# My Sweet Esmeralda



## Logie_Bear (Aug 10, 2012)

So FINALLY, at long last I got my little baby extreme giant from bobby. She arrived on Tuesday morning around 11am (sorry for the delayed post!). I almost hugged the usps lady at my door I was so excited.  I really liked the idea of having a thread for her like some of the other members have been doing. I'm sorry if it gets a little long-winded. Any questions I'm having, I'll highlight in case it becomes a Tl;dr. 

So my little baby was born 6/13 from a pairing of Snow x Slate. In case you are wondering, she is named after this song (specifically the part around 7:10): Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Santa Esmeralda

When I unpacked her from the box, she was very tame from the get-go. I let her crawl around a little and smell me and everything around her. While she was exploring I plated some ground chicken to see if she was hungry. She dove right into it and then proceeded to devour the yolk of a quail egg and 1 pinky mouse. Shipping must have worked up an appetite! I figured this was all a good sign that I'd have no problems with feeding, but boy has that been wrong (more on that in a moment). So after all that, I put her in her cage to spend the day basking. 

Btw, her cage is as follows: 
40gal breeder with a 120w Solar Glo MVP plus a 5.0 UVB tube on the back side of the cage (I figured that it'd be nice to still have a little uvb rays around the cage even when she's not under the basking spot). There is a large piece of driftwood on the hot side of the tank, with a branch that allows her to pick a temp variant on where to bask. My reptile room stays around 79-80 deg, so the cool side of her cage hovers around 81 and on the warm side its around 95-98 on the bottom, and on the basking branch the hottest spot is 110. She spends most of her time basking in the 98 range. On the cool side she has a log hide that I put my used sleeping shirt in, which is where she has slept each night. 

So, fast forward to day 2. 
Her lights are on an auto timer to run from 8-8. I get up around 1030 and she's already out basking. Taking her out of the cage was a little touchy. She huffed a little bit and was a little twitchy, but as soon as she's out she calms down. I take her over to the tub which has about 1/2 warm water in it and she makes her first ever tegu poopie with me. What a proud mom I am!  Following the routine of the day before, I offer her a plate of ground chicken. She barely even sniffs it and walks away. Well, she ate a lot yesterday, so I'm not too worried. I return her to her cage and also leave the plate in with her in the hopes she'll eat later. Unfortunately she did not. 

That night I mixed up the Varnyard baby tegu diet. Ground turkey, liver, and a little cod liver oil. I have never eaten liver before... and now I'm thoroughly convinced I never will. Geeze, that stuff stinks! I portioned the stuff in the ziplock baggies and threw all but one baggie back in the freezer.

Day 3-

So day three follows the same basics as two. She pooped in the tub again but a much smaller poo than the day before. This time I try feeding her the turkey/liver mix. Same as before, she shows no interest whatsoever. Since some folks have suggested feeding in a separate tub, I decided to try that and left her alone for about 45 min. All that accomplished is that she walked thru the food repeatedly and made a huge mess. So, as I did the day before I left her with the plate of food back in the cage for the day. I checked back on her around 630 and still no food had been eaten. So, I decide to switch it up a bit and offer some cal/vit dusted crickets. Well, there's nothing like food that runs, and that def caught her attention! For the second cricket I decided to try an experiment. I smeared it in the ground turkey before offering it to her on the tongs. This time she sniffed it a bunch, and seemed pretty skeptical, but finally the flailing of the cricket won out and she gobbled it up. All in all she ate about 7 or 8 crickets and a wee bit of turkey that was on them. 

Day 4 (today)

So this morning she still looked a little plump around the belly from eating last night. We had our morning bath routine and today she only had some urates, not really any poo. I'm wondering if I should be concerned that she didn't poop today, on top of the fact that her tummy is still so full?  Today I offered her some ground rabbit from Hare-Today. Again, she show's no interest whatsoever in the meat. And again, I've left in in the cage for her in the hopes she eats some later. I would really love to hear any suggestions on feeding or if based on the above, if you feel I've done something grievously wrong. I know that rodents should be a once a week treat, but what about crickets? Is it ok to offer her crickets daily if that's what she wants to eat? I would love to hear from some of the other new Extreme owners and see if anyone's had similar experience with their new babies. Right now I'm just a neurotic mommy! 

Here are some pics of my baby (sorry for the cell-quality)

Cage (with lights off)






Fresh outta the box!





Sleeping on my tummy:




OH, and almost forgot- 

Here's a vid of her eating on that first day:
<object width="400" height="240" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/10151981428135276" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/10151981428135276" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="240"></embed></object>


Edit:

Well that link didnt work at all. Lets try this:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151981428135276

Vid is public, so hopefully there's no issue in seeing it.


