Author Topic: [Loc] Gelby (Read 53229 times)

Loc · « **Reply #200 on:** October 04, 2018, 08:31:23 am »

According to her chip, today is Kimba's birthday. She's 7. We've had her for three months. In theory, we are due for a home checkup from the shelter any day now.

She's settling in well. Training is ongoing - she will get into cars happily, she loves to get in them. But will cry and whine when she's secured in or we start to move. She is still anxious to go new places that are outside, and taking her for walks involves going the route she knows and loves, and then adding a small amount on to the end to gently push her limits. She doesn't like being left alone, but will deal with it for an hour or two. She and I have fallen into a morning and early afternoon routine, which suits both of us fine for the time being.

Excuse her wonky smooshed headfluff in that picture, she had been lying across my laptop.

Loc · « **Reply #201 on:** February 09, 2019, 09:21:25 am »

Dany had surgery yesterday.

In November, she developed a lump on her side. It was gently cut open and cleaned out under a local anaesthetic, and the vet announced it was a cyst full of necrotic tissue. Due to Dany having bad lungs, it couldn't be removed - general anaesthetic ran too high risks of her going into respiratory arrest. The cyst wall had to be left in place. Sadly, this meant that the chances of it coming back were higher.

Sure enough, it came back. She had to have it removed this time or she had an increased infection risk (and she has a compromised immune system). Removal under local was impossible - the cut needed to remove it would have gone down too far (I was told the vet would have literally been seeing her ribcage, as the muscle layer is not very thick) and stitching up an awake and active reptile wouldn't happen. The vet assured me he would use an anesthetic that has as little effect on breathing as possible, and Dany would be on a ventilator the whole time. If she started to have trouble, she'd be woken up right away and he would stop and close her up.

The operation went with no issues. It took longer to get her asleep than it took to cut the lump out (she is apparently resistant to anaesthetic) and she was breathing unaided the whole time. She had three stitches (visible on the right) and is missing a handful of spikes (which will not grow back). The lump came out nice and easily, no bleeding or leaking, and she was eating and drinking this morning. She is probably quite sore, so I am handling her as little as possible and very carefully when I do.

She goes back for a post-op check on Monday, and the stitches will be in until March - estimated removal is 3-4 weeks (as reptiles have different healing rates to mammals). But it's all looking optimistic.

I've also decided that I will ask for the optional biopsy to be done on the lump - Chances are it is just a cyst, but it will be good to know for sure, and to know if it is likely to reoccur elsewhere down the line.

For now, I'm just happy to have the little trooper home and recovering nicely.

Old Rabbit · « **Reply #202 on:** March 22, 2019, 12:58:41 pm »

Happy Birthday to you Loc.

I hope your havilng a fine day.

"Showers you with chocolate chip cookies."

Old Rabbit

FarFar · « **Reply #203 on:** March 22, 2019, 03:28:22 pm »

Hope Dany is still doing well.

And, I love the most recent pic of Kimba. I had a husky like her, but she was grey in color.

Loc · « **Reply #204 on:** March 23, 2019, 08:38:53 am »

So I spent a chunk of my birthday at the vet with Dany, having x-rays of her feet and lower legs.

Which are a bit of a mess. She's had multiple fractures in her toes which have healed very crooked. Her bones just flat out developed wrong in places. I actually hate her previous owners.

She has arthritis and it looks like her previous MBD is getting weird with age. She may be in the process of self-amputating a very damaged toe (if so then it has been slowly happening over YEARS with no bad effects), but it may just be getting super gnarly with arthritis. If it does come off, it won't bother her and I can keep it clean. The vet is pretty confident that she is in no pain at all for the time being, and if she does develop pain then we can treat her for it.

The lizard endures.

FarFar · « **Reply #205 on:** March 23, 2019, 08:50:13 am »

Quote from: Loc on March 23, 2019, 08:38:53 am

So I spent a chunk of my birthday at the vet with Dany, having x-rays of her feet and lower legs.

Which are a bit of a mess. She's had multiple fractures in her toes which have healed very crooked. Her bones just flat out developed wrong in places. I actually hate her previous owners.

She has arthritis and it looks like her previous MBD is getting weird with age. She may be in the process of self-amputating a very damaged toe (if so then it has been slowly happening over YEARS with no bad effects), but it may just be getting super gnarly with arthritis. If it does come off, it won't bother her and I can keep it clean. The vet is pretty confident that she is in no pain at all for the time being, and if she does develop pain then we can treat her for it.

