Lizard Beans

This is such a good question I had to take new pictures for it to do it justice.  Thank you, anon!  Of course, there’s no way only one can be picked, so I’ll give a bit of a house fave line up.  

This guy is a tiny bit stand offish when bothered, but he makes up for that with raw curiosity when he’s relaxed.  He’s a bit smaller than a lot of my other males and has a bit of a juvi look still that adds to his cute.  Whenever I’m doing anything nearby he’s got to check it out, watching what’s going on with his little mustache face.  

Dagur!  Best Mind Your Own Business! 

This guy has been top of the fave list since he got mature enough to stop being scared all the time, and he’s still right up there.  This guy is the whole package.  He doesn’t make a huge mess of his home.  Doesn’t flip his hides.  Doesn’t get wet hide substrate all over every surface.  Poops all in one corner.  And he’s a calm boy who doesn’t mind a bit of handling and even a little head petting.  

Mars!  All Around Good Boy! 

On the opposite end, this guy flips everything around in his house five seconds after its been cleaned.  I’m talking everything wadded up in one corner, poop wherever it may land anarchy.  He’s a food begger who will scratch for worms at you from his filth prison even after he’s just eaten. But unlike some (Cygni) he’s not too skittish and is a little curious even though being handled isn’t his favorite thing. 

Link!  Biggest Hot Mess! 

This lady has been high in the cute face category since she got here and she’s still going strong.  She’s probably one of the biggest bite risks in the house as anything moving is probably food and she’s hungry all the time, just look at her she’s starving.  This also makes her grade A++ cute wide-eyed hungry face.  She’s the only gecko I’ve ever had try to jump lunge straight up to eat my face when I was even within two feet of her.  If you walk past her house at the right time, you’ll probably hear a thump cause she was ready to try and eat your body whole.  

Esper!  Most Ambitious!  

We all might be used to the protesting chirps and mini grunts that leos tend to give, but this girl is the household’s most threatening heck off.  Fat tails are smoother and squishier than leopard geckos, which makes this girl’s upset something like being threatened by a squeaky toy. Most of the time, she’s a sweet little lump, but when she’s moody or the sprayer is wetting the moist hide closer than she prefers, she full on open mouth hisses.  A full hiss.  The long hiss.  

Clove!  Best Scary!  

Anyone who has been paying attention on this blog won’t be surprised to see the best girl on here.  Look at her face.  Even with her tongue out like that you’re probably feeling judged right now.  She’s another whole package girl who will actually beg for the hand elevator even if she won’t want to be actually out for too long.  It’s like if a gecko was a cat.  Demanding and making you do all the work.    

Ravioli got to spend some time outside today. I got some pretty cute pictures too!

Hey guys! I got a few requests for custom reptile pendants with gemstones so I’ve officially added it to my shop!

This is a tough topic to discuss but an important one, especially for those outside of the veterinary profession. A convenience euthanasia is generally thought of as a euthanasia that is not done to alleviate suffering, but rather because an owner decides they cannot care for an animal anymore.

When I was a technician I got into a heated argument with a vet because she euthanized a cat because it was peeing outside of the box. I promised I would never do something like that and would always find an alternative.

Shortly after becoming a veterinarian I had an elderly woman and her son bring their dog in for a check up. The dog was also elderly and had diabetes, but otherwise ok. The son told me I needed to euthanize the dog because the mom could not properly care for it and he was too busy caring for her. We talked about re-homing the dog and he told me he had tried but nobody wanted an elderly diabetic pet, he had tried. I called a few rescues, none could take the dog. I put my foot down and said I would not euthanize a dog that was basically healthy, they just needed to continue caring for the dog.

A few days later a neighbor of the woman brought the dog in as an emergency. The son had tried to kill the dog by overdosing it with insulin and when that didn’t work, he had attempted to beat the dog to death. The dog was badly beaten and had multiple skull fractures, a broken leg, and numerous bruises. I had to euthanize. I did a necropsy and found that the spleen had ruptured, likely due to blunt trauma.

I will never forgive myself for not euthanizing that dog when the owner asked. I stood on a high horse and refused to look at it from his point of view and because I was stubborn, that dog suffered a horrible death. This isn’t an uncommon story either. Many of my veterinary colleagues have similar stories about refusing a “convenience” euthanasia, and finding out later that that animal was drowned, suffocated, strangled, beaten, or overdosed on medications, or left outside in the wild.

I had a cat patient once that was urinating outside of the box, constantly. The owner was trying to sell her house and couldn’t because it smelled of cat urine. She had ripped out carpets, wood flooring, torn down walls, etc. We tried multiple things including new boxes, pheromone plug ins, medications, and more. No one wanted to take a cat that urinated outside of the box. The shelters were completely full. What could we do? My technicians mutinied, they refused to assist with the euthanasia. When I asked if any of them would take the cat they said no. They already owned too many animals. Their significant other was allergic. They couldn’t have pets. Multiple valid reasons. Would anyone donate money so we could care for the cat? Nobody had any extra money. This owner wasn’t a bad person, she had done all she could. We forget that owning a pet should be enjoyable, not a misery. No one should be stuck caring for a pet that makes them miserable because then the pet suffers too.

Tiny Frog is home today!