Over the First Hurdle

I admit I was SHOCKED to find poor Mr Lobo alive when I returned to the vet at 2 pm. He had moved from his spot where I left him and had pooped out a nasty dry poop with thick, sticky urates.

I brought him home and put him in a sick tank.

His pupils are dilated and he is off-center when he walks. :( His prognosis is still very, very poor. I'll continue with supportive care and fluids through the weekend. I have a vet appointment already scheduled for Monday afternoon and, if he makes it, Lobo will come with me then.

It's ironic because I woke up this morning thinking that it had been awhile since I had been on "Death Watch" with a beardie-- that uncertain time when I end up checking for breathing at night and in the morning. Well, here I am.

I'll keep you posted.

Nova -Before & After

Because Nova's tail rot was so bad, he pretty much stopped growing for a month or more. I hadn't realized how much he's grown lately until I found a pic of him March 16th. 

Here's a pic of him taken April 30th. 

I'm not sure if he'll ever be as big as he could have been, but at least for now he's growing (and shedding). 

He's in his "teen" phase now. He loves food and hates being held. 

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). 

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. :) 

Progress for Ginny!!

She moved on her own, pooped, and then drank a lot of water. 

Then after she wobbled her way over to her basking spot, she ate a roach. 

Happy to see this! 

Turbo Update

He's doing great and looking better now that the swelling is going down in his face. He still loves head scratches & neck rubs and loves to explore my room. 

A Good Day for Ryuu

Ryuu got his 2nd dose of anti-pinworm meds, some Critical Care, and two fat roaches. 

Then he spent the afternoon in the direct sunshine thanks to a rare sunny winter Utah day. He's looking good and acting better. 

The deworming meds have made his belly look thinner now that his guts aren't filled with pinworms and eggs. 

He should be able to get his stitches out on Monday too. Then he will be upgraded out of his sick tank into a regular tank. 

Two more weeks of antibiotic shots and another three dose round of anti-pinworm meds and then Ryuu will be good to go. 

The Good News & the Bad News on Milo

I took Milo to the vet this morning. He's been blowing snot bubbles and making clicking noises when he breathes since Monday and because that is what almost killed him last fall,  I wasn't willing to wait until he got sicker to have him seen. My biggest fear was that Dr Folland would want to do a comprehensive blood test on him (which was the final suggestion at Milo's last appointment). I didn't have enough money in my rescue account for a blood test, but thanks to the amazing generosity of one of my blog readers, I was given the money. Yay! (Still warms my heart!!)

The good news is that Milo did not need a blood test. The bad news is that he has a congenital defect in his sinus & nostril that causes snot to form, drip, and plug up the right side of his face. :( There's nothing that can be done to correct it. He will always have an issue with congestion and snot bubbles and that will always make him susceptible to upper respiratory infections.

So the good news is that Milo isn't sick. The bad news is that he is now a "special needs" beardie.

His nostril on this side is malformed & almost flat against his head

Dr Folland dug around in his supplies area and found a neonatal feeding tube that he trimmed down for me to use on Milo. Depending on the severity of Milo's snot, I'll use the tube to flush out his nose & sinus with saline to lessen the chances for infection (at least a couple times a week). It's possible that he will grow to a larger size now that he is in a good situation with proper heat, nutrition, and UVB, but it's more likely that he'll be small and "pocket size" for his whole life.

For now, Milo is going to stay here with me. I suppose if I could find the right kind of home for him, I will place him for adoption. He is a sweet boy who adores to be snuggled & held. He LOVES basking in my sunny window (he's there right now). I am happy to have him here.

Thanks again to all my readers for your kindness, prayers, and support for my rescue & for Milo. You make me proud!!

An Update on "Steve"

"we have been boosting the uvb light and have been hand feeding him babyfood mixed with a complete nutrition vitamin powder suppliment through a dropper and pedialyte and he has excepted it very well and has not rejected any of his feedings so far...just since we have got him last night he has already shown some progress and has been moving around on his own

"..opening his eyes nice and wide, and turning his head and reacting well to movement...we put a basking place in his tank and he is already moving himself off of it to regulate his temperature...we are confident that he has enough fight in him to pull out of this but he is still critical and it will take a while to get him out of the dark...we believe he has a condition called mbd (metobolic bone disease) along with a few other viruses...generally when a reptile has mbd it is accompanied with other diseases as well

"...sadly even if he makes a full recovery the disfigurment from the mbd will be permenent but im confident he will will be able to function well even with disfigured arms...looks like his jaw and skull area have been affected slightlly also...like i said so far he is already showing some signs of progress in just the night that we have had him we are putting him on a schedule of liquid feedings and fluids every couple of hours or so and constant monitoring and are very hopeful right now...my husband even stayed up last night to keep an eye on him lol...we will be keeping [his rescuer] updated on his progress..thank you for your email and concern on him and it is refreshing to meet someone else who has a passion to help lizards and other creature...liz

"He is definately up there in the charts. Worst as far as him being emaciated. I do believe i have seen worse in the case of MBD but mainly in iguanas. We dont mind you posting it. We will have pics through out the preiod of rehabilitation. No,still to cold here. We are keeping a 5.0 uvb bulb on him now when we feel confident that he is advancing we will put a 10.0 on him but it could be a shock to go straight to the max on uvb. Another concern will be impaction as we arent to sure if he can deficate on his own yet. We have named him Rocky balboa because he is definately the underdog in this fight but were hoping he bounces back. "

Snuggling with Nubs

Hooray! Hooray! Nubs pooped today. What a relief.

