesterday so he is now available for adoption. In only a week, I have fallen hard for this not so little guy and know that giving him up will be heart breaking. Hoping, just as my boyfriend is, that someone one of us knows will adopt him so we can get updates and maybe a visit here and there.

For those who might be interested, or want to pass the information along, here are Jabba's stats -

• Approximately one year old
• Weighs 550 grams (could lose some weight) and measure about 16 inches
• Currently eating live feeders twice a day (dubia roaches & super worms) and a salad (have tried mustard greens, collard greens, cilantro, and zucchini)
• Tolerates baths but doesn't enjoy them
• Adoption Fee is $50 

Despite his chubby appearance, he loves darting across my apartment floors and has quite an adventurous spirit.  He will submit to some cuddling but being not an adult yet he prefers to stay on the move as if by resting he'll miss something. He doesn't get stressed easily and seems un-phased by my cats and showed no signs of distress the entire time we waited at the vet to be seen despite lots of noises, people, and animals. I believe he'll do best with someone who has the time and ability to let him roam out of his cage for 30+ minutes everyday as he truly does enjoy moving around and exploring.

If you have any questions on Jabba, or on the adoption process, please email me at laurenobrien@reptilerescue.us

Many thanks.

Farewell Lazy Sundays

Sundays used to be my one day to unwind. My day to not worry about work, maybe go grocery shopping if the mood hit, and when I would spend the majority of the day in my pajamas laying about the house and indulging in hours of TV shows courtesy of Netflix streaming. Now that I have "the zoo" the lazy part of Sundays have all but disappeared.

Today, among other activities, included getting up at 7:30 AM so I could feed the dragons before needing to leave at 9:00 AM. Once back home from the other responsibilities, I fought with Katara to give her the medication she needs for one of the parasites she's fighting, took Jabba out for some exercise (also known as scuttling across my kitchen floor as fast as his little legs can go), gave Katara a bath, fed everyone again, cleaned out the roach bin (I will spare you the details...), cleaned Memphis' cage, fought with Katara again with a different medication, and took Fuego out so he could explore some before lights out at 7:15 PM.

Can't forget the cats underfoot all day begging for attention and/or food.

While the thoughts of doing nothing sound appealing as I'm in the middle of scooping roaches from one container to another; I can't imagine my life any other way for the moment.

Now, off to warm up some meal worms so the leopard rescue gecko has something to eat for dinner.

Jabba the Rescued Dragon

I came across Jabba through a Craig's List post advertising a bearded dragon and cage for free. I reached out to the person and discovered that Jabba (formerly Drake) had been a gift from his girlfriend and since the relationship ended and he never much wanted a reptile anyway he decided it best to re-home him. He agreed to surrender him to the rescue and I picked him up Wednesday evening. Despite the slightly bumpy ride, Jabba remained fairly calm and didn't appear too stressed from his relocation as evidenced in this picture to the left that I took right when we got back to my place.

Jabba had been living in a tank about 1/2 the size needed on sand (considered a not great substrate as it can cause impaction and equates to living in a litterbox) being fed dehydrated veggies, pellets, and canned crickets. He was also lacking the proper type of UVB bulb and had no basking bulb to speak of so am actually surprised/happy with the decent condition he's in (except for the pudge factor). My dragons live like royalty though so he is now being fed live feeders (primarily roaches) twice a day, getting a fresh made salad every morning, and has been upgraded to a MUCH larger tank thanks to my amazing friend Katie (which, P.S., if you are looking for an amazing face painter/make-up artist, see her work here). Today, just waiting on his new UVB bulb to be delivered and he'll be all set until he goes to his forever home.

Already realize that parting with this guy is going to be difficult. He's adorable, personable, and honestly pretty hysterical as he enjoys jetting around my apartment despite his very large size. I need to keep in mind that if I want to continue rescue work that I can't keep every animal I take in as I will quickly run out of space, time, and resources. My boyfriend has already fallen for this dragon though so maybe, just maybe, he won't be too far away from me once he's found his permanent home.

Quick Update on the Permanent Reptiles

Planning a rescue specific post tomorrow so thought I would do a brief entry tonight on my reptiles with pictures included.

Getting Memphis accustomed to handling and trying to make him less flighty is a slow process but baby steps are happening. Understandably, being as small as he is, getting him out of the security of his tank and onto my hand still usually results in mean gently chasing him around a bit until he accidentally jumps onto my palm. At this point, and during the entire out of tank time, he alternates between perching on my hand or arm licking his eyeballs or taking crazy leaps without truly assessing the distance of the object he hopes to reach. At least he's active, which is a good sign, and I am slowly picking up on the stance he takes as he prepares to propel himself so I can be ready to "catch" him before he does any damage.

