Joined 8 September 2022 · 281 posts
120 KT
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@yukimori
Cookie was looking pretty white the last few days--a sure sign that he was going to shed soon. I caught him at the very end of the process, when he just had a bit left on his tail and one of his feet. When he was done he headed over to the sandstones to bask a bit and then retreated back to his cave to finish digesting his hornworm treat.
@yukimori
My latest order of bugs arrived this morning. I got a bit of a surprise when I opened it, because the first thing I saw was the big cup of hornworms... which I didn't order. Turns out my order was randomly picked for a freebie this time, so all of the lizards got to have a treat just because. Cheeto was especially funny about eating his. He was sleeping under his rock when I put the first worm on his cactus branch, but as soon as he peeked out and saw it there he was all about stalking it.
@yukimori
I spotted this adorable hamster at the pet store yesterday. She was so intent on getting a drink that she didn't even bother to glance our way. 😆
@yukimori
It's #TongueOutTuesday, and as always Cheeto is happy to pose for a picture. He's enjoying a midnight meal here; he wasn't awake when I started to prepare it but as soon as he heard the bug bin come off the shelf he was up against the glass staring down at what I was doing. 🤣
@yukimori
Yesterday I had to verify Vrtra's weight to make sure he was getting the correct dosage of his dewormer. He wasn't very happy about it, but *I* was happy to see he's put on nearly 20 grams since the last time I weighed him. It seemed like he'd plateaued in the last few weeks so it's good to see that's not the case... especially because he still doesn't quite have the fat stores that he should at his hips. In two weeks I'll be able to send another sample in to the lab and hopefully it'll come back clear after the three treatments he's had. 🙂
@yukimori
My daughter brought Cheeto out for some enrichment earlier today... and then she thought it would be funny to have him go through the tunnel in her Hug-a-Pet plush toy. Cheeto has other ideas. He's perfectly happy to sit there with his head out one side of the toy and his tail out the other. 🤣
@yukimori
Way back in November I made a post while we were in the middle of assembling Waffle's new Zen Habitats 4' x 2' x 2' enclosure and the rack it sits on. That rack was supposed to be one of two, but the second one we ordered just... never showed up. 🤷♀️ Best Buy was great about refunding us for the missing rack. We would have reordered it, but it kept going out of stock before we could get into the store to place the order. And somewhere in there we decided we'd rather get the bigger one instead, and then that one kept being briefly available and we still kept missing the chances to order it when it popped up... Until yesterday. It was available again, and I had to go out to pay rent anyway so on the way home I swung by the store and--finally!--got that order placed. It should be here Friday, which gives me enough time to rearrange the room to accommodate it. Then comes the fun of getting a 77" long, 24" wide rack home in a sedan. 🤣
@yukimori
Tonight we bore witness to the great dragon Vrtra drinking deeply of the blood of his enemies... Haha, April Fool's! The drink Vrtra is enjoying in this picture is just organic tart cherry juice diluted with water. The color looks terrible, though, doesn't it? 😆 All our reptiles usually drink plain water, but Vrtra is getting tart cherry juice because he has some swelling in his front legs that could maybe be gout. Tart cherry juice helps with inflammation and can reduce uric acid crystals in the body, so it's an easy at-home remedy for gouty dragons.
@yukimori
@Hafiza0407 mentioned being curious about what Cheeto's whole enclosure looks like, so here's an overview of the current setup. 🙂 The left side is the hot side and is currently more open to allow him to bask if he wants to. The right is the cool side and has more things that he can climb and hide under. He loves to dig so some of our plans for updates in the coming weeks include adding more of the topsoil and play sand substrate mix. We're also going to make a background with ledges to climb on and maybe even some tunnels in it that he can explore.
@yukimori
I added some new artificial plants to the geckos' enclosures today. One was placed next to the opening of Cheeto's cave, and within a few hours we discovered a very smug gecko peering out from his brand new hole underneath the bottom of the cave. The cave was placed with this in mind, so the sides are fully supported by the sandstone pavers on either side. There's enough room for him to dig a nice hole for himself under there without any risk of the cave falling on him. 🙂
@yukimori
The thing about beardies is that they are absolutely ridiculous animals. How ridiculous, you ask? Well, this is how Vrtra decided to eat his salad the other day... 🤦♀️ He even tried to bob his head at me from that position. It was... uh... not very effective since his head was kind of still in the bowl. 🤣
@yukimori
I spoke too soon! Cookie's new gecko cave arrived today... repackaged in a plastic bag rather than Like New in original packaging and in many more pieces than the two it's supposed to come in. 😭 So much for the streak of good luck I've had with these! Anyway, here's a picture of Cheeto enjoying the view from his cave last night. Majestically, because sometimes he's just Extra Like That.™
@yukimori
Buying used products on Amazon is a crapshoot even if you're picky and stick with those listed as Like New condition. I've had a lot of misses recently, but one product that's worked out fabulously has been these Exo-Terra Large Gecko Caves. They were less than half the regular retail price, and even though they were supposed to be 'like new' both were still zip tied to the packaging and hadn't been used. Cheeto prefers his homemade sandstone hide but occasionally hangs out in the cave. Cookie, on the other hand, has decided that it's his favorite place to be and spends most of his time in there these days. He loves it so much that I ordered another one for the cool side of his enclosure.
