Lace Monitor with MBD. (graphic)

[RSPcrazy]

RSP are they the pics of her today? Or when you first got her?

If they are today's pics..omg...would of hated to see what she was like then...I cannot believe that someone has let that happen to an animal. Thanks heavens for you.

The 1st pic is one of the earliest ones (her jaw doesn't bend like that anymore, it still bends, but not like that), the 4th pic is from a couple of weeks ago (same time as the last x-ray).

 

[Bel03]

Wow, u learn something new everyday! (i have never looked into lizards/monitors etc so i was very interested to see this) This is a really great story, though very sad, good on u for 'getting the word out' for those that could be making the same mistakes as ur girls last owner! Even with her deformaties, she is beautiful! How sad that she had to go through all this though, & as everyone else has said, good on u for taking her in & giving her the treatment she needs!

 

[mad_at_arms]

Those pictures made me feel ill.
You are a very good person for what you have done.

 

[RSPcrazy]

Thank you everybody, for the kind words, it means a lot. I just wanted to give this lacie the life she deserves. What I'm trying to do now, is share her with the whole reptile hobby, so that people can see with there own eyes, what can easily happen if you get cheap or lazy with something as simple (but important) as the right diet.

 

[gardinator]

man u have done such a amzing thing for her shes such a beautiful reptile and its good to know shes now in good hands, seriously really good job mate !!

 

[SamNabz]

Never get tired of seeing this story and how much you have helped this poor lacie, RSP; you are truly one-of-a-kind mate, as most people would have either offloaded it to the next person or put it in the freezer.

Job very well done mate.

 

[Mr.James]

Any updated pics of the lacey?

 

[hissnbits]

feeding chicken breasts from the supermarket - sounds like the previous owner was misguided. I would hope they are educated so dont do wrong again, or dont own other reptiles. This poor monitor sounds like teh result of an owner not being equiped with teh right knowledge, and I hope was not doing what was just convienient for them.

Thank you for posting what can happen with incorrect husbandry. Is good to see your efforts where many would have given up. Well done!!

 

[RSPcrazy]

Any updated pics of the lacey?

I'll get some soon.

 

[Scleropages]

How awesome you have looked after her.. Most people would of just put her down.

 

[Serpentess]

My gosh... First time seeing this thread. I just felt immense sadness when I looked at those photos. That poor little lacie! I'm relieved to hear she is getting the help, attention and diet that she so badly needs.

I'm sure that all lacie and reptile lovers around the world applaud you for your time and efforts.

 

[RSPcrazy]

feeding chicken breasts from the supermarket - sounds like the previous owner was misguided. I would hope they are educated so dont do wrong again, or dont own other reptiles. This poor monitor sounds like teh result of an owner not being equiped with teh right knowledge, and I hope was not doing what was just convienient for them.

Thank you for posting what can happen with incorrect husbandry. Is good to see your efforts where many would have given up. Well done!!

The previous owner met with David Kirshner and David gave him all the info he needed to keep a monitor health and happy. But he ignored everything David told him, beleaving he knew what was best and because of the reaction this lacie was giving towards the chicken breast, his words were "it loves it" so he stuck with the chicken breast.

 

[Chris1]

when i see things like this (and the snake with ciggy burns on its head and all over its body) i fully understand people saying reptiles shouldnt be in captivity.

i saw this on a diff forum when u first posted it,...good on you for helping the poor thing out so much.

still makes me sad tho,....that it should have ended up in such poor condition in the first place.

sorry, but the MBD is soooo obvious, even if teh previous owner was potentially misguided (which he wasnt by the sounds) that animal should have been at the vets long before it became so deformed. Sadly, im sure there are plenty more fed on a cheap, bad diet.

 

[crocdoc]

I would hope they are educated so dont do wrong again, or dont own other reptiles. This poor monitor sounds like teh result of an owner not being equiped with teh right knowledge, and I hope was not doing what was just convienient for them.

