Saturday, August 31, 2013

Yoda, rescue number 18 *and* the Start of Hospice Care

Today I brought Yoda home to die. He is a tiny beardie, only 6 weeks old and weighs only 7 grams. He has been having full body seizures for the past 24 hours and I don't think he's strong enough to survive. His owner tried everything he could to get him healthy and keep him that way, but it wasn't enough. Sometimes beardies are just genetically flawed.


Having some sun time

I gave him a bath to get him to drink a little

He's a tiny little guy 
 After getting him out of his bath, he had a full body seizure. He went completely rigid while shaking and then flipped upside down. Poor little guy. It's heartbreaking to watch.

Sometimes beardies can't be saved. Sometimes beardies just die. Sometimes all you can do is make the end peaceful & loving.

So once again I am doing hospice care for an animal.

----------------UPDATE 9/12/13-------------------

Yoda is still alive. He is healthy and happy and headed to his new home on Saturday. Crazy, huh? Even though he had all the right supplements & lights, his body was not processing calcium. I gave him calcium syrup & an injection and he never had another seizure. By the next Wednesday, he was running around and active. He's been eating like a champ -- only when I give him roaches-- and has a new lease on life.

Crazy, huh? You just never know sometimes.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Sun Time!

My favorite vet, Dr Doug Folland, likes to say that the single best thing you can do for your reptile is to give it sun time. Especially this time of the year when it is warm outside, sun time is a great way to make your beardies healthy.

I have two males, Max & Spike, who have their own cages outside, and they both believe they should NEVER have to be inside in a tank. As soon as the sun rises past my neighbor's trees, I take my big boys outside and they spend the day in the sun/shade.


Their set ups are simple: a rat/guinea pig cage with leftover pieces of astroturf on the floor. Max's cage has a shelf on it; Spike's cage has a tree branch. I use astroturf or reptile carpet to cover part of the top of the cage so there is always shade.

Today I put my old parakeet cage on the table on it's back so I could sun Toothless for awhile. Because he's so small, he could fit through the bars on the other cages. A parakeet cage is perfect. He has a rock to perch on.

When these guys are outside, I check them hourly to make sure they have sun & shade. In the heat of the day (between noon and 3) when the sun is at its highest, I put up my patio umbrella and position it so it shades their whole cages. Even with the umbrella up, they get plenty of heat and UVB reflection. Also when it is hot, I'll spray down the astroturf with a water bottle to keep them from overheating.


Upstairs in our south facing window is Lizzie. He's the little bump on the right side of the window. The window filters out the UVB light, but he still enjoys have the sun & warmth.


Downstairs in our south facing window is SweetPea. She is too timid to be outside, but she loves being on the window ledges in the sun. Here her head is up, but most of the time she looks like this:



So here's my helpful hints for outside sun time:

1-- NEVER EVER EVER use a glass tank. You will kill your reptile quickly!! Use an old bird/ferret/rat/small animal cage.

2-- Check on your beardies hourly to make sure they have plenty of sun & shade. Put them in a location where they won't be bothered by neighborhood animals.

3-- Windows filter out UVB (that's their job) so the only natural UVA & UVB light is direct sunlight. So get them outside when it's warm or consider opening up your windows when it's not as hot.

4-- Always keep water in their cages. When they spend a lot of sun outside, bathe/soak them more often to keep their hydration levels up.

5-- Beardies like the heat. It may be too hot for you, but it is perfect for them. In the wild, beardies sun themselves in temps up to 110 degrees. As long as they have both sun and shade and water, they should be fine with the heat. But that goes back to rule number 2-- check them a lot. If they are gaping consistently, or hiding, or trying to get out, it may be time to move them back to their tanks.

6-- Start off small. Try 30 minutes a day until they get used to being outside. SweetPea is too freaked out by alone outside time. She'll stay with me on my lap, but can't handle being outside. Most other beardies will adjust quickly to being outside with new sights & smells & sounds. But you can build them up. Until you are sure they can handle the new environment, give them short segments of time during the day (maybe once in the morning and once in the afternoon).


