On a Break

Things have grown increasingly difficult at home and I'm taking a break from my rescue for awhile.

Thanks for all your love. I'll be back.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

GiveAway Winners!!

Winners of my First Ever Giveaway:

$25 gift certificate for Pampered Beardies: Laura Smith
$25 gift certificate for Pampered Snakes: Karyn Mountain

Emergency Warming Blanket with 2 Uniheat packs: Stacey N Clark

2 Uniheat packs: Lauren Alexandra, Amy McNair, Stephany B Rogers


Message me at Pamperedsnakes(at)gmail(dot)com for info. I will ask you to verify your name & info for me too.

THANKS!!

Final Call: Enter my First Giveaway Ever! Closes tonight.

Now that I have a second Etsy shop going, I want to promote both of them along with my Instagram and Facebook pages. I do have Twitter.... but that's too much! ;) 


OFFICIAL RULES TO WIN (Prizes listed below): 

1- Visit this blog. Shazam! I just gave that to you! (you're welcome)

2- Follow me on Instagram. Click HERE.

3- Favorite my Pampered Snakes Etsy Shop HERE.

4- Follow my Rescue Page on Facebook. Click HERE.

       BUT! Before you leave, Complete Step #4 BELOW!

5- Go to the PINNED POST at the top of my Rescue Page on Facebook and Comment "DONE" when you have done all 4 steps above and you'll be entered to win. Comments on the Blog won't count! You have to comment on Facebook!! :)

ALL "DONE" ENTRIES MUST BE POSTED **BEFORE** Midnight Mtn Standard Time on Sunday, May 28, 2017. Winners will be announced on Blogger, Facebook, & Instagram on Monday, May 29, 2017. Winners will be contacted before the announcements through Facebook & Instagram.

I did it again! Rescue 187, Tank

I made a mistake of looking in my local Facebook's Marketplace. Ugh.

Found a juvenile beardie in a small tank with NO UVB light. Never had one. And to make things worse, the heat bulb broke and the owner didn't want to buy a new one.

Ugh.

Remarkably, this little guy's bones are still pretty firm.

I asked if he'd been fed greens. Yep! Once. Papaya & green onions.

One time only in 3 months.

And the owners wanted him gone so they could go camping for the long weekend. And since they paid $70 for the beardie alone, they wouldn't come down on the price.

I paid $100 from my "Blood Money" or "Bail Money" account to get him into a good tank with two lights and good food.

Ugh!

I grumbled all the way there and back. I just couldn't walk away from this little one and leave him with no lights for a long weekend.

I need to take a break from searching ads so I can regain my niceness towards people.

A BIG THANK YOU to all who sent money to help build back up my Blood Money Savings account. You helped me get this guy! And if you'd still like to donate, please click HERE.

Mystery Solved!

Problem solved!!! I took Derek to the vet today because since I got him 12 days ago, he's not been eating or pooping. I started to worry.

Well, Derek is a GIRL! 😱😱 And she's not fat, she's pregnant (sorta)!!! Derek is making infertile eggs and has a lot of ova growing around her ovaries.

Not eating, not moving, not pooping are all bad signs in males, but totally normal in egg laying females. I'm going to wait a couple weeks to see if she lays them. If not, I'll spend the money to have her spayed (about $400) so we don't have to deal with eggs again.

I've had 4 female beardies spayed and it's been fabulous. Undeveloped eggs start to decay in the belly and the resulting infection will kill them.

Noel's Weights

As of yesterday, I have had Noel for 5 whole months. He first weighed 62 grams when I got him before Christmas in his half-dead state. Today he is 5 times that weight at 328 grams!!

He's still growing too! And he's SO red!

He pooped all over his favorite orange hammock and I gave him a girly one as a "Back up." He was not amused. He's definitely a boy! Every morning he does his beard exercises.

Click HERE to see what he looked like when I saw the ad for him.

