Injured western fence lizard... help

[tangerine]

Hi all. Not sure if this is in the right place, if not please move it, but...

My fiance found a baby blue belly at work today, at the bottom of a pile of wrecked pallets. The poor thing had been stepped on or something - she was bleeding on the top of her head and, when he picked her up, she did wild flips like an alligator "death roll". He set her on a patch of dirt and left her alone, figuring that she'd pass on or get eaten at some point during the day. (This was at around 8:30 this morning)

Well, he checked again just before heading home and she hadn't moved more than about 6 inches, but she was still alive. He said, "Okay, you didn't die, and we squished you in the first place, so now I've got to save you..." and brought her home.

The wound on her head has scabbed over, but her head seems permanently turned to the left. She was perky enough to cling tightly to his hand when he put her in a tub, but otherwise isn't moving (I imagine she's had a rough day.) Right now she's hanging out in our kitchen in a 6qt sterilite tub, on paper towels. She's only about 4" long, including her tail.

Is there anything we can do for her? We don't exactly have the extra cash to spend on the vet for a wild lizard and she might be a lost cause anyway, but I'd like to fix her up if possible. Should she be on paper towels? Soil? Are pinhead crickets good for her? Any other tips?


-Helen

[mainbutter]

providing gentle warmth, a sterile enivronment, and water is probably the best you can do. Large crushing unjuries are serious. Multiple broken bones, internal bleeding, organ failure, increased susceptibility to infection and disease all at once is not a good thing.

Good luck.

[tangerine]

Thanks. I've got her on a heat pad on low setting and I'll be monitoring temps. I put some celery greens in there to sprinkle water on for her - they usually lick from leaves, right? I picked up some drosophila fruit flies that I'll try offering tomorrow.

She did move herself halfway across the tub while I was out, though.