wounded basilisk

im short on time this morning. i really wanted to update my 3 dragons theads but it looks like this post is going to take up that time.


i would like to find out as much as i can about caring for this little lizard. according to the label on the tank it is a green basilisk. i googled that name and found some babies that look just like this one so i guess it is a basilisk.



he somehow hurt his eye(not pictured), either scratching it or rubbing it on something. i can still see the eye move but its halfway shut and rolled down into his head. i walked past his cage and found the poor little guy hiding behind a small stick. he is obviously malnourished/dehydrated and i dont know if he is going ot make it .

so far ive only rinsed his eye in luke-warm water, is betadine ok to use in this situation? ive read they dont like high temps, maybe a warm side of 86F. is that correct? it also said that nighttime temps shouldnt fall below 75F.

the care sheet said they need a full spectrum UVB light, well right now the best i could do is a reptiglo 5.0. i wanted to get him a ReptiSun 5.0 but they were $40 there :| . it seems like they're not a desert species so i was thinking maybe high levels of UVB(10.0) arent beneficial. he is about 10" from the tube on the ground and 6-7" on the branches. i havent provided a daytime heatsource, i didnt know how to get a "hotspot" of only 86F without going over. i figured my house was already there(82.4) so maybe a bulb would push it into the 90's. is a heat pad ok to use with this species or should i just provide a 15watt heat bulb on one side?

right now my mom is housing him because i simply cant afford to keep any more animals. hes in a 10gallon with woodchips, i know this isnt appropriate and i was hoping someone could shed some light on proper car for this species. my mom really likes him and wants him to pull through, hopefully i can make that happen... any help would be gretly appreciated :wink: .

I just have to say.... awwwwwwwwwww

Oh dear, Jason. You've done it again! haha.

From what I know about them, and from what you're telling me your setup it decent. And after you get all the proper lighting it will be perfect. Most of these kind of lizards also will not drink from still water. Misting him daily or putting an airstone in a deep water dish should keep him hydrated. I've known many lizards to get so excited and drinking a ton of water just as soon as you put an airstone in their water dish.

If you try either one of these and he doesn't drink thats not good. He NEEEDS to get hydrated asap. I would recommend force feeding him water as a last ditch effort, but still keep a syringe handy. If its only a little bit that you get down him every little bit helps. Dont over do it cause sometimes it'll send extremely fragile ones over the edge and put them in shock. but it'll be important for his healing to get hydrated and get some protein in him.

As for his eye....I don't know what to tell you...He will probably need steroid drops if his eye is severly damaged.

Poor guy. I will be praying for him. Sorry I didn't give the best information....

Hello Jason,

There you go saving another unfortunate lizard! Good for you. I hope we can get him to health. I am pretty sure he is a basilisk but he is SO thin & emaciated.
The daytime basking temps need to run around 95-100 & the humidity should be 70-90% though so make sure he does have proper humidity. The water dish should be large & deep enough for him to submerge himself in to stay hydrated.
He will eventually need a 55 gallon or larger so he can have room to roam. They do like to climb, so try to get a tall enclosure, that will work alot better than just a long tank.
What do you plan on feeding him? They can have earthworms, crickets, snails, grasshoppers & fruits & veggies.

The eye looks a bit irritated. I recommend using a saline solution such as a turtle eye drops that you should be able to find at the petstore, & use them for 7-10 days to help his eye out.

The substrate is fine, but the woodchips wont really hold a whole lot of humidity. I would suggest using cypress mulch or dirt or a mixture of both. They will hold moisture much better.

As far as feeding, be careful right now, about overfeeding protein. He is very thin & is very dehydrated. So, for the first 3-5 days, I would focus on rehydration & make nutritional slurries out of greens & veggies, along with calcium. Monitor the stools to make sure he is digesting & passing everything ok, & that the urates are not solid rocks when they come out. Giving protein to a dehydrated lizard can cause kidney distress so be careful with the protein.

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

Hi Jason,

Wow..........you really have a big/soft heart, I can certainly relate, did you check out my new baby, Bella....... enough........... don't want to hi-jack......... I'm sorry I don't have info on this baby, but sound like Tracie/Drache 613 can really help. Do you get him/her at a pet store and did you have to pay for it? If so, I'm amazed that this pet store stays in business with all it's neglected animals. (Same place that you got LG, Trouble, and Mayze at?)

I'll be praying for you and your continued family,

Christine

Jason,Jason,Jason! What are we going to do with you? First you fill your house with dragons in need and now you start on your mom's house with another species! If there were more people in the world like you there would be no animals in need, I bet. St. Frances must be your patron. How else can we explain it. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. You may have to put up a combined thread to keep us posted on everyone and still have a bit of time for yourself. Title it "Jason's Reptile Zoo". My kids would love it.


