Wanted to share Elle's channel with you. She is the bearded dragon queen and has LOTS of wonderful content on them! kzfaq.info

Aw I am so sorry to hear about your loss! I lost my crestie gecko due to egg binding last year - they operated but she passed away of a heart attack about an hour afterwards. I was heartbroken and I think about her every day. Egg binding should be talked about more in the reptile community so thank you for making this video, I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you. The important thing to remember was what an amazing life Lucy had with you xx

I'm so sorry about Lucy 💔 It's so amazing that you rescued her and gave her a good life, though. ♥️♥️♥️

First off I am so sorry for your heart break with Lucy's passing. Next I too have seen Dr. Boyer for two of my exotic animals one being my senior male bearded dragon and my Russian tortoise. Dr Boyer would tell you that he is the most experienced that in regards to exotics that he has had the most extensive training. His bedside manner is off putting arrogant and not the least bit helpful in critical health situations. My senior bearded dragon has been exposed to yellow fungus and therefore has had a compromised immune system as a result he has severe dental disease. Dr Boyer suggested I do an extensive dental cleaning on my bearded dragon I knew that this surgery would be extremely traumatic, invasive and dangerous so I went for a second opinion and thank God I did. 2 years later we are still fighting this chronic problem with the use of antibiotics every 3 to 4 months. I have never returned to Dr Boyer's office as I feel that they are non-caring dismissive arrogant and money hungry. Please if you live in the San Diego area or thereabouts take your exotics to Dr Gillette or Dr Jensen at Avian and exotic vet Moreno boulevard. Dr Gillette has been compassionate and knowledgeable in seeing all of my exotic pets. I have been where you are at with rescues that have been chronically ill and malnourished , the only way we can do what we do is to have a good vet behind us!!

I'm so sorry for your loss! Love and prayers!!! ❤️

The same thing is going on with my Lizzie. She is 8, egg bound, and one of eggs has ruptured in her body. I can't find any vets that will operate on her due to this rupture and her age. It is very painful and emotional for me to see her wither away. My vet warned me like a year ago that she may have been egg bound and I could have fixed the issue as well when she was much healthier. It's ok, the fact is that you loved Lucy and I love my Lizzie.

I'm so so sorry for your loss, losing a pet is absolutely heart breaking, sending positive vibes to you and your baby, congrats

I'm so so sorry about Lucy! Thank you so much for sharing this. I know it will help alot of people and animals ❤

Our beardie we rescued had close to 40 eggs, found on an X-ray to check her bones since she was an adult and we didn’t know her history. They actually recommended the surgery as the instances of her dying from being egg bound would be high with so many eggs. Got the surgery and that was almost 3 years ago. Highly recommend getting it as long as they are a candidate. For the record, it was under $ 500 here in Metro Atlanta. Hugs to you for your loss❤️❤️

So sorry for your loss 💕 Lucy was such a sweet little angel, you gave her the best life ❤️

Thanks for sharing ❤️ I’m so sorry for your loss ❤️ congrats on the pregnancy ! 🎉❤️ Prayers to you and Lucy. I’ll definitely keep this video in mind with my female reptiles. Thanks again for sharing 🦎

This is so sad and I'm glad you're sharing this story for others to learn from.. I think more than anything the takeaway for me is that if you feel a vet (or honestly any service professional) isn't giving you the attention and respect you deserve or what they're saying doesn't feel right, get a second opinion! It's so worth maybe going through some unnecessary headache and hearing the same thing to give yourself the peace of mind and chance at a better outcome. Not all vets are amazing and so much of medicine is educated guesswork - don't be afraid to get another opinion!

I am so very sorry for your loss. I started watching your beauty channel and then this one and I can truly see how much you love your animals. So I am very sorry 😞.

My condolences to you. I love how you treasure your animals to the end of time.

My veiled chameleon is getting ready to lay eggs for the third time. The first two went amazing and I have been working hard to get her clutches to be less and less. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, you are helping even more animals just by educating us. You also helped me get diagnosed with hypothyroidism (through working with Dr. Leverone) and my medication has finally started working and I’m dropping weight with lots of hard work. You’re doing the lords work Kristen! You’re the best.

I am so sorry for your loss and experience. I work at a vet who sees all animals and she is so caring for each and every one and very experienced with Exotics. It's sad there are so few exotic doctors lately but A lot of the exotics we get from pet stores are in such bad shape it's unreal. They come daily with new exotics sick. I hope your memories help you heal. Sending love your way.🖤

I am so sorry that you and Lucy had to go through this. I appreciate you sharing your experience. I have a female bearded dragon who is old enough to become gravid now and I worry about it all the time, even though it hasn't happened yet... After watching your video I will definitely take your advice in the event that she ever becomes egg-bound. Thank you and again I'm so sorry.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. Please know that you gave her probably 4 more years of life after rescuing her from the horrible situation she was in. I'm a HUGE animal lover too, and I completely understand. How is Chet doing? I've been worried about her ever since you mentioned the she's sick. How did you know that she had a respiratory infection? You do so much for your animals and you love them. That makes my heart so happy to know that there's people like you who truly love animals. Keep us posted on Chet, please. XOXO'S

I just have the greatest admiration for you because of your love and attention to the animals, thank you

I'm so sorry 😭😭 I know what it is like to loose an animal you loved- it's like a part of your family! Oh and congrats on being pregnant!

Its so hard to find a good vet! Ive dealt with similiar situations over and over. Losing our pets is so heartbreaking i cant do it anymore. Im so sorry this happened to sweet lucy and it just shows that even having money to do major surgery it still happens that vets just are careless with our hearts and lose sight of why they became vets to begin with.

