Rescued Blue Tongue after Butcher Bird Attack!

[Lea]

Thanks LeaBilby for your advice :-) The Light is off and the Hot area where he is laying is @ 25 degrees. Should be ok for him even if it goes down to 20 or so.

I'm sure of what I am doing and I have contacted a wildlife Carer, but they haven't gotten back to me yet. I will contact a new Carer tomorrow. I haven't made any excuses for not seeking assistance and I have contact a Wildlife Carer. I do not require any set up or lights as I already have everything that's need for him.

Cheers

Uly

My apologies, I wasn't trying to undermine what you have done so far, just trying to offer the best advice for the survival of this particular skink. It's always best to have things prepared in advance and while I understand you have everything you think you need, it's still a rush job and things can go wrong. If he develops an infection, you will then be out of your depth. You hadn't intended on keeping a blue tongue as a pet this weekend, so try not to let your emotions get in the way of doing what is best for him. I know you want him to get well and desperately want to do what's best for him, we can all see you have your heart in the right place- just don't let it cloud your judgement of doing what is right for him and making the best decisions.

Trust me, I have been there with many, many rescues and even with all the experience I have, I still have to make the most heart wrenching decisions, which I know are not the ones I like, but what is only the best for the skink.

[Uly]

BARN was the organisation that didn't get back to me....I will try Arrowildife tomorrow. Thanks for the links :-)

Cheers

Uly

[Lea]

They are 24 hour helplines, so someone should be able to help you now. Keep trying!

Or you can try FAUNA on. 1300 328 621 or post/ PM me your region and I can give you a better local number.

[Uly]

Ok If I can't get a hold of anyone by lunch time I will PM you to get more help. Thanks :-)

Cheers

Uly

[Lea]

Ok, Uly. I'll try and keep an eye out, so I don't leave you hanging!

[Uly]

Ok I fired off an Email to Fauna and left my phone number...hopefully they will contact me tomorrow morning!

I got a better feeling from Fauna and they look more professional as well.

Cheers

Uly

[Lea]

[Vegasarah]

20 at night in the warm spot is just fine, that's not too cold. If you still want to keep the red light on for an hour or so after you turn off the white light that might help keep it warmer overnight. That is what I did last winter in my house because it gets cold. White light went on at 7 am and shut off at 6 pm, then the red light would go on from 6pm till 8 pm. Then just the heat pad would be on till 7 am and the temps stayed pretty good.

LeaBilby has a good point about stressing him unnecessarily, but I don't think a few mists of clean water on the wound will be too much of a bother. I wouldnt recommend touching him, though. We are just trying to keep that wound clean to prevent infection.

You're doing a great job so far, hopefully Fauna gets back to you soon!

[Uly]

Fauna replied with...
"Hi,
Thank you for your e-mail.
The best thing to do for him would be to take him to your local vet, he may need antibiotics if he has a few wounds. They will then be able to give you advice on what to do for him.
Regards"

Well that was a less than impressive response I would have done that the first day if I thought that was the best thing to do! The attitude of my local vets is to put the animal down with out even trying to do the best for it and take your money! The only Vet I know that really cares about animals is too far away for me to get to as I have problems with my car overheating on long drives!

Why is is impossible to find Carers / Vets that care about animals as much as I do!

What do I do now!

Uly

[Richard.C]

Normal vets dont know much about reptile medicine,hence they often euthanise,do u know any exotic vets,they will try to help,and know what they are on about,in your case they would try to help the animal,theres a few in south east qld,a wildlife park may be able to give u some details on vets qualified for this

[Uly]

Yeah your right Richard. I'll do some research on the web and maybe make some phone calls.I would feel more comfortable with a vet who specialises in reptiles.

Thanks mate :-)

Uly

[Uly]

I found one reptile vet that is about 20 mins north of me. I will give him a call after 9am. It looks ok and there is a lizard on his info page :-)

http://www.deceptionbayvet.com.au/About ... fault.aspx

Now I just have to pray my car makes it that far!!

OMG I'm so happy...one of the vets has 2 blue tongue lizard as pets!!! An another staff member has 2 Blue tongues as pets! This will be the best place to take him!!

Uly

[Vegasarah]

I found one reptile vet that is about 20 mins north of me. I will give him a call after 9am. It looks ok and there is a lizard on his info page :-)

http://www.deceptionbayvet.com.au/About ... fault.aspx

Now I just have to pray my car makes it that far!!

OMG I'm so happy...one of the vets has 2 blue tongue lizard as pets!!! An another staff member has 2 Blue tongues as pets! This will be the best place to take him!!