The lizard endures.

Yikes. That stinks. Sure hope she improves. She is in good hands now with you.

Loc · « **Reply #206 on:** March 23, 2019, 11:13:23 pm »

Her arthritis will probably get worse with age, sadly - it's just the way it goes. She's 8 now and an average age of beardies in captivity is 10-12, so she's starting to get on (and doing very well, considering her host of medical issues). Still, it isn't bothering her in the slightest and her MBD is under control and has been for years.

Avan · « **Reply #207 on:** April 26, 2019, 09:38:54 pm »

We hope dany is doing well (all things considered), such a good little pancake

FarFar · « **Reply #208 on:** April 28, 2019, 09:10:54 am »

Well wishes to Dany!

Loc · « **Reply #209 on:** May 08, 2019, 03:56:46 pm »

Dany is doing well. She had another health scare recently, but it was the early stages of dehydration combined with slight muscle tone loss related to her age. She is getting elderly.

Kimba had some x-rays done today as she has been limping for a few months. We were worried it may be the early stages of hip dysplacia.

The good news is that her hips are perfect. The limping is she has a ruptured cruciate ligament - This is a band of tissue that attaches the femur to the tibia, preventing the tibia from shifting forwards and helps stop the knee from over-extending or rotating. It looks like when hers ruptured, it took off a piece of bone with it which is now floating loose near the joint. We don't know when or how the injury happened. Some dog breeds are just prone to it over time with wear and tear on the ligament.

This injury is very fixable with surgery. Which kind she has will be up to the vet at the time, but there are two surgeries which involve cutting the bone and render the ligament basically redundant. We are going to book her in for an operation as soon as possible.

FarFar · « **Reply #210 on:** May 09, 2019, 03:38:56 pm »

I hope that Kimba makes a quick and healthy recovery!

Loc · « **Reply #211 on:** May 17, 2019, 07:23:22 pm »

Dany passed away around 11:40pm on the 17th. She had become ill, had emergency surgery, and never woke up from the anaesthetic.
I will be bringing her home as soon as I can.

FarFar · « **Reply #212 on:** May 17, 2019, 07:37:20 pm »

I'm sorry for your loss.

Storm Fox · « **Reply #213 on:** May 20, 2019, 06:39:57 am »

Sorry about your little beardie friend.
Hope you are otherwise doing okay, it's never easy to lose a beloved pet.

Loc · « **Reply #214 on:** May 20, 2019, 07:04:45 am »

It's rough. It's really, really rough. I'm not coping well at all. It's still too raw and recent. I love her and miss her, and want her back more than I've ever wanted anything.

Jade Sinapu · « **Reply #215 on:** May 20, 2019, 06:11:36 pm »

Loc,
I wish I had signed in earlier.
It's clear how much Danny means to you and others, based upon how hard this is for you! It would be hard for me too.
You care so much about her, and she knew it I bet. Sounds like you did everything you could to help her out.
She passed away in a peaceful manner, which is all we can ask for at times.

You are an amazing pet caretaker, and if I were a pet, I would ask for an owner like you!
Depending on what you believe, she and you may meet again.

Science tells us we have conservation of matter and energy. The energy that makes us alive, where does it go?
Some is lost to heat, some is converted, some is propagating through all of space, influencing all it touches.
In effect, she is never lost.

*Hugs*

FarFar · « **Reply #216 on:** May 22, 2019, 08:37:43 am »

Quote from: Loc on May 20, 2019, 07:04:45 am

It's rough. It's really, really rough. I'm not coping well at all. It's still too raw and recent. I love her and miss her, and want her back more than I've ever wanted anything.

*hugs*

Iara Warriorfeather · « **Reply #217 on:** July 14, 2019, 09:39:50 pm »

Loc, I am sorry to hear of Dany...I hope you are well

Loc · « **Reply #218 on:** July 22, 2019, 09:10:31 am »

It's been a little over two months. I'm still not doing well. The nightmares are out in full force.

FarFar · « **Reply #219 on:** July 22, 2019, 11:21:50 am »

Things will get better for you. Its hard to believe that now. One day at a time and it will get better. ((((hugs))))

Loc · « **Reply #220 on:** October 13, 2019, 05:33:44 am »

Some pet updates, Kimba first:

Her knee surgery went very well. She now has a lot of metalwork in her leg, but she no longer has a limp. She is much happier, grumbles less, and plays even more with other dogs.

