I did it again! Rescue 187, Tank

I made a mistake of looking in my local Facebook's Marketplace. Ugh.

Found a juvenile beardie in a small tank with NO UVB light. Never had one. And to make things worse, the heat bulb broke and the owner didn't want to buy a new one.

Ugh.

Remarkably, this little guy's bones are still pretty firm.

I asked if he'd been fed greens. Yep! Once. Papaya & green onions.

One time only in 3 months.

And the owners wanted him gone so they could go camping for the long weekend. And since they paid $70 for the beardie alone, they wouldn't come down on the price.

I paid $100 from my "Blood Money" or "Bail Money" account to get him into a good tank with two lights and good food.

Ugh!

I grumbled all the way there and back. I just couldn't walk away from this little one and leave him with no lights for a long weekend.

I need to take a break from searching ads so I can regain my niceness towards people.

A BIG THANK YOU to all who sent money to help build back up my Blood Money Savings account. You helped me get this guy! And if you'd still like to donate, please click HERE.

Today's First Rescue- MBD Juvenile, rescue number 185

I got myself into a bit of trouble last night-- I started browsing the local online Reptile ads.

Yeah, bad move. TOO many beardies for sale.

I perform "Visual Triage" on the ads I look through. I look at the beardie, his eyes & weight, the tank & the lights, etc. If it's bad, I'll text on it. If it looks fine, I pass. I only go for the sickly ones.

One of the first beardie ads that caught my attention was for a juvenile beardie who *obviously* had/has MBD. You can see from the pic that his wrist is broken/bent in the classic MBD way.

I sent a text to the owner stating there were obvious problems, etc. The response said "Fine, you're a rescuer, you take him." I said I would and that I'd only take the beardie so he could sell the set up.

"No," came the very strong reply. "I am not giving him away. If you want him, you have to buy him & his setup. I need the money."

When I get unexpected donations through PayPal, I set the money aside in an account for the purposes of rescuing. Honestly, I call it my "Blood Money" fund for times like these when an owner is bent on getting money for their sickly animal. It's like paying bail money to get them out of hell. :( I made arrangements to buy the beardie & his setup this morning for $80. Luckily the cage is nice and I can clean it up and sell it to recoup some of my costs.

The cage he was in had ONE 60 watt black bulb. That's it. No day lamp, no UVB, no basking spot. A thin layer of nasty sand on the bottom.

When I picked him up today, I asked if he liked greens. There was an awkward pause. "We didn't know you could feed him veggies and so we never tried." They fed him mealworms only twice a day for months. No calcium. No UVB. No food. No pellet.

This guy is a miracle that he's even alive. His wrist is abnormally bent, but overall his bones are surprisingly strong!

Within an hour of being in a new "sick" tank, he had the biggest, oddest poop I've ever seen from a baby. I fed him some roaches and he loved them. He doesn't seem to be slowed down by his bent wrist at all.

Still trying to think of a name since I refuse to call him "Little Devil." He's probably about 4/5 months old. I can't wait to get him in the direct sunshine tomorrow.


If you'd like to help build back up my "Blood Money" or "Bail Money" or "Emergency Rescue" Funds, please click HERE! And Thank you!

Quasimodo, rescue 184

This poor baby beardie has Metabolic Bone Disease. MBD starts with fragile & brittle bones and progresses to rubber noodle bones. It's actually easier to take care of a reptile with MBD when their bones are rubber because they bend instead of breaking.

Quasi had brittle bones and somehow fell and broke his back. :( He is now and will forever be a hunchback beardie. He had one underpowered heat bulb in his tank and no UVB light. His owner gave me a small sample container of calcium powder that was opened, but mostly full.

He surprisingly is very active and alert. He eats great and poops fine. His jaw bone is still a bit flexible-- not nearly as bad as I've seen.

I got him the day before I left for California and had my rescue sister watch him for me. He was a brat for her and always tried to bite her. He came home last night and was back to being nice & calm. I had my hand in his tank for a minute or more and he just watched me. Phew! I'm glad I'm on his friends' list.

Praying for Junior & my Vets

Junior is headed back to the vet tomorrow. His bowels are still blocked. 😞  He's getting stronger and his bones are becoming firmer, but if we can't get his digestion to work, there's not much hope for his ultimate survival.

