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Unusual protrusion under his tail lands bearded dragon in the animal hospital.
By Dana Treen, The Times-Union
The more Jacksonville veterinarian John Rossi tugged, the stranger things became.
"I have never extracted a lizard from another lizard before," he said.
He's been a veterinarian for 21 years.
Rossi ended up pulling a 7-inch rubber lizard from Mushu, a living 12-inch bearded dragon that had swallowed an inanimate cousin placed in her pen as a companion. Rossi said Mushu's owners took the family pet to the Riverside animal hospital Friday after noticing an unusual protrusion beneath the lizard's tail.
Mushu's master, Finley Collins, 7, thought her pet was having a baby.
Rossi said he knew nature wouldn't agree.
"This species doesn't have babies, it has eggs," he said.
But after sedating Mushu and beginning to pull, Rossi ran into the unexpected.
"The next thing I knew, I was seeing legs and a body and a head," he said. "It was very strange to be tugging on this thing."
Rossi said he has seen bearded dragons, a variety of Australian lizards, swallow suction cups, screws and dimes. But he did not X-ray Mushu because he thought he was dealing with a long, rubbery worm of some sort.
By the time the rubber lizard's legs began to appear, Rossi said he realized what it was.
"We were all laughing," he said.
Jeff Collins said his daughter was thrilled at first that Mushu might be giving birth. But Collins thought the lizard may have eaten sand or something else that was causing a problem, so they took it to the vet.
"I thought, in the end, it might be bad news," he said.
But it was something else - in the end.
"It passed completely through the entire [gastrointestinal] tract," Rossi said.
Rossi said bearded dragons are sometimes known to attack smaller species of lizard.
"You need to be careful what you give your pet to play with," he said.
Rossi said bearded dragons have overtaken the iguana as the pet of choice lizard in the U.S. He said he would put the swallowed lizard in a category he might call lizardus rubberi.
Mother lizard is resting at home following the delivery. Baby Mushuette, named by the vet's staff, remains under their care.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091907/met_200782227.shtml">http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/s ... 2227.shtml</a><!-- m -->
By Dana Treen, The Times-Union
The more Jacksonville veterinarian John Rossi tugged, the stranger things became.
"I have never extracted a lizard from another lizard before," he said.
He's been a veterinarian for 21 years.
Rossi ended up pulling a 7-inch rubber lizard from Mushu, a living 12-inch bearded dragon that had swallowed an inanimate cousin placed in her pen as a companion. Rossi said Mushu's owners took the family pet to the Riverside animal hospital Friday after noticing an unusual protrusion beneath the lizard's tail.
Mushu's master, Finley Collins, 7, thought her pet was having a baby.
Rossi said he knew nature wouldn't agree.
"This species doesn't have babies, it has eggs," he said.
But after sedating Mushu and beginning to pull, Rossi ran into the unexpected.
"The next thing I knew, I was seeing legs and a body and a head," he said. "It was very strange to be tugging on this thing."
Rossi said he has seen bearded dragons, a variety of Australian lizards, swallow suction cups, screws and dimes. But he did not X-ray Mushu because he thought he was dealing with a long, rubbery worm of some sort.
By the time the rubber lizard's legs began to appear, Rossi said he realized what it was.
"We were all laughing," he said.
Jeff Collins said his daughter was thrilled at first that Mushu might be giving birth. But Collins thought the lizard may have eaten sand or something else that was causing a problem, so they took it to the vet.
"I thought, in the end, it might be bad news," he said.
But it was something else - in the end.
"It passed completely through the entire [gastrointestinal] tract," Rossi said.
Rossi said bearded dragons are sometimes known to attack smaller species of lizard.
"You need to be careful what you give your pet to play with," he said.
Rossi said bearded dragons have overtaken the iguana as the pet of choice lizard in the U.S. He said he would put the swallowed lizard in a category he might call lizardus rubberi.
Mother lizard is resting at home following the delivery. Baby Mushuette, named by the vet's staff, remains under their care.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091907/met_200782227.shtml">http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/s ... 2227.shtml</a><!-- m -->
