Sweet Gary

Poor baby Gary Dean, the baby Savannah monitor with severe MBD, had to be put down today. 

It so sad but it also angers me. His death was completely preventable. Had his owners done 10 minutes of basic research on Google, they could have learned how to feed him appropriately. He could have been healthy and strong. 

Instead because of their lack of education, he had several intestinal prolapsed, full body seizures, crooked limbs, and a bent spine. The last week of his life was horrible. :( There's nothing we could have done except let him be put out of his misery. 

I'm thankful to my rescue buddy Joe who has loved on and cared for Gary over the past month. 

Metabolic Bone Disease is, 98% of the time, a lazy owners' disease. I wish people would do their research before they buy any pet. It would make my life in rescue less painful. 

Pinkies!

Gary Dean started eating pinkie mice last week! He's eaten 3 so far and is pooping normally. 

Yay! 

                (Glass on tank is dirty) 

He comes out of his hide more and us more active. I think we are on the upswing. With the second Calcitonin shot last week, he should be able to recover from his MBD quickly. 

I expect that his spine and legs will always be crooked and a bit wonky. It will be interesting to see if he is able to grow to full size (around 3 ft long including tail). 

Gary Dean at the Vet

Today was Gary's follow up appointment. He hasn't gained any weight but he is a lot more active. 

He got another Calcitonin shot to help solidify his bones. And he had fun meeting everyone. :) 

His spine is starting to curve too and he'll most likely have deformities for the rest of his life. :( He'll be like a Savannah monitor version of Sancho the iguana. 

Adorable!

Gary Dean got his tube feeding today. And then some sunshine time. And then bath. He's so cute! He's slowly making progress. Hopefully by next week, I can stop tube feeding him. 

Gary Dean is being Tube Fed

My baby dinosaur did really well for a week and then stopped eating again. On Sunday, I noticed a tremor in his tail and some paralysis in a back leg. 

Blast! The MBD was getting worse. 

I tried to force feed him Critical Care and he pushed it all out his nose and acted like he was choking. It was not fun! 

Yesterday I took Gary Dean back to the vet where he got a shot of Calcitonin to strengthen his bones, a shot of calcium to boost his levels, and a tube feeding. 

He was super active in the brooder tank they had him in and finally had a really big poop! 

I'll tube feed him for a week and then take him back in. I've tube fed a tortoise and a bearded dragon and a chameleon. Today's feeding didn't go so well. But I did manage to get some food in him. 

He's so stinking cute!! Sometimes he licks his lips with his long forked tongue and it's the cutest thing ever. Even the people at my vet's office who aren't big lizard fans adore this little guy.