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## Logie_Bear (Aug 11, 2012)

I figured I'd pop in with a update for today and share a few more pics.  

This morning, we had our morning poop in the tub, and no issues there. I attempted feeding her the ground rabbit again today, unfortunately to no avail. We had a minor break thru when i dangled the rabbit meat from the tongs and wriggled it around like it was alive. I tricked her into eating about 3 small bites this way, but as soon as she stops to actually smell it, she loses all interest. 

So, instead I went to the petstore to get some feeder insects. Came home with a new bag of crickets, some waxworms, and some superworms, plus three small (f/t) pinky mice. The crickets are her favorite, hands-down. She ate several crix, 3 waxworms, and one superworm (I dont think she much liked these either- will try again tomorrow tho). I also got her to eat one of the pinky mice, and after that she seemed pretty full and lost interest in food. 

So, basically my lil gu seems to be telling me that she is only interested in whole foods atm. I'll keep the rodents in moderation, but to reiterate a question from yesterday- is it ok to feed her insects on a daily basis if she continues to refuse meats for the time being? 

As always I really appreciate any advise/ feedback! And I'd love to hear from the other keepers who got extremes from the second clutch. 

[attachment=4788]

[attachment=4789]


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## tayrocksyoursocks56 (Aug 11, 2012)

I am having a similar problem. when betelgeuse actually lets me pick him up i place him in a feeding bin with some crickets supers and ground turkey with cod liver oil. betelgeuse was afraid of the one cricket i put in there. he ate the super worms and a little bit of ground turkey. my question is, i know it says hatchlings eat everyday but at what point should i worry, hes eaten twice now since the 2nd making it 6 super worms and a little bit of ground turkey. is this bad?


also, a lot of threads are saying they waited a week to feed so im not that worried but he doesnt poop everyday either. which makes sense if hes not eating. think hes still getting use to his environment?


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## larissalurid (Aug 11, 2012)

Very cute!! Also, hopefully that is only a temporary enclosure. A screen topped cage can't hold enough humidity. They need 60% humidity at all times to be healthy and shed properly without losing any toes or tail tip.


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## bmx3000max (Aug 11, 2012)

People when first getting their gu let them go without eating for a week so itl eat when fed, just saying...


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## larissalurid (Aug 11, 2012)

Yea not eating for a while is normal, I went almost a week and just fed mine and he ate a little, but usually they need at least a week of sitting in the cage being left alone to calm down and settle in.

They don't poop all the time, and if she hasn't eaten then yea that is another reason why she isn't. I really wouldn't be worried about her not using the bathroom unless she has been eating in her cage and ingests substrate, then stops eating all together for a long time and has troubles going to the bathroom, you will see her trying then nothing comes out and stuff. thats impaction, but otherwise they don't poop all the time. sometimes lizards can go a week without using the bathroom or more.


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## Logie_Bear (Aug 11, 2012)

tayrocksyoursocks56 said:


> I am having a similar problem. when betelgeuse actually lets me pick him up i place him in a feeding bin with some crickets supers and ground turkey with cod liver oil. betelgeuse was afraid of the one cricket i put in there.



Have you tried tongs to keep the cricket from running around, and just wriggling in one place instead? That worked really well with my Gu. 

And what others have chimed in about not feeding for a week. Its hard to -know- that they have slower metabolisms and are fine without food for awhile when at the same time I want to see them getting big and strong and eating lots. 



larissalurid said:


> Very cute!! Also, hopefully that is only a temporary enclosure. A screen topped cage can't hold enough humidity. They need 60% humidity at all times to be healthy and shed properly without losing any toes or tail tip.



You keep the humidity at 60% day and night? Currently I mist really heavily in the morning and again at night (when all the geckos are getting their mistings) that way it has a chance to dry out a little during the day (oh, plus I live in the south and its not too hard to hold decent humidity in my room). 

The reason I've been doing it this way, is because in some of my research I read how keeping the humidity too high constantly could cause a RI. 
Another question- if you keep your enclosure with a constant 60% humidity does this make your substrate moist at all times? Are tegus susceptible to scale rot if their substrate is too moist?

Thanks for the feedback!


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## Logie_Bear (Aug 12, 2012)

Esmeralda was watching me this evening while I was feeding the tokays who share a room with her. I thought I'd let her say hi (behind glass, of course) and thought it made for a really cute pic.  

[attachment=4800]


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## Logie_Bear (Aug 22, 2012)

Hi all! I figured it was about time for an update!

