Rescued Roxy.

[BrandeeRawr]

This event started on August 10th of 2012. She was brought to me when my friend came to pick up two baby rabbits she had bought. We had talked on the phone earlier but I didn't believe it was actually this bad. She was lifeless, with wrinkles folding over each other from being so skinny. Her eyes closed and sunken in. Discoloration from old shed that was never able to fall off due to lack of bathing.

She refused to open her eyes no matter how much I examined or touched her. The person that wanted me to take her claimed that she had taken her to the vet two days before and given IV fluids, but I doubt this because she was loaded with parasites and crawling with mites that the vet would have tested and treated for. I had her quarantined for less then 5 minutes and her tank was in eyes view of my oldest male, Harlow. She had opened her eyes and seen him and didn't lose focus for at least 10 minutes. I sat and watched her stare at Harlow like it was the long lost mate she had never had and I knew that this would turn into something.

I took her to the vet the following Wednesday and told the vet her story. He gave her a shot for the mites and sent me home with a round of de-worming medicine and a/d wet food to force feed her with and told me to come back in a week. Since I've had her she's had a bath everyday to soothe her skin and drown some mites.

It's now Sunday and she's so full of life, aside from the fact that she has no muscle mass in her legs making it impossible to walk, she's eating twice a day and finished her de-worming meds. She's fatter then a pancake now and headed to the vet on Wednesday for a follow up. She's also moved in with Harlow, and they love each other. Every time Harlow is near her she perks up and follows him with her eyes, Harlow licks her and lets her lie on him. Harlow is her motivation to go on if he does something, she does it. It's adorable. Roxy will live out the rest of her life at the side of Harlow.

I'll post before and after pictures as soon as I can.

^first day

^about 3rd day

^force-feeding

^them together

^all the kids on cleaning day

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

That is a very cute story!! So glad you were able to save little Roxy. But be careful, because "soul mates" could quickly turn into "soul parents". If you intend on keeping them together, keep a very close eye for any signs of dominace or aggression, and especially mating! I wouldn't wish little eggies on her in her condition!

 

[BrandeeRawr]

Trust me when I say, Harlow is special. He's not right in the head and I don't mean to sound like I'm talking bad about my kid but he can't feed himself. I have to tong-feed him since he a 2 month old. He had seizures when I got him and was treated with calcium gluconate. Ever since then I knew those seizures literally had went to his head. He doesn't know he's a bearded dragon. That why I trusted him to care for Roxy while in his enclosure. She's also so calm that I trusted her not to hurt Harlow if she was capable. So thank you for saying something, but they're a match made for each other. :3

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

That is such a cute case! Not sure if it is quite the same, but I read a story about two females who were quite attached. Their names are Daisy and Chako- second story. Thought you might like to read it.

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Hope.html

 

[Floof]

I'm glad you were able to rescue her, but be very careful with your living arrangement. You really should have continued to quarantine Roxy for at least a few months to be sure there wasn't anything else going on. You may have treated for the parasites, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have some other illness she can spread to Harlow.

As well, it sounds like you moved her in with Harlow even before you finished treating for parasites, much less before you re-tested to make sure they were gone. Are you treating Harlow, as well, considering there's an extremely high probability he has now contracted her parasites? If you haven't and don't intend to, she will only be contracting them again from Harlow--then you'll have TWO sickly dragons on your hand, not just the one recovering rescue.

Beyond all that... Just be sure to keep an eye on them. Any animal has the ability to be unpredictable and surprise you. Watch for any signs of their love affair turning sour (or turning to babies), and be prepared to separate if it comes down to it. Bearded dragons are not social by nature. You may have a couple especially strange ones, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still play it safe and be prepared to act if one or the other decides to be a normal bearded dragon. Watch for any sign of bullying... Even if it's as seemingly small as one not allowing the other to eat his/her fill.

I'm not saying any of this to be mean, I just wish to make sure you're covering all your bases with this decision.

Good luck with them, and kudos on the rescue mission. It sounds like Roxy is in a much better place now than she was.

 

[BrandeeRawr]

Thank you Floof, but I have my beardies on a deworming plan for every 4 months. When Roxy was introduced it she was done with her round of worming and then all of them had their round. I will continue to monitor them for bullying or any "no-no" behavior. Like I said thanks for your concern. :3 Oh, I also intern at my local exotic vet office and do my own fecal floats, it might sound weird but it's really cool, in an odd way. I took my uro in and did a fecal float on him and found out he had strongyloides egg. Luckily I got him on a round just in time but to examine the eggs under a microscope was very interesting to look at, they looked like little coffee beans. Haha.

 

[BrandeeRawr]

This is gonna sound like I'm stupid, but how to you upload pictures? >.>

 

[jsnsan]

Not stupid at all. Upload them to a photobucket account first.

 

[Floof]

That's good that you have them on a regimen. If you do your own fecals, did you check for other parasites beyond the normal pinworms, etc? Did you check for parasites that wouldn't be taken out by your normal dewormer? More sinister parasites, like coccidia? Like I said, just want to be sure you have covered all the bases--what you have done, exposing Roxie to your other lizards and even housing her with Harlow without a proper quarantine period first, is an extremely risky move that can turn bad fast if you overlooked something.

Also remember that parasites are NOT the only threat. There are other diseases that are most definitely contagious, that may not be apparent just looking at her. Admittedly, I haven't done a great deal of research into beardie diseases, but Yellow Fungus and adenovirus come to mind as two examples of contagious diseases.

Anyway, what's done is done, I realize that. My point here is to offer information, and urge you to watch them CLOSELY for any signs of illness that Roxy may have potentially brought in. And if/when you get/rescue another dragon... Please, please, please practice a proper quarantine period. I would absolutely hate if you had to suffer the heartbreak of your beloved animals dying all because you chose not to quarantine a new lizard for a few months. I've been there, and it's not easy. Between the heartbreak and the knowledge that it could have been prevented....

Best of luck with Roxy and the rest of your scaly babies. They're all beautiful lizards.