Staples... (Well, clips, actually.)

Michael the vet was most amused when he heard about her tall-tails! (Get it, tall-tales? Fibs? Hehehehe.) It was almost as funny as Jacques' epic bedflop - pictured.

He confirmed that her injections had been via her forearms and definitely NOT her tail! She'd put up a bit of a fight this time - not that she'd stooped to biting, that'd be below her, but she grumped at him and wouldn't give him her hand. Understandably, as far as I'm concerned. She's had the last round of subcutaneous antibiotics, and didn't need any more anti-inflammatories.

She's continuing to do really well; she's put on a good 20 grams since surgery, all of her very own, as she no longer has eggs to fuel. She's also sitting properly despite the big row of stitches under her belly, and it's only the middle ones that are a little sore now.

It turns out that she has either 35 or 38 titanium clips inside her in total - there were a lot of vessels to close off. He also showed me the pics through surgery and has promised to email me them when he gets chance; they're really quite shocking!

She had bad abrasion sites and lesions from previous bindings (which we already knew) and had several failed follicles that had actually started rotting - she could well have succumbed to septicaemia had we not intervened. Other follicles were abnormal and both ovaries were in full production, which is quite unusual.

I'll be attaching pics once he's got round to sending them - he's confirmed that I have medical privacy consent over the images, and he's happy for them to be distributed online for educational purposes. "They're yours, so, you know!"

We're back in five weeks to have the stitches removed - I'll keep everyone updated of anything interesting in the meanwhile.

Shots...

Jam was happy to have breakfast (NatureZone beardie bites and butterworms), but grumped from the moment she got in the basket. We got to the vets, and she immediately cheered up again.

She's let me know that the stitches are a little bit sore this morning - but that's okay, that's what we are at the vets for; it is time for the next antibiotic and anti-inflammation shot.

Rob the Sunday vet is impressed, and she was good whilst she had her shots. She fibbed to me and told me it was her tail that hurt when we put her back in the basket. Made the nurse laugh, and call her a little liar - they didn't go anywhere near her tail. Jam grinned. Nurse says Jam's such a happy little lizard, it is always nice to see her. :D?

We will be back again on Wednesday, hopefully for the last shots, then she's back in just over five weeks to have the stitches removed. Yes, that's a lot longer than mammals (reptile skin heals slower than human skin - but it is much tougher); it's explained quite well in this really interesting article on reptile skin from a vets perspective: http://www.anapsid.org/basicdermatology.html

I may enquire about oral meds, just in case she does still hurt after Wednesday's meds wear off.

Point of interest - my teenytiny rescued Mocha has laid two batches since the start of this article. I don't know why, but Mocha is an egg machine, despite her tiny size. She NEVER has any problems. Jam's much bigger than she is, and always had trouble. Go figure!

Shocking!

Gently fished Jam out from under her bed and parked her under the heat lamp. She hit about 31C and realised she was a little hungry. Omnomnomcrunchcrunchcruch.

I'll make sure she has a little more water today to offset the usage for protein. I sense she will be demanding many locusts over the next few days.

It appears she is unaware of her lack of reproductive ability, as she has been flirting outrageously with the boys gawping from their tanks. She has been having a good walk around and remembering not to run, even with free range dinner available. (Her appetite is still good, despite her first round of painkillers wearing off.)

Rich remembered some more information - she's actually had her entire uterus out, as there were many compressed, old and failed eggs throughout her system. That does explain the higher risk rate Michael the vet has been going on about! She's also a titanium reinforced dragon - he used titanium clips to tidy off blood vessels and such. Fascinating stuff!

Before surgery:539g
After: 440g
She lost a fifth of her body weight.

Stories...

Jam's got up by herself for a potter around. She's watching TV apparently.

And she has given her new gift a good licking. Yes, I got her a book. Recovery from surgery is long and boring if you don't have a good book to read. Well, if you don't have letters on paper to lick. (She likes licking words in my books - now she has one of her own to lick.)

