Donate to Save Felicity: Joshua's Beloved Bearded Dragon

Hello Everyone! To know me personally, you know I am a huge advocate for the well-being of all animals. Where there is life, there is hope. This phrase was said to me many years ago by a very dear person and will forever be my viewpoint. I have become a small voice for critical need and I thank you for listening to my cries.

Joshua (to know him is to love him) has a deep love for reptiles. He has had a bearded dragon named Nix before and now he has his loving beardie, Felicity. Joshua also has Skinky, the blue tongue skink. They have forever been his ESAs. He is very wonderful with his babies and has appointments for their checkups to ensure their good health. The issue with reptiles is finding an "exotics" veterinarian, which is hard to come by with this particular experience. We travel out of the area to find such a clinic, and still, that feels like a hit or miss at times.

On May 25th, Felicity's eye was closed, causing concern. He was able to secure an appointment for her to be seen. Upon checkup, he was told that she developed cataracts, pretty much overnight. But why is her eye remaining closed? Well, we don't know. The last time she ate was on May 23rd. Felicity appeared to be on a food strike. So much speculation as to why. Even reaching out to vet groups on Facebook remained unanswered. The veterinarian seemed to think that she developed "depression" due to having only good vision in one eye? Pure speculation.

It continued to get worse, so a recheck was needed. They said they could do blood work, but they would have to check how to do blood work on a bearded dragon. Needless to say, a second opinion was needed. Secured an appointment for a second opinion and it was the same as the first, with speculation again that she was "depressed." Now at this point, she has gone without food for a total of 12 days without being force-fed Critical Care Omnivore supplement to sustain her life.

The condition continued to look very grim. Another appointment and he requested an ultrasound. Without a technician, he would have to reschedule, so he opted for an x-ray. The x-ray showed full egg binding! This is a pretty common occurrence with reptile females. It is called Dystocia, also referred to as follicular stasis. Of all the times she has had checkups, no one ever discussed this as a fear to watch out for. Leaving this situation alone will result in death. Cataracts was called simply a "red herring" at this point. It was her warning sign before the doom, but no one heard her.

Urgent surgery is needed to remove all eggs and spay her coming up on Friday. Reptiles take a long time to recover from this surgery, unlike our feline and canine friends. If she makes it 3 days into her long recovery, we will know that she's won this battle. We cannot walk away from this; we must fight!

I am reaching out to you today to see if anyone can help Joshua with this financial hurdle he faces. He is a disabled adult on a very fixed income, so needless to say, this will be next to impossible without praying for help. I will have full disclosure with all funds received and stop the fundraiser at the limit so it will not exceed the cost associated with her treatment; you always have my word. Locally, we may launch into a possibility of sub/sandwiches, but the proceeds will also be deducted down to the very cent.

If you are unable to donate at this time, please share this with others so his story can reach others that may not be aware of Dystocia in female reptiles. We certainly will never forget it here. Thank you to all that pray on this journey!