Waiting for Poop

I came home from church early so I could help Junior with his belly. First, I gave him a bath, and then his daily saline & calcium injections. Third, I gave him a little enema. I know! My life is *so* glamorous. ;) Lastly, I gave him another bath.

He's so weak and uncoordinated that moving around in the bath wears him out very quickly. I ended up propping up his head to help keep it above water.

While I took the second video, I heard a massive crash upstairs and started giggling. Thanks, Kreature! Silly tegu.

I put Junior back and will head back to church for the last hour. Hopefully, the heat of his tank will help him move his bowels. I'll give him another bath tonight and then, if there's still no poop, he'll head to the vet first thing in the morning for more serious intervention. :(

Sad News for Junior

Junior's got some sort of blockage in his gut. Originally, he had urates built up, but he managed to push those out. Now he's got a fairly large poop plug that's not moving and his belly is bloated. 

I've backed off his tube feedings and am keeping him well hydrated. If there's no poop by Monday, he'll go in to the vet for an enema or something. I can tell his belly is bothering him. 😫

One of the problems with MBD is the lack of muscle strength and coordination it causes, including in the belly & digestive tract. If he can't figure out how to poop, he won't really have a chance at life. He's been doing so good too! I hope he can pull through this.

Come on, baby, poop!

This sounds funny, but will you join me in praying that Junior will be able to get rid of his constipation and poop? 

A New Etsy Addition-- Beardie Bags

The other day, I felt a strong need to create something new. So I started cutting and sewing and came up with an adorable purse/bag/phone holder that looks like a bearded dragon.

It got a lot of love on my Instagram & Facebook page so I decided to start making more.

Today I cut out enough felt for 12 purses. Kreature wasn't impressed. He just wanted to be left alone in the sunshine. 

I got all the parts laid out for all 12 purses. I took me about two hours to cut out all the felt.

Each purse (minus the strap) takes about 20 minutes to sew, and each one is unique. 

I like painting toe nails on the backside of the hands & feet when I'm done. 

I still need to figure out a strap that works and is long enough for each purse. Gotta head back to the fabric store.

The "First Series" of Beardie Bags will be for sale on Etsy soon, but there will only be 12 of them. I'm sending my pattern to my mom who will automate the parts so her embroidery machine will start sewing & cutting them. Her machine is amazing! Once she starts producing them, they will be less unique, but it will take less time to make them.

I also need to find large Googly eyes that can be sewn on. These ones are simply glued on.

Each bag is just big enough to hold a phone or some snacks or a small lizard. :)

I plan to post the listing for the first 12 on Monday morning when I start filling my Etsy orders from the weekend. I'll make the remaining 9 as they are ordered and then list the second series when I have at least a dozen to sell. I'm sure these will end up be copied by others-- you'd be surprised how many "knock off" costumes of mine I find on Etsy! Crazy, huh? It's flattering and frustrating that people are copying my patterns and selling them for themselves (insert eye roll).

Stay tuned on Monday. I'll post a link to the listing once it's up & going.

Junior in the Sunshine

Junior got his calcium shot, his saline injection, and a partially tube-feeding (the tube plugged up for some reason and he only got 1 cc). Then I put him in the sunshine in my window while I worked in the kitchen. 

At first, he slept. 

Then he decided to perk up a little bit and popped his head up to see me. He's so stinking cute! Especially now that he isn't dying. 

Junior wobbles around like a newborn giraffe and has almost no coordination, but he's attempting to move around. That is a GREAT sign!

Tegu Bathtime

For fun, I wrestle small alligator-like lizards.

Norman somehow believes that if I touch his ouchy feet that he must then cover me with some type of bodily fluids. Last time was poop; tonight was vomit.

yip-pee.

Oy vay!

I may have gotten vomit on my arms and floor and clothes, but I did manage to get off some old shed and get his feet coated with Silvadene cream which helps soften the old skin too.

Here we are after the drying off and cream coating.

Yes, his expression is fairly smug. Mine is not so much.

Kreature has been a brat for the last few days. He broke my bracelet and tail whipped me so hard I got a bruise and he's been restless.

I pulled him out of my large pile of clothes and put him in the bath too. 

After I pulled him out the bath, I wrestled him onto the counter so I could coat his back with Silvadene cream too. He decided a couple weeks ago to rub his shed off by using the heat lamp fixture and ended up with some burns on his back. They aren't bad, but they are starting to shed and I'm trying to keep the dry skin moist.

He did not like that.

I did not end up bleeding or covered in poop or vomit. I did get whipped a few times and was fairly out of breath when I put him back in his tank. 

I'm exhausted.

Oy vay! 

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. 

Kreature's Monday

Yep, that about sums up his day. He stayed on his blankies until 2 pm today.


NOTE: Junior is at the vet; no word yet. My tortoises are all outside and I tried taking pics, but my phone is on the fritz and deleted them all. I'll try again.

Updates to follow. Until then, imagine yourself feeling as laid back as this tegu.