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| Glenn poses in front of The Veterinarian Magazine article which was about him. |
This
month's issue of The Veterinarian Magazine featured someone who has become a
member of the family. Glenn, a Centralian bearded dragon, sustained a severe
injury to his tail which required amputation.
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| You can see the lesion around the middle of the tail in this image. |
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| Note the corresponding radiographic lesion. |
(If you're
wondering where the name came from, a work experience student called Jack came
up with it - and it happened to be the exact same name as the herpetologist who
identified Glenn as a Centralian beardie, Dr Glenn Shea. It is not the first
time Dr Shea has been honoured by the naming of a reptile after him. In fact,
so respected is Dr Shea in herpetology circles that he has several species
named after him, including this one).
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| Glenn meets Glenn. |
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| Glenn in transit. |
Veterinarians
Jane Roffey and Robert Johnson, of South Penrith Veterinary Clinic, performed
the surgery. The tail amputation itself was very straightforward, but for the
uninitiated, bearded dragon anaesthesia is tricky. At the time, Glenn - a
juvenile - weighed just 61grams. So he had the tiniest volumes of
pre-medication - 5mg/kg morphine and 1mg/kg midazolam.
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| Dr Roffey monitors anaesthesia during the procedure. |
He was
induced with alfaxan via his tail vein but the difference between a reptile
just chilling and a reptile under general anaesthetic can be difficult to
tell...the most striking thing I noticed was that he changed colour, darkering
significantly. Jane used an IV catheter with the stylette removed to intubate
him and Robin the nurse kept him breathing using IPPV (intermittent positive
pressure ventilation). At one point he appeared alarmingly dead...but an
ultrasound confirmed his heart was beating away. There were just no instruments
quite suitable for monitoring this.
Glenn made
it through the surgery, although it took about two days for the anaesthetic to
wear off and he didn't eat for around 24 hours.
Because
his species is not found locally he can't be released, and he needed a carer.
So in he moved and life changed.
He was
diagnosed with mild metabolic bone disease so requires daily calcium
supplementation, as well as a good dose of UV light to convert cholesterol in
his skin to vitamin D (this helps him absorb calcium from his diet). I've never
before been so conscious of when the sun is shining or the need to get him
outside for some UV light (most Aussies are trained to slip, slop, slap and
avoid UV like the plague).
You can
read all about Glenn in the February issue of Veterinarian Magazine.
Veterinarians
and vet students who want to learn about reptiles can join the Australian
Veterinary Association's Unusual Pet and Avian Veterinarians (UPAV) special
interest group (visit www.ava.org.au)
Or if you
want to know more about husbandry of reptiles, you might want to pop over to
the Hawkesbury Herpetological Society's annual exhibition at Penrith Panthers on Sunday. More info in this post here.
