Large Water Monitor

[CTReptileRescue]

This is truly a survivor. (also rescued from LIRM)
Meet the large Sumatrin Water Monitor:

It is easy to say that being in the presence of this varanid, you get the same feeling as standing next to a poor elephant that has been mistreated at a zoo for twenty years.

He (or she, still unsexed) is covered in old wounds ranging from scrape marks, to bite wounds from god knows what:

Every day he gets a scrub down externally and due to an extreme resperitory infection and statomitis he also needs oral treatments as well. Here are a few shots of this procedure.
His nasal cavities need to be swabbed daily, then irrugated with saline solution.
We also need to secure his mouth at an open angle to insert a perscribed amount of Baytril for his resperitory infection.

We then need to wash his mouth with a Clorahexaderm scrub.
Here is a great shot of his airway

He is already showing breathing improvements, and he is settling into his daily medical routine.
I just thought I would share a few pictures.
Please excuse the many typos, I am exhausted.
Thank you'
Rusty

[Kara]

Ugh...I so feel your pain. We got a big male like that over the summer - it could have been this one's twin. I named him Lazarus, since we had to basically bring him back from the dead - I hope you have the same luck!!!

Holler at me when the weather gets cold enough & I'll send you some "monitor mix" - it's the rodent mix we feed our critters & works well!

K

[CTReptileRescue]

Thanks Kara,
It has been trying for my husband and I, I am sure you and Kevin can understand, this has been a multiple year cruelty case. We still have so much work to do but are both feeling the curse of fatuigue. I figure with a little triptaphan tommarow we will recover..lol
Happy Thanksgiving, and I'll catch up with you soon
Thanks
Rusty

[Schlyne]

Three cheers for Rusty Reptiles!