I manage the small reptile section of a local, independant pet store. I had ordered a number of reptiles earlier this week, and yesterday, they arrived. Among them was a beautiful Cuban knight anole (Anolis equestris equestris)(I believe it to be female; no hemipenal bulge at all) - as soon as I opened its box, I saw that it was very dehydrated, with a nasty wound on the underside of its left jaw (with exposed muscle) AND a compound fracture just above the knee of its right hind leg (with the broken bone VERY visible). I am EXTREMELY PISSED that the animal was shipped in this condition, but my main concern is the poor anole's welfare. Any SERIOUS advice would be greatly appreciated - vets, breeders, herpetologists, help me please!
The setup: A 10-gal. tank with clean paper towels on the bottom and a large, deep (2"
dish of water, with electrolytes (ExoTerra's Electrolize) added. Currently kept covered with a towel to keep up humidity and to avoid (more) stress. Temp is around 80 degrees F, humidity around 70 percent.
The treatment thus far: Immediately upon arrival, I dewormed it and set it in my rain chamber for about an hour and a half (circulating Zephyrhills spring water). I coated the open wound on its jaw and the exposed bone with triple-antibiotic ointment (intended for animal use; the tube is at work and I can't remember the name correctly) and set it in the hospital tank described above. Today, I offered five large crickets dusted with Tetra's ReptoCal (in a seperate, bare tank); none were eaten. It seems to have slept in its water dish and is significantly more hydrated than yesterday, though its eyes are still somewhat sunken.
The wounds, in more detail: The laceration on the jaw is about 12 mm across and 6 mm wide, with the pale muscle clearly visible. There is a yellowish, scab-like buildup around the edges of the wound. Its leg is in VERY bad shape. The thigh is very swollen, and just above the knee, the end of the bone (the longer bit) protrudes about 1.5 mm above the skin. The leg from the break down is lifeless, and (obviously) appears painful to move. It can still move the leg from the hip.
Unfortunately, neither I nor the store can afford serious vetrinary care (such as amputation), and there are no vets in my remote vicinity that I would trust with a reptile. As this is already a highly stressed, wild-caught animal that would require sedation just to examine, a several-hour-long trip (in a POS car with no AC) to a vet that may or may not be able to help seems almost cruel.
I have five years of serious herping experience and am beginning to pursue a degree in zoology (yes, herps!), but I need more help. What else can I do? Should I continue in my present course, hoping the animal will recover from the wounds (and later, recover from being permanently disabled)? Or, for its sake, should I euthanize it?
Don't worry - whatever the course, it WON'T be going up for sale. If it miraculously survives all this, it will be getting a roomy home in my personal collection.
All serious help is appreciated, if even to say I may be doing something right already. Thank you all so much for your time.
- Lila
