Baby blue tongue born with undeveloped arms. Please help

[Michyc]

So we were sold a beautiful blue tongue bout three weeks ago and tonight she gave birth to nine lil blueys and one of them has bad arms both of the arms aren't properly developed and I was just wondering if anyone has seen this before and some advice. I plan on taking her to the vet tomorrow morning but I'm hoping they will sort themselves out. I will add a couple of pics sorry they might not be the best and as you can imagine she is not getting around as well as the other siblings. It's like there is no proper bone structure and bends in the front arms. I just feel so sorry for this lil one

[TJreptiles]

Yes some better pictures would be appreciated.

[Michyc]

Pics updated I will get bubs out later and get a couple more pics. Sadly it just sits there my friend put it on the rock to get it warmer under the rays and it hasn't travelled far at all. I hand fed her some food and got her to drink some water. Hoping it will grow big and strong and have no issues but its only day 1.

[Fatal_S]

I would be very iffy about leaving it in with the others. In my (quite limited) experience, a weak baby will be attacked and eaten, even if there's plenty of food available. Please let us know what the vet says, and best of luck with all the babies.

[Susann]

I can't help much with advice as to what you can expect, but just until you get to a vet who can hopefully give you some realistic expectations, I can tell you that I had a baby born last year who was paralyzed in the lower half of his body. Since his bowels were involved I opted to have him put to sleep because he was unable to pass matter through his body,
but until then (or rather until he got too swelled) he was able to drag himself around by his front legs. I had him on a flat surface with paper towel for traction so it was easier for him to get around, and made sure his water bowl was very shallow --although I would place him at the water's edge at least once a day to make sure he stayed hydrated.
I would suggest keeping him in a place where he can get around as easily as possible, and keep a close eye on his temperature, to make sure he doesn't overheat or get too cold.
I hope things work out for your little guy. Please keep us updated.

[Michyc]

Thanks Fatal S and Susann for the advice. I will keep you posted and get on moving this lil one and also Susann so sorry bout your lil guy but you did the right thing and sometimes it's a cruel world hoping my lil runt does better but if she was born in the wild sadly she wouldn't have a chance. So here's to hoping

[dsteamn]

I have had litters in the past where there were things wrong with some of the babies. We had a two inch runt (compared to 4.5 - 5" for the other babies) that seemed to thrive with a little help from us the first three days. On the fourth day, it stopped eating and didn't want to move much, so we put it down.

We also had four babies born with skull compressions one year. Their heads seemed as if they had fit together like puzzle pieces in the womb. The jaws on three of them were spring open, so we elected to put all of them down (they actually became tegu and snake food). The fourth had the smallest deformation and seemed to be functioning fine so we decided to give it a chance at survival. It is now two years old. It began cognitively deteriorating at about nine months. We realized it was blind and extremely simple minded. If its standing in the water dish, it can't make the connection and drink. It smells food but can't find it to eat. We also later discovered that it has a cleft pallet. Its a member of our family and hangs out on the cage with us every night.

So I guess my point is that these babies often don't survive, and when they do, their long term disabilities are not easily recognized when they are young. If you let it live and it ends up having disabilities because of the defect, make sure you're ready to be in it for the long haul. We love Gator (named for the head shape) and wouldn't trade her for the world, but she will always be a special needs lizard, and they take an exorbitant amount of care.

[Michyc]

Thanks for your reply dsteamn and yes I hear what your saying and I'm starting to realise if its going to be to cruel to keep her alive we will unfortunately have to put her to sleep but I think you know I'm hoping she will be fine and I understand that may not be the case. I also seen she is missing one of her claws on the front legs also. I just didn't understand before how all the others seem fine and this lil one is just a tad deformed but it will maybe be a lifelong impairment for her. My local vet doesn't specialise in reptiles and I will have to take her elsewhere tomorrow. If there's any possibility of a good outcome where she can manage I will be in it for the long haul.
It really is a hard decision to make, basically I would be prepared to keep her if its not to cruel to.
I took her out this afternoon in the sun and let her crawl around in the grass. Seemed to like it and this is our first litter we were not expecting this to happen at all. We only just brought mumma and there was no mention on her being pregnant :/
Again thank you for speaking of your experience, it's greatly appreciated. And all the best to you and Gator girl

[dsteamn]

I do hope the little one is ok. In retrospect, we should have let Gator go, but I could never imagine life without her now. As soon as she hears my voice, she finds her way to the front glass and stands in the corner so I will pick her up. Once I have her, she's Perfectly content to sit with me as long as I will let her. She's such a sweetie pie, just pitifully defendant on us. Going out of town presents its own challenges because we can't just leave her with anyone.

Hopefully, your little one will turn around and this will only be a temporary delay. Best of luck to you.

[Michyc]

Yes I'm hoping the same and wow Miss Gator is just something else seems she's very fond of you so you must be doing a great job and as long as you love them and have time for them, that's the main priority
Will have to wait and see for the outcome tomorrow. I can't imagine having to put her to sleep and although she's just a bub and seems a bit tiny, tired and a lil weak she's still managing to eat and drink. So hopeful atm....my own bub was born with extra toes last year his 1 now and doing fine so what if this ones a lil diff wouldn't love it any less

[dsteamn]

Absolutely. Will be so interested to see what the Vet says. If you decide to keep it, I rehabbed one who's front leg was paralyzed from advanced mbd. He now not only walks on all fours, he went on to become a dad to over 50 babies. Happy to share the therapy techniques I developed to get him moving again.