Sweet Baby Sawyer

I'm sad to report that Baby Sawyer didn't make it. His broken spine and paralyzed legs made it impossible for him to poop on his own and his belly got more and more bloated last week. My vet and I decided that the kindest thing to do was to put him down. :( 

My only regret was that I was sick at home with the flu and couldn't be there with him when he died.

Poor Baby Sawyer. Run free, Lil Man. 

Noel's Hard Day

Noel seemed rather sickly today. His eyes were mostly closed and rather sunk in. He didn't move much and wasn't very alert. He had me worried. 

I took him out for some snuggle time in a blankie. That helped perk him up.

I left him on a heated corn bag on my pillow.

And then I held him on my lap in the sunshine for awhile. 

When it was time to leave, I gave him a couple cc's of warm Pedialyte and put him back in his tank. When I returned home later, I saw he had passed a pea size urate plug. I'm really hoping that this urate plug was what Dr Folland felt in Noel's belly at the vet the other day. He did seem to perk up after that.

Tonight he and Neville both got to snuggle in blankies with me. I put Noel in my shirt first so that he'd be sound asleep by the time I added Neville (just in case Neville was restless or scared). It took Neville just a few minutes to look around and unwind and then he fell fast asleep! Progress! Last night, it took him over an hour to relax enough to sleep while I held him. Great signs.

Also, Baby Sawyer seemed to poop okay today. He was a bit bloated today and I worried that he was getting constipated. Sometime this evening he was able to have a fairly normal looking poop. Woo hoo!

Reptile Roll Call for January 5, 2017

Here's most of my reptile zoo (minus the 3 ball pythons who didn't want to leave their hides to have their pictures taken; I have Lucy, Sunny, & Bones). Also, Gumby, the MBD leopard gecko didn't want to come out either.

First the Torts. I only have FOUR! That amazes me. 

Georgie, my female Leopard tortoise 

Hermy, my hibernating Desert tortoise

Leo, the happy little Russian tort

Otis, our house tort

And now my beardies-- 

Baby Sawyer, with a little pudgy food belly

Dash, my old man who is shedding

Flame, who is also shedding 

Gen, my big girl who is sorta bruminating

Max, my big boy who is 6 years old

Neville, the latest addition 

Noel, who is looking sickly this morning

Smaug, my big boy who is looking for a home as the ONLY beardie

Tiger, who has been wheezing again :( 

Ziggy, who has pretty much trashed his tank in the last few days 

 And last, but not least, Lady Squinty Dink the Dainty Skink of bluTonguesville!

Couldn't get the lighting right for a good pic 

We also have two dogs (Belle & Teddy) and a hedgehog (Pixie).

At the Vet again- Part 2- Baby Sawyer

Baby Sawyer's vet visit was sad. Dr Folland says the baby obviously has a broken back and is completely paralyzed from the waist down. He has ZERO feeling in his legs, feet, or tail. :( It's possible the spinal column will regenerate some so he regains some movement, but it is not likely. 

There wasn't even a need to take an x-ray. At some point after being hatched and arriving at a pet store here, Baby Sawyer's back was broken, most likely through being dropped.

I'll keep feeding Baby Sawyer and watching him to make sure that he can poop. The biggest problem with paralysis is constipation that causes an impaction that causes death. If he can continue to poop normally, he should be okay leading a fairly adjusted life. If he can't poop, then the most humane thing we can do is to euthanize him.

I brought him home and taught him how to drink out of his tiny water bowl. He picked it up right away.

Now we watch and wait. If he does okay, I'll take him back for a recheck in a month. If he starts to struggle, I will take him in sooner. I'll keep you posted. 

Baby Sawyer, rescue 167

Baby Sawyer was given to me by someone who didn't want to see him euthanized because of his handicap. There's more details to it, but I'm staying purposely vague to make sure that "I protect my sources." ;)

This is a little fireball of a baby! He can't use his back legs much, but he's got some serious upper body strength.

He has a lump on his spine that will be checked out tomorrow morning by my awesome vet and we'll get an x-ray to figure out what's going on. I wonder if he has a form of bearded dragon spina bifada where his spine didn't fully develop. Or it's possible he has had some sort of injury.

He's eating and pooping fine. He moves around when he wants to move around.

The little wound on his belly looks like a pressure sore from dragging himself around.

Tomorrow, once we have an x-ray to show us what is happening internally, Dr Folland and I will decide what the best treatment is for this guy. The fact that he is super strong and active is a great sign and a definite star in his favor. Hopefully we can get him fixed up some and not just put him down because his legs don't work right.