Since my last post in this thread, Esmeralda (who's been nicknamed Ezzy for short) has grown a tad. She had her first full shed 3 days ago! Per larissalurid's comment, I've now covered the top 3/4ths of the screen cage with saran wrap (taped down) to keep the humidity up higher and more consistent. Since her first shed came off without incident I think we're good in that aspect.  Per a suggestion on another thread I read, I also now keep the MVB light and blacklight/nightlight on at the same time while she basks. Before, the hotspot (from the mbv bulb only) of 110 was only when she climbed to bask on her branch. Now it gets closer to that temp on the floor-level and she doesnt have to climb to get a higher basking temp if she doesn't want to. I'm also happy to report that Ezzy and I have pretty much gotten a poop-in-the-tub routine down pat and she's made nice stinky poops for me each morning outside her enclosure. 

There are a few questions I am still having tho. So, to date, Ezzy will NOT eat ground meats. I've tried turkey, chicken, lamb, goat, rabbit and blue crab meat and she has turned her nose up to everything. All she wants is whole prey items. I've been giving her pinky mice on the weekends (f/t) and during the week its bugs, bugs bugs! The staple so far is crickets, and each feeding they get generously coated in calcium powder (w/o d3) and repti vitamin powder. The question remains- at this young age is it ok for her to have bugs everyday/ as a staple to her diet? 

I've actually devised a pretty nifty trick of wrapping the cricket in ground turkey (which has been blended with liver and some whole eggs w shells) and letting her sniff the cricket. As soon as she goes to chomp it, I turn it slightly so she gets a big mouthfull of meat. Which, she then eats just fine, but I've had 0 luck getting her to eat it without tricking her into it. The cricket burritos have been pretty successful tho.  Anyone else having similar issues with getting their babies to eat more than just insects?


As always, I would love to hear some feedback. Here's a few updated shots of Ezzy sunspot bathing on my bed this morning.


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## bmx3000max (Aug 22, 2012)

lOoking good...and as to ur.bug question its all about variety....yogi was the same until i let him not eat for a couple of days and then he ate ground foods fine.


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## Logie_Bear (Aug 22, 2012)

I think I'm gonna try ordering some hornworms and see how she likes them . I really wish I could get dubias, but TN is a real b**** about roaches


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## james.w (Aug 22, 2012)

Insects are fine as a staple. Try to get some sort of roach, they are more beneficial than crickets. What are the ambient temps now that you are keeping both lights on?


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## Logie_Bear (Aug 22, 2012)

james.w said:


> Insects are fine as a staple. Try to get some sort of roach, they are more beneficial than crickets. What are the ambient temps now that you are keeping both lights on?



Roaches are illegal to have in both TN and FL. So sadly, I can't have any shipped. I've been longing to start a b. Dubia colony for months but finding a source in-state has proven difficult to say the least. I'll grab the temp gun tomorrow morning and get you some exact numbers in the morn. Stuck at work currently. D:


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## Logie_Bear (Aug 23, 2012)

james.w said:


> What are the ambient temps now that you are keeping both lights on?



Ok, took some temp readings today (and last night)
At night it is a steady 77-78 degrees. During the day the cool side stays right at 80 and on her basking branch, at the highest point , it was 125. On the ground level below the lamp it was 98-101


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 8, 2012)

So, I figure it's about time for an update post on Ezzy. 

As of today, I have had her for exactly 1 month. She has already shed 2x for me, and all of her baby greens are gone. I feel like she's about doubled in size, but I don't have a true measurement (really need to find some measuring tape and use it on her...). On Thursday (2 days ago) we had a real break-thru! After almost a month of her snubbing her nose up at her ground meats, she ate a whole plate of ground turkey. Yay! I am excited that we can start branching out and trying lots more foods now.  Insects are still her favorite without question tho. This morning my order from Great Lakes Hornworms came in. Holy crap, she LOVED the caterpillars! They are a tad pricy, but definitely worth it, in my book. 

I also wanted to add that we got Ezzy one of the little T-Rex lizard leashes and she has been out to meet-and-greet at our local petco, plus she likes to go outside and sniff around in the grass (I dont really trust her being outside without a leash). I took a little video of it, and will post it as soon as I can figure out how to upload it off of my phone.
Someone let me know if this works or not....


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 8, 2012)

Trying this again:

Here's the video of Esmeralda exploring in the grass:

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq_F9mSWTIo&feature=plcp[/video]


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 11, 2012)

Really crummy cell quality, but I still thought it was an adorable picture:






Esmeralda's new favorite spot in the whole house. The super tegu-warming device!

Also, I would like to add she's taken a real shining to my BF. I think she likes him more than me. Spoiled tegu.