 😫Please join me in praying tonight that my two awesome vets will be inspired to know how to best help Junior now. Thank you! I believe in miracles and I believe God cares about all His critters and can help heal Junior through Dr Folland and Dr Echols.

Update on Junior

No poop yet for Junior and so I've only done a once-a-day tube feeding. Today he was a lot more active and his movements were more coordinated as I fed him. Good signs!

Junior's X-ray

Look at this picture of Junior's Belly. I circled and annotated the spine because it's almost impossible to see: 

 Now look at an X-ray of the belly of a healthy Savannah monitor:

Healthy & strong bones almost glow on an x-ray. The calcium in them shows up bright and the edges are clearly defined. Junior's bones are a mess-- you can't see his spine and his ribs are hardly visible. Poor baby Junior. His body didn't get enough calcium and his body robbed it from his bones, leaving his bones a rubbery mess.

Junior pooped a Wee Little Bit!

Junior pooped this morning, a tiny pea-size nugget. Yay!

I have been super worried that the mass in his belly was blocking his digestive system and that tube-feeding him would cause lots of problems. Phew! He pooped so that should be okay.

I gave him another tube feeding this morning and will give him some this afternoon. I waited two days before repeating it because I was terrified of giving him a lot of Critical Care and having it create problems. Now that I know his guts are mostly working, I can give him more food. Hopefully with more food & calories, he'll be more active.

He did wobbly walk around his tank today. He fell over onto his back and laid there for a few seconds until I righted him. I took out the washcloth I had folded into a basking spot so there are no longer uneven ledges he can fall off of. I hope that helps until he gets more strength back.

So today's rollercoaster is a bit more up than down.

Tomorrow? Who knows!

An Update on Junior

Junior saw Dr Folland today (my primary vet). Dr Folland didn't think the lump in Junior's belly responds like a poop plug should and so he had an x-ray taken. Poor Junior's bones barely showed up on the x-ray. :( They are faint outlines instead of bright, white lines.

There was no mass at all that showed up. A fecal mass would have had distinct edges and shape.

Curious.

But the thing is-- Junior is not strong enough to survive a surgery right now. So for his sake, we need to pretend as though it's not there and go back to feeding Junior. He needs the calcium and calories right now. I tube fed him as soon as I got home.

Junior got a shot of Calcitonin to help pull calcium back into his bones.

On the way home, Junior was quite active! I think he enjoys Ray LaMontagne too! ;)

Now we wait. I tube feed him twice a day and see what happens. If he has a bowel obstruction, then we will know soon. If there is a mass somewhere in his belly, we will deal with it later when he's stronger. He's got a lot of spunk in him and that helps.

As Dr Folland was leaving the room, I asked him if I was doing the right thing by keeping him alive. He said "yes, at this point." He then warned me to not put a lot more money into Junior because the chances of his survival are still low because of how bad off he is.

That's the hard thing in rescue-- you just never know. $5,000 couldn't save a $60 chameleon named Lotus. But I've saved other reptiles without a single vet visit. You do the best you can given the information you have.

So as long as Junior keeps fighting & trying, I will too.

Junior Holding up his Head

Still no poop! But this little guy had more fight as I was giving him today's saline injection. When I put him back, he held himself up right.

His next vet appointment is tomorrow and I'll have my primary vet exam him and see what needs to be done.

Such a cute little dinosaur!

Junior's Day

When I returned to the house this morning, I found a tiny bit of poop and a tiny amount of urates that Junior had managed to push out.

That was a good sign.

This afternoon, he got a water bath and then a sunshine bath.

He's so weak that everything wears him out and he ends up sleeping a lot.

I sure hope he makes it. My regular vet, Dr Folland, has an idea for how to treat him next if he hasn't pooped by Thursday afternoon. I have an appointment scheduled and, depending on the poop situation, he may get more meds for his constipation or we may be able to start him on Calcitonin shots that will help bring calcium back into his bones.

Good News for Junior

Junior woke up and moved around his sick tank a lot this morning. He was very alert too.

Then I noticed that he was able to poop out the hard urate plug that had been stuck in his belly. Yay!

It's about time for him to have his daily saline injection and then his calcium shot. Then he'll get some food and a chance to bask in the direct sunshine.