Anything else? Leave a comment below!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Dracaryis, rescue number 17


Sometimes rescuing beardies is an honor to me. Dracaryis came today with all her supplies after her owner was unable to find her a good home before moving. She will stay with me until I can find her a home where she will be loved and adored again. It was hard to say goodbye to her owner who had tears in her eyes. :( It's so hard to say goodbye to pets you adore. 

It's hard to say which is harder-- taking in beardies people don't care about or taking in beardies that the owners feel heartbreak over. Either way, it makes me more determined to do right by my beardies and get them into a good home.  

I think I already have the perfect home for her too where she will be adored like before. 


She loves strawberries!

She loved her owner's dog


Snuggling with me while I type

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Finally! Some Sunshine!

It's been cloudy here for the past four or five days (totally abnormal for the summer) and my animals have missed being in the sun.

Thankfully, the beardies can share the window space if I use the "beardie barrier" I made out of corrugated plastic. Here's SweetPea and Toothless side by side. Toothless is fine with SweetPea, but she attempted to eat him last time they were near each other. So they are under my watchful care always.


Welcome to the Zoo!

We have a new addition to our growing reptile zoo-- a 1 year old iguana, Cannoli. She is not a rescue. I traded the uromastyx I took in to my nephew for her. The uro quickly grew to fear me as I cleaned him up, clipped his claws, removed old shed, and got him all fixed up. He adores my nephew.

Cannoli and I are still sizing each other up. She knows I mean business. She's not super tolerant of my younger kids. She likes to explore-- especially upstairs. For now, she's staying with us. We'll see how well she fits into the zoo over time.

Mini-blinds make great ladders!

Camouflage! 

Having a free range moment

She is fascinated by the Legos

Just as I clicked the button, she tried to lick the camera

Checking out the other reptiles

Holding her breath in my big bathtub

Finally some sun to bask in

Friday, August 23, 2013

Neville, rescue number 16

I discovered Neville in the beardie tank at my local PetSmart and noticed his foot was bloodied. The manager pulled him out of the tank and took him to the vet the next day. He ended up losing all but one toe on that back foot and the tip of his tail. The vet (my vet too!) couldn't find anything else wrong with him. He is healthy, active, and eats great. Because he's "special" they couldn't sell him normally. Originally one of the managers was going to take him, but she changed her mind.

You can see his little stump on his right leg

Today they let me adopt him for free. I took him-- against my previous decision to NEVER again take a baby-- because his little pinky toe sticking out is adorable and makes him look like a prissy British lady drinking her tea. And because he is partially green! You don't often find green on beardies.

So I brought him home and set him up in a tank with supplies I already had. He's a wiggly little guy so we didn't have him out much today. I figured he could take the extra time to get settled. Tonight, after I turned off his lights, I couldn't find him on his hide. That's when I discovered that he was in the corner, tippy toeing on one foot, with the other foot pulled up; one hand was straight above his head and the other hand was out. He must dream of being a ballerina! :)


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

My Latest Rescue-- a Uromastyx



a yellow Mali uromastyx. 

This is a new experience for me. I've always admired these lizards (I love their tails), but I have ZERO idea on how to keep them or feed them or anything. I'm doing an internet crash course on how to keep them so at least I have some knowledge of them while I try to find a good home for him.


-----------Update on 8/29/13---------------

The uro went to live with my nephew who adores him without measure. The two of them snuggle together and the uro hangs out on his shoulder. He didn't care much for me because I had to clip his nails, remove old shed, and clean him, but he loves my nephew. That is the best part.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

"The Girls," rescues number 14 & 15

I received a pair of female beardies today. They are only a year old and have never been named. One is a beautiful red color and the other is a pretty pastel.