It is a lovely compilation of stories by Katherine Mansfield, and is the absolute perfect size for her set of shelves. My newsagent found it in his backlog storage up in his attic; he was amused when I told him who I was buying it for and mentioned that he reckons he might well have other miniature books up there. He's going to have a look for me tomorrow and let me know.

Stitches...

Vet says she's up and about, surprisingly cheerful, and to his astonishment has even had breakfast. I laughed. Of course she would have had breakfast - it takes more than opening her abdomen and removing large chunks from her insides to put her off her food.

Plus they've given her an anti-inflammation shot, which will take the worst off the pain. We have an appt on Sunday for another dose as well as another round of antibiotics.


11:00 GMT

Rich picked her up - she was still a little dozy and out of it, but happy nonetheless. It takes a lot to knock our Jam.

19:15 GMT
I've got home and am keeping a close eye on her - she's very tired, poor chickadee. Well, I'm not surprised, considering what she went through!

The vet is still being cautious - dragons with Jam's condition and such a large number of active follicles have a 50/50 chance of recovery. That's what he's said all along - but she's a tough little lizard. I have every confidence in her. She's got through the worst of it - she just needs to overcome the shock to her system and rest up. She's come through surgery and anesthetic, but she has a way to go yet he says. Rumour has it that Michael the Vet also took photos throughout the process - I'm hoping to snaffle some off him, as I'm sure they'll be fascinating.

The vet has told us it was absolutely the right thing for her. The egg binding problems and overproduction has a much higher death risk - it would simply be a matter of time.

She took herself back off to bed, having taken a butterworm as a quick snack; she didn't feel up to two, so has gone to sleep. She opened an eye and gave me a funny look when I put her log hut back in. I've coated it with black cotton so there's no sharp bits to snag her stitches on.

As I mentioned, she's due back on Sunday and Wednesday for booster meds, and a return trip in six weeks to remove the stitches.

20:00 GMT
Well, Jam was oblivious to the delivery unboxing (my lovely neighbour took 'em in, bless him. I owe him a cuppa) - unlike the rest of the dragons, whom promptly went insane having recognised the big white container I put the locusts in for storage.

However, I grabbed a good big one, and pointed it under her bed. Gave it a gentle nudge... suddenly there was a noise: shuffle ... shuffle shuffle ... CRUNCHCRUNCHCRUNCH!

Three more juicy fat locusts rapidly went in the same direction in the gloom under the maple posted bed.

I'd say that was a good sign!

Surgery...

She was taking her time waking up from the anaesthetic, but she's breathing on her own and has come through the surgery as well as expected. Michael (my vet) was a little concerned at her slow rousing, until I pointed out that she does like to sleep - it usually takes her an hour in the morning to realise the light is on and get up. (Random picture of her sleeping.)

He said that the level of follicles that were active was certainly abnormal - most of her abdomen was filled with developing infertile eggs, as both ovaries were in full production. He was a little worried about her prognosis due to this (it often complicates surgery and makes the recovery harder due to physical shock) - however I pointed out that this is also pretty normal for her, and she makes a rapid recovery after laying once the antibiotics kick in. She's also quick to eat once any infection is dealt with too.

He was actually a bit shocked by the sheer number of eggs. I took no joy in saying "I told you so". Well, maybe a little.

He also said that prior to surgery, she'd put on 100 grams since she was last in for her emergency treatment, however he's going to weigh her later to see how much of it was eggs.

As far as I'm concerned, weighing her was never a good guide for her health for exactly this reason. She recovered most of her headfat and bulked up her tail, so I'm happy she's in reasonable physical condition. As expected, she's staying in overnight for observation - I'll be calling in the morning to see how she's doing. It's most likely she'll be coming home tomorrow afternoon.

Jam had insanely active ovaries. Vet Michael says surgery was absolutely the right option, especially as she has had binding previously and repeated infections after laying.

Say you're just yolking...

