Mooshy-- Before and After

I rescued Mooshy last fall. Here's one of the first pics I ever took of him and a pic of him from his adopted momma from last night. 

I promise it's the same beardie! 

Mooshy made it!!

After a very long, sleepless night for me, Mooshy made it to his new home. For some reason, FedEx didn't scan the package after I dropped it off and there were no updates until 4:24 am my time when it arrived in Memphis. They have never done that before and it had me freaking out, wondering if he was still in Salt Lake. 

But he's home now! And I can breathe and take a nap. 

Bon Voyage, Mooshy!

Mooshy is on his way to his new home in Oklahoma. Every time I ship a reptile, I think "This is too stressful!! I can't do it again!"

And then I find the most perfect homes for my guys in other places. And I make the trek back to the Fed/Ex hub where I send my guys off. And I sleep poorly and check the website for updates on where he is. 

This is him before I packed him up. Look at his skin! It's almost normal now! Woo hoo! 

Be safe, Moosh! You're going to be adored without measure. 

Mooshy

In some ways, Mooshy is doing well. He's shedding and has put on some weight. In other ways, he's less coordinated and struggles to catch any flood at all. He used to be able to grab a roach or worm on his own, but now he can't even doing that. :( 

Here's some pics of him tonight. He's a cute & goofy looking beardie. 

Mooshy is Shedding!

Finally! Mooshy's nasty sand coated & stained skin is coming off. He's starting to be a normal colored beardie! 

Great pictures to show that calcium-sand is NOT healthy or natural. 

Mooshy Update

Mooshy hasn't been doing well. He's not able to catch insects on his own and he's not very active. I decided to take him back in to the vet for some blood testing. That's also when we discovered he's been losing weight in the last 3 weeks.  

His bloodwork was normal. His fecal test (since he was nice enough to poop on his blanket) showed a massive Protozoa infection. But Dr Folland observed him trying to eat a superworm and trying to walk. 

Mooshy has a neurological problem that affects his gait (the way he walks) and prevents him from eating. I'm guessing he has had this for awhile and his last owner didn't notice he was starving. His condition is not treatable, cannot be fixed, and is not contagious. Basically, Mooshy has brain damage though we don't know why. 

He will always need someone to help him eat and drink. He will always fall off couches and such. He will always struggle to catch his live food becaus he can't grab them straight on. 

Mooshy is going to be a special needs for the rest of his life. He will probably get worse over time, but he adjusts pretty good. He's not normal, but he's happy. 

After I get another 150 to 200 grams on him, I'll be keeping an eye out for a home for Mooshy. He's fine here, but there may be a better option and I'm willing to explore that. 

If you're interested in adopting Mooshy and have experience in feeding special needs beardies, send me a message. :) Let's talk. 

P.S. The pics are of Mooshy trying on the prototype of a stegosaurus costume. He hated it. And the costume needs some adjustments. 

Update on Mooshy, Dory, Delilah, and Peanut

All 4 of these beardies are doing great! 

Dory still has her stitches in and will for another 2 weeks. She actually can see better out of her swollen eye now even though she'll always have swelling. She adores her blankies and snuggling at night. 

Peanut is a PIG!! He still walks on his wrists but he's getting better at chewing solids with his jaw and his bones are getting stronger. He eats better and is more active now that he's alone in the tank (LilBit went to his new home on Monday). 

Delilah is perfectly fine and very temperamental. Some days, she's mellow and kind and other days (like today), she didn't want to be held and bit my finger when I wouldn't put her down. She's got a ton of personality and is ready to be adopted out as soon as I finds good home. 

Mooshy has finally started becoming active! This morning he was scratching at his tank so he could get out. He is eating more (he used to only be able to eat one superworm before he was too tired to continue) and putting on weight. I suspect he has some neurological issues going on because his aim is bad. He has a hard time catching insects because he misses them by a quarter to a half inch. 

Mooshy is getting sun therapy today! 

Except when he wants to go exploring which is a new thing for him. 

Snuggle Time

Tonight I have FOUR beardies wrapped in blankies and sleeping on my chest: Milo, Delilah, Dory, and Mooshy. Best part of the night. :) 

Dory & Mooshy at the Vet

Dory had her one week post-operation check up and I needed advice on Mooshy because he's not tolerating the Critical Care. So both of them went with me to the vet.

Dory looks great and Mooshy may have some decreased liver function that we'll have to keep watching. But overall it was a good visit. 

Here's both of them in their blankies, tucked into my shirt. They both slept most of the time. 

Updates on All 6 Sicklies

Mooshy ate a worm yesterday on all his own! He is very sluggish and doesn't move much. He has put on weight thankfully. He loves to snuggle at night. 

Dory is doing great after her surgery. She's out of her sick tank and in a regular 40. I'll feed her later today and see how she does. 

Peanut is eating on his own! He is more active but still walks on his wrists. He's such a pretty beardie. 

LilBit has SO much personality! He's doing the best. He's energetic and active all day. He eats like a horse! 

Saphira aka "Bean" doesn't move much and doesn't like to eat on his own. He has a vet appointment next week. 

Delilah is doing great. She is learning how to snuggle and be held. It's obvious she wasn't held much before. I think she'll quickly become a sweet & friendly beardie. 

More Saline Shots

Mooshy needed another saline shot yesterday because, once again, he was dehydrated. I decided to take pictures of how I do it. 

I have a bag of sterile saline from my vet. I heat it up to body temperature in my microwave. Then I fill up my syringe. 

I flick the syringe a lot to get the bubbles out and then I squeeze the plunger to get them out. 

Mooshy is hard to inject because he's so thin and dehydrated. 

When I'm done, it looks like he has shoulder pads. Slowly his body absorbs the saline and rehydrates him. 

See how sunk in his eyes are? That's how I know he's dehydrated. Poor guy. It's going to be awhile before he gets all better and stable. 

Amazing Difference

Normally when I take Mooshy out to snuggle at night, he stays in his blankie and sleeps. 

Tonight he felt strong enough for an adventure! Look at how good he looks now! 

After 10 minutes, he finally settled in to go to sleep here: 

I can't believe how much he's improving now. He has really perked up with me giving him baby food mixed with a little Critical Care. 

I hope that Mooshy becomes one of my best success stories. :) 

Snuggle Time

Mooshy prefers to be on my shoulder to sleep. He's such a sweet boy. 

Happy Dance for Mooshy

Look what I found Mooshy doing this morning! 

He drank for several minutes. 

And he looked much better.