• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

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    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

My First Beardie

Hello

Hello Amber!

Oh a public speaking class, yuck! LOL You will do great I am sure!

It doesn't look as though you have missed anything.
The main point that needs to be made regarding substrate is that calcisand, reptisand, bark, walnut shells ALL need to be avoided as they do cause impactions especially in young dragons. Cedar & pine shavings need to be avoided completely due to impaction but also due to the fact they will emit lethal fumes when they become heated up underneath the lighting.

One other thing, calcium supplementation.

Everything else looks good! Geez, you have to cram all of that into a 5 minute speech, you are kidding me?? Are you allowed to take Toby with you? That would be neat.

Tracie
 
No, I can't take him with me...which is a bummer, and even if I could, I wouldn't because it's WAY TOO COLD to drag him outside....ALTHOUGH....WE GOT OUR NEW CAR YESTERDAY! and the heat is kicking like crazy, I bet I could get it up to a proper temp for him but I'd die of heat exhaustion. :p

I bought a digital thermometer and hygrometer today......I think I last saw it at 121 so I have to do some playing around with his rock and how high I pile the sand under it.

I also bought him a hammock today too. I placed it in the corner DIRECTLY under the UVB light so he'll be able to sit under there and also sleep somewhere comfy opposed to his sticks. Yeah, I put in something about the calcium supplement. I added it to the side. I'm re-formatting the whole outline tomorrow.

Any idea where I can get pictures of mutilated dragons? Like missing limbs, or toes bitten off? If so that'd be great because it would go good on poster board as a visual on "What to look for when buying your beardie"
 
Well, Hubby has once again changed his mind about Tobys' new home. We are having it built now. haha.....AT LAST! I talked to a kid he works with and he said he'd do it for us. So hopefully in a few months time now, he'll have a new home. I'm excited. All the sand'll be gone by that point too. I'm switching to textured tile now instead of it. I'm also going to see about having a "rock" background built right into it this way I can provide more basking areas as well.
 
Hello

Hello Amber,

GREAT you got your new car now! I hope you are happy with it. Oh too bad it is too cold to take Toby with you to class then.
I bet he loves his hammock so he can relax & bask like a lazy dragon can!
Wow where was the temp of 121 at, one of his basking areas? Does he sit under that or not? It should be 110 or under. Does the digital thermometer have a probe on the end of it?
Ha, so now your hubby wants the tank built? That is so funny! Now you can really have it fancy! He will have lots of little places to bask now if you put a rock wall type of background in there, really cool!
Great you are putting the textured tile in that is much cleaner than the sand.
I know of a site that does necropsy pics but I will have to see if I can find mutilation pics, ugh.
How is little Toby doing?

Tracie
 
Toby is doing great. I don't need the pics. no more. My speech was yesterday and I narrowed it down to just husbandry and feeding. When I had everything in there, the thing was roughly 12 minutes or so long and we had a time limit of 5 minutes. Either way the speech killed. I had questions at the end of class, and I was able to at least answer all of them.

Yeah, he sits underneath it, but only on a certain side of it. No, no probe on the thermometer. It's just square and I set it down where I want the temp. taken at. It takes it awhile, but oh well....it's more reliable than those self stick ones.

I think I need to put Toby on 12 hour days and 12 hour nights. I had taken his timer with me to class last night and when I got home I didn't plug it back in for the simple fact of not wanting to reset the time that late. So,this morning, the lights didn't come on at 6:30 like normal, instead it was around 7..and he was STILL SLEEPING at that point. So i think I need to shorten his day hours from 14 to 12 just to give him that little bit of extra sleep. :D
 
Hello

Hello Amber,

GREAT to hear that your speech went well & he let you go over the time limit too, that is really good. There were alot of questions also?
Did you get the temps down a little bit? So it has a plastic face then to measure? I am not sure if I have seen those type. You could get a temp gun to double check the temps if you need. At least he picks where he wants to sit according to the temps. As long as he is thermoregulating that is fine.
I would recommend a 12 hour cycle too. The extra sleep will do him some good. He has grown alot & is still growing so he needs his sleep. :D

Tracie
 
Yeah, I moved the rock, but am going to wait a couple days before taking the temp. again. I tested the thing out around my house, and it measured each room properly maybe a couple degrees off, but still pretty good. Temp. Guns are too expensive for me at the moment. Will probably get one AFTER his new home is built.

