Extending my thanks to the community!!
Hey guys! Just wanted to shout out my thanks to the nice people in this sub that helped me out when i was really stressed about the health of my new NBTS, Spike. This will certainly be the last time I ever entertain the idea of taking in a reptile from a friend and not a reputable breeder, because these vet bills have been no joke!!
Since then I have corrected and tweaked a lot of my own care and we have been working closely with our vet in order to make up for his physical deficiencies developed from his first owner, which included but were not limited to eye rubbing/closed eyes, quiet demeanor, low bone density, missing toes, dehydration, and anemia. They couldn’t even draw blood the day after i got him (we scheduled an appointment the second I saw him).
As time goes on I grow more and more disgruntled with his previous owner, who obviously let his poor condition go on far too long and was not caring for him, besides providing bare basics and saline solution in the eyes. At this stage he has officially graduated from all medications (and we’ve had quite a few), although his eyes are still slightly down set (reason at this point still unknown but narrowed down to congenital eye disease, birth defect, fat loss from poor body condition, or neuro issues.
The next step will likely be to get to the bottom of his eye issue, although I’m going to need to save a bit for it. But for now he has improved significantly and gained 50g (25% of his body weight) since the last appointment two weeks ago, and is still growing! He keeps his eyes open significantly more and he is starting to act more like a normal skink everyday, which makes my heart so happy. Thank you guys again for approaching my situation with kindness and informing me of ways i could bathe him more safely and care for him a little better. You guys rock.