Why I hate people.

[MrVic]

Long story short, I demanded that one of my staff members surrender his pets to me as he was unable to look after them properly.

One malnourished rottweiler who is a truly beautiful dog. He's the least of my problems.


I was tipped off by a former house mate that the dragon did not have any uv light nor did it have any heating for in excess of a year!! The idea of throwing a blanket over the enclosure to "keep it warm" is a clear indicator that this person is not fit to own any animal.


As his enclosure is a 6x2 , the poor animal was stone cold and delivered in a cardboard box minus his enclosure.
His entire back is black, there are no markings visible at all.
His tail and feet are badly deformed. The entire length of the tail is a complete zigzag. Not one joint is fixed in a straight line.


I placed him in with Ricardo and he was lifeless.
Rex is starting to move around a lot more and is finally eating mealworms, crickets and vegetables.


I will get him to a vet for a check up and any treatment that he needs.


I am at a loss for words as to how people can get through life neglecting the basic necessities of the animals that they keep.


I was to hand back the animals once he recovers from this eviction and gets settled into a new place but I can't bring myself to release the pet's back to him even after he had his things together.




Top that off with bad eyesight and by this stage you'd be wanting to kill the former owner.
The poor thing kept striking the edge of the food bowl missing his target by a cm or so.


The pads above its eyes look somewhat depressed and he is jaundice. He was a lump


I promptly put him in with Ricardo in order to get his body temperature up to normal. He measured 7c difference between my little man's belly and the rescued Rex.



As his enclosure is a 6x2 , the poor animal was stone cold and delivered in a cardboard box.

 

[imported_Varanus]

While your actions and sentiments are admirable, do the animal (and yourself) a favour and have it euthed. They rarely, if ever make it and you're prolonging the agony and torment. While you're at it, see if you can't take the owner in as well and get a two for one job.

 

[simsjams]

Keep your chin up

Hey mate, just thought I'd say well done on trying to do the right thing, sounds pretty terrible how this guy is treating his animals. You've got your heart in the right place. Can you not report this to the RSPCA though?

 

[Senator358]

Your efforts are commendable but I also agree with getting it euthanized to prevent further suffering. I also recommend that you don't put new animals in with your healthy ones. Quarantine is highly recommended for all new animals if you don't want yours to suffer.

 

[Gizmo101]

Good job for taking them out of that environment, but I'd have to agreed with the others I'd euthanise the little guy. He can't suffer anymore, and the damage done may never be able to be undone despite the effort you put into him
I'd mention it to the RSPCA, they won't do anything because the animals are no longer within his care but it'll put a black mark against his name if a future complaint is ever made about another animal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MrVic]

I will ultimately make a decision based on the vet's recommendation.

I don't want it in with mine at all but I had to bring him up to temperature. I have a new enclosure for him and he will be moved tomorrow as soon as his new house is set up tomorrow.

He seems to be fairly active as is interacting with the Ricardo, but again, his fate rests with the vet report.

View attachment 311940

 

[JKretzs613]

Hello,

Do you have any pictures of him?
Poor guy, it must have been terrible for him. Maybe he will improve, but if his liver is going he may not
be able to recover. You can get some milk thistle or serrapeptase to help out with his liver.
Which UVB are you going to use for him?
I also would recommend liquid calcium also to help with his calcium levels.

I hope he improves for you.
Tracie

 

[Beans]

If the sick beardie has RI then putting it in with your beardie could make him sick too.

If anything I would have removed the heat from the healthy beardie ( one night wouldn't hurt a fully healthy one ) and given it to the sick one.

 

[MrVic]

Hello,

Do you have any pictures of him?

This site, pictures and mobile tablets don't get along.
http://www.zoomantics.com.au/rex.jpg

 

[Bluetongue1]

What is done is done and cannot be undone. Clearly the lack of quarantine was not the best decision, but given the circumstances it is not hard to understand how logic plays second fiddle to the emotive response of wanting to help the animal.

It is not as simple as weak and therefore warped bones. There is a whole range of issues that MBD can result in. Some are reversible and others are not. Calcium is the most common mineral in the body and apart from bone strength, it has a multitude of functions. In fact, calcium is necessary for many major metabolic processes, such as enabling nerves to conduct impulses, or allowing muscles to contract. Your vet is in the best position to provide a prognosis following a full examination. So you are doing the right thing there. At the same time, from the physical description you gave plus the treatment it has been subjected to, as others have clearly said, it does not sound good. Where the animal is not beyond redemption, be aware that it can take a long time to get them back to something approaching normality.

