The Girls made it!

Check out the stink eye they are giving! 

They got to their new home quickly and were put on their new free roaming areas. 

Lotus-- 

Akime has a "handicapped" one while she builds up strength. 

Akime immediately ate. She's never turned down food. Ever. 

I can't tell how amazing their new home is. They will live in Chameleon Paradise for the rest of their lives. 

Special Shipping

Akime & Lotus are headed to a chameleon sanctuary in California tonight. I made specialized travel cups for them. 

House of Chameleons took Newt last year and adopted my two baby tortoises this past summer. I trust them completely and these two girls will be so happy there. 

Updates on the others from the Vet

Akime got her special bandage off today. Hooray! Her skin is all healed over for arm. Because the skin is so fragile, we put a simple wrap cover on it to protect it from her grabbing. When she gets stressed, she grabs at the bandage with her good arm and can't let go. 

She and Lotus are going to a their new home at a Chameleon Sanctuary next week! Woo hoo! We've just been waiting for the bandage to come off. 

Drake appears to have defective or blocked tear ducts that prevent his eyes from draining properly. He will always have weepy eyes that need wiped frequently so they don't get crusty. 

He's been shedding off the nasty sand stained skin too which is making him into a handsome Beardie. I'll start looking for a home for him soon. 

Georgie got an injection of antibiotics to help with her runny nose and goopy eyes. She was not happy to be examined and eventually outlasted the vet who wanted to look in her mouth. 

Baby Foot got his nails clipped since they had curled up and under his feet. We did get to see that he is for sure a boy. Until now, his shell has been too deformed to tell. Definitely a boy. :) 

The next vet trip will be for Midnight the iguana. Everyone else -- so far-- is healthy. 

Field Trip to the Vet

It's another big vet visit today. 

I have Georgie (runny nose) and Baby Foot (nail & beak trim). 

Drake still has runny eyes. 

Akime needs her arm bandage off. 

And Henry is a new guy who is a mess. 

Luckily, they scheduled me a full hour. I'm going to use it! 

Big Trip to the Vet

Yesterday I took 5 reptiles to the vet. 5! 

And I didn't take a *single* picture. 

Elvira, a very sick Dumerils boa, got added in last minute. She's been on antibiotics for almost two months with no improvement. Sunday night, she regurgitated her meal from Tuesday. Monday morning, she started writhing around. We took blood and let the vet examine her. This morning, she is dying. 

I'm so sad. I'm sad that we couldn't save her. I'm sad that she's been sick so long. I'm sad because she may have a IBD (a horrible, contagious snake disease). I'm sad that her previous owner let her be sick for 8 months and thought her "crackling" lung noises were "cute," like she was talking to them. Ugh. 

So sorry, sweet girl. 

< Deep Breath> 

Hermy, my desert tortoise, was seen because her eyes are swollen. She got anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drops for her eyes. 

Tiger, my daughter's bearded dragon, checked out okay, but is still breathing noisy. I'll continue antibiotics on him for a week. 

Lotus, the chameleon, got her stitches removed from being spayed last month. 

Akime, the chameleon, got a new arm wrap to protect the wound on her arm which is healing nicely. She should have the bandage off totally in two weeks. 

The whole bill came to just under $500. Ay yi yi. Gratefully, I have a good credit card to use for vet bills. I'm hopeful that this holiday season will help me make enough money on Etsy that I can pay it all off. 

Today I'm feeling like Eeyore and can't generate much enthusiasm or energy. I hope to be back up to speed tomorrow. 

Akime's Belly

I had to take a pic of Akime sleeping last night. It was too funny! What a belly! 

Chameleon Love

Um.... So my two rescue chameleons don't actually love me at all. Especially Lotus. 

Here is her "I will kill you in your sleep for this" look today because I had to give her an antibiotic shot and I tube-fed her some Critical Care so she has extra calories. 

But I *do* absolutely love chameleon tails. See how cute? 

Lotus and Akime are both eating great and doing well. They have a vet appointment in two weeks for stitches and bandage removal. 

Until then, I spend lots of time keeping their foggers & drippers going and filling them with tasty worms & crickets. 

And Lotus continues to plan my death. Akime doesn't mind me if I don't touch her, but I suspect that Lotus can be very persuasive. 

And yes, I'm keeping her far away from Junie. Those two would take over my house if I let them. ;) 

Lotus & Akime *back* to the Vet

Akime pulled the wrapping off her arm and Lotus has been hiding at the bottom of her cage (always a bad sign) so they went back to the vet today.

Akime got a new wrapping, and she pretty much hates it. But it's the only way to help her arm heal.

Lotus had a small growth in her mouth that the vet removed only to discover a pocket of pus building under her gums. So he scraped all of it out and found another infected spot on the other side of her mouth. Oy vay! This girl can't seem to get a break.

Now in addition to her antibiotic shots every 3 days, I will be force feeding her Critical Care twice a day and putting an antibiotic drop in her mouth twice a day. Poor girl. She already hates everyone and this won't help. Luckily, when she starts to lunge for me, I can put drops or stick a tube down her throat. Makes it easier for me!

Overall, her surgery incision looks great and her colors are good. The vet just suspects she's not eating because her mouth hurts.

Akime Update

Akime is doing great. Her arm is healing. She eats like a pig! Somehow she managed to pull her wrapping off last night and I need to rewrap it today. 

She still can be fairly clumsy as she moves around, but her tongue aim is straight on. Last night, she snatched a cricket off my thumb without any hesitation. 

Akime & Lotus back at the Vet

I took both chameleons back to the vet this morning for check ups.

Akime's arm has been wrapped for a week and looks great. Dr Folland put a specialized wrap on it that will help it stay moisturized and will heal quicker. She'll go back in for a checkup and wrap replacement (if necessary) in two to three weeks.

Lotus has not laid her eggs yet. That's not necessarily the problem though. The issue is that she isn't eating, won't dig, and is becoming more lethargic in her cage-- all signs of distress. Being egg-bound (where the eggs can't be laid) can kill a female chameleon within hours and I've been trying my best to avoid that.

We started off the visit by a physical exam (yes, the vet felt the eggs) and then an ultrasound (yes, the eggs are in there) and then an oxytocin shot to try to spur egg laying. I left her at the vet in a brooder because if the shot induced egg laying, it would have happened within a couple hours. Sadly today is the only day my favorite vet has to do surgery and so we decided to try the oxytocin and then do surgery if that didn't work.

Yeah- a $40 shot or a $500 surgery.

I hadn't heard anything yet, so I just called. No eggs.

Ugh.

I'll keep you posted.

Odd Ball Sleeping

Tonight I found Midnight sleeping with his head hanging over the edge of his water bowl. 

Then I found Akime holding on with one foot and one hand. I took a pic and then moved her. Boy! She was ticked off at me! 

Reptiles sleep weirdly sometimes.