He's still very wobbly and uncoordinated, but it's a relief to see him have the strength to move around. For the first 10 hours I had him, he barely moved at all and couldn't even open his eyes.

Junior's Sunshine Therapy

Junior got his saline injections and calcium injection today and I had him out in the sunshine at 1 pm for maximum UVB exposure. 

There have been studies about how powerful and effective direct sunshine is for treating/preventing Metabolic Bone Disease. Reptiles thrive on direct UVB-- even those with the most expensive Mercury Vapor bulb you can buy!

Window glass is treated to filter out the sun's natural UVB rays and so direct sun is the best. Plus, it's free.

The sunshine and its warmth really helped perk up Junior. He was much more alert and active in the sunshine. After he got about 30 minutes of sunshine (I didn't want to stress him too much), I gave him his first tube feeding of Critical Care. It's going to take me some time to get the hang of this new tube and system. Dr Echols didn't give me a small one to minimize the risk of accidentally puncturing a delicate organ. I ended up overfeeding Junior and he had formula coming out of his mouth.

I think tomorrow's tube feeding will be better.

Junior made it through the Night

I'm happy to report he woke up happy and is slightly more alert this morning. I'll give him his saline shot & calcium shots in an hour or so and then try tube feeding him. Every morning he wakes up is a victory!

Junior at the Vet

This poor wee little baby is in BAD, BAD shape. His bones are mush and he's badly dehydrated and badly malnourished.

The vet & his tech gave him 3 cc's/mL's of saline and his first injection of calcium.

His mouth is so flimsy that we are going to limit the amount of things we give him orally. I'll be giving him calcium injections and saline injections. I have a feeding tube I can gently slip into his mouth so I can tube feed him Critical Care.

Thankfully, the weather in Utah is going to be lovely this week and I can get him in the sun everyday to help him metabolize the calcium better.

There's a chance that we'll be able to get Junior strong again, but, honestly, the odds are against him. But I will definitely be giving him all the chances he needs to survive. 

Junior, rescue 175 or "How my Rescue can be Relabeled 'In & Out'"

Jinzo died this morning, leaving me with an empty tank for 8 whole hours. Tonight I took in Junior, a baby Savannah monitor with severe MBD.

When I tried to gently pry open Jr's mouth, his bottom jaw folded in half. :O Yes, that is really really horrifying and very very bad. He has no strength or form to any of his bones. Poor little guy.

He's got a weird face shape too and I wonder if there's some amount of genetic problems with him too. His bones are so soft though that he will not recover without the intensive MBD treatment that only my vet can provide-- a calcium injection and a Calcitonin shot to help draw calcium back into his bones.

This guy is in bad shape, but I'm hopeful that I can save him. I've not had a great success rate with savvys before, but I'm willing to give it a try.

Kiwi's Upgrade

Kiwi has been eating on her own and getting around in her sick tank more lately so I decided it was time to put her into a small screen cage. I moved her over tonight. 

I'll watch her closely for the next few days to make sure she's not falling or struggling to hold on. I think her broken bones have knit together enough now that she is ready to go back to being more chameleon like. Today alone she spent most of the day on the small ladder turned sideways in her cage instead of sitting on the towel on the bottom of the tank.

Hopefully she'll start to get stronger and more active in a more normal chameleon environment and then I can upgrade her back into a large screen cage with lots of room. My goal for her is to become like a regular chameleon again.

Missing my Baby Girl Sancho

Facebook told me today that three years ago today, Sancho joined our family. The original pictures I posted show how bad she was. She had SEVERE MBD when I got her. Her bones were rubber. Her fingers were bent, her spine was curved and hunched. She was so tiny! Her dumb owner was told multiple times to get calcium, get a UVB light, and then to get her to the vet. He "never got around to it."

This overhead shot shows how bad her spine was. If you Google "MBD in reptiles," this picture of Sancho comes up.

Sancho did manage to grow and become stronger. She was never healthy though and in frequent pain. We had multiple toes removed because they were like mini grappling hooks that caught on everything.

I loved this girl.

Aw, baby. I miss her! I made the hard choice in the fall of 2015 to put her and Turbo down. She had gotten to where she couldn't climb or walk well. It became unfair to try to keep her alive.