Unfortunately, as has been mentioned (thanks Brendan), this was not the case. I saw the animal in this thread, when it was young and still owned by the previous owner, as he brought it over for me to have a look at. The first sign of trouble was when he said 'it handles well' and it was only of hatchling size, yet had hatched the previous year. I gave him a really detailed care sheet, told him to only feed it small whole animals, suggested a number of improvements necessary for his enclosure, particularly warning that having a wire mesh enclosure indoors is a really bad idea (it leads to skin burns).

After all that, he figured he knew better and did things his way, regardless. On top of that, even after he sold that monitor and Brendan (RSPcrazy) posted photos of it here in its current state, the original owner contacted me because he was upset I was speaking ill of him as he refused to admit the monitor's poor health was his fault. My favourite bit was when he kept telling me that he didn't just give it just any chicken meat, but only the 'best' chicken breast available in Woollies' meat department.

It gets worse. He contacted me again a few months ago, telling me he wanted to get back into keeping monitors and asking if I had any to sell. You can guess my reply (I can't repeat it here, for the profanities would get the post removed). I don't think he should ever keep reptiles again and pretty much told him that, in more colourful language. He then said he'd learned his lesson, had realised his mistake and it didn't matter if I refused to sell him one because he was going to get a monitor from someone else anyway. I then said if that were the case, could he please send me photos of his 'new and improved' enclosure so at very least I could give him advice to make sure he didn't repeat his mistakes. He was really happy I suggested this and said he'd send me images right away.

Still waiting for those photos, of course.

 

[mysnakesau]

OMG, I missed this thread. David just mentioned it to me when I wrote in my thread that I bought roo steaks for my patient. How is your fella doing now RSP. I hope he is coming good. Poor fella Those photos broke my heart. So sad to see animals suffer like that, specially to read further on that this guy was told to change what he was feeding him, and still didn't heed the advice. I am not going to let that happen to Ricky, thats for sure.

 

[RSPcrazy]

OMG, I missed this thread. David just mentioned it to me when I wrote in my thread that I bought roo steaks for my patient. How is your fella doing now RSP. I hope he is coming good. Poor fella Those photos broke my heart. So sad to see animals suffer like that, specially to read further on that this guy was told to change what he was feeding him, and still didn't heed the advice. I am not going to let that happen to Ricky, thats for sure.

She is going really well actually, she acts like a almost normal lacie now (exept she is very easy to interact with, she's got the most amazing temperament). She can fully open her mouth now, without her jaw bending like crazy, and she's got the appetite of ten pigs (I still have to help her get part of the food behind the bend in her jaw though).
She is also finally starting to shed properly. Because of the burn, her shed has been getting stuck and I've been having to bath her heaps to trying and get the shed off.

It has been the best experience bringing this monitor back to health, alot of people told me to put her down, but I beleaved she would come good and she is almost there, the vet even told me, I could probably breed from her later, because the MBD didn't affect that area of her. Just for the record, I will NEVER be breeding her.

mysnakesau, I have been following your patient (Ricky), it is a good thing you're doing, I really hope he pulls through. As David said already in the other thread, even though you may only have him for a short time, making sure he has the right diet during recovery, could make a big difference. Good luck with him.

 

[kawasakirider]

Heartwarming story. Good on ya, mate. Post up some current pics if you can.

 

[RSPcrazy]

I was having a play with Lacy tonight, and decided to take a couple of photos of her in a good mood, having a climb and examining my arm.

She's come a long way, from barely being able to walk, to this

 

[mysnakesau]

Wow, she is looking much better. What a beautiful lizard, and how good of you to take her in like that. I wish my fella would sit on my arm but he just wants to chew my fingers off. Maybe oneday... Well done, to both of you.

 

[RSPcrazy]

Wow, she is looking much better. What a beautiful lizard, and how good of you to take her in like that. I wish my fella would sit on my arm but he just wants to chew my fingers off. Maybe oneday... Well done, to both of you.

Well lucky for me, Lacy can't bite properly. So all I've got to watch for, are thoughs massive, extremely sharp claws