Katara enjoys one of her medications and despises the other so it's a bit of a challenge trying to medicate her properly but am taking advice from people on forums I frequent and will continue to try new methods to trick her into accepting the non-tasty medication. I had read one of the medications causes a decrease in appetite but Katara challenged that today as she devoured her salad and left her bowl almost licked clean. Since I stayed home sick today, she got extended time outside of her tank and spent a good ten minutes glass dancing at the leopard gecko. He was in his hide though and didn't come out to watch the show. After that display, she finally let me pick her up without a fuss and she snuggled next to me on my bed and napped for a little while. She can be a pain but she sure knows how to turn on the cute when needed.

Fuego continues to thrive in his larger tank and I often see/hear him exploring which he almost never did in his original tank. The poor boy's head is in shed though so he's keeping the juvenile attitude going and refusing most cuddles and attempts at affection when I take him out. I understand it's a phase, and one that he will grow out of, but I can't wait for him to be an adult lug. I have a long way to go as he's still small for his age, though growing rapidly now, so I don't imagine he will get to his full size for another year or so. In the meantime, I will deal with the attitude knowing that it's hormones and he's just being a boy.

Call from the Vet & First Rescue Retrieval

Got a call from the vet shortly after work that they had received the results of Katara's fecal exam and she had two types of parasites - pin worms and coccidia. Both are fairly common in bearded dragons but of course they require different types of medicine for treatment so I got to make an unplanned trip to the vet to pick up the vials (goodbye $33) and learn that I have seven days of fighting with my girl to get her to take said medication and follow it up with another fecal exam in a month to ensure it worked. Owning these guys is a labor of love for sure.

After that excursion, I raced 40 minutes North to pick up my first reptile rescue. Google Maps got me there with next to no incidents and I met the guy surrundering, transferred Blink (now named Vader courtesy of my boyfriend) to a travel container, and blasted the heat in my car for the whole ride home so he could be comfortable. Once home, I moved him to his new temporary home (a 20 gallon long tank equipped with a log hide, a "moist" hide made out of a tupperware container half filled with dampened peat moss, and another hide made with the bases of plant holders) during which he tried to bite me so he'll need some work on socialization before adoption but it shouldn't take long to turn him around. I was happy to discover he's a lot chubbier than the picture I had so his weight is appropriate and he's in the process of shed which means he just needs some time to settle in, get used to handling, and he'll be good to go. Pictures will be forthcoming but didn't want to add any additional stressors after taking him from his home, a car ride, and a new home in an unfamiliar place.

Now in prep mode for the rescue dragon I am picking up tomorrow. Thankfully I have some amazing friends and am getting a 40 gallon breeder tank & accessories for free on Thursday so rescue boy can be upgraded from his too small tank to an appropriate environment by Friday. Hoping his fecal results come back negative so he can be in a forever home sooner than later.

Busy Weekend and an even Busier Week Ahead

This weekend, reptile wise, consisted of getting Katara acquainted with her new harness, bringing her to two separate Petcos for their Reptile Rally only to find out neither were participating (she still got a lot of attention and behaved perfectly), and set up Fuego's adult tank after going to Ikea and two different Home Depots for supplies. I was worried he would react badly to the move, as he can be a little emotional, but he seemed ecstatic with all the extra space and wasted no time head bobbing at his plant background, exploring every decoration with some licks, and tried out all the different perches available. Glad I made the switch now instead of waiting.

Truthfully, the change though planned for a bit happened this weekend specifically as I am getting my first rescue tomorrow, a leopard gecko, and I needed Fuego's baby cage to house the new little guy affectionately named Vader by my boyfriend. The gecko is a bit thin but otherwise appears in decent health so plan to get a fecal done if anything appears abnormal, fatten him up, judge his attitude (seems like a sweetheart), and get him adopted. For those considering getting a reptile, leopard geckos are great "beginner" pets not requiring much space and easy feeding and heating needs. Happy to provide any information for anyone considering adoption.

Also stumbled across a free bearded dragon on Craig's List and am picking him up Wednesday to temporarily foster until I can get him to another rescuer in my group. He's a big boy being housed in a slightly too small tank with incorrect substrate and not proper lighting. Luckily he seems healthy regardless and he should find a home soon as he's young, chubby, and according to his current owner very friendly. To repeat from above, bearded dragons aren't exactly "beginner" reptiles but aren't too difficult to keep as long as you do some research. Prefer to get him in a permanent home sooner than later so please contact me at fireflymusings@gmail.com if you have an interest in adopting or doing foster work.

Of course, plan to document and take pictures of both rescues to illustrate their progress and hopefully be able to post about their fantastic new homes when the days arrive.