My Pet Peeve

Sedated · Member Joined: Sep 30, 2006 Posts: 31

Okay, I know she's not a tegu (I do have one of them too I'll post pics shortly), but I feel the need to share how wonderful she is

So here is the story of Peeve my prehensile tailed skink and her recovery process over the past few months. She was sent to a pet store by an importer up here in Canada that provides many of our pet store with their reptiles. Sadly she arrived in the most appauling condition (first few pictures).

Anyways, here's what she looked like when she first arrived (photos courtesy of the person who initially cared for her)

She was severly underweight, had several old sheds stuck to her, cigarette burns, parasites, respritory problems, bacterial infections and wasn't eating. A friend of mine at the store didn't want her to go to someone who wouldn't know what they were doing and neglect giving her the care she was in need of, so she called me and "convinced" me to take her home. I had to make an appointment with the vet as soon as I got her home, in which he prescribed yet another antibiotic for her (she had already been on several medications while at the store). She finished the medication and as was a completly different lizard afterwards. Three months and several hundred dollars in vet bills later this is what she looked like this .......

Her nose is now completely healed, she's parasite and infection free and looking wonderful. She's also turned into quite the piggy, she'll gladly inhale a bowl of salad a day. Her favorites are bananas... if she see's a banana she'll chase you down for a bite...she has gained more than 100g in weight and is looking wonderful.

Here she is today...

(she loves swinging from the dowels in her tank)

she's about to shed so the pics don't do her amazing colour any justice... oh how I've fallen for her <3

Even being in what appears to be horrible conditions it doesn't seem as if it affected her growth any. She measures in at a whopping 36" and her weight is now up to 815g. She's still a bit on the thin side, but has made a complete turn around.

She has won my heart.

worleygurl · Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:43 am Post subject:

She's beautiful! i Absolutely adore PTSs

Keep us up to date on her progress!
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Kris, Herps they're not just a hobby, they're a way of life!

nicolerussell · Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 8:14 am Post subject:

she looks like a little dinosaur

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Yours,
NiColeRuSSell

"I'm gonna do what I should've done in the first place. I'll find her, wherever she is, tie her up, torture her... until she likes me again."
-Spike

Sedated · Member Joined: Sep 30, 2006 Posts: 31

I deffinatly will !!!

I think that why's I like her so much, besides her wonderful personality of course. I don't care for most skinks, and blue tongue skinks just look like giant slugs with legs (even though I still want one

), but she's so prehistoric and alien looking, kinda like ET.

She has so much personality and loves the interction with you. If she sees you come into the room she get's up to the doors of her tank and attemps to open them. Once you do she'll crawl out on your arm and up onto your shoulders where's she'll sit snuggled into your neck for hours. She's has the biggest most powerful claws I've ever seen (similar to that of a large parrot), yet she's incredibly gentle. She has never left a mark on me. She absolutly loves to eat. You can be eating something (grapes, apples etc.) and if she's on your shoulder as soon as she gets a smell of it she's hanging over for a taste. And yes I'm one of those sad liazard mommy's that will share my food with her

.... one grape for her 2 for me

toxicogenic · Valued Member Joined: Nov 20, 2005 Posts: 136 Location: fl

That looks like an amazing recovery. I love PTS. I almost rescued one too that had dysecdysis. It's toes were falling off, but the guy at the reptile store claimed it was his and that he had taken it to the vet. The week before he was trying to sell it to someone...very sad. That is great..keep up the good work!
_________________
1.0.0 american pit bull terrier
1.0.0 arg. b/w tegu
0.1.0 crested gecko
1.0.0 hogg island boa
0.1.0 southern painted turtle
1.1.0 calabar burrowing pythons
0.0.1 burmese python
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R.I.P. Bert Langerwerf & Steve Irwin

Sedated · Member Joined: Sep 30, 2006 Posts: 31

that's horrible, I hate seeing the conditions some reptiles are kept in. There's a pet store up here that is keeps a pair of adult iguanas in a 36"x36"x18" enclosure, and in a same sized enclosure they also have 4-6 adult bearded dragons with no heating source. They have a b&w tegu that sits up my the cash register on a leash that has no source of heat and looks to be in rough shape. It's missing most of it's digits and has a severly deformed jaw from what appears to be the results mbd.

Peeve has accumulated about $800 in vet bills now (none of which I had to pay for), but it seems as if all the hard work and money have paid off. I don't know how old she is, but she's deffinatly an adult and a very large one at the. From all my readings the largest size I come across is 32" and she's 36". I have no idea where she originally came from, but I do believe that she is wild caught. I suppose there is no way to know though. I also don't know if she is actually a she, but I'll call her that until I find out otherwise

Sedated · Member Joined: Sep 30, 2006 Posts: 31

I was bored so here's a bunch of picture of her this afternoon.

First I made her salad for the week (I add fresh fruit to it daily)

Put it in her tank and she makes her way down

Down she goes into her dish

I don't think she liked the camera being so close

Look at the claws on her... so glad she's friendly :love:

And for those of you that care to see her "get that camera the hell out of my face" face, feel free to watch the action packed video !!!!!!!!!!

http://files.came-saw-conquered.com/SkinkEating.MOV

^^^^^ or go here for the non-photobucket uncompressed version (takes longer to download)

Melinda · Member Joined: Sep 12, 2006 Posts: 23

She is beautiful!! and her eyes are absolutely mesmerizing. I'm so glad she found a good caring home with you.

Sedated · Member Joined: Sep 30, 2006 Posts: 31

thankl you...I'm glad I had the oppertunity to take her home.

and I absolutly love her eyes, they are by far my favorite part of her. They're so human like and the green is amazing. I'll have to get a better photo, the lime green is so nice :mrgeen:

VARNYARD · Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:24 am Post subject:

Awesome pictures and video. Monkey tails are real cool.

]

Bert has been trying to get me to get some of them. I am still not sure if I want to take on another breeding project. Maybe some day.

I also hear they have a very powerful bite, is this true?
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Sedated · Member Joined: Sep 30, 2006 Posts: 31

I would love to get into breeding them.

And as for the bite, I'm not sure she has never bitten me, but I would imagine so as she did go through a couple syringes on my like they were nothing. Though the girl that first had her was bitten accidentally when putting food into her mouth. She bit right through her finger and caused a lot of damage.

Melinda · Member Joined: Sep 12, 2006 Posts: 23