Outside Time

I spent all morning running around (40 miles south to get the MBD beardie and then 50 miles in the opposite direction to get the adult for a total of 110 miles in 3 hours) and when I finally finally got home, I still had a ton of things on my "To Do" list.

I had my youngest take his beloved pet chickens outside. They are almost 100% fully feathered and will soon be able to stay outside. My youngest begged me to sit outside with him. So I ignored the groceries in bags on the table and the messes that needed to clean up and sat outside with him. For awhile we ate cherries and played with the chickens.

Bunsen, my 10 pound sulcata tortoise, came over to check out the chickens too.

It was a fantastic afternoon in the backyard. I enjoyed it a lot and am glad I chose to ignore the list for awhile and enjoy my family & my animals. <3 nbsp="" p="">

Today's Second Rescue-- an "Aggressive" beardie, rescue 186

The second ad I found last night also horrified me! Two in one night was pretty intense. There wasn't a pic, just an ad saying the beardie was "Aggressive." I sent a text request for a pic and got this one:

Crappy, dirty sand. Half closed eyes. NOT good.

I asked about his set up. The answer wasn't *that* bad: a 40 gallon tank, sand, a hide, a plant, and some dishes. Okay, that's doable. What about the lights, I texted back.

The answer horrified me. "I keep him in the sunniest room in my house so he doesn't need lights."

Um? Excuse me?

What about a basking spot?

"We keep our house pretty warm."

Like 100 degrees? I don't think so.

This beardie had NO lights and NO heat and NO UVB. Is anyone really surprised he's "Aggressive??" Without heat, he can't digest properly. Without UVB, he can't metabolize calcium.

The tank was gross. Thin layer of sand, tiny hide, chameleon plant, lots of poop. He was not taken care of well because he was mean. No name either. He's very thin too. :( I paid $70 to bail him out. The beardie was only $40 but for an extra $30 I got the tank so it was a good deal (sorta).

I brought him home and got him into a clean tank with lights. Once he stopped freaking out, he took a very long drink from his clean water bowl.  And once he discovered the heat lamp, he did NOT move from it. :(  He kept his eyes closed and his face pointed towards the heat.

You cannot tell me he was "Fine" with no lights. Look at that face!!

He never was named and I haven't decided yet what to call him. Poor baby needs good nutrition, a blankie, love, and probably a good deworming.



If you'd like to help rebuild my "Blood Money" or "Bail Money" or "Emergency Rescue" funds, please click HERE.

Today's First Rescue- MBD Juvenile, rescue number 185

I got myself into a bit of trouble last night-- I started browsing the local online Reptile ads.

Yeah, bad move. TOO many beardies for sale.

I perform "Visual Triage" on the ads I look through. I look at the beardie, his eyes & weight, the tank & the lights, etc. If it's bad, I'll text on it. If it looks fine, I pass. I only go for the sickly ones.

One of the first beardie ads that caught my attention was for a juvenile beardie who *obviously* had/has MBD. You can see from the pic that his wrist is broken/bent in the classic MBD way.

I sent a text to the owner stating there were obvious problems, etc. The response said "Fine, you're a rescuer, you take him." I said I would and that I'd only take the beardie so he could sell the set up.

"No," came the very strong reply. "I am not giving him away. If you want him, you have to buy him & his setup. I need the money."

When I get unexpected donations through PayPal, I set the money aside in an account for the purposes of rescuing. Honestly, I call it my "Blood Money" fund for times like these when an owner is bent on getting money for their sickly animal. It's like paying bail money to get them out of hell. :( I made arrangements to buy the beardie & his setup this morning for $80. Luckily the cage is nice and I can clean it up and sell it to recoup some of my costs.

The cage he was in had ONE 60 watt black bulb. That's it. No day lamp, no UVB, no basking spot. A thin layer of nasty sand on the bottom.

When I picked him up today, I asked if he liked greens. There was an awkward pause. "We didn't know you could feed him veggies and so we never tried." They fed him mealworms only twice a day for months. No calcium. No UVB. No food. No pellet.