Well, the darling little pain in the backside HAS gone and converted all the tasty good stuff right into a new batch of eggs. I had been suspecting it for a few days as her belly got bigger but none of the rest of her did. I'm also a bit annoyed, because that's £20 of butterworms that are now yolk. (That's $30 to you guys in the US.) I can't be too cross I guess, it was only really a matter of time. (I also found this cute little clock that fits perfectly on her shelves!)

She quit eating a couple of days ago to focus on the last bit of eggerating - luckily, I had predicted this and have been supplementing her feeds with extra calcium, and I'm using Oxbow Carnivorous critical care mix to get some calories and nutrients into her via the power of lick.

I keep offering her the dig box, but she's not interested yet. Luckily again, she's a very blatant and quite predictable dragon - she'll go diggy mad for about two days before actually getting on with the job and laying the clutch. She hasn't got that far yet.

Vet isn't best pleased either, but has advised that she should be okay to lay these, and stop for the rest of the season after this clutch, being as it's her second. And was then surprised when I pointed out that, actually, no - this is her THIRD clutch of the season.

She's still booked for surgery on the 20th of June, but we may have to adjust this if she goes into yet another round of egg building after she lays these. We might need ANOTHER course of antibiotics too, as she _always_ gets an infection after laying eggs - though, as she's still on her current course, it will be interesting to see if she actually does develop one this time.

All I know is that she REALLY hates the taste of Baytril. She puts up one heck of a fight and pulls the most disgusted "BLARGH YUCKYUCK! Why would you DO that?!" faces afterwards.

Sensible vet agrees...

My vet, Michael at Abbey Vets in Grimsby (UK) has advised to keep an eye on her when her order of Baytril runs out - just in case any follicles or fragments remain after her oxytocin treatment.

He has advised me that I have two options: I can either send Jam away to an exotic specialist in another area, or, alternatively he can have a go at it, locally, though he hasn't got much experience in the area. He's sat in on a beardie spaying procedure before, but hasn't had the opportunity to run the surgery himself.

It's a relatively straightforward procedure, surgically speaking.

I asked him a few careful questions - and he is well aware of the possible complications, the statistics, the recovery procedures, the specialist requirement of a breather for beardies under anaesthetics (they do fairly well, however the anaesthesia chemicals stops them breathing for themselves) - so, as he seems excited at the opportunity to further his experience with exotics, I have offered him the job.

I'll keep you updated. I'm just trying to get weight back on Jammy, both lost from her ordeal and to bolster her for her coming ordeal. It's given her a lot to think about...

Oxytocin

Jam's grand now - as ever, she responded quickly to the first dose of Oxytocin and expelled what we believe was all the remains of the ruined eggs. Just a few hours after treatment, she was eating of her own accord and generally being her usual sunshiny self, handing out free licks and happy faces. We've got antibiotics and supplements as usual, and will be monitoring her closely over the next few days just to be sure the problem is done with.

My vet and I have also agreed to have her spayed in a couple of months to prevent future episodes, as she is such a recurrent problem layer. I would advise that any surgery is a big deal for a small animal, and should only be used as a last resort or life improver for the dragon, not you.

I have found this vet on youtube to be highly informative about bearded dragon surgeries - WARNING, GRAPHIC VIDEOS: Reptile Doctor's Videos

Particularly as he's filmed himself spaying a dragon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V4NYpeFivw

I will keep posting on her recovery and I will also post on her surgery when the time comes. It tickles me that Jam's licks are louder than her footsteps, as she wanders around...

Suspicion confirmed...

NOTE: If you suspect your female is egg bound - DON'T wait. Get her to the vet. An xray might be expensive, but a dead beardie is worse! 

My big female, Jam, is terrible at laying eggs. I don't breed with her (or any of them, actually) but she regularly lays infertile clutches and makes a bad job of it. Every time, she winds up with an infection, so I'm pretty used to her not being well afterwards. Our vet is pretty used to her too!!

