Meet my new little Addition-- Georgie

Georgie is a 2 year old leopard tortoise. He's so cute! And I got such a good deal on him. I've wanted a leopard tortoise forever. :)

Newt's New Big Brother

Maxwell is a 2 year old chameleon who had severe MBD when he was a baby. He looks like a bigger version of Newt!

Newt was a little stressed so his colors were brown instead of being green. 

Newt is Home!!

 He ate and drank. He got his daily calcium. He had a walk-about around the new outdoor pen and flashed his colors at the ladies.

Newt is happy & his new owners adore him! 

Today begins his "Happily Ever After!"

Newt is in LA

He's on his way to his forever home now. :) 

Newt's Travels

We had the most perfect plan for Newt to travel to the chameleon rehab in Southern California. We got it all arranged and set the plan in motion. I got Newt already to go and said goodbye (shed a few tears).

Forty minutes later, I get a call from Rodney, the rehab owner who was flying back to LA with Newt as his companion animal. Southwest Airlines was being difficult and refusing to let him fly-- even with all his certification! I drove back to the airport to pick up a very stressed Newt and was heartbroken to have to leave a very stressed Rodney.

Here's Newt showing how ferocious he can be! ;) It just makes me want to kiss him! He was mad at Southwest too!

Thanks to the amazing help of a chameleon lover and pilot, Newt left SLC and now is in Phoenix. Tomorrow morning the same rock star pilot will fly him to LAX where he will be picked up by Rodney and taken home. :)

He's made it half way there. Traveling as a "carry on" is the only way he's strong enough to go. Normal shipping or a 15 hour car ride would be too stressful and it would do him in.

In his travel crate with his little purple bed. This is what he's most used to because it's how I take him to the vet.

The travel crate is inside a Critter Keeper that is lined with paper and also has a heating pack in it to keep him warm.

The lid goes on the Critter Keeper and the whole crate goes into a black bag for travel. Little Newt sleeps the whole way. :)


























Here's Newt at the airport in Arizona. He's such a good traveler! Tomorrow by this time, he'll be settled into his new digs in So Cal with his new forever family. He'll have an "adopted" brother there, Niblet, who had bad MBD when he was Newt's age. They'll be twiners.

I full expect Newt to have a healthy & happy life. Each day he gets stronger and more coordinated; each day he gets more love and affection. He's a great little chameleon. It's amazing that he's alive.

I have a Newt size whole in my heart and cried into my Chinese salad for lunch. I have no regrets at all. He's going to where he will do best. I'll just miss my little buddy.

More updates to posted soon!

The Tortoise is Eating!

I did two days of saline injections to hydrate the tortoise and then tube fed him so Critical Care today (he hated it!)

But this morning and now tonight, he is going crazy eating greens and shredded zucchini! 

Yippee!! 

My daughter thinks we should call him "Torti-mort" because he is the tortoise who must not be named! ;) Ha! 

Pepper, a special needs beardie, is looking for a forever home

I'm helping my friend rehome Pepper, a 3 year old female beardie who is missing 2 feet. She still gets around okay, but she will always need special attention.

She was in a bad situation and is now healthy & active. $80 fee covers her & tank & supplies. Email me for more info. 

Still Here

The sickly Russian tortoise is all spread out under his heat light and it's really hard to tell if he's just basking in the warmth or if he's dead.

I poke him once or twice a day if I don't see him move. 

Both of his super swollen eyes are open now which is great (one of them was stuck closed yesterday). Tomorrow I will start tube feeding him Critical Care. He's had two days of saline injections to hydrate him. 

We'll just keep plugging along and see if he's got the strength in him to make it through. If he does, he'll have a great life in a big backyard with lots of good food and sunshine. (He was fed only iceberg lettuce with no UVB). 

Sickly Tortoise, rescue number 85

I have a hard enough time saying "No" to taking in sickly reptiles, but when my favorite tech at my vet's office calls to ask if I'd help with a half-dead Russian tortoise, I canNOT say "No." At all. 

This is why I have a super sickly, nameless tortoise in a sick tank in my bedroom. 

I actually saw this guy posted on our local reptiles classified last week but was feeling to overwhelmed with Turbo & Newt to take him. When the vet tech said "Russian tortoise," I knew that it was the same one. I felt terrible for the guy who bought him. 

His new owner bought the tortoise to get him out of a bad environment but didn't know how severe its illness was. He took the tort to the vet but didn't have the money to save him.

That's why the vet called me. 

I have the skills & supplies to do almost everything the vet wanted to do (minus the blood tests). I gave it a saline injection today and will give it another one tomorrow. Then I will start tube-feeding herbivore Critical Care formula. I have everything to do it so why not? 

The tortoise is severely dehydrated, severely malnourished, and has severe Metabolic Bone Disease. I can treat all three of those. 

Now we just wait and see if it's strong enough to pull through. 

And I go back to poking a sick reptile to see if it's still alive. 

New Fun Costumes on Etsy

Newt's "Grandpa"

See the similarity? ;)

Update on Finn

With all the trauma of Newt & Turbo, I've forgotten to post pics of Finn.

Remember Finn? The baby whose nose was bit off by another beardie? 

He (she?) is doing great! Still very skiddish, but he loves to be wrapped in a blankie and held at night. 

His nose looks great and has healed very nicely. His colors are incredible too! 

For now, he's staying here. He's been bounced so many times that it's made him really fearful of others. I want to let him relax and adjust to being in one place with the same owners. 

New Items coming on Etsy

Just a few teasers--- 

Super Hero capes

Grass skirts & flower leis--

Also spike collars, baby strollers, and flower tutus. :) 

Turbo at the Vet

Turbo got his gauze pack removed from his wound today.

I could tell it hurt! Poor buddy! Then the vet had to turn him upside down to drain it. 

There was still too much fluid coming out to stitch it up so the second hole is still open (his eye lid was stitched last week). Twice a day for the next week, I will flush and drain his wound. I also have to start force feeding him everyday because he's lost weight too. 

The pic below is how he wanted to stay for his appointment-- snuggled up in my hair asleep. 

We have a follow up visit in a week and perhaps then we'll be able to stitch the wound. The goal is to have the bleeding totally stopped do he doesn't develop another hematoma. 

Newt at the Vet

Newt got his second Calitonin shot today and the vet says he is looking better. He has lost weight even though he is eating on his own. So I'll be force feeding him once a day for a few weeks to get his weight back up. 

When he gets stressed, his little hand starts spazzing and he ends up grabbing his eye. 

When I hold his hand, he calms down. 

But when I needed my finger back, I decided to give him something else to hold. 

Guess Who Woke Up??

I came home to find Hermy up! She must be done with hibernating for the year. Yippee!!

Newt is eating on his own!

I came home from vacation to find that Newt's tongue control has improved and he is able to catch worms on his own!! 

Such a good sign! 

Snuggling with Turbo

Turbo & Newt

My two sickly boys are doing well under my awesome husband's care. :) Next week, Turbo will get his gauze removed and Newt will get another Calcitonin shot to help his bones absorb calcium better. 

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.