I read an article by Douglas Mader, a top reptilian vet in the US, where he recommends oral than injections of calcium, as he found it more effective in uptake and storage of calcium. Still, that one's up to your vet. The other point is that you should not give it calcium supplements every feed. For as GeckoDan pointed out, the continuous high level of calcium in the blood can be interpreted by the body as an excess and result in it being excreted rather than stored.

Good on you and good luck!

Blue

 

[MrVic]

A quick update, it appears that Rex is a lot more active than he ever has been. He's lost a lot of the yellowing around his head and beard.
His head and beard are now a dark greyish yellow. Nowhere near as yellow as before.
He's chasing crickets and eating mealworms, squash, beans and broccoli.

It appears that he's on the mend. Fingers crossed for the big guy.

The rottweiler is ultra happy, putting on weight and is now very playful. Just a shame that the game he likes best is "i want to bite your hand"
He's a bit rough but loving life.
Now to book him in for some TLC bathing and he'll be all clean and nice smelling.

I may have misdiagnosed the jaundice for something else.

 

[JKretzs613]

Hello,

That was a picture of him? His coloring looks good & he still does have some nice colors on his head.
Is he basking a good amount during the day?
Is he mostly vitticeps?
How is he doing today, has his energy levels improved any also?
I am happy to hear he is chasing his food & eating also, that is a great sign.
For helping out on the immune system, you can use some bee pollen to help out for his energy & appetite
as well as just his overall health, too.

I hope he is doing better each day.

Tracie

 

[MrVic]

Thank JKretzs613,

That is a photo of him. He is doing amazingly. The energy levels are crazy. He is basking, eating like a champion, chasing and nailing crickets first go now as opposed to striking and missing.
His poo is getting better. It was diarrhoea after his first few feeds but it's firming up.
He's jumping to and from his basking log. He was upset yesterday when he awoke to a feeding housemate and he realised that he was missing out.
Spreading his beard and opening his mouth full wide and darting around like a tough bloke

 

[JKretzs613]

Hello,

Wow, that is really great news then. It sounds like he has really turned around for you. Do you have a name for
him yet?
They do love to beard & flare themselves out don't they? I think that they do that for our entertainment, right?
I am happy to hear he is eating well also & his stools have improved too. Keep supplementing him with calcium &
be sure to use a good UVB light. Which one do you have for him?

I am glad he continues to improve now, that is wonderful news.


Tracie

 

[MrVic]

Hi Tracie, he's back in his own house now. There was a problem with a standard batten holder. Once replaced, I screwed in a CHE and he's happy basking.

But.... Today when I went to say good morning to him, he got all aggressive, blowing up his beard, mouth wide open and then crunch, he bit my finger, latched on and didn't want to let go, drawing blood with 2 nice clean slices either side of my fingernail of my index finger.

His name is Rex. Suffice to say, he's in the bad books



His energy levels are awesome, can't believe he's the same dragon.

 

[MrVic]

Because I can't sleep, I thought I'd post an update.

Rex does have mild MBD but surprisingly he's pretty healthy.
He is eating vegetables and insects dusted with calcium and vitamins.

He's no longer lethargic, his tail is a lot straighter than it first was and his toes are just about normal.

Due to his clean bill of health he was moved in with Ricardo and they are getting along like a house on fire.
Rex is very fast when chasing crickets and when he's eating. He loves his vegetables.
His eyesight has improved so much that he no longer has a problem nailing his food.

Sadly, the aggression is still there but it is getting better. I suspect that it is due to the lack of attention that it would have gotten from the previous owner.
Whilst he will still flare his beard up and change its colour but I am still able to scratch his head which he enjoys for a few seconds then he darts off.
You wouldn't think it was the same animal.
I was sent a letter from DEPI which under the circumstances approved my acquisition.
They completely overlooked my unlawful acquisition as mentioned by the person that my wife spoke to over the phone as there was no mention of it in the letter

 

[Chris1]

Sounds like you're doing a great job with Rex.

Just wanted to make sure you know its a terrible idea housing male beardies together, maybe it seems ok atm, maybe because Rex is still weak and not challenging for the dominant position, but be very aware that one day Rex will be well enough to have an opinion and you could end up with a very damaged or dead dragon.

 

[MrVic]

Thanks for the reply.

Rex is firing on all cylinders. Most of the time, Ricardo sits on top of Rex for ages but having said that, I do see some form of aggression from Rex toward Ricardo.

I'm not sure the girls are keen on him tbh. I couldn't rehome him as the previous owner only ever paid for his licence in the first year. Yes he is stupid enough to think it was a one off payment. He did sound surprised when I broke him the news.
Now that the DEPI has approved my acquisition, I can now legally rehome him.