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## HeatherN (Sep 11, 2012)

man she looks exactly like Tarot to me, im lucky he hasnt discovered my laptop, id never get anything done!


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 12, 2012)

HeatherN said:


> man she looks exactly like Tarot to me, im lucky he hasnt discovered my laptop, id never get anything done!



That's what I've been thinking too! What's Tarot's hatch-date?


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## HeatherN (Sep 12, 2012)

july 13th


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 12, 2012)

HeatherN said:


> july 13th



A-Hah, so they are clutchmates after all.  And growing at about the same rate.


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## HeatherN (Sep 12, 2012)

thats comforting! i think biggin is also from that clutch and he is ridiculous. o.o


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 13, 2012)

When I took Mizz Ezzy out today, I saw that she had somehow lost one of her front toe-nails. Not sure what she could have caught it on, and it doesn't seem to be causing her any discomfort. Only time will tell if it grows back in tho. On the subject of claws tho- how old /large do you wait for your tegu to be before you start to trim the tip of their nails? The more she grows the sharper those suckers are getting! People are going to start worrying about me from the number of little cuts on my arms... Lol!


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## HeatherN (Sep 13, 2012)

ive been cutting tarots nails for weeks now, i just use nail clippers and hes fine with it mostly


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 13, 2012)

Oh, good to know! I will have to try tomorrow then. I was ready to buy some high-grain sandpaper and see if i could get her to file them down for me, if nothing else.


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## ReptileGuy (Sep 13, 2012)

So cute!


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## chitodadon (Sep 14, 2012)

I don't clip Zeus nails yet but it's like he files them on the bricks and cinder block

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


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## KritterKeeper (Sep 14, 2012)

Im new here and dont have a tegu yet so i cant give any helpful advice but I just wanted to say i LOVE the pic with the gecko and the tegu!


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 17, 2012)

KritterKeeper said:


> Im new here and dont have a tegu yet so i cant give any helpful advice but I just wanted to say i LOVE the pic with the gecko and the tegu!



That's one of my favorite photos ever! Glad you like it.  Are you planning to get a tegu soon?


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 17, 2012)

I took some pics of the Princess this morning, so I thought I'd go ahead and post an update. 

The past few days she has been eating like a PIG. Yesterday she ate a small plate of ground lamb and THREE baby quail. Her tummy was so big I was afraid she would pop.  Today she ate a whole cup of dusted crickets and was so fat she barely dragged herself onto her basking spot. 





















Note in the last pic, you can still see the weird mark on the side of her lip (I posted a thread about it a few weeks back). I'm still unsure what has caused it, but it doesn't effect the way she acts and hasn't gotten any bigger so I'm not overly worried about it. I'm still open for advice tho if anyone has any ideas about it.


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## chitodadon (Sep 17, 2012)

She is big how old now

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 17, 2012)

Born 6/13. 
So, 4 months as of last Friday.


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 19, 2012)

Decided to take a vid this morning of Ezzy eating one of her favorite foods- quail eggs!

On a side-note... I didnt realize I was talking so quietly until up uploaded the vid, so.... I'll be sure to try and amend that next time around!

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7aY3lgzHos&feature=plcp[/video]


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 27, 2012)

I took Ezzy out this morning for an impromptu photoshoot. See the Picture contest thread for my 2 favorite shots. Here are a few others I took, that I still like, but just didn't find them to be up to snuff for the contest. 
















I have a huge soft spot for tongue shots.


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## HeatherN (Sep 27, 2012)

shes starting to actually look DIFFERENT than her bro! awesome shots, and awesome gu. still.


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## ReptileGuy (Sep 27, 2012)

Logie_Bear said:


> Decided to take a vid this morning of Ezzy eating one of her favorite foods- quail eggs!
> 
> On a side-note... I didnt realize I was talking so quietly until up uploaded the vid, so.... I'll be sure to try and amend that next time around!
> 
> [video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7aY3lgzHos&feature=plcp[/video]



great video!!


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## Logie_Bear (Sep 29, 2012)

So Ezzy shed yesterday, and while looking her over to make sure there was no shed still stuck anywhere I noticed she has some sort of cut in her tail. Its the very last bit, and it looks fairly deep. Like, I'm wondering if perhaps she did something like tail whip the glass and injure it? Is it doomed to fall off or can I do something like put on some gauze and home it heals back normally?


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## Logie_Bear (Oct 3, 2012)

Logie_Bear said:


> So Ezzy shed yesterday, and while looking her over to make sure there was no shed still stuck anywhere I noticed she has some sort of cut in her tail. Its the very last bit, and it looks fairly deep. Like, I'm wondering if perhaps she did something like tail whip the glass and injure it? Is it doomed to fall off or can I do something like put on some gauze and home it heals back normally?