This guy is a miracle that he's even alive. His wrist is abnormally bent, but overall his bones are surprisingly strong!

Within an hour of being in a new "sick" tank, he had the biggest, oddest poop I've ever seen from a baby. I fed him some roaches and he loved them. He doesn't seem to be slowed down by his bent wrist at all.

Still trying to think of a name since I refuse to call him "Little Devil." He's probably about 4/5 months old. I can't wait to get him in the direct sunshine tomorrow.


If you'd like to help build back up my "Blood Money" or "Bail Money" or "Emergency Rescue" Funds, please click HERE! And Thank you!

Adding More to Pampered Snakes

Check out some of the latest listings in my NEW Etsy Shop Pampered Snakes! 

While you're there, be sure to "Like" the page!

Official Rules for my Two Giveaways running May 16, 2017 through midnight on May 28, 2017

Now that I have a second Etsy shop going, I want to promote both of them along with my Instagram and Facebook pages. I do have Twitter.... but that's too much! ;) 


OFFICIAL RULES TO WIN (Prizes listed below): 

1- Visit this blog. Shazam! I just gave that to you! (you're welcome)

2- Follow me on Instagram. Click HERE.

3- Favorite my Pampered Snakes Etsy Shop HERE.

4- Follow my Rescue Page on Facebook. Click HERE.

       BUT! Before you leave, Complete Step #4 BELOW!

5- Go to the PINNED POST at the top of my Rescue Page on Facebook and Comment "DONE" when you have done all 4 steps above and you'll be entered to win. Comments on the Blog won't count! You have to comment on Facebook!! :)

ALL "DONE" ENTRIES MUST BE POSTED **BEFORE** Midnight Mtn Standard Time on Sunday, May 28, 2017. Winners will be announced on Blogger, Facebook, & Instagram on Monday, May 29, 2017. Winners will be contacted before the announcements through Facebook & Instagram.


PRIZES:

TWO Grand Prizes (2 winners)
 -a $25 Etsy gift card to Pampered Beardies 
 -a $25 Etsy gift card to Pampered Snakes

ONE 1st Place Prize (1 winner)
 -an Emergency Warming Blanket with two heating packs 

THREE 2nd Place Prizes (3 winners)
 -two Uni-Heat Warming packs for shipping or emergencies


Disclaimers:
- My mom & my rescue brother & sister can't win; my real siblings wouldn't even care! ;) I'll use a random name picker website online called Random.org to pick the 5 winners. Winners will be announced on Blogger, Facebook, & Instagram on Monday, May 29th, 2017. Winners will be contacted before the announcements through Facebook & Instagram.
- If you have any questions, message me through Facebook or Instagram. If you're in doubt about something, message me.
-Winners will be posted on Monday, May 29, 2017. They will have until Monday June 12, 2017 at midnight to message me about their prize. Any unclaimed prizes will be forfeited.
-I'm sure there are other issues that will come up that I haven't thought of yet, but I'll add them here as necessary. Be patient. This is my first Giveaway and I'm still running a rescue, raising a family, and am now providing emergency substituting. I'll do my best.

2 Fabulous Giveaways Coming Right Up!

In order to promote my new Pampered Snakes Etsy shop and to promote my other rescue resources, I've got 2 exciting giveaways planned-- each for a $25 to both my Etsy shop.

Details to come!

Quasimodo, rescue 184

This poor baby beardie has Metabolic Bone Disease. MBD starts with fragile & brittle bones and progresses to rubber noodle bones. It's actually easier to take care of a reptile with MBD when their bones are rubber because they bend instead of breaking.

Quasi had brittle bones and somehow fell and broke his back. :( He is now and will forever be a hunchback beardie. He had one underpowered heat bulb in his tank and no UVB light. His owner gave me a small sample container of calcium powder that was opened, but mostly full.

He surprisingly is very active and alert. He eats great and poops fine. His jaw bone is still a bit flexible-- not nearly as bad as I've seen.

