Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I lost Rorschach.

I feel horrible. I should never have let her near sand again. I should have gotten her to the vet sooner. I don't know.

In any case, she was dead this morning. Poor baby, I'm so sorry.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Sorry to hear that. I know how you feel. It's always terrible when that happens.

Poor girl.
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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)

Torey I was shocked to see the terrible news title, I knew before clicking it open I feels so terrible about Rory, when you know peoples lizards from seeing them over the years it feels as though it happens to you personally.

She was a sweet little PIGLET and I say that in a cute way, she always looked so happy, and we all know the super excellent care she got. Remember if it wasn't for YOU she would not have been here this long (after her other sand horrors.)

** You only gave her the sand this time to try and help her to lay her eggs in a normal way. I know you will kick yourself, we all do it, but it was just one of those terrible things that happen. I hope you feel better soon.

We will always remember the beautiful, Rory!
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PHEve / Eve

Rory was a special girl that I enjoyed watching grow through your posts. She was so lovely and happy-looking. This wasn't your fault; had you not prepared her a laying place she could possibly have become egg-bound. How are the eggs doing?
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Valerie

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.--

God bless the USA

I've never successfully hatched anything (uros were the only other possibility), so I can't say with any confidence how the eggs look. Two looked a little off since the beginning. One has started looking very reddish. But the other five mostly seem to look good. They're full and plump and not gross, though some are whiter than others.

The vet's doing a post-mortem, so maybe we'll learn something. I mostly just want to know if she had anything weird on the inside that might pass on to the potential babies. Her belly was always huge and distended, even when she was active and healthy. She was larger than most photos of gravid collareds I've seen. Always made me wonder.

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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Tory, I gulped when I saw your post and Eve pretty much covered how I feel. Perhaps she had something "a little off" that "told" her to eat sand for some other reason, possibly chemical imbalance, or...? I hope the vet finds something. Everything you share helps everyone else to learn, too. I hope a little Rory hatches for you. How did she manage to pass all that sand? Did the vet give her a laxative of some sort? Well, she had a great life with you. This stuff happens to wild lizards, too, only we aren't around to witness it. Maureen

Bless your heart! It is obvious how much you love her. Poor thing.

Got her back from the vet. Long and short of it was there wasn't anything developmentally wrong with her as far as he could see - her colon was normal, and would have been able to move ordinary materials through just fine. There was just soooo much sand that it couldn't move. He said one part of her colon was nearly 2cm across, which is just HUGE. The good part of this is she was apparently physically normal (just fat) and her babies should be fine, if I can manage to hatch them.

There was one area high up in the colon where the tissue appeared to be devitalized. He suspects that this was the actual cause of death - sepsis from bacteria penetrating out from that compromised area.

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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

It isn't much comfort, but at least you know why she died. I don't have any idea why she would want to eat so much sand. My collards pick at their sand and do eat a little bit, and I have seen wild ones do the same thing. They ingest sand while eating crickets, too, but I've never heard of one who munched it like your Rory.
I have my fingers and toes crossed for her eggs, and I hope you are feeling a little better today.
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Valerie

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.--

God bless the USA