Sancho & Turbo's ashes are in a beautiful wood box on my mantle next to the ashes of my old man dog, Kip. It's a place of honor for all of them. Sancho will always keep a very sweet spot in my heart.

Kiwi and Noel at the Vet

On Monday, I took Noel and Kiwi back to the vet for checkups.

Kiwi still has soft bones from the MBD but is making progress. She has put on some weight (thankfully since I'm still tube feeding her everyday). Dr Folland gave her another shot of calcium and another shot of Calcitonin (a steroid that helps pull calcium back into bones). He thinks she'll be good in the long run. Her back legs are still very rubbery and she has little to no control over them. That should change as they become firmer and she gains strength.

Eventually, Kiwi will be shipped to my friend in California who adopted Newt and Akime & Lotus and Hazel and my baby tortoises. It's a chameleon rescue that I absolutely adore! Kiwi will be given a specially made "handicapped" play stand that she can be on indoors and outdoors. California sunshine is a great cure for MBD.

She will go back for another check up in a month or so to see how she's doing. It will be March or April before it's warm enough to ship her. That gives me lots of time to get her strong again.

Noel was 62 grams when I rescued him right before Christmas. On Monday, he was 95 grams. He is doing SO much better. They took an x-ray to see what is in his belly and didn't find any hard substrate. For some reason, he has a soft tissue mass in his belly. But we are going to leave it alone for now and watch it.

Noel is finally starting to shed and has the most beautiful yellow coloring starting to show through. His beard is streaked with yellow instead of that crap brown staining. I'm so excited for his body to fully shed so I can see how beautiful he is.

This little guy has so much spunk and personality! He LOVES food, but hates when roach legs touch his mouth (he spits them out). He loves to be held but he can't hold still. He likes to stand up on his two back legs to try to catch food (I keep trying to take a pic, but he doesn't hold still for me). He's spunky and attacks the syringe when I feed him Critical Care (for extra calories). He LOVES that syringe! It's funny to watch.

Update on Gumby

Gumby is my poor little Leopard Gecko with severe MBD. His bones were RUBBER when we first rescued him. It was tragic-- and 100% preventable!

Gumby just shed two days ago and did it all on his own! That's fantastic news for him. He was able to pull off all the shed off his toes too except one toe I helped him with. His bones are getting really strong too and he's eating much better.

Pictures don't seem to really show how distorted Gumby's body is now. He has several spinal lumps on his back and he walks on his elbows. His wrists and ankles are folded flat against his arms. He's very pathetic looking. He does get around though and he's fast when he wants to get away from me! Gumby will just always be a very special Leo.

Poor Broken Kiwi

While I had the flu, my husband took Kiwi the chameleon and Baby Sawyer to the vet and dropped them off for me.

Kiwi's assessment was bad. :( She has severe Metabolic Bone Disease which has caused multiple long, lateral fractures in her arms and legs. She has limited mobility currently because her legs are so broken. Poor baby! Because her bones are so empty of calcium, every climb and movement broke them further.

Kiwi got a shot of calcium and a shot of Calcitonin (a miracle med that helps pull calcium back into the bones). The vet also measured a tube for her so we can tube feed her nutrition daily.

Here at my house, Kiwi is in a 10 gallon tank. I had her in a screen cage, but she wouldn't stop climbing the walls. She mostly just sits on her belly or side during the day. I'm sure it is almost impossible for her to walk without pain.

She has a long road of recovery ahead of her. It's going to take awhile for her bones to heal and for her calcium levels to become normal again. So far she's not eating on her own, so I'm still tube feeding her.

Her last owners provided a UVB light for her, but it was a coil bulb and not very effective. Young chameleons particularly need a high powered, quality bulb to help them metabolize calcium as they grow so much in the first year. Perhaps an adult chameleon with strong bones who is done growing would be okay with a coil UVB, but never a baby. Kiwi will be handicapped for the rest of her life and will not likely grow very big either.

Kiwi has really struggled the last few days and I've found myself wondering if we did the right thing by keeping her alive and trying to help her heal. I'll keep watching her and discussing her with my vet. If it becomes unkind or unfair to keep her alive, then I will let Dr Folland put her down. To force her to live because I want her to isn't humane at all. Without my intervention, she would have already died, but that doesn't mean I now have to keep her alive at any cost.

Poor Kiwi. :(