Puff's Photo Gallery

Puff

     Please click on the pictures if you would like to have a better view of each photograph.

     Puff- n. 1. a short sudden gust or expulsion of wind, breath, smoke, etc. vi. 1. to blow in puffs 2. to breathe rapidly 3. to fill or swell (out or up) vt. 1. to swell; inflate 2. to praise unduly. According to Webster's dictionary ...

Vital Statistics

Puff sadly passed away Wed. April 19th, 2000. One week after having surgery under a general anesthetic to biopsy a lump on her side. It is believed that the Gas used during the surgery caused her blood pressure to drop very low and this caused a decreased blood flow to her kidneys putting her into acute kidney failure. She put up a good fight but in the end her kidneys failed. We miss you Puff baby. :(

• Name: Puff (see definition above) because she always puffed her throat out at the other dragons- particularly her sister Forrest!

• Sex: Female

• Nicknames: Puffy, Your Puffiness, Poof, Puffy-one Kenobe, when we first got her she was only known as little one and crazy glue- cause she stuck to us!

• Country of Origin: China, Hong Kong, Captive Bred

• Age: 3 Years old December '97

• Length: 7.5' Snout to vent (svl), 25" Snout to tip of tail (stl)

• Favourite Pastimes:
  •      Hanging out! When she's out of the vivarium she can be found in plant pots, perched at the top of flimsy broad leafed plants, in the dragons ficus or hibiscus trees, on top of Forrest's tanks screen lid, in the window- on the rim! All over the place!

  • Even on Chair rungs!

  •      Unfortunately Puff's willingness to explore has led to injury. :( Last December ('96) She attempted to jump onto a divider between the kitchen and the living room. Unfortunately I had a book with a slippery cover on the divider, she landed on it and promptly slipped backwards somersaulting back down onto the couch and landing badly on her left hind leg. She dislocated her leg at the hip! :(

    

  •      Puff spent three months with her leg bound up in a splint. We were hoping (so were our vets!) that the shallow hip socket would heal and that the dislocation would mend. Failing that, our next hope was that scar tissue would build up in the area and form a false joint for the leg and make it almost as good as new. We even looked into major surgery to repair the leg but it was too risky on a smallish lizard. :(

    

  •      Puff hated her splint and would try to bite it off or wiggle out of it. While she was bandaged up we had to keep her in a large tank with no climbing branches and only a small dish of water (she couldn't get the bandages wet or they would loosen and come off). As a result of her discomfort she stopped eating and drinking and we had to force feed her a slurry of Ensure and crushed insects daily, as well as supplement her fluid intake. It was horrible for both Puff and ourselves. 3 months of very specialized care. :( And it didn't work! Her leg is still, and will always be, dislocated. :(

  •      We eventually removed the bandages (March 96) and Puff promptly began eating, drinking and bathing on her own again. We were delighted to see her doing much better. She was able to move around surprisingly well with her bum leg. She can climb trees and branches, jump onto furniture, and chase her sister or Cupid around just as well as she could before the injury ... she just has a very funny gait! Her leg drags behind her a bit, and her foot is angled backwards a bit ... so we keep her nails trimmed very well on that back left leg so it doesn't catch on anything and cause injury. We allow her other three feet to have slightly longer claws than we do on the other dragons because we want her to be able to climb well.

  •      She's doing wonderfully now and has a filled out healthy appearance. She would be our most perfect looking dragon if not for her game leg.

  •      Cupid arrived in June '97 and for about two months Puff thought he was the greatest thing since white mealworms! She followed him around everywhere, jumping in front of him and turning to face him, sitting on him ... poor guy ... when he wasn't interested in mating he used to run from her! The picture above is a typical pose from the summer of '97 ... Puff was just too much!

Water Dragon Books

Green Water Dragons, Sailfin Lizards and Basilisks (General Care and Maintenance of Series) by Philippe De Vosjoli

      Basic but detailed information about the care, diet, and health of green water dragons, sailfin lizards and basilisks.

Anoles, Basilisks and Water Dragons : A Complete Pet Care Manual (More Complete Pet Owner's Manuals) by Richard D. Bartlett, Patricia P. Bartlett (Contributor)

     Discussion of the general care of many species of anole, basilisks and water dragons. Excellent information regarding enclosures, cage building, and insect care and breeding.

Eat This Bug : A Guide to Invertebrate Live Foods for Reptiles and Amphibians by Lynn Davis

      This book is a guide for owners of reptiles and amphibians who feed insects and other live foods to their pets. Advice is offered for selecting , ordering and raising your own supply of live invertebrate foods. More than a dozen species of live foods are discussed. The book includes instructions on keeping cultures of insects, and recipes & diets for insects.