Update on Koopa:

Update on Koopa:  He hasn't eaten a thing, until today.  Reptiles unfortunately will sometimes stress and not eat.  He refused roaches this morning, but I brought him home some crickets and I saw him eat ONE.  He tried to eat a few others, but they got away.  He will NOT eat from tongs.  Either most of the crickets have hidden, or he's eaten a few more than I know about.

For anyone who isn't sure, let me just say that I AM aware that his main diet should be harvester ants.  I ordered some last night and they should be here by Thursday.  Maybe it seems stupid to buy a lizard that I can't immediately get food for, but I'm pretty sure the folks who were selling him were not giving him ants.  They couldn't tell me much about him at all, so I assumed that meant they didn't know things.  Usually reptile people are very excited about the animals that they have.

In any case, his diet has probably been all wrong for most of his life, as he is pretty thin.  If he can hang in there a few more days, I'll have him hooked up.  I also have an awesome reptile vet, just in case he doesn't perk up.

When I came home today, he was buried in the sand.  This time, he didn't even leave the tip of his tail sticking out.  I had to dig around to find him so I could get him to eat.  He didn't look so great when I woke him up, but I put him under his heating lamp and in his little pool to soak, and that woke him up.  As far as I know, he spent most of the evening in his pool.  That is where he was every time I checked on him.  I have a feeling that he's a little dehydrated (probably from not being fed ants) and he's been shedding since before I brought him home, so I'm sure he's been uncomfortable.

Anyway, he's just chilling out right now.  A lot of his extra shed has come off, and he's got at least one little cricket in him, so I hope he feels better.  I left his light on longer so he'd stay awake and eat, but I'm about to turn it off and then watch to see if I can catch him burying himself for bed.  I would love to see that.  😃

About to have some tea and...

About to have some tea and figure out where to get an ass-ton of Harvester Ants, and maybe even a queen.  Thought I'd found a great source, but that guy turned out to be a huge douche.  So, the search continues!

Well, I got little Koopa settled in.

Well, I got little Koopa settled in.  He's got some sand, in a nice big tank, and a UVB light.  I thought I had another heat lamp, but apparently I don't so I'll pick him up one tomorrow.

I didn't try feeding him since it was late when we got home and he didn't have any heat.  It wasn't long after I put him in that I heard a light "swish swish swish" only to look in there and not see him at all, save for the tip of his tail sticking up out of the sand.  He buried himself and went to sleep!  Poor baby had a long day.

I've been doing reading and research on and off all evening and it seems that these guys are pretty fragile.  So, no more holding and all that.  Stress is a big killer for them.  I found a site that will tell me which species he is so I emailed them a photo.  They have a lot of info about them and they have the best deal I've found on Harvester Ants, which is what his main diet should consist of.  So, as long as he'll eat the ants I'll go ahead and get some ordered.  He can eat other bugs, but he needs a special powder for that so I have some on the way.

I hadn't really planned to get another lizard - I just really wanted to go and check out Repticon.  But when I saw that little guy, he looked so neat and I just WANTED him.  Then, when I asked the people selling him all about him, they didn't have much to say.  Like, not at all, and that kind of worried me.  The most I got was, "He's kind of like a bearded dragon, but he eats ants.  He's about a year old."  Yes, they are both desert lizards, but they are NOT the same.  I don't know.  That just kind of bugged me and I loved him right away and he was the only one there.  All signs pointed to "Take him home and figure it out."

Also, he is shedding and I think that is a stressful time for them so having him out in public at that show was just really not nice.  Just not nice at all.  Oh well.  He's warm and quiet and resting now.  I hope he'll be ok!  ❤

Repticon 2013

Repticon 2013

Giant blow-up snake.

Cade being eaten by a giant blow-up snake head.

The stamp saying you can come back in - it's a chameleon! 😃

Giant ass frogs!

Her name is Delilah. 🙂

Her nose was like an elephant's trunk, kind of.

Neat little paws.

South American Coati, or quati. Play nibbles!

Beardie with a spiky collar.

New baby. Right before he jumped down and hauled ass. Rachel is a fucking ninja. She caught him for me.

Baybay is a horned lizard. I haven't settled on a name yet.

He was the only one at the whole show. He was also cheap. Probably because they are a little difficult to keep alive.

What an awesome day.

What an awesome day.  Reptiles, fuzzies, NAIL POLISH, and good peeps.  Can't get any better than that.  I'm not usually a photo-poster, but I will post some soon.  I just gotta get a little certain someone new settled in.  ❤ _ ❤

Definitely gotta do this again, Shaun, Laurel, Emily, Rachel, Shadow, and Cade.  ❤

Lizard times! 😃

Lizard times!  😃  I told the girls I'd bring them back lots of new bugs!  Woohoo!  😃

Ready for Repticon! Woohoo!

Ready for Repticon! Woohoo! This is one of the reptile patterns that I have. I think I have around 4 more. They are all a little different.

So... a general rule of stamping is to use a flat color and either a metallic or something shiny - not both. It's totally fine to do two flat colors because they'll show up, but when you get two shinys going, it usually makes your patterns hard to see, but in this case I wanted something kind of subtle so I went for it.

So my base is a beige-y color with gold glitter flecks and I stamped with a pretty gold / green / purple color flipping polish, so sometimes my pattern really jumps out, and sometimes it blends in. These are really nice in person. I can't ever just leave it well enough alone, so I pierced a nail and glued some studs on the thumb. Ahh, that's better. 😃

The last paint job I did was a total rush and I didn't even post it because my son was like, "Those are boring." LOL It was just a flat color with some decals from Wal-Mart. I was short on time the night I did those. Anyway, I guess there is just a level of craziness that everyone has come to expect from my nails. I have STANDARDS, damn it! 😃