Missing for 15 months!

We bought a bearded dragon around 6 years ago. He was 6 weeks old when we got him. He was very healthy and such a lover. He loved to go outside to bask. We made a little place for him in a dog kennel to go outside once a day. We had been doing this for a long time. He would stay out about an hour and then back in the house. One day while out basking he got out of the kennel. My husband was frantic and began searching everywhere for him. We called friends and family to come help look. We have a large field with a drainage ditch behind our house. We spent days out looking for him. Days turned into weeks that then turned into months. We got rid of all of his stuff because we just knew he was gone forever. We could not even imagine getting another one as we so heart broken. This was one of our children (only a beardie parent would understand that). Well this weekend a friend posted that he found a lizard on a table in his back yard. I knew right away it was Rango. My heart dropped. My husband went right over to the house but he was already gone. Yesterday that all changed. Yesterday, 15 months later, we received a call from animal control that they may have found Rango. We live in a small Texas town where everybody knows everybody. My husband and I raced right over and I knew right away it was him. He was wild, skinny and scared but all the color markings were exactly the same. We brought him home and started from scratch. We couldn't even touch him yesterday. I called a vet and of course they didn't want to give out any info over the phone. We are looking for someone to answer some questions. Today is way better. He is calm, color is changing, we are holding him, and he is eating. My questions are as follows: 1. Have you ever heard of such a thing? 15 months in the weather seems nuts to me. 2. How much do we feed him? He is starving and I know how much he used to eat but that has all changed now? 3. Should I take him to the vet? 4. Do you think he will eventually remember us?

If you've made it this far, thank you. We just don't know where else to turn and previously visited this site often to make sure we were doing things right. Any help/suggestions will be appreciated.

That's quite an experience ! Can you post pics of the intrepid explorer ? Here's how:

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then hit XIMG

Does he look energetic despite being thin ? You can offer food, just not to stuff him. For example, if he formerly are 10 superworms OR 5-6 large dubia, give him only half of that [ half of one type of the insects, not both types together. ] He will remember you most likely, at least to a degree. Hold off on the vet, let him settle in and get de-stressed and gain a little weight. Maybe after a month take in a fecal sample unless he looks + acts really sick, which it doesn't sound like at all. He should bounce back. Offer water via a spray bottle, gently drip/spray it on his snout. Give him time to realize it's a drink. If he's O.K with a soak, try that to get him a drink as well using warmish/lukewarm water about shoulder deep. Beardies are hardy, that's why he survived possible cold nights and having to forage for bugs + vegetation that could sustain him.

I will figure out how to upload the pics. He isn't really acting sick, just not the same as before. Thank you so much for the information. I fed him about 20 crickets yesterday, he previously ate around 50 every other day.

OMG what an amazing story x

Wow, that is great you got him back!

Hello,

WOW, that is amazing, how wonderful you got him back. That is basically unheard of for them to be gone for that long & have made it.
He will eventually remember you, since he was with you quite awhile previously. I am glad to hear he isn't missing any limbs or has any injuries, either. At least he ate some crickets, that is great!
Go slow with him but it sounds like he is going to be just fine.

Tracie

Amazing that he has been found.

I am so happy he's home!!!!! Sending blessings and lots of love!

I'm doing a happy dance for you!!!

I'm sure that eventually he will come around, he just needs time. Think, he spent over a year being alone, and in the space of a couple of days he was picked up by animal control and probably had to hear all of the scary sounds there; plus what to him must seem like a total change from what he had become used to.

I would offer him a soak if he seems willing to do it, but be ready to pull him out of the bath quickly if he fights it. My best guess on if he needs to go to vet or not is what his next couple of poops look like. If they look off, then the vet would be a consideration.

Update on Rango...

The first two days were rough. He jumped every time we got near him. He seemed to always be on alert and he was starving. We started putting him in the tub for a bath the second day. He loved it and seemed to be a little dehydrated as well. When we had him before he would only poop when we gave him a bath, so we started that again. He ate and ate but didn't poop. I started getting worried and finally five days later he had the absolute largest lizard poop I had ever seen in my life. That's the poop update!

I am a nurse and my husband owns his own business. I have been off 7 days in a row and my husband is flexible with his schedule so this happened at a great time. We have been able to devote a lot of time and attention to him. On the second day, we were able to hold him, well my husband was able to hold him. He was still a little frantic when being held but we continued. He ended up perching on my husbands shoulder by the end of the second day. I have 4 kids that have missed him dearly so on the third day we let them touch him. He did better each day. By the third night he was wrapped in a blanket, laying under my neck. That is how he was before and we are back there again. He has not been frantic at all, but he has been sleeping a lot. He loves to be held and swaddled in a blanket. The eating has slowed down and he doesn't seem to be starving like he was. Now my kids are holding him and he seems so content. We are very happy with his progress.

I have tried to upload pictures and it wI'll not work. Maybe because I am trying to do it from my phone? I will try from my computer.

To upload pictures
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/

Then on your post press XIMG and select the picture!

I can't wait to see what he looks like.

This is day one when we picked him up from the Animal Shelter. He has never looked like this before or ever been this scared.

The ride home in the only thing we had at the time to transport him. He still would not let us touch him.

Right to the bath and as you can see, he loved it

Gaining trust from my husband

Seriously made me cry to see him be at ease again

Bath day three and he is so exhausted and relaxed my husband had to leave his hand under his chin to keep his head above water.

I finally got to cuddle up with him. We used to do this every night before we put him to bed.

Aww, welcome back Rango!