AboutMick Expertise NO PRIVATE QUESTIONS! READ MY INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE SENDING YOUR QUESTION!. I can answer questions related to various aspects of reptile husbandry, selection, field ID (esp. in Texas and the SW), legal aspects of various species, and intermediate level medical care on most species. I am a co-founder of Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue ( TX ), founding member of The Society for Horned Lizard Preservation, a member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Assoc, a listed rescuer with Melissa Kaplan @ anapsid.org and rescuenetwork.org, and a subscriber to the International Veterinary Information Service. I do most of my own veterinary care in-house. I am most experienced in Chelonia (turtles&torts) with box turtles and common smaller tortoises (I am familiar with sulcata as well); and in Squamata (lizards & snakes) with everything from Anoles, Geckos, Beardies, and Monitors, to venomous snakes. With snakes, my primary expertise is in Crotalids (rattlesnakes), but I can answer a broad range of questions about colubrid and boidae snakes; such as kings, milks, corns, pythons, & boas. I am not aware of any reptile related question, in general, that I would not be able to provide some reasonable answer for. I have a direct style and may tell you something you did not want to hear; but the welfare of the animal comes first with me, and I will always reflect that position in my answer. READ "Instructions to Questioner" BEFORE ASKING YOUR QUESTION.I WILL NOT BE ADVISING PEOPLE ON HOW TO TREAT SERIOUS OR EMERGENCY HEALTH PROBLEMS ANYMORE, WHERE YOU SHOULD OBVIOUSLY SEE A VET, EXCEPT FOR IMMEDIATE NECESSARY LIFE SAVING PROCEDURES OR TEMPORARY MEASURES UNTIL YOU SEE A VET. I AM NOT HERE TO HELP YOU AVOID A VET BILL! Thank You.
Experience
I am an amatuer herpetologist with 24 years experience in reptiles. I am a reptile rescuer and subscriber to the International Veterinary Information Service. I have medical and scientific resources available, and have had to learn herp medical care over the years. I am not a vet, but I read from the same materials and have had to correct a few in the past. The average vet is not well versed with reptile anatomy and physiology.
I have a yahoogroup dedicated to the conservation and husbandry of Horned Lizards. My specific area of expertise is in Chelonians ( primary- Box Turtles ), Phrynosoma ( Horned Lizards ), and Crotalids ( primary- Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes ); though I have some experience also with aquatic turtles, tortoises, monitors, many other smaller lizards, and colubrid snakes.
I am currently the caretaker of 12 Horned Lizards, 25 Box Turtles, 13 Red Eared Sliders, 1 Green Iguana, 1 Texas Spiny Lizard, 1 Bullsnake, 2 Checkered Gartersnakes, 2 Eastern Ratsnakes, 1 Albino Great Plains Ratsnake, 1 Desert Kingsnake, 3 Fox Squirrels, and 1 Budgie. Previously: Leopard Geckos, Golden Gecko, African White-Spotted Wall Gecko, Mediterranean Geckos, Bahama Anoles, Ca. Kingsnake, Brazilian Rainbow Boa, Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, Russian Tortoise, and Eastern Cotton-tails.
Organizations
Co-Founder: Wichita Falls Reptile Rescue http://wichitafallsreptilerescue.webs.com Founder: Horned Lizards YahooGroup http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hornedlizards Member: National Wildlife Rehabilitators Assoc.
Founding Member: The Society for Horned Lizard Preservation
Publications The Horned Lizard Husbandry Manual - self published 40 pages of care information on genus Phrynosoma.
Wikipedia entry "Horned Lizards" - contributed to a majority of the content.
Education/Credentials 24 years of field and captive experience. In my book that beats a PhD any day of the week. I was hands-on with venomous snakes before some of the formally educated "experts" currently in the herpetology field even knew what their undergraduate major would be.
Past/Present Clients I was requested to provide my care sheet ( manual ) on the Desert Horned Lizard ( Phrynosoma platyrhinos ), for the Montreal zoo. My manual is also used by the Ft. Worth and Nashville zoos.
Question QUESTION: Hi,tomorrow i'am going to pick up a bearded dragon and the guy says she is blind and i just want to know if they do good being blind. I have 2 dragons of my own and just adore them and when i seen her i knew i had to have her. I will take her to the vet asap so if you dont have time to answer this it's ok, i was just wondering what you thought. Thanks Debbie
ANSWER: In what manner do you mean "do good"? For specifics I'd have to know more, like what caused the blindness and how long ago it happened? Is the animal eating for example. Surely the current keeper knows this?
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QUESTION: I mean live a healthy normal life. I picked her up today and the guy had a tank FULL of dragons and eggs ready to hatch, none of them looked good, some even had sand in their eyes.He told me her dad tried eating her as he did some of them. I was so mad when i left i didn't even think to ask when it happened.She is eating well and i also have her on supplements, she was also extremely dehydrated. I seen her brothers and sisters and they looked to be about 6 mons but she looks like she is about a month, if that helps with the age. Thanks for responding, Debbie
ANSWER: She could live a healthy life. Not normal though. She is blinded. Being able to find food will be a big issue. If she's already learning or can fed herself that's good. I recommend a trip to the vet. First, to be responsible, unlike the person you bought her from and should not have given money to, you need to call him back and find out why she is blind. Was it trauma or was she born that way. It could be reversible, but you won't know that unless you ask the questions you are supposed to.
I would also suggest calling your local humane society, ASPCA, or reptile rescue and reporting the conditions of this bearded dragon mill. This guy may have to have a permit to sell exotics where ever you are, and he doesn't sound like the upstanding type to have his paperwork in order.
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QUESTION: HI again,I took her to the vet the next day and she can see out of her left eye. I was real excited when he told me that.Right now i have to hand feed her. The vet says she'll be fine and i can already tell a difference, she is up and walking around, and holding her head up more, she still sleeps more than she should but i'm sure it will pass.the way it happened with her sight is he put all the babies in the same area as the parents and they ate most of them and tried to eat her. Thanks for taking the time to write me back. Debbie
Answer So did the vet find any obvious trauma to the globe? What is his prognosis and what is he prescribing?
Sounds like a real idiot there who is breeding those dragons. Only a complete moron who didn't know what he was doing would keep adults and babies together.