Sandy H

thanks for the replies everyone, but hes not looking good . his condition seems to have deteriorated abit since this morning. i really need to get that jumpstart hydration stuff, its a bit late now but ill make it my project tommorow.

this one is just so much worse than anything ive taken in... he doesnt even have the energy to squirm away when i pick him up. i really hope he can hold on through the night, or is he just suffering now :| ?

thanks again everyone. i feel pretty helpless right now...

p.s. tracie, the eye in the picture is not the damaged eye(though it may be infected). his damaged eye is pretty bad, its covered in a tranluscent goop. i know he really needs a vet, if i can find someone to borrow 50-60 dollars from and to take me to a vet i will. its just that i dont have a drivers lisence or any money right now.

ok, i went to the petsmart near my house to get that "jumpstart" but they didnt have it :x . i grabbed the only thing that resembled that product:

FLUKERS REPTA-AID
critical care formula
INSECTIVORE/CARNIVORE EMERGENCY AID

its a powder to be mixed with water and dropped into the mouth. is this ok for him? its not going to overload him with protien and vitamins is it?

*i am not going to administer this untill i hear back from someone. i dont want him to die of dehydration/hunger, but i dont want him dying because of something i gave him either *

help :| .

Hello Jason,

It is a good product. My question is how do his urates look, is he getting more hydrated now? How does his skin look now?
I would start very slowly with it, & thin it out appropriately. Just mix it up & give up to 1ml daily, & that should be fine, but not too much protein for him at this point in time.
How is he doing now?

Tracie

thanks for the reply. he is very skinny; his skin is wrinkled and his limbs are thin. i have yet to see him poop so i couldnt tell you what the urates look like. he was being kept with other lizards at the store so i couldnt say whether the poop in that cage was his or not.

how do i open his mouth with out hurting him? i remember you mentioning a "specula", what could i use around the house? i spent ALL my money on this guys light, meds and the lizard itself. i dont mind spending the $40, i just dont want him to die. i would hate to think i was one week too late :| .

jscott":edf68 said:

thanks for the reply. he is very skinny; his skin is wrinkled and his limbs are thin. i have yet to see him poop so i couldnt tell you what the urates look like. he was being kept with other lizards at the store so i couldnt say whether the poop in that cage was his or not.

how do i open his mouth with out hurting him? i remember you mentioning a "specula", what could i use around the house? i spent ALL my money on this guys light, meds and the lizard itself. i dont mind spending the $40, i just dont want him to die. i would hate to think i was one week too late :| .

Click to expand...

Poor little guy, I don't have a clue about this species, but when I've had to open my boys mouth, I've used a "cleaned" credit card that you won't be using again, one that doesn't have raised numbers. Then I've kept it for that beardie only. But you must be very careful not to overload him with too many fluids at once, when you get his mouth open.....preventing aspirating. Tracie/Drache613 has great advice, she'll chime in again.............. Best wishes,

success :mrgreen: ! at first i didnt think he would take the slurry. i used half the powder recomended, i didnt want to overload him. i dropped some on his lips but it rolled right off. then, i put a drop on my fingertip and brought it to him untill the drop was wicking on to his lips. he eventually started lapping the drop up. he lifted his head alittle after he finished it, as if asking for more. he probably had a 1/2 cc at 50% normal dilution. after that i put him back in his cage, it almost looked as if he was headbobbing. i hope he wasnt choking, when he walked around he kind of dragged his head . well he found his way to his water dish and immediately started lapping from the surface. its like the repta-aid started his system going again. i though he was drowning so i nudged him at which point he raised his head and licked his lips.

this is a big step in the right direction. i cant believe he actually took the solution without having to manually open his mouth. next time i feed him ill try not to lose so much, about half of the CC didnt go in his mouth so ill try to make sure he gets alittle more tommorow.

thanks again tracie for all your help. i really hope this little guy pulls through. if he does, ill know it was soley because of this site :wink: .


*EDIT* sorry, it took me a while to type that.

beardie osk, thanks for the advice. i think a credit card might be too thick for him but ill keep that in mind for my dragons. i think hes going to get better, he drank some of that fluid AND some water on his own. hopefully he'll be eating crickets in no time .

Jason-
You may think I' weird for saying this (wouldn't be the first time) :roll: But I think you need to name him. I know you like to wait, but- The native Americans believe that names have power, many groups think that naming a child gives him strength. Please give this little guy strength and the power to survive, give him a name. It can be a temp name just for this phase of his life. Once he is healthy again you can give him a new name to go with his new strength. I dunno, I just felt I needed to say that. I have learned to listen to such feelings. Do with it what you will. Prayers and good wishes

Sandy H

i dont completely like the name she chose but my mom already gave him a name; Geico...

i told her that he wasnt a gecko but she didnt care. personally, i like the name samson 8) .

Hello Jason,

That is great that he took some of the fluids & food & then even drank on his own, too. I hope that his body will kick in on its' own soon. Poor thing, he sure is thin, but with you helping him, how can he go wrong?
Just keep a close eye on his stools & make sure his urates are soft as well.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie