The other 5 have put me in an awkward position. They had to be rescued from a friend. :( 4 of the 5 are babies (under 8 months old and tiny). 1 of them was originally mine and was being fostered by this friend.
The whole situation is crummy and I was heartbroken when I learned what was going on. But had I not intervened, the beardies would have died of neglect.
I have compassion for my friend. I don't condemn her. I wish she would have contacted me sooner. But it's hard to ask for help. It's hard when you are so far over your head with trauma and life that you don't know you *should* ask for help. It's hard when you start feeling guilty about what you're doing that you attempt to ignore the problem.
I don't know if any of those even apply to this situation. I'm grateful the babies are not as bad as I feared. I'm grateful I could take them. I'm grateful I could buy tanks on sale at PetCo for $1/gallon and just put the charge on my credit card.
They are all safe tonight. Today they only got Pedialyte. Tomorrow they will get baby food. 3 of the 5 had normal poop (hurray!). The tiniest one is barely 10 grams. I hope he pulls through.
I'll post tomorrow pics & such. For tonight, I'm exhausted and heavy hearted.
If my friend reads this, I hope you know I'm not angry. I hope you are able to get the help you need. Don't give up.