Remy Update

This little guy has got to be the most beautiful beardie I have ever had. He's gorgeous! 

He's a translucent with black eyes. 

Jessie- Before & After

Remember Jessie? 

That picture was taken on January 25th. 

Here is a picture her adoptive family sent to me today-- 

I love "Happy Endings!" :) She's got a pudgy belly and a loving family. Her life now is great. 

Click & Clack, rescues 127 & 128

A friend of mine tagged me in a Facebook post linking me to an ad showing these two babies-- 

I asked for more pics and got this-- 

Terrible. These two were bought at a pet store sale for only $20 each. A teenager and her boyfriend decided to buy two of them for his younger brothers! 

But-- Surprise!!-- the mom didn't want them and the little boys stopped carrying for them after a week. Then the one stopped moving around a lot. Oh, and they had to be separated because they were hurting each other. 

I made arrangements to drive the 45 minutes one way to pick them up this morning. The little one, Click, did not look good at all. 

Click weighed in at only 28 grams and was so weak that he could barely open his eyes. :(  I put him in the bath and he drank for three minutes straight!!!

Then I gave him some baby food squash. 

When he was done drinking and eating, he weighed 32 grams. 4 grams he gained. Then I put him in a heat box to warm him up. 

Clack was obviously the stronger of the two. From his bigger body to his chubby belly, I saw no health issues with him. He weighed in at 92 grams!!! 

Clack also got a nice long drink. 

Both babies hadn't been fed in a week and obviously didn't have any water available to them. Plus they both stink so I could tell immediately that they were both on sand. 

Both babies are in their own tanks now. Click is in a 20 gallon sick tank and Clack is in a 40 gallon regular tank. They are both a lot more active and alert. 

The difference in Click is the most extreme. He looks lively now. He has a long way to go, but at least he's able to eat and drink on his own. 

Let me preach again--

If the head parent does not want a pet, don't get a pet. It will not work. The mom or dad (or preferably both) need to be in agreement. 

Kids should not be left alone to care for a bearded dragon. There MUST be parental oversight!! My 9 year old "adopted" one of my guys and even though he adores Milo, I still have to remind him to keep up with basic care. And there have been days when I'm the one refilling the water and food. I don't get mad-- *I* am the grown up. I remind my youngest to take care of Milo or I'll have to move him back downstairs. 

Pets should be a family decision and have a family agreement. Children & teens should never be left to care for a pet alone, but should always have parental oversight. Without both of these, pets get bounced or neglected. I've seen it way too often!! 

(And yes, I love Car Talk which is why I named them "Click" and "Clack." :) ) 

This Week's Vet Bills

The bad news is that I had a vet bill to put on my credit card every day this week. The good (?) news is that each time was cheaper than the day before.

Yeah, I'll admit it's a stretch on the good news.... 

All these bills were for reptiles that belong to my friends. One who is about to have his 2nd back surgery in 6 months. One is for a friend who was just hospitalized this week. One who recently divorced her abusive ex-husband and is now a single mom to her 4 kids. 

I'm grateful I have the ability and resources (and available credit) to help my friends in need even though I don't expect or ask to be paid back. Somehow I'll get my credit card paid off. :)

P.S. because I'm at the vet so much and have spent well over $12,000 there in the last 3 1/2 years, I have the 10% "Cool People Discount." ;) Oh, and it's also because my vet & his staff are awesomesauce! 

TB, the temporary new guy

TB is a 14 pound male sulcata with a bit of a cold. He hung out with us for a couple weeks in August. Now he's back. 

Poor guy has company now-- 

Tuga, who weighs 6 pounds, tried to ram him repeatedly to flip him over. 

And then goofy little Otis (who weighs 3 pounds) followed him around closely and tried to mate with him. 

TB remembers being at my house and waited by the back foot so I could let him out, but it was too cold. 

Poor guy is going to have lots of company this visit. 

A Day in my Life

Today was crazy! Especially for rescue.

Here's a few things I did in no particular order-- 

-Dropped Skye off at the vet for a quick check on her bloated belly 

-Had a 14 pound sulcata dropped off at the vet at the same time for a check

-Fed 3 baby beardies and 2 adults

-Picked up beardie poop

-Picked up tortoise poop at least 7 times

-Wiped up tortoise pee at least 4 times

-Did a fecal test on Nubs but didn't find anything 

-Took the slide with Nubs' fecal float to the vet for the techs to look at. They didn't find anything either. 

