This Website is dedicated to helping the animal refugee's from the Long Island Reptile Museum
11/19/04-New Page Added for Pictures!
The International Fauna Society has the immense task of caring for these confiscated creatures. You personally can help by going to http://www.faunamagazine.com/ and giving a donation, advertising in their magazine, and becoming a member of The International Fauna Society!
12/22/04 Update:
Bob, the 5 Ctenos arrived a week ago yesterday with
the help of Regal Reptiles. They were packed well and
arrived still warm and alert. Four of the Spinys are
in relatively good shape with good weight and muscle
tone. The 5th, the large attractive male similis, had
me worried for a couple of days. He was limp and
dehydrated and his mucous membranes were quite pale.
With oral and subq fluids, heat, and some fresh food,
he's improved dramatically but is still way
underweight at less than 2 pounds. All of the lizards
had a preliminary vet check on Saturday. It's
undecided what the skin lesions are but it could be
burns, fungus, or at the worst, herpes. Further
tests are needed. The large male has a pretty severe
wound on the bottom of a front foot but even that
looks better already with some debriding and cleaning.
They are all on oral antibiotics and Silvadene topical
treatments. All 5 of the lizards are eating well and
basking.
The two larger female similis have sweet
temperaments and are very curious about their
surroundings. The 3rd similis girl is a bit hissy but
calms down nicely once in hand. The large male is also
very handleable but will gape with sudden movements.
The hemilopha's attitude is typical Ctenosaura!!
He'll bite you as soon as look at you!! All 5 are
gorgeous animals despite their afflictions.
I feel confident that these wonderful lizards will
rehab nicely. It just saddens me that they had to
endure the neglect and abuse that put them in the
condition they were in. I will continue to keep you
updated on the progress with the Ctenos and the
Rhinos.
Best Wishes for a peaceful, safe Holiday.
Jane
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12/14/04 Update:
Here is story about the Rhino Igs from Jane Billette (The photos are on the picture page)
Deb and Bob, the Rhinos arrived late Thursday,
December 2nd via Delta Airlines. Getting them here
was a nightmare but we finally got things worked out
and they arrived cold but safe. After warming in a
bath they were placed into their enclosure and
immediately polished off full bowls of food. They
have been eating like champs since they got here and
seem to be settling in. The poor things are scared to
death so we're bothering them as little as possible.
X-rays show healed fractures in both lizards and the
larger of the two has several hairline fractures in
the long bones. The smaller one has some
abnormalities in the bone structure of the head and is
showing some strange neurological symptoms. We're not
sure if it's metabolic or injury related. He is on
prednisolone in case it is injury related. The fecals
were clear of worms but did show a fair amount of
flagellates. They are being treated accordingly.
Both animals have lots of superficial skin scarring.
They look old beyond their years.
They seem to be enjoying the MegaRay basking light.
Thank you so much for sending it along. The Ctenos
are supposed to be arriving today as long as the
weather holds. I will send you an update after they
are evaluated and settled in.
Thanks for your help!
Jane
(Way to go Jane!!)
11/23/04 Update:
The Sunday Reptile Expo in White Plains, NY, was packed, so much so that people were apparently standing in line and had to wait until others left the building before they would be allowed in. Three of the Long Island Green Iguanas had been adopted by volunteers who had been helping out at the Fauna Society, so I was left with five to place, including my two little “dwarves”, Gimli and Gloin. The ninth Green Iguana, Slim, is still at my house and he hasn’t made up his mind yet whether he wants to live or not. He is receiving supportive care in the mean time and I’m hoping it will provide him with some encouragement to survive.
Four of the five found homes, as did another Green Iguana that had been brought to my house and one that was abandoned in a box at my table on Sunday (an unfortunately common occurrence). The last female went home with Lori Green of Turtle Homes. To the best of my knowledge, all the other animals, from the 6-foot alligators to the two dozen African Clawed Frogs have all been placed as well and will be heading to their new homes this week if they haven’t already done so.
Another group of refugees remain in my hands until we can figure out how to get them to Michigan, where Jane Billette of the Mid-Michigan Reptile Rescue will be rehabilitating them. This group includes the five Spiny-tailed Iguanas and the two stunted male Rhinos. Both of the latter had been perfectly mobile last year when I was able to rescue the two female Rhinos (Dolly and Loretta) from the Museum. In the intervening year-and-a-half one of the males has unfortunately succumbed to the same condition as Dolly and now has spastic movement in his legs. Both Rhinos, however, are eating almost non-stop and are clearly eager to grow and recover now that they have a reasonable chance.
I would like to extend my personal thanks to all the volunteers who helped to take care of the iguanas and all the other animals while they were still with the Fauna Society, and to all my fellow rescuers who dropped by on Sunday to help out with placement. My thanks also to Bob MacCargar and Hershel of Westron Electronics for donating critically needed UV Mercury Vapor bulbs and to Natural Chemistry for donating many liters of DeFlea – tomorrow everyone gets a bath and a thorough spray!
Message from Bobmac (Below)
Greetings!
Below is a short note from
A Report on the cyclura iguanas by
The “Iguana Mail” Yahoo Group has banned any information being posted there about these reptiles needing help from this fiasco. Please distribute this information as wide as possible so ALL these creatures will finally have a warm and caring home. I was told that “enough was enough”. I don’t see it being “enough” until they all are cared for.
Very best regards,
Message from Bob Smith (below)
Hi everyone,
To join go to our website www.faunasociety.org
bravenet.com