A Hard Lesson Learned

[alexr]

(don't forget photos of the eggs please :wink

 

[SLACkra]

i might have to dropped off some coral frags and take a look. i want to see em in person

 

[beknluke]

Ok - ANOTHER update lol
(If a mod would be so kind as to cut this thread at my reply that was directly under Slateys and make it a new thread called "24 sick beardies - UPDATES" that would be WONDERFUL!!)
#15 Laid 17 eggs tonight - about 15 believed to be fertile, and #8 (in Souleys opinion, the best female out of the lot) is believed to be gravid :shock:
Had to go to the supermarket tonight and buy another 4 incubating containers!! :lol:
Lucky you picked up that BIG bag of vermiculite for me that time Westy ey?? lol
Bex

 

[beknluke]

Oh, and Slacker ( ) if you're bringin' free frags - you're welcome ANY time

 

[foxysnake]

Wow! Unreal! Hope it all works out and good luck with the sound of little 'pitter-patters' from the babies! - Must be something about the number 15?!

 

[westhamsc]

Lucky you picked up that BIG bag of vermiculite for me that time Westy ey?? lol
Bex

yeah lucky i did still got heaps left? by the way i must of looked like the biggest pot head wheni got that and people looking in the back of my car seeing 100L of vermiculite 8) 8) 8) :lol:

 

[OuZo]

#15 was the one that liked the head scratch yeah? They're gonna be some spunky babies hey

 

[SLACkra]

free frags

free? depends on which corals. i got a tini mushroom which you could have for free (mainly because he would be easy to frag) and some standard zoas. rest i would want to trade!

andrew

 

[beknluke]

:lol:
I was making a joke hun
I can't fit anything else in my tank!! lol

 

[SLACkra]

well if you find some space i got some corals 4 ya.

andrew

 

[beknluke]

Oh, very brief update since it's so late:
The one that had had its leg amputated has to have it done AGAIN b/c the vet that did it in Nth QLD used dead skin to fold over the cut and it killed all of the tissue So she's booked in for surgery on Monday along with the Male who definately DOES need his back leg removed.
Most of the nasty cysts/abses (sp?) that were there the vet has gotten rid of and they all need intensive bepanthen.
A couple of the dead toes are coming good and have fallen off cleanly.
The female (#6) who laid when we didn't know she was gravid has been given a 50/50 chance of survival coz her body is riddled with infection... There aren't many places where I'm NOT putting bepanthen on her. She has also been put on antibiotics for the next 3 weeks. She won't touch fruit or veg but still has a healthy appetite for roaches We also think that she may need her front leg amputated at the elbow eventually, but for now I will keep trying
One of the boys (#24) had a really bad chin where it's practically down to his jaw bone so we are hoping that with time, bepanthen and soft food, it MIGHT grow some healthy tissue back over the area.
Two are early gravid (#3 and #10) and 2 are probably about half way through their pregnancies (#8 and #13). Also, 2 of my other dragons have been found to be gravid tonight
All 18 eggs from #6 that were believed to be infertile had to be chucked tonight with my innitial beliefs being confirmed...
Other than that, I think that's it for now...
I will tell you more as it comes to hand
Bex

 

[pugsly]

Wow how exciting! Still poor little things still goin through a tuff time, hope they come good for ya, man ya goingto have 50,000 of those things running around soon!

Goodluck with the pregnancies, and of course keep us updated!

 

[Rossagon]

Ya better start breeding them crickets now!!!! Good onya guys. Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Im probably the only one with the guts to ask it so i will.

Are you happy with your 6K purchase and do you think you got your money's worth? (apart from the vet bills).

 

[beknluke]

That's a VERY fair Q Alan - one that I am more than happy to answer.
I innitially looked at this purchase as a business investment. I have a few ideas for my future and I thought that these guys would help me get there. So when I weighed up $250/animal, intense colours, some are gravid etc etc, I thought that it would probably be a VERY smart purchase.
When I got the animals in the state that they were in, I actually said to my Mum who was with me at the time that they animals (in that state) were worth no more than about $3000. I felt them all and only 2 were gravid, which though it was a HUGE let down coz I was told that almost ALL 12 females WERE gravid, I was releived that the animals wouldn't go through any further strain.
Since then, I have gotten $3k back from the seller an that has covered the vet bills, a full refund for 4 of the animals and the extra enclosures that I had to buy.
After being to the vets for the 3rd time, I now know that ALL of these guys (except for maybe #6) are going to be PERFECTLY fit and healthy for breeding next year - AND some of them are now gravid (must have been in the very early stages when they were shipped) so hopefully some of the eggs are fertile and I can make a bit more of my money back.
In all, yes, I am happy with my purchase and now that I have had my expenses covered, I do think that they were worth it. I AM finding it hard every morning and every night putting on the creams, weighing, feeding cleaning (I HATE newspaper in cages!!!) but when I look at their lil faces (brightly coloured ones at that!!) I can't begrudge them my time.
Thanx for asking Alan and I hope that I have answered your Q thoroughly
Bex

 

[Guest]

Cheers for the honest answer Bek, an honest question deserves an honest answer and thats exactly what you have given me....wholly appreciated!!!

Cheers, Alan.

 

[orsm]

What's the normal price for central bearded hatchlings? Shouldn't they be about the same as the eastern bearded ones, about $25-30 ea?

 

[beknluke]

Depends on a hell of a lot of things, but for really good colours, I have seen hatchies go from anywhere between $80 - $175
Petshops will pay you $25/beardie down here if your desperate, but who wants to sell them to a place that won't take care of them??