New water monitor....brace yourselves (tear jerker)

[Varanus K.Face]

Sally is a female Varanus Salvator Bivittatus who I took in on monday. She is roughly 15 years old and has had quite possibly the worst life of abuse I have heard. Her origional owner was for lack of a better term insane and had a historectomy performed on her (had all of her girly parts removed) the surgery left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. After that Sally was dropped off at a local pet store where she has lived for the past 8 years, tormented by children everyday. Arthritis has set in and now she cant move, eat, or drink on her own.

It breaks my heart to see her like this and my initial thought was maybe she should be euthanized, but upon speaking with my vet he brought up a good point....she isnt in any pain at all...shes paralyzed. She has never been shown love or compassion or any sort of warmth from anyone...shes probably only got 6 months or so left in her...instead of letting her die miserable and alone, why not take her home and treat her like a princess until she goes contently a peacefully?

So I did....and here she is:

Shes such a sweet girl too....poor thing

 

[Rhetoric]

Glad there are still people out there with big warm hearts! Hopefully you can get a little more than 6 months out of her. It makes me sick that people treat animals this way (whether its intentional or not)! Amazing shes lived this long.
How is she doing? How do you plan to feed her? Poor baby

 

[james.w]

That is terrible. So can she not move on her own at all? I just don't understand some people.

 

[Varanus K.Face]

she kind of wiggles her body and can move a little bit using her neck muscles but not much. I have been feeding her with tongs, chicken hearts only so far, and I have to put the food as far as I can into her throat without hurting her, then hold her mouth shut and massage her neck until I feel it far enough down that she can swallow it without choking. For water I put the nozzle of a mister in her mouth and spray it on low. She kinda sucks on it but seems to get enough that way. Im keeping her in a cage with no substrate since she cant wipe her mouth or eyes if she gets dirty. I just have her on a towel, and I spray her down a few times a day to keep her body hydrated. She seems to be doing well...doesnt seem too stressed. Hopefully she does well. I just want her to feel relaxed and comfortable...

 

[Max713]

That's heart wrenching

You are a kind soul! Thank you for giving her some love in her final stages of life...

Amazing, she looks so chubby for being paralyzed!

 

[Rhetoric]

So awful someone would do that. I get teary eyed when I read stuff like that. You'll have to keep us posted! Is she pretty mellow? I know shes paralyzed, hows her temperament though? :'(

 

[adam1120]

stupid people who do this like wtf they dont feel bad seeing the animals like this like seriously this stuff p*sses me off like why own it if not guna take care of it.. your doin a great thing to help that animal god bless you and your family.

 

[laurarfl]

Wow. At least she gets to finish out the end of her life comfortably. It seems strange that a spay surgery would leave her paralyzed.

 

[herpgirl2510]

How sad it is really wonderful of you to take her in and give her lots of love.

 

[frost]

sigh i should have just skipped this one....im too much of a baby with these kinds of things...=[

 

[chelvis]

Man you'd think is someone paid that much to have an animal spayed they would want to take care of her. But then again if they spayed her when she was too young or took her to an unexperianced or non reptile vet than i guess what more can you expect. This is heart wrenching to see. I am speechless at the time and dedication you have shown to this animal and it does make me feel better knowing there are people out there who still care enough to judge quality over quanity of life. I'm happy to see she will be cared for and loved for at lest the very end of her life.

 

[NogarD]

Much respect and props to you.

I think this story would help with whole "reptiles aren't pets and people who have them are just looking for attention" debate. You obviously took her in because you care about her. Much like any "normal" person would with a sick, mistreated dog or cat.

Hope she enjoys her time with you and you with her.

 

[RobK.]

very good job !!

I am surprised she looks as good as she does ,you would think she would be bone thin . Can you hold her head up while you give ger a warm bath , do think that would stress her or she would love that ?

 

[turtlepunk]

OMG!!! how awful!! IM SUPER HAPPY TO HEAR YOU TOOK HER IN and let her finally experience what its like to finally LIVE. such a bummer she didn't find you sooner.

 

[Varanus K.Face]

Thank all of you guys for the encouragement, I am sure each one of you would do the same in my shoes! Her temperment is amazing, she is very sweet. She is nervous, but for obvious reasons. She hasnt tried to bite me at all though, which suprised me. I have tried the bath thing, but it just seems to stress her out. She seems much more relaxed when I spray her....i think being in water but being unable to balance makes her feel unstable. When I spray her I use a heavy duty mister and I just have the water flow on her continuously for like 30-45 mins, and she seems to really like that. She was skin and bones on monday when I got her, and super dehydrated, those pics were taken after I got a few meals in her and rehydrated her. All in all I think she is adjusting quite well, and seems relieved. I hope so anyway! I will keep you all updated, promise!!!

<3<3<3

 

[La-Price]

updates on sally? hows she doing

 

[jumper123]

I have no words

 

[jerobi2k]

she is a beautiful monitor, it appears to be that she even has a little smile on her face

 

[Thumper]

Who the hell would give a monitor a hysterectomy? I'd like to introduce his face to my shin.

 

[spidersandmonsters]

^^lmao I'm sure she meant the owner, not the monitor. Hormones can go really crazy in older women and a hysterectomy can take those hormones out.

Anyway, how paralyzed is she? have you considered rigging her up with some wheels? If she can move her head or tail, she may be anle to get at least some mobility that way. These guys are smart, i'm sure she could figure it out :]