I have to do 3 more views of the design I want (top view and back view) for the kid who is building it. And instead of doing sliding door like I wanted, he's going to put a bar down the middle in the front and make two cabinet like doors instead. Which is cool, probably easier to lock too. When I get home later, I can upload my draft picture and stick it here for you to see. I think I did pretty good. Got most the design from something I got from bearded-dragon.com chat board, and then added some small changes to it here and there.

It's going to be 4 ft. tall, 5 ft. wide, and 4 ft. deep. :D he's going to have plenty of room to climb and run. It's going to have 2 fixtures for the UVB/UVA lights to go and they will stretch roughly a little more than half the way across the tank....and then the basking light will be on the other side.

On the top, there will be a small door to drop crickets into. There is no screen anywhere on the cage, instead there will be 4 circle vents in the back and then a vent on each side, with screen behind them just in case any bugs try to sneak out. But that'll keep enough heat inside but at the same time, not get too hot. And then I don't have to worry about any extra light going into his cage at night when he's ready for sleep and we aren't. I'm very excited. I'm thinking, if I can play around with the design a bit, under his second platform (the one under the UVA/UVB lights) I'm wanting to put a waterfall, so he has a nice drinking area from and it'll be down enough so he can't make too much of a mess.
 
So, ever since I bought that hammock, Toby has gotten REALLY lazy! I have to pick him up and MOVE him to his basking light so he can warm up and get active. And only after a bit does he go to eat, then he's right back up in the hammock again...and once again, I have to move him before he gets cold. haha....is that normal?
 
Hello

Hello Amber!


Well, that is pretty normal, they do tend to get lazy. What are the temps on the hammock? If he does continue to do that though, you could place the hammock differently a little closer to the basking lights, etc so he would stay warmer.
Ok, that sounds good then. If the thermometer was measuring everything pretty well, it should be decent. Though sometimes it makes it hard because ambient temps are easier to read than spot on basking. Hopefully after his new tank is built you can get a temp gun.
The cage dimensions sound great! Toby will have plenty of room to run & play for sure. He will be spoiled for a dragon that is great! Make sure that the basking light overlaps with part of the end of the UVB area so he can bask & get UVB at the same time. It will encourage him to bask more if there is UVB there as well.
Who is building it for you? A friend then? That is really exciting.
The waterfall sounds like it will be a bit out of the way so that should workout fine. He will be big enough too, that he wont drown in it like a baby would.

Tracie
 
Yeah, I moved his basking light over to the other side and put it close to his hammock, in hopes that that'll get him to move some. I'll find out tonight when I get home. :D the other side though wasn't any lower than roughly 70 F.....maybe a draft from the window is getting in, considering the weather past couple days. I'll have to check it out. I plan on moving furniture around sometime soon and he's going to be moved away from the window anyways.
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Good that you moved the basking light over the hammock that should help. Is the UVB light right by that also, right?
There could have been some cooler air coming in from somewhere. Wintertime causes alot of problems with temperature fluxuations.
Moving him away from the window is a good idea, that will probably help.
Is he still eating good?

Tracie
 
He is eating, but he is only pooping every other day right now. I don't know if I should be worried or not because there is no abnormality in its' consistency, just in the time span. He's been chowing down his phoenix worms whenever I give them to him, and ever time he finishes he looks appalled that there are no more.

