Hi folks,
Thank-you everyone, for your well wishes, it's taken me this long to settle down with all the cleaning, etc....................... BUT NOW SHE'S HOME!!!!!!
Let me start from the beginning..........
I've always wanted to have a little girl, but I'm moving to the west coast when my house sells, so this is not the best time to get a new beardie, of course, it doesn't stop me from looking on line...and dreaming of that day. :wink:
Well, on craig's list someone posted a 2 yr old "handicapped" girl......... aggressive (I feel this will leave her with proper lighting and food)............. so not a good pet for children, and would be asking for a rehoming fee.
Long story short.......the lister couldn't take care of her........... he was interested in other pets and was moving on, and when I saw a picture of her, I knew she was suppose to be mine. Many people called for her, and he said that if I came down to pick her up, he would not charge me for her. Sooooooooo...........off I went, with much anticipation and knowing it was going to be a long day trip.
When I saw her, she was in a dirty viv, sand substrate, urate smelling drift wood, and she was very small with poop smears on her. She had a household light bulb only......... with a black light for night time......... no food or vitamins on hand.......... with everything in much need of a good cleaning. In the owners defense......... he said he wanted her to go to a good home............. so someone could take care of her. When I saw her.......... I instantly fell in love.
I brought her some butterworms, to see if she would eat them in her enviroment before I scooped her up to take her away d/t the possibility that she'd have relocation stress and not eat. She goobled them up..........I was so happy!
When I picked her up, she was very tense, bearding without darkening, and trying to bite me x2........ but I was persistent, and rubbed the top of her head, so she settled down quickly. So tiny........I asked the owner, are you sure she's 2 yr's old? He said yes, and told me how she lost her feet, etc. Apparently she was a runt, and the other babies attacked her leaving her with her right front foot missing at the ankle, back left missing from the ankle down, back right missing right below the knee down, and half her tail. She has the front left limb completely, but the fingers are crooked, the limbs are very skinny, and mushy/soft, significant of MBD, also her jaw is a little off alignment, another sign of MBD too.
I wrapped her snuggly in a soft towel, and she went home on my friends chest, cozy and sleeping. I brought hand warmers with me so they were within the towel......... she was toasty warm and appeared very content. It was a long day, and the only time she moved, was when she did a poop........ much to my delight........... because of the sand substrate housing. I had brought another towel, just in case that happened.
I had another viv set-up at home for a holding tank so that I could clean the one he gave me, but we were all too tired to start that project when we finally got home, so today was the cleaning/
bathing/decorating day.
I have named her "BELLA"...............for she is truely "beautiful".......... she has some orange/red on her face/beard and back, not too much, just enough. Her eyes are the perfect color with the golden color outlining the dark iris, she has a short nose, 9" long, from nose to tail end, and weighs 140 gm. She looks like a baby not a 2 yr. old.
When she woke up in the AM, she had a nice salad then I gave her some phoenix worms......... she's very alert and study's everything, including me. She pooped again, which was wonderful, formed but smelly, so I'll be testing her soon for parasites.
Bath time was cute, I held her and took a soft toothbrush and removed the dried poop from her........ I think she thought she died and went to heaven.
I am using what I have........... I have cleaned and baked her things, I couldn't salvage one piece of driftwood, because the urate smell wouldn't come out.
I have a very low hammock for her, a hide, and a low log......... she manages well with walking........ but woobles d/t the MBD and her legs being unevenly amputated.
Here is the bad news..............I have a digital camera and a cell phone camera and I don't know how to post on the computer. I have pictures of Ollie and Pyrex in my e-mail pictures section, that I wanted to submit for the calendar.... along with Bella now, but I don't know how to move it from there to here. I need a one on one talk through instruction guide, but I've been so busy for that.......... in the mean time, I'll keep you posted, if folks are interested.
All I can say is............ she is precious, and I love her........... plus I want to give her the best home that she deserves, especially with her past.
Thanks for all your interest, sorry for the long winded detail, your support has always been appreciated.
Bug and wishes to you and yours,
Christine