She has had to have a second surgery to remove a cyst on her shoulder that was causing her pain and was a possible infection risk. She'd had it for a while, it formed around a hair follicle, but the vet recommended removal. She now has stitches in her shoulder and has to wear a shirt to stop her scratching it. Her first post-op check is Wednesday.

Vivec is nearly five, around 550 grams (he was only 5 or 6 grams when I first got him) and had his first vet check the other week. He was very interested in the waiting room, peeping his head out of the pillowcase I transport him in and flicking his tongue at everything and everyone. He was always shy, friendly but cautious, and inquisitive as a baby, and he never lost those traits. He has been declared a beautiful, healthy, happy young snake with wonderful colours and a lovely temperament. He was seen by the vet who used to treat Dany (but was not present for her final surgery. He asked after her, that was a tough conversation), and he just stood there for a while beaming with Vehk winding his way around him. He said it was nice to see a healthy animal for a change, he normally only sees very ill snakes. Vehk is also most likely to be a boy, from his tail size and shape, but I declined an invasive check.
He has developed one dark red scale just behind his head, but the vet thinks that is just a snake version of a freckle -Dany had the odd totally black scale here and there. Vehk doesn't make black pigment, the best he can do is dark red, so it is probably just that.

Gelby is still doing her own thing. The weather here has been all over the place which has messed with her feeding something awful, but she is still getting by just fine. She's still sassy and aloof, and mostly comes out in the evening when no one is around.

FarFar · « **Reply #221 on:** October 30, 2019, 08:05:04 am »

Thanks for the updates. Nice to hear that your pack seems to be doing well overall.

Loc · « **Reply #222 on:** January 11, 2020, 11:40:49 pm »

It's been a little while, so some updates:

First off, Weisse and I are engaged. He proposed on the 19th. I'm going to try and tentatively get things planned for during the colder months in 2021.

Kimba is doing well. She had a lot of time with Suki and William over the holidays, and she and Suki have started to play together a little. She has started trying to eat gum off pavements lately, but she goes through short phases of odd little habits - she had a period of finding tissues while out on walks and trotting off with them. Her shoulder surgery has healed now - It had some complications. The skin around the stitched area became infected and wet, which made the stitches tear out. The wound had to be left open and uncovered to heal, so we were covering her in honey for a little while. She was at the vet for cleaning every day, and we cleaned her twice a day at home. She healed well though, and has a small bald patch that, when her fur has finished growing in, won't notice in the slightest.

Vivec and Gelby are still going well and doing their things. They are healthy and happy, but hiding away a lot due to the colder weather. They have their warm, comfortable hides, get food delivered to them, and while Gelb has to walk out of her nest to get a drink, Vehk doesn't even have to fully get out of bed. Advantages of being long, I suppose. I'm going to try and move them into new tanks fairly soon to give them both some more space. Gelb needs some more rough logs in her tank for shedding - She has always had problems in that department, and she overturned her water dish during the last one and made a mess everywhere.

Loc · « **Reply #223 on:** July 10, 2020, 04:08:58 pm »

I have gotten really into nail art lately. I started out doing freehand spots, stripes and hearts but have decided to enter the realm of stamping. Weisse helped me out on these, our first attempts. The black outlines are stamped (by Weisse) and I filled them in by hand afterwards. The green heart on my left ring finger was freehanded.

These photos were taken before I finsihed clean-up around my nails, while I was waiting for my top coat to dry. My fingers look a lot less messy today.

In case anyone cares, I used BarryM basecoat, BarryM Frost (two layers) for a white sparkly base, MoYou black stamping paint for the spot outlines, Stargazer blue and green to fill in the spots, and BarryM quickdry top coat.

Loc · « **Reply #224 on:** August 10, 2020, 10:44:10 am »

I continue to stamp my nails. I'm getting a lot better at positioning and getting clean, straight lines now. I'm also doing a small bit of extra freehand colouring here and there.

The pets are all doing well. The UK has been hit by temperatures of 30C+, so Kimba has been absolutely melting (the reptiles are in a cool room on thermostats, they don't notice as much). She goes out for an early morning walk and then sleeps for most of the rest of the day until her nighttime walk at around midnight. She's off her breakfast as well due to the heat.

She continues to be a very good guard dog on the night time walks. Someone got too close to us and showed us too much interest a few nights ago, so she stood between him and I and started barking and lunging to the end of her lead until he walked off. During the day she is friendly as anything, at night she is very protective. We never trained her to do this.

Lockdown restrictions are eased over here, so we have started to take her to play with Suki and William again.