I got him the day before I left for California and had my rescue sister watch him for me. He was a brat for her and always tried to bite her. He came home last night and was back to being nice & calm. I had my hand in his tank for a minute or more and he just watched me. Phew! I'm glad I'm on his friends' list.

Gout in Beardies

This is what I posted on Instagram this morning: 

Gout in bearded dragons is becoming far more common and is a symptom of poorly functioning kidneys. It can be treated, but not cured. Normal beardie kidneys flush out extra proteins and uric acid; defective kidneys allow uric acid crystals into the blood stream where they collect in the joints. Gout causes excruciating pain for beardies because uric acid crystals are like tiny daggers that poke into sensitive joints with every movement. Gout first starts to collect in the lower extremities-- fingers & toes, ankles & wrists. As it overflows those areas, it starts to pool up in shoulders and hips. It essentially freezes the joints in place because it is too agonizing for the beardie to move them! A vet can actually make a tiny incision and squeeze the uric acid paste out (it is similar to beardie pus, but whiter).

This pic is a beardie I took in who could only move his head a slight amount; that was it. 😱 He was euthanized almost immediately to let him escape the pain he'd been living in. If you can catch gout early enough in an adult, you can control it by eliminating all protein from the beardie's diet. Supplements like black cherry and bee pollen can help, but there is only so much you can do for defective kidneys.

If a baby beardie has gout (which I'm seeing more & more), there's very little chance of success. 😔 A baby must have protein even though the protein will kill the weak kidneys. It's a losing battle & I've put down several. Sloppy breeding practices and terrible genes being passed on are creating thousands of baby beardies with early onset kidney disease being sold by national pet store chains.😠 .

To effectively diagnose gout, a vet needs to take a blood test showing diminished kidney function and identify joint stiffness & swelling. Treatment plans are based on the age of the beardie. But PLEASE remember this--- you are NOT doing your beardie any favors by keeping them alive-- It hurts SO bad!!! 

Derek, rescue 183

Derek came to me through a blog reader who wanted him to have a better home with more attention. It just so happened that I was driving down to the Los Angeles area this past weekend and the owner met me halfway between my mom's house & hers.

Derek is a sweetheart! He just needs a diet! He loves his superworms! ;)

He's such a mellow beardie that I played dress up with him. He was totally chill too as we drove the 11 hours home yesterday.

Modeling the new Etsy costume

Derek's belly is rather bloated and so he needs a fecal test to make sure he's not got a parasite infestation.

Then we'll pull out the beardie treadmill and play some "Eye of the Tiger" on the my iPod! :D Ha! Fewer insects, more greens, and some more out-of-the-tank time will help him slim down quickly.

Quick LA Trip

I ran a bunch of my Etsy Shop supplies down to LA over the weekend to my mom who helps me run the shop. I'm exhausted! But I did  get some beach time in! It was NOT a good weekend for beach visits because the weather was terrible. Even when I did manage to make it to the beach, the wind was cold!

I brought home a rescue too! His name is Derek and I adore him! He even played dress up for me!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Rescues 179, 180, 181, & 182 at the Vet

The four tortoises I kept from last week made a trip to the vet today to make sure they weren't too sick.

The big sulcata tort is a male and his name is Bunson.
The cherry head is most likely a female and her name is Chiquita.
The smaller sulcata is a female and her name is Red.
The Greek tortoise is a male and his name is Gonzo.

Also, baby Lolly went along for a quick well check and beak trim.

 Top of pic to bottom-- Chiquita, Red, Gonzo, Lolly 

Bunson was NOT happy in his box and got to roam around. 

Gonzo & Lolly both got beak trims. 

All 5 tortosies will stay in quarantine for another couple weeks and then we will see if their respiratory infections improve with adequate heat and a good diet. If they don't, I'll take them back in for treatment. 

Bunson's shell is softer than it should be and he will need a lot more outside time and a much better diet to help him get better. 

Thankfully the visit only came to $385. I was expecting over $500. I could still use some help paying for it though. If you'd like to donate to help pay for their care, please use my PayPal link HERE.