Current rescue

eyespy · 10-19-02, 02:44 AM

<img src="http://www.thebeardedlady.org/images/dcp_0941.jpg">

I call this little fellow The Gimp. While stopping in one of my local pet shops to pick up a few supplies, I noticed this guy with his entire leg totally covered in blood. I called the shop owner over and she said she hadn't seen it yet. I believed her because the blood hadn't clotted yet. It was obviously a very fresh injury.

She decided it would be cheaper to give the little guy to me for rehab than to arrange vet care herself, so we washed the leg, coated it in Neosporin ointment and I took him home after stopping in at the drugstore for Betadine, Neosporin and some dressing supplies.

We went to see my vet friends the next day, at a major vet school. While the leg looked very bad, it was mainly just swelling and a deep bite, clear down to the bone, around the ankle. We thought about amputating above the knee, but I was hesitant to do that as the foot still had enough circulation for the little dude to have pain sensation in all of his toes. High eosophinil counts revealed that the leg had a significant infection.

It was decided to give Gentamicin by injection and oral Baytril and return the next day for another Gent injection and installation of a Penrose drain to reduce the swelling and try to save the leg.

<img src="http://www.thebeardedlady.org/images/DCP_0939.jpg">

The leg isn't truly that black, if it were I would have chosen an immediate amputation and sacrificed the leg to save the life. My camera turns all the bruised areas to black as it isn't all that good at closeups. After a week of Baytril and the drain doing its job, swelling is slowly going down but we did lose 2 toes. It is thought we've saved the foot and so this little dude will be able to get around quite well once he's healed up some.

He has pretty good energy and an excellent appetite, although he is still too weak to chase down his crix and requires handfeeding.

This boy will be available for adoption once the infection is fully resolved. It appears he is a boy but he's still too small for accurate sexing. It also appears that he is a normal phase, with shades of gray, tan, and beige, with some yellow hilights once he's nice and toasty warm.

SilverTongue · 10-19-02, 03:07 AM

poor guy what was he caged with? Perhaps battling for dominance? What condiction was the other if any beardie in? Plz post some followup pics Hope he is doing well

eyespy · 10-19-02, 03:44 AM

Other cagemates were similarly sized siblings, so it was either a dominance thing or just an accidental bite during cricket hunting. However, they were kept on a mix of bark and potting soil, so there was probably some wicked bacterial growth in the substrate.

lance · 10-19-02, 09:38 PM

wow keep us informed bearded lady

eyespy · 10-21-02, 04:19 PM

The leg is looking MUCH better, swelling is down to about half of what it was, and there don't appear to be any signs of active infection. His appetite is much improved and his color is brighter.

Unfortunately, he lost 3 toes but considering that I was worried about saving his life I think both the beardie and I can come to terms with the toe loss.

SilverTongue · 10-21-02, 04:22 PM

Yeah I agree I am glad the lil guy is ok

Will you be keeping him or adopting him out?

eyespy · 10-21-02, 04:34 PM

I'll eventually adopt him out, but he is tiny. I want to bulk him up to at least 25 grams before subjecting him to the stress of adjusting to a new home, and especially if I end up having to ship him. He is only 5.1 grams now.

I'll probably keep him until spring unless I find a really good local home (near Philadelphia, PA)

silke · 10-21-02, 04:59 PM

it's wonderful to hear that his leg is healing well
from the pick, it looked pretty nasty

Wilma · 10-23-02, 06:16 PM

I have a little girl i took in who had her front left foot bitten off by an adult beardie. She gets around really well and can climb dispite her condition. She healed wonderfully as did her sister who had a broken leg and ribs from the attack.

I feel more sorry for the beardies left at the store... anyway to educate them on proper beardie care? A petstore near me had their beardies getting MBD before a reptile friend educated them on the right lights and basking areas for beardies.

Glad to hear you going to keep teh little guy till he is bigger

eyespy · 10-23-02, 07:09 PM

Actually, I have few beefs with this petstore. The substrate wasn't a very good choice, but otherwise they keep their animals in very good condition. The shop owner had 4 6" hatchlings in a 100 gallon aquarium with 3 basking spots and a UVB tube. Temps looked great, humidity was at 40ish percent if I remember correctly, and she had 2 thermometers and a hygrometer in the cage to carefully monitor conditions. She feeds them pellets, greens, and chopped veggies in addition to crickets and the non-injured beardies were nice and chubby.

Other than caging each animal separately, conspecific aggression or hunting accidents are really tough to avoid. I don't believe what happened to the Gimp was the shop owner's fault.

Wilma · 10-27-02, 04:42 PM

from the description of the substrate I assumed it to mean they weren't cared for by knowledgable people. Glad to know I jumped to a conclusion and they are being cared for well.