Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My house just burned down this morning.. I had several losses..
but some were lucky to survive.. among them
Tegu, Beardies, Uromastyx, and my Ackies..
As well as oddly my Tarantula, and 2 boas.. One of which we've had for 12 years..
They survived the fire.. but the Beardies atleast, I'm terrified about..
They were absolutely covered in soot... They're with a friend, rather experienced, but I'm still worried..
I've seen fires before, and have seen losses of atleast a quarter from survivors just to smoke damage..

Anything I can do other than wait it out and pray they're alright?
Scrubbed their bodies fairly clean, tried to clear their nasal passages and eyes.
Several burns and blisters on the Tegu.. by all rights, she should be dead..
She got out of her Oak tank, somehow before it was incinerated (my Sav on top was not so lucky *cry*) but she's fine other than several cuts and bloody toes.
Treating them best I can.

Any advice or even kind words are much appreciated..
I can do nothing for those dead, but I hope I can allow my others to survive.

Thanks in advance..

-James
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2.3 Leos
2.0 Beardie
1.1 Common Boa
0.1 Sav (Bosc) Monitor
1.1 Ackies
0.1 Giant BW Tegu
Thousands of Roaches, T's, and Scorps.
Wish for: Candoia Sp, Frilled D

Sorry to hear about the loss of your house & some of your pets. The pets that had smoke inhalation and/or burns should be taken to a qualified herp vet for evaluation. Burns are usually cleaned and Silvadene cream applied topically to the wounds. Depending on the depth of the wound(s), debridement may be needed and then dressing. Respiration is important when air passages are compromised. Have the vet determine treatment for all affected animals.

I don't have my med. references with me currently, but others here should be able to add more detailed & therapeutic info. Hopefully, things will improve for both you & your pets.

Truly the odd thing, is that the town, even containing a fairly large branch of the Southwest Herp Society (South Cali, LA, all that) has no exotic vets who know anything about animals more exotic than a canary or a horse.

And as it stands, I can't get to Fresno or LA..
But I will make the attempt..
Otherwise I'll speak with the other members and see what they know off or can help me with, we had a vet among our members, but he went back to school.. so alas, no help.

There's always hope however, thank you.. I'll make sure the Tegu is taken care of properly and that her wounds are cared for. She's the only one with wounds..

Thank you.
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2.3 Leos
2.0 Beardie
1.1 Common Boa
0.1 Sav (Bosc) Monitor
1.1 Ackies
0.1 Giant BW Tegu
Thousands of Roaches, T's, and Scorps.
Wish for: Candoia Sp, Frilled D

Try the following link:

*Also, at the back of Reptiles Mag., there are a couple of female vets that are in the Long Beach area, I believe. I don't have the magazine on hand at this moment.

You should have some success below(link), if none are close, maybe one of these vets can refer you & possibly work with the inexperienced (herp) vet, if need be to assist your tegu or other reptiles.
Link

If Silvadene isn't available, you can also try using Hibiclens(Chlorhexidine gluconate)-which is over-the-counter to help prevent bacterial infections within the wounds. It won't destroy the living tissue like some other antiseptic/antimicrobials. Nolvasan is a similar chemical (for disinfection), but usually needs dilution for topical use.

Again, goodluck with your pets.

wow, your strikingly coherent for such a tragedy; I'm sorry such a thing has happened and for the loss of your animals.

Lizardman has summed up my recommendations pretty well already. I'm sure money is tight after something like this, so concentrate on the tegu and dragons. If the burns don't look very bad or cover a large part of the body then just keep him quite, calm and clean. If a significant amount is burned (an arm, leg, or more) then he'll have to be prioritized as he'll be losing fluids and protein out of those wounds. Infection will also be a big problem.
The bearded dragons, if cleaned and looking no worse for wear, then just monitor very closely for 7 days. Watch for anything, but specifically lethargy, anorexia, abnormal posturing, and any problems breathing.

