Handicapped beardie *updated pictures*(20 mo later)

Went in the petstore yesterday to get some crickets for our 3 adults, even though they have all varieties of worms on hand too and the petstore owner said she had been waiting for us to come in. Had something she wanted to show us. I thought she just had a question but boy, was I ever wrong. Followed her to the reptile room and she went over to the tank where a baby beardie was. She took him out and showed us that he only had one eye. Looks like it never developed and he also has a small lump on top of his head that looks like a birth defect. Anyway, she said he was eating good and very active. She handed him to me and he stretched out across my hand. He looked so content. My hubby held him too. I told her that if she thought she couldn't sell him or thought he wasn't doing well, to let me know and I'd help out. (I was still trying not to get attached.) Next thing I know, she brings over a small box and said, "you can have him for what I paid for him at the reptile show $20.00" and my hubby handed him to her and said "put him in the box." I was speechless and not sure that I wanted/needed to start from square one again with a baby, especially one with only one eye. But, we took him. Already had a spare 10 gallon tank, extra UVB hood and good bulb, extra small clamp light, some shelf liner on hand etc etc. The only thing we didn't have was tiny crickets so we picked up a few of them. We brought him home and got him all set up.
He actually didn't seem to suffer any relocation stress which was quite a surprise but he's having some difficulty catching the teeny tiny crickets and gets frustrated. They are so fast and with him only being able to see on one side, it makes it very difficult for him to catch them himself. I handfed a few and he ate them but since some of the crickets are so tiny, it's hard for me to pick them up in my fingers without squishing them. They have to be alive enough to wiggle & get his attention. I have the day off tomorrow so I'm going to try putting a few in the frig for a few minutes to see if that makes it easier for him. Since he's so thin, I did feed some vegetable/chicken babyfood with a plastic medicine dropper and he very willingly licked it off his nose once yesterday and once tonight. He also drank a little warm water and a little diluted 100% juice tonight. Even soaked him in a little warm water last night and he didn't seem to mind. So, I guess considering all the changes, he's doing quite well. He even likes to lay on our necks. So, everyone wish us luck helping this little guy/girl. Without further adieu, here's Widget:


This is the eye that never developed.




I haven't measured him yet, but I think he's about 5 inches long, most of it being tail. I can see some reddish tones already and he also has a little red coloring around his ears. What do you think of our new baby?

he is so so cute. the place i go to get crickets, etc., nearly always has baby beardies and other baby lizards and if they weren't so expensive, i would buy them all. babies are always cute. :love5:
with the feeding, and i'm not sure if you could get something like it in the states, but i bought a feeding rock for my beardies a little while. it's like a little cave. it has a lid and i hole with a little stopper thing in it. the reason i'm mentioning it, is that you fill the crickets into it, with supplements, pop the lid on, give it a shake and remove the stopper. the crickets come out 1 by 1, so it's impossible for them to not be caught (unless they all rush out at once). it seems like maybe a good tool to help widget get some crickets, with out him being frustrated.
if you can't find one, the website i'm constantly talk about (the online shop one) i think actually sells them online.

hes SOOOOOOO cute..

awww... i had a one eyed fish once...

i also saw a pet show on tv the other day that surgically removed a beardies eye.. because it had some nasty infection

im sure he'll be fine, especially under your care... he really is cute.. you could just try silkworms.. if he really cant catch them crickets..

That's so sweet and good of you and your husband. Alot of people only want "perfect" pets but to me that little guy is just darling.

Congratulations on your new reptile child!

What an awesome baby beardie. He is so lucky you found him.

Sandy

Magick & Semi

aww he's adorable, congratulations on your new baby Thank goodness you took him in because he probably wouldn't have made it very well otherwise. And props to that store owner for having the sense to do what they did. It's great to hear about a responsible pet shop owner who cares more about the animals than making a quick buck.

Thanks everyone for your comments/suggestions. Widget is doing better today. As I was picking out large crickets from container to feed to my adults, I noticed there were some smaller ones in with them. So, before I put the tiny ones in the frig, I thought I'd try a few of the small ones. I dusted them, pulled off their back legs and double checked the size. They were perfect. So, tossed 2 in and he did the hunt stance and ran after them, gobbling them up. Found some more that size and he has now eaten 9 of them all on his own. So, after I get my haircut today, I'm going to the petstore to get some small ones. Boy, was he proud of himself. 8) He seemed to have a full belly after eating those and didn't show an interest in the other 2 I just offered. Kirby, I did try the silkies first, but he just tips his head and watches them. :roll: I haven't seen him pick at any greens yet, but right now I'm just happy he is eating on his own.

Very cute baby. It's lucky to have you.

Thanks. Although I've given lots of advice to baby beardie owners, I had actually forgotten how much care babies are, but now I remember. I offered him a drink on his nose, but he didn't want any. Picked him up and he fell asleep on my fingers while I stroked his head. He seems to want to cuddle after he gets his belly full but I want to make sure he digests his crickets first.

cool! 8)

Congrats on your new baby! He's just adorable!! He's in good hands

hes a darling im glad he did better with the smalls than the pinheads.he is gonna be just fine under your care!

Yaaaaay for Wdiget

I'm curious as to why his eye would'nt have developed.

Anyway, I'm glad he was able to eat on his own. My first concern when seeing that he only had one eye was, how is he going to be able to hunt??

Well definatley keep us updated on him!

Also, at the risk of sounding rude.... Don't you think he'd look good with a little eye patch, like a pirate? Not sure if it would stay on that well, but it's worth a try.

Sorry, just the idea of beardies dressed up as pirates makes me giggle :?

Hello Diane,

Great rescue, what a cutie pie he is. He is so very lucky isn't he!! He will be just fine with you taking care of him now. I am so happy he is eating on his own, too.
Other than the eye, he looks healthy.

Tracie

Thanks all. I gave him his first bath tonight. He just sat in the palm of my hand and looked around. I think his hearing is more acute because of only having the one eye. There isn't a sound of any kind that he doesn't notice. After his bath, I wrapped him up in a fuzzy washcloth and he fell asleep on my hubby's chest for about 1 1/2 hrs. He looked so content.

I have to say that I am glad that I'm not using any type of loose substrate because he licks everything. Just about every inch in his viv gets the lick when I put him back in. Took him a little while to find the right spot tonight but after some moving & scratching around, he finally found it. I put his washcloth in there, but he lays alongside it. :lol: I'm sure that will change shortly but right now he's not used to soft things as he was on bark in the petstore.