OrcasBeardies
New member
Hi. I'm new to this forum so please let me know if I'm leaving anything out of my post.
I recently replied to an ad on craigslist with someone rehoming two beardies. I've had beardies for 3 years now and have gotten a couple that were in questionable shape off craigslist before but all they really needed was some groceries and a better set up. These are a little different. When I showed up they had the setup disassembled and the beardies in a transport container that had been used to ship rats (they bred rats and snakes). They said they disassembled everything to get it ready for us but now I realize that it was to cover up the condition of the female. When I looked them over I checked gender (one boy, one girl) and assessed body condition. The boy looked great. Citrine, the girl, was waay too skinny and had a recent wound to her back foot. They told me that they had had them for a year and that she had the bite when they got her. The pictures they posted one the ad were obviously old because she had looked great in the pictures.
When I got her home and warmed her up it was immediately obvious that something was seriously wrong. She had extreme muscle wasting and difficulty controlling her legs. It looked like she had some weird neurologic issue. As far as I can tell it seems like she has metabolic bone disease. She was lethargic and had next to no appetite. I could get her to eat a little greens with coaxing but nothing else. I have been mixing a powder I picked up at the local pet store for rehabbing sick beardies with a little calcium supplement and syringe feeding her. I have been giving her soaks daily to every other day to keep her hydrated and help her wounds shed and I have been cleaning the wounds with chlorhexidine solution. Her foot was pretty infected when I got her and she lost all the toes on that leg.
I have had her for about a month and a half now and so far she seems to be doing better. She is now eating calcium covered crickets by herself and has gained a little bit of weight. She is still what is probably considered just above emaciated which speaks to the condition I got her in. I think she would have gained more but she had some pretty bad worms and no appetite. I just dewormed her and Puff, the male, with fenbendazole so hopefully that will speed up her recovery. She has better motor control now then she did when I got her but she still walks by dragging her front feet under her to move then up front. She can hold her self up now and enjoys swimming around in her baths but I'd like to know if there is something else I can do to help her. I know reptiles heal slowly but it going slower then I thought it would.
I'm so mad at the old owners. I can't believe they would dump an animal this sick on someone without a little bit of warning. I would have still taken her but it would have been nice to have been able to prepare everything before bringing her home.
I recently replied to an ad on craigslist with someone rehoming two beardies. I've had beardies for 3 years now and have gotten a couple that were in questionable shape off craigslist before but all they really needed was some groceries and a better set up. These are a little different. When I showed up they had the setup disassembled and the beardies in a transport container that had been used to ship rats (they bred rats and snakes). They said they disassembled everything to get it ready for us but now I realize that it was to cover up the condition of the female. When I looked them over I checked gender (one boy, one girl) and assessed body condition. The boy looked great. Citrine, the girl, was waay too skinny and had a recent wound to her back foot. They told me that they had had them for a year and that she had the bite when they got her. The pictures they posted one the ad were obviously old because she had looked great in the pictures.
When I got her home and warmed her up it was immediately obvious that something was seriously wrong. She had extreme muscle wasting and difficulty controlling her legs. It looked like she had some weird neurologic issue. As far as I can tell it seems like she has metabolic bone disease. She was lethargic and had next to no appetite. I could get her to eat a little greens with coaxing but nothing else. I have been mixing a powder I picked up at the local pet store for rehabbing sick beardies with a little calcium supplement and syringe feeding her. I have been giving her soaks daily to every other day to keep her hydrated and help her wounds shed and I have been cleaning the wounds with chlorhexidine solution. Her foot was pretty infected when I got her and she lost all the toes on that leg.
I have had her for about a month and a half now and so far she seems to be doing better. She is now eating calcium covered crickets by herself and has gained a little bit of weight. She is still what is probably considered just above emaciated which speaks to the condition I got her in. I think she would have gained more but she had some pretty bad worms and no appetite. I just dewormed her and Puff, the male, with fenbendazole so hopefully that will speed up her recovery. She has better motor control now then she did when I got her but she still walks by dragging her front feet under her to move then up front. She can hold her self up now and enjoys swimming around in her baths but I'd like to know if there is something else I can do to help her. I know reptiles heal slowly but it going slower then I thought it would.
I'm so mad at the old owners. I can't believe they would dump an animal this sick on someone without a little bit of warning. I would have still taken her but it would have been nice to have been able to prepare everything before bringing her home.