Uly

Great to hear that you found a good vet! And that right there is why I want to specialize in exotics! I love exotic pets and I hate that there are just not enough specialists out there. So what did I do? I became my own specialist lol

[Uly]

Well I've taken him to the vet.I didn't get to talk to the vet. The office Nurse lady took a look at him and thinks he may have lost both eyes She said he is very healthy and in good condition otherwise. She said they will keep him in for a couple of days and try to clean up his eyes. I said I have been watching over him for more than 6 years keeping away the cats & birds, but was just a minute too late this time. I said if he can see then I want him to be released back in to my yard when he is better. If he is blind then I am willing to take care of him. I told her I have all the equipment and I will get all the necessary permits. I also told her my mum was a wildlife carer and I have more than 25 years of looking after injured animals. She said we might be able to work something out then. I said if he passes away then I want his body back so I can bury him in my yard. They are going to call me sometime Friday. I told them to do everything they can for him. So I hope they do.

I just noticed he did a big poo on his rock and some of the lizard food is next to his food container. Does this mean he's been eating? I really think there is no need to put him to sleep if Its just his eyes and I can take care of him. He looks very healthy otherwise.

Vegasarah...we need more vets like you in the world. I'm sure you'll make a great vet as long as you are kind and compassionate towards every animal and you do all that you can and not take the easy way out. Money will never be a problem for you and your practice if people find out you'll do all you can for animals and money isn't your prime motivation!

Well I have done all I can for the Blue Tounge now...it's all up to the vet now! I'm still shaking and upset

Cheers

Uly

[Vegasarah]

You did the right thing, remember that! Good on you to help him out like you did. He is in good hands now, so I wouldn't worry too much. Be sure to let us know what the vet says!

[Rani-May]

If he is healthy in every other way surely they will give him back to you and he will be fine. Look at how committed you were, you got all the equipment for him, and did everything anyone possibly could, you should be proud of your efforts Hope he comes back healthy and im sure he will be happy with you if you keep him

[El Lobo]

You have definitely done the right thing getting him under the care of a vet. Since looking at the pictures you posted yesterday I had the feeling that both eyes may have been either fully or partially pecked out by the bird. You have made known your commitment to this skink and I'm confident the vet will take your requests into consideration regardless of the prognosis. We have had a few litters born in our yard and it is always distressing when we find any of them deceased, particularly when their death has been needlessly caused by another animal. In our case it is mostly cats who are let out by irresponsible keepers to destroy the wildlife.

I have also had some less than favourable experiences with wildlife care groups who can seem to be selective with animals to which they respond. The last time I took an injured Kookaburra to a 'carer' it was the first injured animal she had encountered, having just finished her training. She was literally terrified of the bird so I had to put it into a cage for her. Makes you wonder how some become accredited.

As an aside, I think the Eastern might be more likely female than male. Females tend to have a much smaller home range than males who will travel further seeking a female for breeding. As this same skink has been around your place for a number of years it appears to have established its home base more in keeping with female behaviour.

I am hoping for a favourable outcome.

[Uly]

Vegasarah...Thanks I'm all good now and back to normal lol :-) I have done everything I can, it's up to others now and is out of my control.I will keep you guys informed on what the vet says.

Rani...Thanks :-) Unfortunately not everyone see things the way we do and things don't always work out the way they should. I tried to do my best. Most people can't understand why I do the things I do for animals. I spent 3 weeks sleeping on the floor next to my dog and trying to do everything for him before he passed away.If it was the butcher bird that was attacked by a cat then I would be doing the same for it as well. I just think most people give up to easy on animals because they are viewed less than a human.

El lobo... The next door neighbours cat was the other predator I have been keeping away from the Blue Tongue over the years. I love cats but people are so irresponsible with them. That cat caught a Bird in my yard earlier this year and I had to rush the bird to the vet to get it put to sleep...it was in a bad way.Sorry to hear about the baby Skink's...that's horrible

Thats scary with the kookaburra and the Carer...yeah makes you wonder hey. You know I was thinking the same thing this morning too that He maybe a She. I swear there have been more Blue Tongues in my yard...maybe they were males finding there way in to my yard looking for her? I will keep an eye out for more Blue Tongues.

Cheers Guys

Uly

[Lea]

This is excellent news! Hopefully it's a positive outcome. Just bear in mind, if they have an established reptile cared, they may choose to home them there, rather than with someone who has no experience, however well meaning they are. They will see people all the time who are overexcited at the prospect of homing a new and somewhat exotic animal, only to see that the thrill wears off a few months later and they want to move the animal on. So don't be disheartened if this happens, just think of it as a way to now fully prepare yourself for caring for a blue tongue skink, start some research and perhaps look to getting one of your own once you have all the basic knowledge and requirements needed to provide one with a good home.

[El Lobo]

I fully endorse what LeaBilby has said. This Eastern may well have sparked an interest in learning about these wonderful animals and their needs in care. It is much the way I got into blueys. We always had an abundance of them in our yard so keeping any as pets hadn't entered my mind. Then we had a few consecutive years with none which made me realise how much I had come to value them just being around. An opportunity arose to get a pair of newly born Blotchies so I took it up. Needless to say, a few months later a whole litter of wild ones was born in our yard.