@yukimori
One of the things I love about leopard geckos is how unabashedly enthusiastic they are about food. Cheeto is a bit more restrained about it than Cookie is, but I still caught this pic of him looking smiley over his breakfast this morning. If I didn't know better I'd think he was deliberately posing for me here! 😄
@yukimori
Me: Hey, Waffle, would you like to try a hat? Waffle: Okay! *CHOMP* Me: NO, NOT LIKE THAT!!! He is MUCH more accepting of his hat than Vrtra was about his... 🤣
@yukimori
It's been about two weeks since we've really seen Noodle out and about. This morning I noticed that she'd shed behind her warm cave, so I pulled her out to see how it went. It was patchy, but she only had one little piece stuck to her side today--big improvement over how it's been! A little more tweaking and we should have the humidity issues completely fixed. My kids got a kick out of getting to let her roam over the futon before school this morning. She got a whole half hour out, and now she's retreated to the very back of her enclosure so I imagine that was enough excitement for the morning. 😂
@yukimori
Scrolling back through my posts here, you might notice that there's a conspicuous lack of Waffle content. Why? Well, simply put, Waffle has almost literally been a bump on a log this winter. He hasn't been eating as much as he used to, and instead of roaming around his enclosure he's spent most of his time lazing about on his cholla branch in some fashion. It hasn't quite been brumation, but it's been close. But spring is coming, and earlier today I caught him soaking up some (artificial) rays on his basking rocks like the majestic dragon he is. I hope this means we're going to see him returning to his normal activity levels soon. 🥰
@yukimori
Vrtra's case of the Mondays is comparable to my own today... 😅 He pretty much rolled off of his hammock and decided nah, he's done enough for the time being. Total mood.
@yukimori
What's for breakfast this lovely Splaturday morning? Below is a picture of what Waffle and Vrtra are having: cilantro, dandelion green, and endive salads garnished with carrots and strawberry.
@yukimori
We spent a good portion of today rearranging our furniture. Cheeto and the Divine Beast weren't interested in what we were doing, but Waffle spent the whole time rubbernecking and watching our every move with great interest. He seems to be happy that he can once again clearly see the TV from his favorite basking spot. 😂
@yukimori
Vrtra is in A Mood™ this morning. As soon as I opened his door to say good morning and swap out his salad bowl he was doing the defensive flapjack maneuver and hissing. He'll usually take some pieces of his veggies by hand, but this morning he just kept hissing at me when I put a few pieces of cilantro near him. I bribed him with a couple slices of freeze dried banana and he seems to be back to his normal mostly agreeable self now. 😂
@yukimori
My daughter noticed that Cheeto seemed to be really enjoying digging under his cholla branches this evening. Moments later, he noticed that he was being watched and rewarded us with this scathing look. 🤣
@yukimori
I'm pretty sure Cookie is hinting that it's time for more bugs. You'd never guess that he had lunch earlier and just finished off a treat for being a cooperative little bean while I put medicine on his injured toe. 🤦♀️
@yukimori
I've said it before and I'll say it again: why wish to sleep like a baby when you can sleep like a beardie?
@yukimori
Cookie is shedding today. I've been a bit apprehensive about it, but it's going much more smoothly than his first shed with us did. Normally they're able to loosen the old skin and slough most of it in big pieces, but last time he shed it was a mess and almost looked like his old skin had exploded.
@yukimori
I was going to share a few photos of Cheeto's new enclosure upgrade now that we've finally gotten the lighting situation squared away, but in the process of taking them I captured this shot of the gecko himself and let's face it: that eye is way too pretty to not get its own post. 🥰
@yukimori
This is how Waffle greeted me when I came downstairs this morning. He was perched up at the very top of the cholla branch, but when I came up to say good morning he sidled down to see if I happened to have a treat for him.
@yukimori
Vrtra's new hat wasn't the only thing we got from Hobby Lobby. We brought home a bunch of artificial plants for Vrtra and Cookie's enclosures, too. Here's Cookie checking out the new fern that magically appeared behind his moist hide. 😄
@yukimori
You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? (My luck held out despite how displeased Vrtra was with some of the spoils of today's trip to Hobby Lobby. 😄)
@yukimori
He's beauty, he's grace... He's got veg stuck on his face. 🤣
