Wow! Koopa just put away probably 30 ants in one sitting!

Wow! Koopa just put away probably 30 ants in one sitting!  If we could do that a couple of times a day, he'd be getting his 50-100 ants a day, no problem!

Good boy!  I'll put some weight on him yet!  😃

Also, he looks to be about done with his shedding.  He used to look very gray / black / white, but now he looks more green.  I guess the blue-ness of his tote could be making me think he's colored, but I don't think so.

I am going to bed now, but...

I am going to bed now, but maybe y'all can help me with something.  Is there a good place to meet someone with a dog (Casper) in or near Sylacauga?  I don't know much about that place.

I'm officially now...

I'm officially now the mother of a high schooler. Woohoo!

And finally: One just for my trustworthy peeps. 🙂

And finally:  One just for my trustworthy peeps.  🙂

Did a LOT of re-arranging my house today.  To help minimize the stress on my lizard I moved Dumplin' out of my bedroom.  Honestly, when he gets all wound up and awake it's really hard to sleep with him in there.  So, it might be for the best.  He's now in the kitchen, which means that when it's time to let him out to play I don't have to walk him through a room with cats.  That has always made me very nervous, though it was a very short trip (less then 10 steps).  He's always been really good and stayed right on my shoulder when I was taking him from my bedroom to the game room, but it's always been in the back of my mind that he might just decide to explore one day and that would most likely be the end of him.  He's so fast that I don't think I could stop him.  🙁  I try to think safety first, so this new setup definitely eases my mind.  🙂

To make room for Dump in the kitchen I had to move my opossums.  To move my opossums I had to move my love seat.  There has been a LOT of moving things around today.  LOL  But, now I have the runt boy opossums in the living room with Nelly and the cats.  The cats don't bother Nelly, so I don't think they're going to bother these guys, either.  They haven't shown much interest.  I would really like for everyone to be able to hang out - supervised, of course.  I know that Nelly likes to come out and the cats leave her be, so maybe it will be the same with the boys.  I guess I will find out!  After they've had time to acclimate to the room and seeing the cats in there, though.

All in all it has been a busy day, but I'm pleased with the new house setup, and I hope that all of the animals are, too.  There is at least one who I know feels like a queen.  That would be Emma.  Home girl got the love seat and she's barely gotten off of it since Shaun put it in there.  😃  Spoiled doggie!  ❤

Pretty good day, I guess.

Pretty good day, I guess.  Saw my dad.  He says that he is feeling a good bit better today.  He was pretty groggy - I guess his pain meds keep him a little jacked up, but I know he'd be in a lot of pain without them.  So far, no complications.  He can't see to do anything because he can't wear his glasses.  Honestly, that would probably bother me more than the pain.  I HATE not being able to see.  LOL  But he's hanging in there.  I don't know when he'll be able to wear glasses again.  They cut him right across where they would sit, and that is where the skin graft is, so it might be a while.  😕

When I went to Munford I stopped and saw my mom and brother.  They had Cade's daughter, Lanah, over there.  I haven't seen her in a while, so it was nice to get to hang out with everyone.  I only wish I'd known she was going to be there - I would have taken some nail stuff and hooked her up!  She's 8 now, so she's into that.  😃  I told mom and Cade to let me know the next time she was going to be there.  That would have been so much fun!  She was busy doing other stuff this time, anyway.  Sewing with my mom, feeding the chickens, and watching Monster High.  That's some pretty neat stuff.  We also have a like of Justin Bieber in common.  Yeah, I can hang with an 8 year old.  LOL  I might have to grow old, but I don't have to grow up!  😛

My only real complaint for the day would be the cigarette smoke.  Everyone there smokes and I just feel like a whole lot of shit right now from it.  My head and my sinuses hurt.  I hope I don't get a sinus infection.  😕

Also, my baby boy starts HIGH SCHOOL tomorrow.  How exciting!  He's gone through a range of emotions (I know that big of a change is stressful), but I think he ended on excited, too.  😃  I have to get up early so I can get a photo of him!  😃

Just heard my baby Koopa tuck himself in.

Just heard my baby Koopa tuck himself in.  What a sweet sound.  🙂  I would love to get that on video one day (honestly, I would be happy to even just see it), but he only does it in the dark at bed time.

Little Koopa has had a big day.  I've moved him from his 20 gallon tank into a much larger Rubbermaid tote.  While that may not sound like much of an upgrade to most people I have read that totes are pretty good for reptiles who stress easily.  I have a few good reptile peeps who have also confirmed it with experience, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Koopa has been doing well, despite some asshat who doesn't know me telling me (and anyone who would listen) that I was going to kill him.  I guess it remains to be seen, but so far I'm pleased with how he's doing.  He has perked up considerably since I brought him home.  The one thing he was doing that was bothering me was trying to climb the tank walls.  I tried covering him with blankets, but that didn't seem to help.  The only thing I could figure was that it was a stress response of some sort, so I thought I'd change his enclosure type to see if that helped.  Well, it has - to an extent.  He still does it, but not nearly as much.

I was doing more reading about his species last night and I read that while some horned lizards will go after ants if there are a lot around, other species will not.  Shaun made him an ant dispenser yesterday before I read that, and he wouldn't go near it.  Too many ants on the stick at one time, I suppose.  I've found that he eats a good bit if I drop in a few ants at a time, right near where he is sitting.  As they warm up and start to move he eats them, so he doesn't have to chase them and I don't have to worry about him freaking out because there are too many moving at once.  Seems to be a win.  😃  I've read that adults should eat 50-100 ants per day and he is NOT doing that, but I am trying to get him there.  Also, he wags his frickin' tail when it's time to eat like that, so I will have my camera ready sometime in the next few days.  😃

I've been monitoring him closely for any signs of not doing well since he was supposed to be so hard to care for.  Not saying that I'm doing everything 100% perfect, but I'm certainly giving it my best shot and he SEEMS to be responsive to my efforts.

I don't know what this means, (or if it means anything at all), but he was shedding when I brought him home last weekend.  It was more crunchy and he had skin left on his horns and near his back legs.  He looked like he finished up and then immediately started again, but this time in the middle of his back, and it's not as crunchy.  I've been offering him water several times daily and he seems to really enjoy a nice soak in his little pool.  I'm wondering if he's just shedding there last or something.  Seems like a weird way for that to happen.

Either way I'm keeping a close eye on him.  I've done a lot today to hopefully relieve anything that could be stressing him, like figuring out that too many bugs at one time is scary, and making my room quieter, and changing his enclosure.  Hopefully all of that will pay off and he'll be with me for a good long while.  He is really such a neat little guy.  ❤

Crappy photo of a kind of crappy manicure.

Crappy photo of a kind of crappy manicure.  I guess it's not bad, but it's really not doing it for me.  I THOUGHT I was in the mood for dragonflies, but maybe not.

Not to mention that I did this last night and if you look at my middle finger, you can see where I broke that nail a couple of hours ago and glued it back together.  Also, on my pointer finger I have chipped and broken it, as well.  I do believe it is time to go and shorten my damn nails.  LOL