They are both healthy & super friendly. I'm hopeful that I can place them for adoption really quickly. I cleaned their cage and replaced the ground walnut shell substrate with astroturf.

Spike, rescue number 3.13

One of the agreements I have with my adoptive families is that if they are ever unable to take care of their beardie that they bring him/her back to me.

Last week, Spike, my 3rd rescue, came back to me. He's a sweet boy, but a tad stand-offish (I think it's because of his German Giant boy genes). We've made good progress with him in the last few days and I'm hopeful we can place him soon.



Add caption

At his previous owners house

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Sleeping Beardies

There's something heartwarming to me about having a beardie sleep on me. I love it! I don't feel a sense of connection to them until I can snuggle with them. So most of my "selfies" pics are of me with beardies in my shirt. :)

Here's Toothless. She had a good day-- she stayed outside for 30 minutes, got some liquid calcium, ate 4 calcium-coated crickets, ran around my living room, and then went to sleep in my shirt. :)

Toothless


Squiggy

Bitsy Stubbs

Sydney

SweetPea

SweetPea

Um....? Can't tell. Maybe Squiggy?

Thor

Nigel, myvery first rescue 

Bath Time-- a Weekly Must for Adult Beardies

Adult beardies need a bath *at least* once a week so they have an opportunity to drink and to poop. Once they get used to the bath, they will do both of things without fail.

Juvenile beardies (over 6 months) need a bath a couple times a week. It's best to not bathe baby beardies because they can't handle the temperature changes.

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Bath water should be warm, but not hot! Don't burn them. It's not supposed to be a sauna. Be sure to add  more warm water if they are in the bath for a long time.

Most beardies will involuntarily puff up with air when the get into water; it's a survival instinct to keep them afloat. Don't worry about it.

Some beardies like to swim around and play; some don't. If they like to swim, let them swim. My older three beardies got in tonight, got a drink, and then wanted out.

A beardie who has had a lot to drink will have a very full belly! Don't squeeze them too hard or they will spit the water back up.

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For new beardies who aren't used to baths, I dip my fingers in the water and dribble it on their noses to make them drink. It may take a few drops, but usually they will start opening their mouths and licking up the water. You can keep doing that until they stop licking or you can gently coax their mouths down toward the water so they can drink directly. Once my beardies learn to lap up the water themselves, I don't even have to dribble water on their noses-- they do it immediately.

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If they poop in the water, then bath time is over. Don't let them drink the poopy water. If they haven't had anything to drink, drain the water, wash out the sink, refill the water, and put them back in.

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Once my beardies have bathed, I wrap them in a clean towel and put them back directly under their basking spot so they can warm back up.

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When I have new beardies, I change the water for each one so I don't spread any diseases. Tonight Thor got the first bath, then I washed out the sink and refilled it for Toothless. I also used separate towels for them. Because Lizzie, Max, and SweetPea have been with me and around each other for a long time, I let them share the same water.



SweetPea drinking. She's about to shed so her back is white

Max drinking. He weighed a lot more when I picked him up!

Toothless & her first bath with me

Lizzie drinking. He used to hate bath time, but now he enjoys it

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Toothless, rescue number 12

Toothless was given me today by the lady who adopted Spike. She is about a year old and has MBD already. Her lower jaw is starting to protrude and her spine is curving near her tail. She's young enough that I think a good diet, a lot of outside time, and some calcium injections/supplements will make a difference for her. 

See how tiny?


Trying to get her basking temp up but she kept sitting on the thermometer

Bath time- making sure she is hydrated

"Help! My beardie is sick"-- a Checklist for sick beardies

I've been to the vet enough times that I know the "drill" for assessing sick beardies. I often get phone calls asking me for advice and I find myself using the same questions. I thought I'd post them here for you.

Any time your beardie is acting strangely or not normal, answer these questions FIRST:

1- What's the heating in his tank? 