I moved his basking rock lower (still need to re-take temp. though), knocked out the sand from underneath it, and he's been hanging out there more often now opposed to his hammock, but he's still being a bit lazy. I dumped in crickets for him to eat earlier this morning, and he didn't even budge to chase them until I moved him off his rock and placed him down next to some. Then he went to town for a bit.
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

No I would not be concerned. He is growing up so his body has slown down some. How long is he now?
He is still eating alot though, so I know he will still grow some more for you as well as fill out alot, too.
He looks surprised that there are no more phoenix worms, hm, the nerve he has! LOL That is hilarious! Come on mom, just a few more..
They definitely get lazy though the older they get. Does he still want out of his tank to play though daily? Oh just wait until you have to run the crickets right in front of him in order for him to get it!!

Tracie
 
I do run the crickets in front of him. I've been doing that since he was a baby just to tease him some. I get all week off from school, so I've been taking him out so far....seems he likes to poo on my floor than in his cage, which is GREAT because makes cage cleaning that much easier.....I was able to catch it though so it went on a napkin instead of the floor. So maybe I can start training him now that I have the time. Shouldn't take very long if I do it every day right?

So how long can he go without going before I should get concerned? This way I know to keep a look out......
 
Hello

Hello Amber!


Yes, you can work on potty training Toby now. Since he is going out of his tank, just have a paper towel in hand, & when he goes in the same spot, just start putting a paper towel down, & sometimes, they will even go in the exact same area. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.
Yeah definitely easier to keep clean when he goes outside of the tank. Alot will go in their bath also.
Well, I wouldn't worry too much unless it starts going past a week or so, if he is eating a good amount. Is he getting enough fluids?

Tracie
 
Yes plenty of fluids. He's "burying" himself lately. He'll sleep at the bottom of his cage, but, he is digging under anything he can and fitting himself under things. I've already got him moved away from the window, so there is no draft from the vent or the window itself which is good, but it's still kind of funny looking.

He met a kitten today. There is a litter of strays and one of the neighbor kids was able to catch one...came and asked if I had something they could wrap it in because it was really cold. So they came in and toby went nose to nose with it...and licked it. The cat sniffed at him a bunch of times and even tried putting his paw on him, but I moved toby away just in case, but once I saw, I would have been ok with it. He's really good with other animals so far. hee hee
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

How's it going?
Yeah they love to burrow & dig underneath things sometimes. What a cute little thing he is!
Yeah, they can be good with animals, but, be very careful especially with cats. They could accidentally attack. It happens somewhat often. I don't want little Toby to get hurt.
I hope he is still eating well!

Tracie
 
The cat was only here for a few minutes. It was a stray from a small litter that we were able to catch. One of the little girls asked if we had anything we could wrap it up in to help warm it up. I didn't let Toby out of my hands, and the little girl didn't let the kitten down either.

Yes, Toby is eating well. Lots of worms, crickets, and fruits and veggies. He's still being lazy though. *sigh* :p
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Yeah, it is most likely the weather that Toby is being lazy. It is up & down alot lately. Is he still eating pretty well though, for the most part? Great he eats his veggies & fruits. What a good boy!
Oh a little kitten huh, was it lost then?

Tracie
 
No, not lost, just a stray....or kicked out...and I choose the latter.....my neighbors aren't very nice people when it comes to their pets. :( Lucky they are moving.

Yup he still eats....getting ready to bomb the place again. It's getting to be the time of year for spiders....and I opened his cricket cage to get him breakfast, and there was a preggo spider sitting on the inside edge....I about had a heart attack. So, def. time to spray, just waiting for a warm day so I can take Toby outdoors or with me while it's going on. Also need to not use ANYTHING sent with the crickets (food, tubes, egg crates) to make sure nothing gets in where it's not supposed to. I can't and won't do spiders. I will kill off the whole lot of crickets over just 1. It's pathetic...haha

I hope the weather picks up soon though. Can't wait to get him outside and to start building his new home. :D I'm excited about it. Just trying to figure out what type of wood to use. I don't want particle board, like I've seen most enclosures built in, but I don't want to spend too much either because the tile alone will cost a pretty penny.
 
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