-Took Skye home with me

-Sprayed down the iguana and got an attempted tail whip 

-Arranged for Fatty Patty to be shipped tonight 

-Gave dewormer to Katy the beardie

-Force fed Katy some Critical Care

-Arranged care for 14 pound tortoise

-Filled up saline syringe with one hand while turning dinner over with the other

-Answered email on impacted femoral pores

-Answered emails I forgot to respond to last week

-Answered Etsy questions 

-Messaged my rescue buddies via Facebook

-Messaged someone about an egg their female beardie laid

-Messaged 2 people who are adopting beardies 

-Washed poopy tortoise & iguana towels 

-Filled a syringe with antibiotics then realized the shot isn't due till tomorrow 

-Got a dewormer refill from the vet when I picked up the 14 pound tortoise 

-Brought the 14 pound tortoise home. 

-Took a quick video of the 6 pound sulcata trying to ram the 14 pound sulcata

-Separated the sulcatas 

-Separated the male tortoise who was trying to mate with another male tortoise, but I lost count of how many times I do that everyday

-Washed my sweater because I got tortoise poop on it 

-Sanitized syringes

-Set up another hot basking area for the tortoises 

-Gave Katy a saline injection

-Let my dogs in and out of the back door at least 3 dozen times

-Picked up dog poop

-Took pics of my dog sleeping: 

I still have to drive Fatty Patty to the FedEx hub before 7 so she can ship out to her new home.

Yes, I'm exhausted. And I did other things too like reading and running to the library and getting kids to/from school and eating and such. 

I really need two of me! 

Katy Update

Katy's blood results came back with bad news. It appears she is experiencing kidney failure. Once again I'm dealing with a young Beardie who has kidney problems. 

Dr Echols gave me a comprehensive treatment plan for her. Antibiotics, dewormer, saline solution, force feeding Critical Care, flaxseed oil, and another dewormer. We're going to give her this care for two weeks and see if we can get some weight on her. 

I also put her in the window for some direct sunshine therapy. 

It's going to be a lot of work the next two weeks, but hopefully we can get her healthy again and boost her weak kidneys. Sometimes it can be an infection or a parasite infestation that can wipe out a beardie and overtax their kidneys. 

PS- I still plan to post about Beardie eggs  when I have more time. 

Another Trip to the Vet

Today was Fatty Patty & Stormy's turn at the vet. 3 days, 3 visits. What a week! 

Fatty Patty is fat but healthy. She did NOT like Dr Folland squishing her belly as he was trying to feel for eggs. 

No eggs! 

Stormy had a toe that had become infected and was causing her pain. I had Dr Folland take it off. 

Stormy did not like her vet visit either!! 

Dr Folland said I was setting a new record by coming in every day. I told him I would not be coming in on Thursday. 

And I wasn't! 

Until I got home and realized there was another sick tortoise. So I will be going in every day this week. 

Tally ho! 

Huge Difference!

Look at these pics of Katy taken on February 7th of this year-- 3 short weeks ago!! 

And pics from yesterday and today-- 

I cannot believe the difference in her. We are still waiting for bloodwork results to try and figure out what is happening to her. 

:( 

Sickly Katy

One of my dear friend's has been going through a divorce and is now a single mom of 4 kids. Yesterday she sent me pics of her beloved beardie who is obviously unwell. :( 

I coached my friend on how to help sweet Katy yesterday, but I wasn't sure if she'd even make it through the night. After so many losses and changes lately, my friend and her kids could not bear the thought of losing their beardie. There was lots of sobbing. I felt terrible. 

It was a great relief to hear Katy made it through the night. I dropped off my kids at school and drove 30 mins one way to meet my friend and get her beardie. 

Katy is at the vet now reviewing fluids for dehydration and having her blood tested. She looks very bad, but I have no idea what's going on. 

I know she's in good hands now and they will do whatever they can to save her life. I hope she's able to pull through this- whatever it is. 

I'll keep you posted.