Jojo-back to square one

[ZephyrasHuman]

Yesterday I was at my local reptile store when I was told that a beardie came in that needed to be worked with that was very cheap because of her "issues". I asked if I could see her, and he brought her to me, mouth open and ready to bite. She tried to bite everyone that came near her due to her abuse, which was why she needed someone. She was a teenage boy's pet; She was kept in a shoebox for about a year with no uvb, heat, salad, water, and was barely fed any crickets. I knew I had to have her, so I took her home with me and have been giving her cuddles and love. My brother decided on the name Jojo; I like the name Sienna because she's the color of burnt sienna (crayola crayon) but I guess it's Jojo (for now). xP Jojo, being about a year old, is only 9 inches long. I've only had her for 24 hours, but she's now the sweetest little beardie ever. She doesn't try to bite at all anymore, except it was weigh in day today and she wasn't happy with us because she was napping(in the middle of the day) and my brother took her out to weigh her and get her measurements, and consequently she flared up at my brother. She also eats like a pig! She eats about 120 crickets a day. xD I really want to punch the kid who abused her. It's really sad to see beardies being treated like this. I don't have any pics of her yet, but I'll get some up soon. I just wanted to share the story.

 

[Nasubi77]

A shoe box.... astounding.

Congrats on saving this girl! I'm sure she will be eternally grateful for being rescued from that situation!

I realize her appetite is ravenous, but you might want to slowly increase her protein. When a beardie (or any animal) has been malnourished, a lot of food can overwhelm their system and can cause organ failure.

I would probably start her on about 20-30 crickets a day, along with a salad, and after a few days if she is pooping normally and seems perky, increase by 10 every few days. I would also feed those in small portions a couple times a day instead of all at once. Maybe get a soft bodied worm, like phoenix, horns or silks to supplement the crickets.

Of course, she'll need frequent baths because I'm sure she is dehydrated, but I'm sure you already knew that. I would bathe her every day if you can but at least every 3 days.

Is she showing any signs of MBD? If she were, I would recommend the liquid calcium because it's easier for her body to process, but the powder is fine, too. The regular schedule of 5x a week should suffice for her.

Can't wait to see pics of her! Congrats again!

 

[lizardgrrl]

Congratulations on rescuing this sweet baby. :love5: In addition to Susan's notes, here's one from my experience. You need to supplement very well as you increase Jojo's diet. I took on an undersized baby who "only eats one or two crickets a day." (Three months old and 5 inches long ) She ate 12 crickets the first time I fed her. I had her up to 50-60 crickets within a couple of days, and nearly 100 at one month with me. She put on 1 1/4 inches that first week with me, :shock: and a total of 2 1/4 inches that first month, and even through her crickets were being dusted well, she had a spasm that scared the daylights out of me. I got her to the vet, and blood tests showed the calcium levels in her blood were very low. Her growth was exceeding the supplements, using them all immediately, and once I added liquid calcium from the vet, the MBD very quickly disappeared. She still did not become a large dragon, but she was considerably larger than she would have been if she had remained with one or two crickets a day!

I am so glad you are getting Jojo on the path to a better and much healthier life! :love5: :love5: :love5: :love5: :love5:

 

[ZephyrasHuman]

Susan, thanks for telling me about the possible organ failure. I didn't know that could happen. How often should I add more crickets in? Like, i give her 15 today, 20 tomorrow, etc.? Or do I start with 15 for a couple of days and then increase? I really want to take her to the vet to get her checked out after being in those conditions, but my mom doesn't want to spend the money on it. I need to get a job so I can pay for it myself. xD I am bathing her everyday, especially the first day as she was covered in dry poop And thanks Lizardgrrl for warning me about the supplements; I've been dusting her crickets with calcium(I do multivitamins on weekends), but maybe now I'll sprinkle some on her salad too. Jojo seems very healthy(despite her size) and spunky, no signs of MBD that I can see, which is good. The one thing I'm waiting for Jojo to do now is poop. She hasn't pooped yet, and it worries me. Then again, i'm used to all my other beardies going 3 or 4 times a day. She would also rather sit on the cow stuffy I gave her at the cool side of her temporary tank than bask, which also worries me a bit. This is my first rescue so any advice(no matter how small) would be greatly appreciated. :mrgreen:



Jojo actually basking (because I moved her from her cow over there :roll: )


Her pretty colors (sandfire maybe?)