Good luck, wish I could help you more

Ian

Heh, I have to be.. at 17, I've seen my fair share of hell and heaven, and since my mother and no one else could keep a level head (It was I who discovered the fire in the first, having stayed up all night till 5 AM at it's occurence, knowing the smell of burning plastic.. had to rush everyone out)
Even the Fire marshal, insurance, all had to speak to me.. for that I do not mind, I was just happy to get my animals out.. as well as pants and shows since I was in little more than underwear at the time
I drew quite a spectacle holding onto several reptiles and cleaning them adequately at the back of a truck with water, powerade (for drinking.. yah) and several towels and basins..

So yes, thank you I try.

As for your suggestions, as well as Lizardman's, I appreciate them mightily, and will look into Novalsan especially which I can get from ProExotics..
My pets are being cared for by several of my fellow SWHS members, but I'll check up on them and make sure the Tegu and the beardies especially are doing well..
The Tegu has no serious burns, but blisters and Cuts aplenty, occult bleeding which we can't track to the source and all.. I'm worried..
But we'll keep on hoping all is well
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2.0 Beardie
1.1 Common Boa
1.1 Ackies
0.1 Giant BW Tegu
Thousands of Roaches, T's, and Scorps.
R.I.P. My Beautiful Savannah Monitor.. and my prized Leopard Geckos..

WHat you refer to as occult bleeding of unknown source is likely the serum loss from the blisters. These multiple burns might add up the the systemic effects of a more severe burn. Watch him closely; if lethargic, don't hesitate on that vet visit.

Ian

>>If Silvadene isn't available, you can also try using Hibiclens(Chlorhexidine gluconate)-which is over-the-counter to help prevent bacterial infections within the wounds. It won't destroy the living tissue like some other antiseptic/antimicrobials. Nolvasan is a similar chemical (for disinfection), but usually needs dilution for topical use.
>>
>>Again, goodluck with your pets.

Hibiclens and nolvasan are essentially the same thing. Hibiclens is the human grade version of the chlorhexidine (pink/red color) while the nolvasan is the animal grade (blue). The human grade tends to be slightly more concentrated than the nolvasan.
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PHWyvern

>>As well as oddly my Tarantula,

The tarantula potentially can take several weeks to know if the effects of the smoke/toxic fumes from burning materials will harm it or not. Their bodies don't flush contaminants out of their system very quickly. It will either be strong enough to recover or not and a lot also depends on how much toxic air it breathed. If it was in a well ventilated cage, then more air is likely to have been breathed in than if it was in a low ventilated container and you stand a greater chance of it not surviving. Keep an eye on the behavior. If it starts acting depressed, hiding in a corner, becoming more and more lethargic, stops eating, then chances are it's going down hill beyond recovery. A lot of those symptoms are similar to when a spider is going into a molt phase, but if the spider recently molted, then you can probably figure that it's the not going to be that but rather the effects of the smoke.

>>They survived the fire.. but the Beardies atleast, I'm terrified about..
>>They were absolutely covered in soot... They're with a friend, rather experienced, but I'm still worried..
>>I've seen fires before, and have seen losses of atleast a quarter from survivors just to smoke damage..
>>

The beardies it's a matter of keeping them warm and calm so they don't come down with pneumonia / bronchitis like conditions as their lungs have been abused by the smoke and you don't want to make it worse. Feed them lots of veggies that are well soaked in water too to help keep them better hydrated. We took in a foster sulcata the other year after a local 4-H reptile facility burned down. Out of all the animals in the trailer only the aquatic turtles and the tortoise survived. The water protected the turtles (though a couple suffered minor burns) and the tortoise just happened to be at the farthest point away from the fire in the building. Like your dragons, not physically injured, but totally covered in soot, etc. She did a LOT of wheezing during the first 2 months we had her and then started to get better. We had her for about 5 months total before the 4-H facility was able to take her back.
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PHWyvern