Welp. The tip of her tail came off today. Ezzy is officially 1.5 in shorter. A little bummed, and feel like a bad mum atm.


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## HeatherN (Oct 3, 2012)

aww im sorry! theres nothing you could have done though. tarot has a twisty scar down his nose from something he got into. only a matter of time til he does something like ezzy. unfortunately, i think a tail break as short as 1.5 inches wont warrant regrowth, but who knows


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## Logie_Bear (May 30, 2013)

I figure it's about time for an update to Ezzy's Official Thread. 

Lately her favorite food has been fish, mice, and eggs. Really big on the whole prey food items these days. She is definitely outgrowing her enclosure, and her adult caging is about half-way to completion. Yesterday she had a full shed, and is starting to show some really interesting orange coloration on her tummy and neck. Really neat how fast it just sprang up!

Lookit dat purty blushing!







Smelt fish from the local Asian Food Mart







Her new favorite place in the house is right in front of the screen door. She always wants outside!







Jumping for fish!






Sleeping on her princess pillow






On her t-rex leash, going for a car-ride







That's all for today, hope you enjoy! <3


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## chitodadon (May 31, 2013)

Her coloer is nice

from Samsung Galaxy S3


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## Logie_Bear (Jun 25, 2013)

I decided to measure Ezzy today and check her growth. She was a bit squirmy so I can't say its an exact measurement, but her SVL is 11 in. Since she lost the last bit of her tail, her full body lengh is about 26in. I'd put her at 28 if she still had her full tail tip. She's been eating like a champ, and I'm about ready to put in a new order for hare-today and restock the freezer. We are totally out of rabbit, quail, goat, and only have a few chicken hearts left!  Has anyone's gu developed a favorite food from their site? I was thinking of trying a few new things this time around. 

Oh, I also wanted to do a huge shout-out thank you to Reptastic for giving me some fantastic insight into Ezzy's lineage. Since almost all of bobby hill's old pics and records are gone, I didn't think I'd ever know what her parents looked like, but Reptastic was lucky enough to have some pics. Yay!

Ezzy's Parents : Varnyard's Snow x Sleet






Ezzy's Mom ^





^^ Dad is in the right corner... look at that head! 

And here's an updated shot of me and my sweet girly!


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## Carnicero (Jun 25, 2013)

Aww Ezzy! Nice pics of momma and poppa too, Daddy was a beast wow!


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## Logie_Bear (Jul 3, 2013)

So Ezzy has been growing like a weed these days! I just put in for a new order of hare-today foods to try out. Here's what I just ordered, and because of the holiday it should be here sometime next week:

1 x  Ground Pheasant/Bone/Organs, 1 lb
1 x  Ground Rabbit, Whole Carcass - Fur and All, 2 lb
1 x  Ground Mutton/Bones/Organs, 1 lb
1 x  1 Day Old Quail, 30 per bag
1 x  Ground Goose/Bones/Organs, 1 lb
1 x  Ground Salmon/Bone, 1 lb
1 x  Ground Chicken/Bones/Organs, 1 lb
1 x  Chicks, 25 per bag
1 x  
Chicken Hearts, 2 lbs

I'm trying out a lot of the birds/fowl since Ezzy seems to have a keenness for lighter meat. I'm also hoping she likes the mutton since last time around she did so well with the ground goat, and I'm also hoping she likes the salmon since she loves smelt and tilapia so well! 

In the meantime, I made her up a big ol batch of ground turkey, organ meats, and some cherries. Yummy ooey gooey deliciousness! 






She has also been out and allowed to free-roam more and more these days. Even the cat is starting to be pretty accustomed to her. They even bask together. 






For my last day off, I took Ezzy around town to visit my dad at his home and then we stopped by my Mom's house to visit that part of the family as well. She got to sniff lots of different places and meet lots of different people. Although she really just spend most of the day being lazy. 











...those lil claws are getting too dang long! It's time for a trim!
Anywho, hope everyone's gu is well! 

I'll leave you with one last pic of her free-roaming adventure the other morning. She got her face 'stuck' in a slipper. Although, I couldn't tell if she was having fun and liked it in there.


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## Tyler137 (Jul 3, 2013)

Haha like that last picture! Also just out of curiosity and for future reference about how much did that food cost you?


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## Logie_Bear (Jul 3, 2013)

Tyler137 said:


> Haha like that last picture! Also just out of curiosity and for future reference about how much did that food cost you?



It was like 68$ before shipping.


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## Matthew Colella (Apr 3, 2014)

Lol, Ezzy has a mustache


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