Junie B, rescue 89

I said "No Iguanas" and I said "Never more than 2." I wish I had a dollar for every time I said that-- I'd have a lot of money for vet bills. ;) When I found out Turbo was dying, I really really thought "Not another one."

This is why I rescued an iguana who had been abandoned by her owner. She came to me in a box and was MAD. I've been letting her chill in her tank. 

Yesterday I took the lid off her tank to see if she wanted to come out. She went to other side and scratched to get out. When I left the room, I closed the lid. 

Today I opened the lid today and this time she tried to get out- sorta. So we're making progress. 

Junie B loves to be sprayed with water. That is our bonding moment so far. I'm hopeful she will be a sweet Iggy. 

No plans for her yet. Just taking it a day at a time and hoping she is friendly enough to free roam so she's not stuck in a tank. 

Hospice for Turbo

No real change in Turbo-- good or bad. He's still grumpier than normal and bobs his head more than he ever did.

He gets a LOT more treats: 

Morning sunshine 

Mango (he LOVES mango!!) 

Head rubs

Unless he drastically declines, I don't plan to put him down this week. Maybe not even next week. 

We're just taking it a day at a time really. 

My Torty Family

Grandma Hermy - 70-ish year old desert tortoise

Lil Foot - 10 year old red foot tortoise

Voldetort - 6 year old Russian tortoise 

Georgie - almost 2 year old leopard tortoise 

Heidi - almost two year old sulcata tortoise 

Lil Foot the Red Foot Tortoise

My rescue buddy decided to rehome his 10 year old male red foot tortoise.

I couldn't say no. ;) How could anyone resist that face?!?

Now I have a family of FIVE tortoises. Lil Foot has made himself right at home. He has his own favorite place outside -- it's under a bush where Daisey the sulcata with the prolapse used to hide so we call it Daisey's garage.

He doesn't want to sleep in the laundry room and has staked out his own spot in the front room. I've tried to correct this, but he won't have it. ;) 

He loves mango (almost as much as Turbo!)

He's a nice, cute, and friendly tortoise and I'm thrilled to have him. 

Voldetort is Back

I helped saved this guy's life a month or so ago and he was returned to me after his initial rescuer couldn't keep him.

So far he's fitting in with my tortoise family really well and he's so happy free roaming in my backyard. 

He has learned to put himself to bed in the laundry room like Hermy too. 

And he's cute! ;) So for now he's part of our tortoise family. 

Bad News for Turbo

The good news is that Ginny is ok and should feel fine-- just very slowly.

Turbo is now on hospice care. It will only be a matter of time before I have to put him down. :( 

Because of an infection in his spine, he is quickly losing control of his back legs and tail. He's not able to pick himself up when he poops now so it's a mess to clean him up. 

His arm swelling is growing weekly and he's no longer able to put any weight on it or use his fingers. 

If the swelling was only in his arm, we could treat him with antibiotics and prolong his life some. But with it in his spine, there is no chance to contain or control it. 

Dr Folland also discovered that Turbo's eye socket was bleeding because of trapped suture material that wasn't dissolving. He was able to remove the suture and flush out old blood so that should help stop the bleeding. 

Poor guy was in so much pain during his appointment and was angry with me after. I laid him down on a soft towel and stroked his back till he went to sleep and then picked him up and held him. 

I don't know when I'll take him in to be put down. It hurtsy heart too much to think about it right now. It will be soon. He's in too much pain and the infection is spreading too fast. 

Not Such a Good Day for Rescues

Ginny's arm keeps swelling and the scales are discoloring. :(

Plus she's darker than normal and a lot more listless. 

Turbo is having a bad day and his eye socket is bleeding. He keeps trying to nip at me and he bobs his head at everyone else who gets near him. That's his "Back OFF!" move. 

I bumped their vet appointments up from next Monday to this Wednesday. No reason to wait. I'll keep you posted. 

A Set Back for Ginny

Ginny's shoulder stump swelled up a lot in the last few days and today she went to the vet.

It was not good news. Her incision and shoulder were filled with infection and the tissues were dying. Dr Folland opened up the incision, scraped out the pus, removed a lot of dead & dying tissue, and trimmed back her remaining arm bone again. There was very little blood flow to the area which is a bad sign. 

Her shoulder is now an open wound so I can flush it out twice a day. If it is clear and healthy in two weeks during her recheck, we'll stitch the opening closed. If not, .... I'm not sure she'll have much chance of survival at that point. 

Between the antibiotic shots and the wound care, Ginny's shoulder has a good chance of healing. I just hope she has enough strength to fight this and that the infection hasn't become systemic (in her blood stream and impossible to treat). 

After the procedure, Ginny was done! I wrapped her up in the blankie I brought her in and tucked her into my shirt. 

Return of Summer

Ziggy & Max believe their only cage should be outside in the sun. These two would be happiest free roaming in some great desert somewhere! ;)

Thankfully today is warm enough to put them in their outdoor cages. 

Max is in a hamster/rat cage and Ziggy is in a bunny/guinea pig cage. Each has perching spots and plenty of shade that I shift around during the day. 

The baby tortoises are in their outdoor pen which also has plenty of shade and some shallow water dishes. Heidi walks around and Georgie hides. 

All the other guys are in sunny windows. 

Milo: 

Grumps: 

Finn: 

I love giving my guys direct sunshine & sunny windows and my electric bill (and my husband) love all those lights being turned off. 

I have one more cage to set up outside and then I'll rotate the other beardies through, giving each of them a couple hours of sunshine. Tiger *hated* outside time last year so he may not get much outdoor time this year. If my beardies hate it, I only take them outside with me. 

Good News & Bad News about Ginny

The good news is that she's been eating roaches & greens on her own and drinking water. She's pooping fine and much more alert. She still LOVES to be wrapped in her blankie at night and tucked into my shirt.

See? No swelling a few days ago.

The bad news is that her shoulder area above where her arm was amputated is very swollen. :( Vet visit scheduled for Monday morning.

Before the amputation, Dr Folland noticed that the healthy part of her arm was very swollen. I was worried about it being filled with infection, but it was only fluid built up. He called it edema. 

I'm hopeful that her shoulder is swollen because of the same fluid build up now and can be easily fixed. I'll keep you posted.