A Million LIttle Fibers: 7 years together

Last Friday I made the difficult decision to euthanize Ichabod, a bearded dragon I have had for 7 years.

I took him to the vet, for the third time in two months. Hoping whatever was wrong could be treated. The first vet I saw gave me the impression that it was something that could be fixed. Simple, like an eye infection. When he kept getting worse and I requested ending his suffering I was treated as if I had not done enough, that I was not willing to do more for him. I left that place angry and in tears, but I continued to force feed him daily so he would not slowly starve to death before I could get a second opinion.

The next vet I saw said it was either his heart or some other catastrophic organ problem. He told me there were tests that could be done but he was very honest with me when I asked if he would recover. He told me that it was very unlikely and even if he did turn around a little that it would be short. He was around 8 years old, maybe a little older than that.

This is his story. He was so special to me.

In 2004 a friend came over and said "Hey, you like lizards! I know someone trying to get rid of a big one"

I got a little more information about him (all of it was wrong)

My roommate and I went to go check him out and once we saw how he was being kept we immediately agreed to take him. We only had basic knowledge of their care at the time, but he was clearly in need of assistance.

They had him living in an old coca cola refrigerator with no ventilation or appropriate lighting. He was deformed. The enclosure STUNK of feces and was full of it. He was dirty and skinny. We took him to a vet and the vet was pretty horrified at his condition, he was full of parasites and his bones were rubbery and malformed from MBD. He had never seen a UV source in his life. He never even had a bulb for warmth to bask.

Anyway, I have had him since then. For a long time he was my only pet. I doted on him and made sure he had everything he needed. I built him special ramps to make his tank more interactive. I grew greens for him at home. My boyfriend built him an amazing custom tank stand. He swam and I know it's rare, but he actually drank from standing water. He loved it. I always had to put water in the bottom of his salads so he could drink and he would puff up and flatten out his body while he lapped up the water.

I have a few pictures of him from over the years that I've been looking at today. It makes me happy to remember him healthy, and not like he has been lately.