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 #1405470


Jow
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 Injured baby alligator lizard

Tonight I found a baby alligator lizard (looked to be less than 6 inches long) on my back patio. It had run under an old recliner chair of ours that we put out there. Usually I just let lizards go on their way when they are outside, and only take them out if they somehow got inside (maybe with the help of my cat...). But something told me to look under the chair for it.

I saw it and was surprised to see how little it was, because I have only seen the very large adults in our backyard before. It was extremely fast but I managed to catch it gently. I noticed that right behind its left front leg, it has a sharp, thin, and black thing that is sticking out of its side. Its not man-made, and didn’t look like a thorn from a plant. The closest thing I could compare it to is like one very large pincher from the back of a pincher bug.

It also had some cloth fibers or something sort of wrapped around its back feet which I was able to get off after being very careful with it. I wanted to pull out whatever was in its side because it causes the lizard to drag its front arm along and he/she can’t really use it, but I was afraid that I could hurt it more. One thought was that the sharp black thing could be barbed or hooked around and so if I pulled it out it could rip through more of the lizard’s skin and I didn’t want to do that. :(

My friend had wanted a reptile as a pet for awhile and I thought this might make a good one since I found it while it was still young, but the injury worries me. I don’t know if we would have enough money to take it to a reptile vet, and I don’t know how it would do on its own in my back yard being how small and handicapped it is. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Temporarily I put it in a cardboard box with a lid with holes in it (primitive I know) because I don’t currently have a tank. I also gave it a shallow container of water, an old corner piece of tile for it to hide under, some paper towels for warmth, and some small snails because that’s all I could find on hand that it might eat.

If we can successfully find a way to get rid of the thorn thing without hurting it too much further, I would need a lot of tips and info on taking care of it, since I have never owned a lizard/snake myself before. I have read a bit online and in this forum but I don’t think I have a complete understanding of everything yet.

Please please please reply ASAP with ideas so I can help this baby live a long life! I so hope I can help him/her :(
08/16/07  01:27am

 #1405479


Bskillz
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   Message To: Jow   In reference to Message Id: 1405470


 Injured baby alligator lizard

dude it will be just fine but at that age an arm ijury will be compleatly better in about 4 months so you might want to keep it as a pet because it wont last long in the wild it will heal on its own so dont worry (they eat small crickets buy them from petco).
08/16/07  01:58am

 #1405492


Bestberdie
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   Message To: Bskillz   In reference to Message Id: 1405479


 Injured baby alligator lizard

How big it the thorn? can you post a picture of the black object? You will need o UVB light and a heat lamp to keep him alive.
08/16/07  02:14am

 #1405857


Jow
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   Message To: Bestberdie   In reference to Message Id: 1405492


 Injured baby alligator lizard








My digital camera really sucks and I was in a rush this morning when I took them. But if you look closely you can sort of see what I was talking about. And you can see how tiny he/she is!

I have no idea what the sharp black object is sticking out of its side behind its left leg, or how deep it may go, but it reminds me of a longer version of an earwig’s pincher:



I’m just really afraid that whatever it is is hooked around inside so that if I were to pull it out it would wound the lizard even more. I tried pulling on it a little last night but it wouldn’t budge easily and I didn’t want to pull too hard. I can tell the lizard is in pain when I touch it though because he/she opens his/her mouth at me as if threatening to bite, but I’m just trying to help the best I can!

Please help me help this alli!
08/16/07  12:01pm

 #1405919


Bestberdie
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   Message To: Jow   In reference to Message Id: 1405857


 Injured baby alligator lizard

hmmmm is it deep? how big is it compared to his body? if it’s small then let the little guys body get rid of it and if it’s big then pull it out with tweasers wash the cut to make sure it doesn’t get infected. Thank you for trying to save the little guy. just hold him so he can’t bite or wear gloves so it wont hurt when he bites.



08/16/07  01:28pm

 #1405936


Jow
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   Message To: Bestberdie   In reference to Message Id: 1405919


 Injured baby alligator lizard

It seems to be as big as his arm, but he is still very small, so maybe a couple centimeters long? It seems big for the size he is. If i successfully get it out with tweezers, do I wash it with just soap and water or do I use something specially made for reptiles?

Thanks for your replies by the way. :)
08/16/07  01:47pm

 #1406030


Jow
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   Message To: Jow   In reference to Message Id: 1405936


 Injured baby alligator lizard

Also...any idea to the sex of the lizard? I’m horrible at telling that. I just don’t want to be calling it a him if it’s a her and vice versa. It might confuse it!
08/16/07  03:08pm

 #1406032


Bskillz
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   Message To: Jow   In reference to Message Id: 1405936


 Injured baby alligator lizard

No problem
08/16/07  03:08pm

 #1406671


Jow
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   Message To: Bskillz   In reference to Message Id: 1406032


 Injured baby alligator lizard

Good news! He ate five 2 week old crickets that I bought for him. He had a little trouble catching a few because of his handicap but after 5 he seemed full. I just wish I knew what to do. I thought about buying a tank and all the supplies for him but I really don’t know.

Does anyone else have any suggestions about what to do with this little guy? Because of this thorn or whatever in his side, he has little to no use of his left front leg. But it looks like it might have been in there so long that his skin healed around it, and that could be why its stuck. Should I leave it in him? Risk taking it out and making him bleed to death? Cut it shorter? Or should I just release him back into the wild and hope for the best?



08/16/07  10:48pm

 #1410643


Trentiusmaximus
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   Message To: Jow   In reference to Message Id: 1406671


 Injured baby alligator lizard

ok, this is what i think you should do. I think you should have someone hold the lizard in a restrained position but in one that you can acess the object. pull on it gently with twezers and follow any bend in the object. go slowly though. if it starts to bleed too much then leave it alone and use a Q-tip to put pressure on the wound. Keep using pressure and do not take off the Q-tip until the bleeding stops. Anyway if it does not bleed very heavily (note it will of course bleed because it will leave a hole in the skin.) then discard the object. Clean with hydrogen peroxide of rubbing alcohol. If you do not have a heating lamp then a 60 watt desk lamp will do temporarilly. Wait until the wound completely heals then consider keeping it as a pet and looking at the alligator lizard care sheets located on this site. Good luck!
08/20/07  01:14am

 #1410648


Clouddancer22
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   Message To: Jow   In reference to Message Id: 1406671


 Injured baby alligator lizard

Umm, I vote for pulling it out with tweezers. Put a little neosporin on the wound.



08/20/07  01:18am

 #1410989


Jow
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   Message To: Clouddancer22   In reference to Message Id: 1410648


 Injured baby alligator lizard

The wound isn’t open though. The skin has healed completely around the thorn thing with the sharp point sticking out. When the lizard breathes I can see the object move with it so it could be really deep. When I tried pulling it out before, the skin moved with it. I can try again but I’m really afraid I’m going to rip his whole side open and make him feel worse, or possibly die because of me :( He already hates it when I try to pick him up, imagine what he’d be like after I try taking it out again.



08/20/07  11:23am

 #1420774


Trentiusmaximus
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   Message To: Jow   In reference to Message Id: 1410989


 Injured baby alligator lizard

i dont know what to tell you. If you care that much then just take it to a vet. Plus lizards that are not CB need a lot of handling and a long time to get used to humans. He is not avoiding you because you might have hurt it, hes avoiding you because he thinks that you are a predator.
08/26/07  10:56pm

 #1559200


JDs owner
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   Message To: Trentiusmaximus   In reference to Message Id: 1420774


 Injured baby alligator lizard

What happened?nobody is saying anything any more.



12/28/07  06:52pm


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