He's lost all use of his back legs and isn't pooping. Those were the complaints of his owner.
When we got him, we were shocked at his spine. It's curvy!
His jaw is like rubber. :( Metabolic Bone Disease. Crappy diet with no bones in it and no calcium added in and a crappy coil UVB light on one end of a tall & narrow tank. His body robbed the calcium out of his bones leaving them rubbery.
100% preventable. It's a "Lazy Owner's Disease." Online research will show anyone that monitors need whole body foods -- whole rats or mice, chicken with bones, etc. Ground turkey is all organ meat and has no calcium unless you mix it in. And they need a UVB light to help them metabolize calcium. Coil UVBs work over small areas only, like a 10 gallon tank. Any other tank needs a tube UVB that is no more than 18 inches above where the reptile is.
Anyways, Yosemite Sam's spine appears to be fractured due to his soft bones. He's now paralyzed. There's no way to fix it. There's no way to straighten his spine. There's no way to help him live a good life. As his bones harden, he will live in constant pain. As they harden, his spine will stay curled and he'll be a constant fall risk.
When I get a copy of his x-ray, I'll post it here so you can see what MBD does to a reptile's body.
We are choosing the hardest and kindest option-- to euthanize. And I don't feel like being kind about it with the owners who surrendered him to us. It was laziness that killed this poor baby. There's no excuse for this. Anybody has access to Google and can do basic research. Nobody has to rely solely on a pet store employee or reptile Expo seller. Everybody has the responsibility to DO THEIR RESEARCH!!!!
If you can't spend 30 minutes researching and buy a $40 UVB lightbulb every year in addition to a $15 heat light, then please buy a TOY reptile.