This time however, she continued looking very unhappy on the second day. When I got home that evening, I gently felt her belly, and found a lumpy mass on the left hand side. Shortly after, she passed a bunch of mushed up shells with a large poop (as mentioned in the last post) - though I could still feel a solid chunk in the same area of her belly.

So we took her into the vets this afternoon. Bless her, she's been a real treasure - she didn't like the new vet man (his prodding hurt! Not deliberately, obviously, but it's very sore.) and ran to me for help. I don't know why she trusts me - I'm always mean, prodding her and feeding her medicines, but she settled down in my hands and let him have a good poke.

He agreed - he could feel something too - and the xray confirms there's something in there.

She's on her back in this picture (much to her extreme disgust!) - the black patches are gas bubbles, big one on top right when you look at the pic, and top mid left also, which are pretty normal for her when she is diagnosed with an infection. These will clear up with the antibiotics.

Underneath the biggest gas bubble, in the lower quarter of the flank, there's a white smudge with a dark patch in it - actually, two mushed together, if you look closely. We're pretty sure those are the failed eggs.

She's still in the vets as I type - she'll be having a dose of oxytocin to force her uterus to contract - this should force the remaining ruined eggs out. If two doses doesn't work, it will be likely that the shells have bonded to the flesh inside. If this is the case, she'll be going in for surgery to remove the ovaries and uterus entirely.

This will effectively "spay" her, and will prevent any future problems with eggs - she won't be able to have any more eggs! Frankly, this is no great loss to me. As mentioned, I'm not intending to breed, and she has such a hard time with it - and so frequently! I'd not send her in for surgery if it wasn't necessary, but I certainly won't be sad if she has to. It will save her a lot of trouble in the future.

I'll keep you updated as to how she's doing along the way. She should be in the middle of her first round of oxytocin treatment now...

In a pickle. Well - in a Jam.

Okay, I apologise I have been a bit quiet the last couple of days; Jam went back into egg mode again, and Jam in egg mode is always quite stressful, let alone two batches so close together.



The poor girl currently looks a train wreck, but she did drop another batch today. She's currently got bad head hollows, sunken eyes, tight little mouth, skinny tail and thighs. I'm a little worried because she is keeping her belly very bloated. I'm keeping her fluid intake up via syringe lick and bath and regularly providing Oxbow critical care herbivore mix with a little VetArk protein mix occasionally.

I'm also concerned at the feel of her bloaty belly - I'm not sure if she has a large poop working up (firmness probably due to a good dose of compost - she's a terrible licker) or if she's having another binding problem as, apparently, her belly is a bit sore. She's pooping regularly and sharted out a pile of egg shells this morning. She's not impressed at having to have lots of syringe dinners, but doesn't feel up to eating for herself.

As suspected, Jam appears to have a couple of failed eggs stuck in her system, and an infection, again.

Luckily, I know she responds well to antibiotics, however the bits of egg are going to pose a more interesting problem - they're going to give her meds to force artificial labour conditions and hope that does the trick. If it doesn't, and the eggs have bound against the uterus as I suspect, they will perform surgery.

If they do the surgery, they have agreed to remove both egg sacs - which will effectively spay her and mean she has no egg problems again. The health risk of surgery is fair when the health risk of future eggs is high - and proven consistent. I feel it would be worth it for her.

Mocha, now, she chugs out eggs like a machine. She isn't bothered in the least, despite her diminutive size and small appetite. Poor Jam has an awful time of it, every time. Even the lizard with penises didn't cause so much hassle laying eggs!

Tsam, Mocha and Sandy nommed the discarded infertile eggs - and Sandy discovered she LOVES yolk. Eggs pop when you get them in your back teeth, and any that is spilled is thoroughly entertaining to lick up.

Dragonball J

Aha! At last, Tsam is vanquished! The mighty orb of invulnerability attacks! I have never seen a lizard take to the dragon ball as quickly as Jac has.

