animal attach attention needed

[biffnut]

hi, i was wondering if you could help.
i found a 40cm bearded dragon outside my house (wild one) with about a 3cm gash and his stomach hanging out.
i have irrigated and put it back in and bandaged it up. i have been giving him water and so far his is in day 3 and is still looking ok.
he is looking around but is not aggressive at all. i am unsure what to feed him and was wondering if you could give me some advice that might get his recovery happening a little quicker. i have not stitched up the wound or anything like that.
we do not have access to a vet so we are doing what we can.
he is moving around an this morning has run across the deck. we do not think it is safe to allow him back in the wild with the open wound so we are keeping him in a tub that allows diffused light in and bring him out to sun himself a couple of times a day. when he moves into the shade we put him back in the tub.
not sure what else to do with him
if we could get any kind of advice we would appriciate it.
Janet

 

[Drache613]

Hello Janet,

You are located in Australia correct?
Good grief, what happened to him, was he attacked by something?
How BAD is it?
It really should be stitched up though. That is something you cannot do at home because you don't have any anesthesia & to stitch him up without that is not doable.
What are you using on it to keep it from getting infected? I suggest an antibiotic ointment if you can get some.
Was his stomach damaged or just the external skin? If his stomach literally was damaged, he may have a hard time eating & digesting in the long run. If the stomach itself was not damaged, you could try to get some bandages & realign the skin as best you can, back together & it will eventually heal up but it will take awhile though.
Can you post a picture of him?
Is he eating?

Tracie

 

[biffnut]

sorry to say we lost him this afternoon. it was, i believe a dog, that got him. i think there may have been more internal damage that we could not see.
thank you for your response in anycase.
Janet

 

[Drache613]

Hello Janet,

Oh, I was afraid of that. I am sorry. I have several friends in Bundaberg who "help" dragons from time to time. One dragon they had caught last year was torn up but he actually made it! They kept him for a couple of months though & were able to get him to a vet for some meds. They released him back into his territory about 10 weeks or so later, after he was healed up pretty well.
That is too bad.

Tracie