Meet Chance!

[kanalomele]

Hatchling Leo that hatched deformed. I took him on in order to give him his best "chance" at life. A local college student hatched his clutch and did not have the time to give him the attention he needs. A large portion of his back shell did not develop at all. Along with his tail which shriveled up and fell off, I think his hips were also affected. He gets around by pushing with both legs simultaneously rather than taking individual steps. He is being kept moist and humid in order to prevent pyramiding. I think this is especially important for him because I need to prevent undue surface tension on his scutes as he grows. I wasn't sure that he had a functional bowel until I saw him poop today. I was so happy I almost cried!
I realize of course that he will never be "normal" but I thought he deserved the best "chance" I could give him at life. There is a long way still to go for him, but I'm determined to see that he has the opportunity for as long and healthy a life as possible.

Oops just realized the pics are sideways and have nooo idea how to fix that, so good luck to ya. Don't hurt yourselves looking at them! Ha ha...

 

[jtrux]

Good luck!

 

[Tortus]

He doesn't look that bad. Maybe he'll get a little better as he develops.

Keep us posted.

 

[wellington]

The pics open up the right way. He looks like he is a fighter, so hopefully with the loving caring care of you he will live long. Good luck, hope it goes very well for the both of you. Such a nice thing your doing

 

[kanalomele]

Thanks to all. He has such a sweet personality and is hardly shy at all. I was surprised by his outgoing nature in a Leo. I don't usually have Leo's myself being a longtime Russian keeper, so he's a real treat. Has anyone else has experience with this kind of deformity? I have worked with very ill torts quite often, but never one that didnt develop properly. I feel like I'm a bit lost with this little one, but I'm doing what I can.

 

[Neal]

I don't have any experience with this type of deformity, but at the present it doesn't seem to be too debilitating. It will be interesting to see how he grows.

 

[yagyujubei]

Do you know for a fact that this was a birth defect? What do the edges of the missing shell look like? Strictly going by the pictures, I would have thought that it might have been dropped.

 

[Jacqui]

Did you ever think you could be so happy and excited about poop? Interesting issues and I hope you keep us updated on how things go with him.

 

[l0velesly]

He is so cute! I'm happy that you're giving him a chance at life :')

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Nice save and good luck!

 

[Yellow Turtle]

Hope everything going well for the leopard and very nice of you to help him.

 

[kanalomele]

Do you know for a fact that this was a birth defect? What do the edges of the missing shell look like? Strictly going by the pictures, I would have thought that it might have been dropped.

When I picked him up he still had a pretty noticeable yolk sack, and his shell edges did not appear traumatized at all. Also I think a few of his scutes were miss shaped from the deformity. But his pattern was intact rather than looking broken. The guy was a sincere herp lover that had the clutch, but I'm suspecting maybe improper incubation may have been the problem. No matter what he did the best thing in acknowledging that he did not have time to care for such a special needs guy.

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Did you ever think you could be so happy and excited about poop? Interesting issues and I hope you keep us updated on how things go with him.

I know.. right!? I just knew that if we didnt get to that milestone he had zero chance no matter what I did.
Thanks again to all. I will definitely keep this thread going with updates and pics of his development. I'm hoping maybe we can all learn something from this little guy.