     There should be a hot basking area of 95 to 105 degrees. The cool side should be around 80 degrees during the day and no colder than 70 degrees at night. A beardie that is too cold cannot digest his food properly, will not eat, will not poop, and will slowly become sicker and sicker.

2- Does he have a UVB light? 

    EVERY BEARDED DRAGON MUST HAVE A UVB LIGHT!!! If you do not, you are dooming your beardie to a slow, tragic, painful, horrible, miserable death. They will NOT get UVB rays through your windows in your house; your windows filter out the light. The cheapest place to get UVB bulbs is on Amazon.com. You can pick one up for under $10.

3- When did he poop last? 

     A beardie who is not pooping may be impacted in their guts. Give a warm bath daily (or several times a day) to help them poop. The longer their food is inside them, the harder it becomes and the harder it is for them to get rid of it. Some beardies poop daily, others every few days. I have a female who prefers to poop once a week and in her water. More than weekly is not healthy for the beardie. Weekly warm baths will make a difference.

4- What substrate do you use in your tank? 
   
     My vets recommend using astroturf in the tank bottom. You can buy it cheaply at Home Depot (it comes 6 ft wide) and cut two of them for your tank. Keep one in the tank and one as back up. When the beardie poops or makes it dirty, you swap the dirty one out for the clean one. The astroturf is super durable and is perfect to put outside so it can be "sun bleached" to kill germs etc.

     Sand -- even calcium sand-- can become impacted in your beardie's guts (though some beardie owners will debate this). Reptile carpet is very expensive but works fine if you want to spend the money. Another option is to get indoor slate tiles from a home improvement store and cut them to fit your tank (the store will usually cut them for free). Slate is easy to clean and has the bonus of filing down your beardie's nails. It will just make your tank very, very heavy.

5- When was the last time your beardie had anything to drink?

     A dehydrated beardie will be lethargic and shrunken looking. Every adult beardie needs a weekly bath; juvenile beardies should have a bath every other day; baby beardies should only be misted with room temperature water. Give your beardie a warm bath for at least 20 minutes and see if he perks up after.

6- When was the last time your beardie had direct sunlight? 

    Direct sunlight is a great thing for your beardie! It can do more to help build calcium & vitamin D levels than any other supplement or light can. During the summer, beardies can go outside every day. Be sure to give them an area of shade and water. I have a rat/guinea pig cage on my back patio that is partially covered with leftover strips of astroturf that my big boy Max likes to stay in. He adjusts his position to keep himself cooler/warmer and is quite happy being outside even when it reaches 100 degrees here. Remember that beardies are desert animals and like the heat.

     NEVER put them in a glass tank outside. You will KILL them very quickly. Use a wire pen like a rat cage or a bird cage that allows air to pass through.

7- What are you feeding your beardie? 

     Juvenile beardies need 75% protein and 25% greens. You can feed them calcium dusted or gut loaded crickets/mealworms/roaches daily. Once they hit 1 year, you need to transition them to 75% greens and 25 % protein. Most beardies I know do not like making this transition. Eating crickets daily is like feeding your kids mac n cheese & hot dogs every day-- tasty, but not very healthy. Your beardie may do a "hunger strike" for a few days (even a week or two) to protest the new healthy diet. Eventually he will start eating again and he will be healthier for it. Too much protein in an adult beardie will fatten up their livers and shorten their lives.

     In the winter, beardies tend to stop eating and being active. It's called "Brumination" and it helps them to stay healthy. Never fear, after a few weeks, your beardie should perk up again. Other times, a beardie can go a week or so without eating. Sometimes that is a sign that something is wrong and sometimes it's just your beardie taking a break.

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If you can answer "yes" to the questions above and your beardie still isn't acting normally, there may be something more serious going on. Your best bet is to find a reptile vet and take your beardie in.
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My vets like to say that outdoor time is one of the best things you can do for your reptiles. Summer is the perfect time for outdoor time so USE IT to make your beardies healthier.

If you have any other questions, please post them below. I'd be happy to try to answer them. :)