Tonight I held him on my chest on a heating pad and he snuggled in and fell asleep. He's such a sweet thing that loves to be held & snuggled.

I'm taking Nubs back to the vet on Monday so we can get a picture with Dr Folland who helped to save his life. Then Nubs is going home! Thanks to all who said you'd be willing to take him. The lady who rescued him is taking him back and she is SO excited for him. He will be very, very spoiled. You can follow him on Facebook too to get updates.

Our next goal is to get him eating & pooping regularly.

Nubs' Next Hurdle

Nubs is putting on weight-- he's up to 240 grams. He eats great and is enjoying food. I still give him Critical Care formula once a day to help boost his nutrient levels back up. 

Every chance I get, I take him outside in the sun. The Critical Care has enough calcium for him and the direct sunlight helps him metabolize it. It honestly amazes me that he doesn't have more symptoms of Metabolic Bone Disease.

These are outside pictures from Sunday when he loved sitting on my black skirt and soaking in the heat and light.

Today I gave him a bath to see I could get him to poop. Instead he took a nice long drink of water.

Then I took him outside to dry and to warm up.

The white towel wasn't warm enough so I moved him to a soft blanket on the grass. 

He immediately decided he wanted to walk on the grass so I let him.

It's been almost a week since Nubs started eating again and it's about time for him to start pooping. If he doesn't, it could signal some intestinal distress or problem. I don't think  I've ever been so anxious for a beardie to poop! :)

I plan to ask my vet at what point I should be worried and if there is something I can do to help inspire him to go. Until then, we'll do daily baths since most beardies love to go potty in water.

Nubs eating Roaches

Nubs Walking-- 2 videos

Big Step for Forward for Nubs

Nubs ate 6 little dubia roaches today! It's his first "protein" for over a week. I only let him eat a few tiny ones so we could see how his digestive system responds to them. If he is still doing well tomorrow, we'll give him 6 more. The quicker he is eating on his own, the quicker he can be off the force feeding and the quicker he'll put on weight.

Weight = Health = Going back Home!!

Nubs gets Food today

Three days ago, I didn't think we'd make it to today. But we did! This morning I gave Nubs 1 mL of LaFeber's Critical Care Omnivore formula-- a vet only liquid diet for the most severely malnourished and sick animals that vets treat. I gave him some of this on Saturday but he was so malnourished that the nutrients shocked his system and his kidneys immediately started to fail. So we backed way, way off and did the saline injections for three days. 

He's supposed to have 5 mL (or 1 teaspoon) of Critical Care every day, but that seems like it would flood his system again. This morning around 9 am I gave him 1 mL. He seemed to handle it fine.

This afternoon, I took him outside to give him another 1 mL while getting some sunshine. But, sadly, at the last minute, a cloud covered the sun so we didn't stay out there for very long.

He does NOT like to be force fed and does a really good job of cracking my syringes by biting them so hard. He bit my thumb on Saturday and it just barely started to heal. Ouch! That's one of the worst beardie bites I've ever gotten.

The biggest change I've noticed in Nubs is he's far more alert than normal. His eyes track me as I walk into my room. He doesn't move his head a lot, but he does follow things. For 4 days, he was in a near-death stupor and had no response to anything. So this is good, good news.

Here's a short video of him looking around him outside. He doesn't move much or fast, but he MOVES! and that, my friends, is a MIRACLE!! 

Mr Nubs did NOT like his saline injection this morning! HOORAY!

Mr Nubs did NOT like the saline shot today. He squirmed! And thrashed a bit! Yeah! I had to repoke him because he moved away from me and the needle pulled out. First time he's even had any response to being stuck with a needle. 

Look! His eyes are open!

Last day of saline. Tomorrow is Critical Care formula again. Seeing as how last time I force fed him, he cracked my syringe, I don't expect that to be much easier.

I've never been so happy & relieved to see a beardie fight against a needle! Doing a happy dance here. My hope is growing, and I'm thinking he just might make it. 

PHEW! 

Squiggy's Crab Walk

He's making progress! Slowly, but surely, he's trying to walk more normally.

Squiggy's Making Progress

Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems like Squiggy is working his legs more to walk than he did a week ago. He's actually bending his knees more and trying to walk on his feet.

Well, actually he's walking on his ankles, but it's progress!