I have inherited a bearded dragon that was attacked by crickets and has been seen by the vet when the incident occurred this past summer. The vet gave him antibiotics and pretty much said the environment he was in was good and to let him heal, the owner took him literally, gave hiim the antibiotics but no vet followup....I have him now, and his left hind leg is obviously dead. you can look at the thing and see it's stiff as a board, shriveled up and brittle...the previous owner was a kid who should've known better but didn't. i am told he got him that way from a pet store for free, since the dragon was already hurting, but i'm not really sure, he came to me from a friend of a friend, and so did the story.
so now, i've got him and he's a good eater, he's definitely blind from a cricket bite in one eye - the eye is scabbed over, i'm bathing him nightly and the skin is definitely beginning to shed. i talked to some experienced herp people i know through the "network" of rescuers i know and they all say to let him go, give him the crickets dusted, give him some chicken/beef/veal baby food and some baby food veggies to encourage him to eat, and he'll shed it off....true, he'll lose the leg, and all, but i've had him a month and he's shed twice with the increase of food, he climbs everywhere i let him go (i've reduced his climbing opportunities) and i'm just waiting it out. i did call the vet, the tech recommended getting him seen and having x-rays taken, but she also said if it's been that long, there's not much they'll do except cut the leg off. the infections have healed, his skin is shedding....so she said it was my call to bring him in or not. she didn't say whether or not he'll lose the limb.
so my question is...will he really just lose the limb? i gotta admit, he doesn't seem to slow down at all because of the dead leg. i've search this site and am having a hard time finding info on it. i can't take him to the vet yet.....finanically speaking it's too tough to spend a ton of money right now. i know you'll say give him to someone else, but my info says i'm just as ok with him being with me. oviously if he was in obvious pain, not eating or anything else, i'd take him, but it's looking to be just a cosmetic thing right now....
please don't be ugly to me, i'm just trying to figure out what the best options area and the best information is.
so now, i've got him and he's a good eater, he's definitely blind from a cricket bite in one eye - the eye is scabbed over, i'm bathing him nightly and the skin is definitely beginning to shed. i talked to some experienced herp people i know through the "network" of rescuers i know and they all say to let him go, give him the crickets dusted, give him some chicken/beef/veal baby food and some baby food veggies to encourage him to eat, and he'll shed it off....true, he'll lose the leg, and all, but i've had him a month and he's shed twice with the increase of food, he climbs everywhere i let him go (i've reduced his climbing opportunities) and i'm just waiting it out. i did call the vet, the tech recommended getting him seen and having x-rays taken, but she also said if it's been that long, there's not much they'll do except cut the leg off. the infections have healed, his skin is shedding....so she said it was my call to bring him in or not. she didn't say whether or not he'll lose the limb.
so my question is...will he really just lose the limb? i gotta admit, he doesn't seem to slow down at all because of the dead leg. i've search this site and am having a hard time finding info on it. i can't take him to the vet yet.....finanically speaking it's too tough to spend a ton of money right now. i know you'll say give him to someone else, but my info says i'm just as ok with him being with me. oviously if he was in obvious pain, not eating or anything else, i'd take him, but it's looking to be just a cosmetic thing right now....
please don't be ugly to me, i'm just trying to figure out what the best options area and the best information is.
