04-26-2018, 01:36 PM
Just picked up our new baby today. The same friend that gave us Jean-luc and our rats and actually lead to us taking in Uncle Iroh and Prince Zuko asked about a month ago if we were interested in adopting a special needs Bearded dragon. I talked it over with Kasey and we decided to take him in. His previous owner was a teenager who wanted to breed bearded dragons. She got him and he was already sick with parasites. Had him for 6 months before taking him to a vet, that vet didn't help anything. Then they saw Dr. Ray who I got him from. He wasn't eating or pooping, had an absess under his left eye and lost teeth on that same side. Gave him meds to get rid of the infection and parasites and a feeding schedule to syringe feed. He started losing weight and turns out the teenager was not syringe feeding him like she was suppose to and was just putting bugs in the dish, they would escape and she would think he had eaten them. Dr. Ray convinced the mother to serenader him and his healing really began.
His jaw was nearly fused from calcium deficiency. They thought it was permanently fused but in the last month he has gotten to where he can open it enough to get his tongue out.
I'll include links to pictures of him at the end. He is a German Giant which means he is huge. Pictures do not do him justice. Dr. Ray actually said with the progress of his jaw he might eventually get to the point where he would eat like normal. Dr. ray showed me how to fed him and I wrapped him in a blanket like a burrito (beardrrito) and syringe fed him for about 45 minutes. It takes time because all you are doing is squirting a little food into his mouth and then give him time to swallow. In between I would pet his head and he would fall asleep in my arms. He's a sweet heart.
His original name was Merlin but since his illness his left side of his mouth is curled so everyone at the vet office called him Popeye. Once you look at him you can't not call him Popeye. I could tell Kasey wasn't too crazy about the name, he has always said he wanted a bearded dragon named Smaug, but once he saw him he agreed he's a Popeye.
http://myparadog.tumblr.com/post/173312491835/popeye
http://myparadog.tumblr.com/post/1733108...-has-to-be
You can't really see the curl in these pictures but I'll get some more tomorrow that really show it.
His jaw was nearly fused from calcium deficiency. They thought it was permanently fused but in the last month he has gotten to where he can open it enough to get his tongue out.
I'll include links to pictures of him at the end. He is a German Giant which means he is huge. Pictures do not do him justice. Dr. Ray actually said with the progress of his jaw he might eventually get to the point where he would eat like normal. Dr. ray showed me how to fed him and I wrapped him in a blanket like a burrito (beardrrito) and syringe fed him for about 45 minutes. It takes time because all you are doing is squirting a little food into his mouth and then give him time to swallow. In between I would pet his head and he would fall asleep in my arms. He's a sweet heart.
His original name was Merlin but since his illness his left side of his mouth is curled so everyone at the vet office called him Popeye. Once you look at him you can't not call him Popeye. I could tell Kasey wasn't too crazy about the name, he has always said he wanted a bearded dragon named Smaug, but once he saw him he agreed he's a Popeye.
http://myparadog.tumblr.com/post/173312491835/popeye
http://myparadog.tumblr.com/post/1733108...-has-to-be
You can't really see the curl in these pictures but I'll get some more tomorrow that really show it.
