New project - 3 leopard geckos with severe MBD...

[wodesorel]

Honestly, in this case there is no malice. She got dealt a bad hand, did what she knew to do (the pet store) and handed them over in horror when she realized her mistake.

There is another woman in town though that I DO hate. She's had two beardies up for sale for months. I know they have had no UVB or heat or supplementation. She doesn't care about them - she wants her money. She's the one I got the first two leos and the chameleon from. There's also a pyramided red footed tortoise and some wild sugar gliders she's trying to get rid of. Everytime I think she's gotten rid of everything, she lists more! I just can't get over that no one else wants them. She's not asking a lot, nothing close to a pet store, but no one is interested. And in the meantime they keep getting worse from lack of care. It's driving me nuts having to sit here and watch it and not be able to do anything. I even tried to report her, but right now in my county there is no humane agent and no one is investigating humane cases. Even if they were, I was told no one would do reptiles.

[Sweet Pea]

Any updates?

[wodesorel]

So far he's doing really well. I can tell the Metacam is working, he's started to explore and when I peaked in last night he was doing the gecko glass dance along the sides of the tank. I honestly didn't think he could move that well, so it was exiting to see!




"Feed Me" face




He's flat....


Really flat.


With that weird half-big-butt thing going on because he's so crooked.


He is a good size though and tries to climb. He's getting more used to being handled and doesn't try to divebomb out of my hands anymore. I think he's getting used to the routine and knows it means food.

[Crabinski]

The gecko "glass dance" is certainly good news!

[CallaLily]

I hope he continues to do well!

[fantasybookworm]

Great update! Keep eating and getting strong, little one!

[wodesorel]

Still working with the metacam dosing and timing. It didn't quite last 24 hours, he was really ouchy and glazed during this evenings' feeding. Still ate well for me, but he didn't want touched. Yesterday he was much calmer. Dosed him up again with a little more this time. It should last 24-48 hours, but it's runny and I'm not sure he got all of yesterdays.

[wodesorel]

He ate a cricket!!! He couldn't chew and it was prekilled, but he smelled it and was so excited he started nipping at my gloves. I had to help him line it up to swallow whole. This is the first time I've seen him really engaged. I'm not sure how to proceed - the CarniCare has more vitamins in it, but a natural diet will help him. Probably a combination of both. Next step is to see if he'll get as excited for dusted crickets, since all he's ever had was undusted. I have needles here that I can use to inject liquid calcium into the crickets before feeding if need be.

[Tnguo]

Sending good thoughts your way! I've been reading this whole thread from the beginning and want to say kudos for taking them in, even if they didn't all make it. I'll be checking for posts on this little guy's progress and hope he only gets better!


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[Sweet Pea]

Woo hoo!

[rainbow_crab]

Awesome that's he is trying to eat on his own! That's so great! Will be sending a donation in a little bit. Sorry for the other guy not making it.

[Sweet Pea]

Is he still doing well?

[wodesorel]

He's definitely more active! I added a third heating pad to the middle of the tank and I've caught him laying out in the open a few times. He's getting harder to corral when feeding - he keeps wanting to take off and explore. He can go straight up a verticle surface onto his back legs as well now! And his tail is getting fatter. So definitely noticeable improvements all around. I'm still waiting on the oral calcium from the vet, so that is holding us back from introducing crickets as a bigger part of his diet. Right now the powdered calcium only works when mixed into his CarniCare.

The bad thing is that with the help from the metacam, the swelling around his fractures has gone down. (Well that part is wonderful but) there are compound breaks in both front legs right behind his wrists which is keeping him from being able to lift himself up. He has to walk on his elbows and probably always will. I'm being told that once he heals these should not bother him the way they would a dog or cat and that he should be able to adapt to life and even be able to be happy with the mangled legs. Right now that is my only concern, that he won't be in discomfort for the rest of his life. It's hard to watch, and it's hard to know what the right choice is. I'm not seeing any major breaks anywhere else aside from a few toes. His right back knee hyperextends often though (it gets turned completely backwards) which could be a sign of a break or dislocation as well. I probably won't know for sure how bad the disfigurement is until he gets strong enough to chase down meals again. That's going to be several weeks to a couple months off, I think.

I haven't been able to get many photos of him lately. Right now the only decent camera is on Hubby's phone, and he's been either working or sleeping (uses it as an alarm) during feeding times. But I managed to sneak in a quick photo before hubby left today.

[CallaLily]

Look at that feisty little face! I'm glad to hear he's improving.

[wodesorel]

He's just like a kitten though. He's got food plastered on his face and there is no easy to way to clean it off. I've been using my cotton face swisspers after every feeding since he tolerates being wiped with those, and that works to a point, but it's not like I can pin him down and scrub it off of him. And water runs right off gecko skin so soaking is getting nowhere since it's not like he can hold his head underwater!