Jacques is great to watch when he's in there, rumbling round in there like a gladiator in a ball cage - he's totally at home in there. White belly, white beard, no stress marks, ballsy attitude - gave Tsam some serious thinking time. Tsammy didn't know what to do about his least favourite, smallest rival suddenly developing the power to mow him down like a steamroller. He ran right up the other end of the room with little Jac chasing him, and cowered!

He's also figured out that it grants him the power of invincibility. And you can smush an enemy twice your size.

Sandy has worked out that giving the ball a firm rap will annoy Jac - and Jac can't do anything about it. So he did what any angry dragon does when disgusted at another dragon. He pooped at Sandy.

Unfortunately, this backfires somewhat, when you are in a globe.

He was glad to be let out.

Splish Splash Dragon Bath

They are being remarkably well behaved - only Hyphen has had a few warning splashes and, let's face it, he never remembers that he is supposed to behave at bath time.

Mocha had a huge drink and then went round testing if the water tasted different near each dragon.

Nice and clean and rehydrated. Once Tsam is done in his bath, we will give the tanks a quick go-over too.

When I opened the basket for carrying lizards in bulk, somehow Hyphen had managed to get himself pinned down by Mocha, Sandy and Jam. I don't know how or why, but he looked pretty happy about it.

Well, the one eye that was the only body part not under a dragon looked pretty happy about it. Bless him. He doesn't know his own name, but he's a lovely little brick for brains.

Also, in other news, despite not having actually done it in this house, Tsam has remembered how to do stairs in general on his own.

He has walked all the way from our bedroom, across the landing, down the stairs, through the hall and into the living room... and up the slope into his own house.

He is a very smart dragon.

This is why I trust him to be out on his own - he can manage.

When you find a mess like this, you know there's only one possible living being in the world that could be responsible... Yeah.

That mess would be Mocha finding the calcium.

I don't know what it is about Mocha and calcium - but she can't resist it. She gets plenty, and multivitamins... But if she spots the tub, she goes after it.

Lesson learned: don't leave the tub on the ledge. She can get into it.

I have officially found my favourite Chinese restaurant.

This place is fab - and they don't hold back. Low cost, big portions, plenty of chilies and flavour... they don't even skimp on the more expensive bits. My kung po is amazingly mouthwarm and packed with chunky, tender bamboo shoots and huge, crisp disks of water chestnut...

The crispy chili chicken is very crunchy and warm, the chow mein noodles were firm and the mushrooms in great quarter lumps...

And I don't know where to start on the duck rolls. The pancakes were crisp, the meat tender and flavoursome, the hoi sin delightful and the Thai dipping sauce - fabulous. I couldn't tell if the rolls were temperature hot or spice hot! :D

Happyhappyhappyburrrp.

One of the world's finest, most successful and most respected pirates... was a woman.

Cheng Shih was purchased from a "flower boat" (a brothel), tied up and hauled onto ship. The captain released her to get a better look - and she laid into him like a wildcat. Apparently, he thought that this feisty woman was pretty epic, fell in love and they got married!

She demanded her own fleet, and to keep her own captured treasure - and soon became his greatest rival on the seas, landing more booty than he! Sadly, he was killed in a storm - and lo, the fleets came in to port and bickered over who would be the new pirate lord.

Cheng walked in, threatened off all the competition and took control. In less than three years under her Red Flag, she took the fleets to over 1000 ships strong, and became the most formidable force on the oceans - outmanning most other countries entire navies.

She also shrewdly diversified from just pillage to protection, blackmail, spying and extortion; even developing good working relationships with farmers to provide her men with good food.

At the end of her reign, she was even offered a universal pirate amnesty in exchange for peace. Of the 80,000 men in her fleet, less than 400 were punished. They ALL got to keep their booty, and most of them were given good military jobs!

Cheng went on to open a gambling house with her husband, and passed away as a 69 year old grandmother. A truly remarkable pirate.