Here's a pic to show her length:


:love5:

 

[Nasubi77]

Oh, she's beautiful! And looks great! I didn't expect her to look so good, being in a shoebox for a year and all. :roll: (Still can't get over that)

I would definitely limit her crix if she hasn't pooped yet. In fact, I would be tempted to not feed her crix at all until she pooped. Have you tried a little applesauce or baby food with a couple drops of olive oil? Do you feel any hard spots in her belly during the baths? Try massaging her belly, downward toward her vent in the bath. You can feed her some baby food in the meantime until she poops and is ready to eat solids again. You could even blend up the crix and feed them to her liquified if you have the stomach for it, lol.

It's not necessary to dust her salad and bugs. There is such thing as too much calcium. As long as she is getting a serving 5x a week, she is fine.

When she starts the crix again, since she isn't visibly emaciated, go ahead and increase the number every day until you are at her limit, as long as she is pooping and you don't see any undigested bug parts.

Congrats on a great pickup! I'm sure she'll be just fine!

 

[ZephyrasHuman]

Jojo says thankyou for the compliments! :love5:

Yea, i'm scared to feed her anything until she poops. I don't feel anything in her stomach though, plus theres the fact she always auto-pancakes when you pick her up x). But, her belly feels like its empty, but theres no poop to be found in her temp. viv, unless it evaporated into thin air (as I'm the slave, no one else would have cleaned it up). And then I'll only dust the crix.

I know, it makes me angry. I mean, a shoebox under the bed?

I've done the squash baby food/olive oil trick with my beardie Carrot before and it worked perfect, so if Jojo doesn't go by the end of today I will get some baby food tomorrow first thing, but I'm keeping my hopes up that I can get her to go in her bath today.

Speaking of bath, I'm going to go fill the tub for her now. Maybe I'll take pics too. :mrgreen:

 

[ZephyrasHuman]

"Mommy, what IS this?" Notice the beardie death glare.


"Can you take me out of here....."


"....Please?"


And the moment we've all been waiting for...

Yes! She pooped! You can tell it was in there for a while; It's as long as her body! :shock:

Shes now cuddling on my chest after her traumatic bath experience :mrgreen:

 

[lizardgrrl]

Yaaayyyy!!!!!
Hurray!!!!!
FOR POO!!!!!


It is always good to see that first poo! :roll: :laughing6:

Susan was right about too much calcium, mine was an extreme case. Just keep it in the back of your mind if she start growing VERY fast! She is a such little beauty, how could they keep her in a box? She is in the right place, now! :love5: :love5: :love5: :love5: :love5:
MaryAnn

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Awwww.

 

[definitions]

Wow she is absolutely stunning... How much did you have to pay for her?

 

[ZephyrasHuman]

She was five dollars because of her biting problem, which magically seems to be gone after a bunch of love. Except my brother decided to scare her and Pachinko by putting them together, which freaked them both out and made Pachinko bite me...ugh. I just fed her about 18 crix, and I feel bad because she obviously wants more (she was attacking the glass trying to get the crickets from the crix keeper while I was feeding Pachinko and Carrot.) But now she's happily basking after her meal.

 

[definitions]

haha 5$... a pet store here where I live wouldn't care if she had a biting problem or not they would still want top dollar for a beardie like that. It really is a shame, I walk into my feeder store and I see the dragons they have I feel totally bad for them. They are trying to sell the Adult breeders they have at the moment and These dragons totally look exhausted. I just wanna take em and run, but they want like 125$ a piece.

 

[ZephyrasHuman]

Yeah, alot of the reptile stores suck when it comes to the health and well being of their reptiles. But not all of them; some actually care for the animals. (Like the one I got Jojo from :love5: ) Theres another one near me which has all sickly reptiles. Their beardies look so sick, and I've heard people talking about how they bought this reptile and that reptile there and that they all had health problems with them. The store itself isn't well kept either. I want to save all the beardies there, but I don't have much more room in my house (what with five beardies and all xD ) and they want $150 for a normal adult beardie. :x The baby beardies they have there are also way too young to be sold, all of them are like 2 inches long. ._. If only everyone cared about reptiles like we do.

 

[lizardman95]

wow shes beutiful dont see hoe someone could put her in a shoe box...wow

 

[saranita]

Wow, I wanted to cry when I read the first post. Crazy biting problems then just cuddle and love and she's fine! Animal abuse bugs me so much its unbelievable, My baby Rylee is so spoilt and loved she would never hurt a fly! (figure of speech obviously ) I just don't understand how everyone doesn't spoil pets like I do.