Kristen I’m so sorry for your loss💔 you have such a beautiful and caring soul, I’m so happy your pregnant!!! Congratulations🎈 You are my absolute favorite reptile girl💕 I love your videos and can’t wait for more in the future! God Bless you and your family❤️

Such a validate point that we just don't know enough as reptile moms and dads it is hard because we want to trust vets. I am so sorry for your loss Kristen! Thank you for your transparency! I miss seeing reptile videos yet I watch everything you do and love the journey!

I'm so sorry about Lucy, I know how much you loved her, and she couldn't have been in better hands. I'm happy she got to know love for the time you had her.😞 I am so relieved to see Chet there, phew!💚 You have such a beautiful heart, those of us with good hearts are bound to have them broken many times during life. You're doing everything as well as you can which is so much better than many others do. Just keep giving them love Leanne, it's sometimes all we can do.❤

Any time you have a pet it’s a BIG part of your life and it’s your family your creature baby! You can rest assured that you did everything you could to give her the life and love that she didn’t have and now she is pain free and has angle wings and sooo do you. Your amazing and a beautiful person. God bless you and your family and new baby!!!!

Your an amazing human being and you did everything you possibly could💕

Congratulations on your pregnancy!!🎉🎉 So sorry for your loss of your dog and bearded dragon💔😭

I'm sorry this happened Kristen. And there aren't adequate words to make you feel any better, but at least Lucy had love and an amazing life with you. I know that doesn't make the pain go away...

Sorry for your loss and congratulations on your pregnancy

Thanks to your videos i fell in love with all kinds of animals. I felt like everything that was going on in your life, because I myself love animals much more than people 🖤

I was apart of your journey with Lucy from the very beginning and knowing that she had you and your support and love until the very end gives me such relief. I know what you mean with hindsight is 20/20, but we all know (and I am sure you too) that you were the best thing to happen in her life and Lucy wouldn't have it any other way. I have watched Dr. K's Exotic ER on Disney+ several times and she and her staff works with many different exotics including egg bound reptiles. I think not just the beardies, but MANY of our reptiles in the US (and probably worldwide) are inbred or have terrible genetics due to overbreeding which cause so many issues for our reptile friends. I am glad for your content because it seems it reaches many who may be facing many of these horrid realities and not sure what to do... I hope you find comfort in knowing that you did all you could and more... that you now can do much more for the next beardie (like the one you are fostering now). You are amazing!

Do NOT blame yourself! You gave her the best life she could have ever asked for and you rescued her from a long life of suffering. Keep your head up and keep doing what you're doing! Animals need more people like you 🖤🖤🖤

Kristen I am so sorry! Lucy was the best. You gave her a few more years that she probably would have not had in the hands of her previous owners. Lucy knew she was very loved, before passing, that she would have not known in the hands of her other owners. You are a rockstar, and we are all here for you! 💜💜💜

I’m sorry you lost her. She knew she was loved by you & was loved until the very end. I hope that gives you some comfort ❤️

I have a beardie who was egg bound. I originally thought she was impacted which is why I took her to the vet. My vet told me that even if she was able to lay her eggs, her eggs would most likely bind in the future which could be life threatening to her. I decided to take the risk and get the surgery done. The surgery went amazing and my sweet baby hasn’t had any problems since. The surgery, like Kristen said is quite pricey. I paid a little over $1000 with everything. If people are able to I would 100% recommended getting this surgery done. The only thing left from her surgery is a gnarly scar on her belly that will never go away but it doesn’t bother her whatsoever. So sorry for your loss Kristen. Beardies are so special. Giving my beardie lots of extra cuddles for you ❤️

💗💗 So sorry for your loss. Losing a pet it's so difficult

I’m so sorry you lost your beloved Lucy. My heart is breaking for you.

🦎🦎I am from your area and have been rescueing sick and neglected bearded dragons for YEARS. Ive gone to basically every exotic vet in a 2 hour radius including Dr. Boyer at Rancho Penasquitos. The only vet I currently trust is Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Gilette at Exotic and Avian Animal Hospital(I am sure you have been there). I am so glad I found you. I can relate to your passion and love for these reptiles. Also, I rescued a 8 week old dragon with adenovirus and was told by another vet (Dr. Cecil) to not expect much of a life for him and he suggested euthanasia. My baby is now 4 years old and has his disabilities but other than that, he is a happy/healthy dragon that bobs at everything and has the best personality. Thank you for sharing your story, I know how hard these videos are to make. Lucy was very lucky to be loved by you❤❤

💚 sending prayers

I'm sorry about Lucy. It was obvious you two had a good bond and you gave her a better life then she had before

I’m so sorry about Lucy. This isn’t helpful at are in some ways, but I watch all your channels and I will say this make up combo, your hair, the color of your tattoo and sweatshirt is SO good. You look amazing, even though this is a tough video. 💕

Seriously love your video's definitely need to get caught up on both channels

I had a chameleon that had a calcium deficiency and when we had noticed his decline, we took him to the vet and the vet barely had any experience. She told us that we could xray him, and later that week she told us she couldn't xray him. So he was dying and the vet basically told us there was nothing they could do. I'm so sorry for your loss :(

The loss of a pet is so hard. My first pet that was 100% mine was a gorgeous green parakeet named Freddie. I was in 4Th. grade ( 100 years ago) I still remember going to the TG&Y buying him with my own money and hearing his little feet walking in the box as I brought him home. He was mine, I loved him so much, he taught me so much. Love, budgeting, cleaning all kinds of things I learned from him. When he died I was destroyed, I was in 11th grade, I still cry if I think on him to much. I am so sorry for your loss.

So sorry to hear about your lose. If one of your animals gets into trouble try reaching out to Kevin from needs. He has saved countless animals. Best wishes

Congratulations beautiful on your pregnancy

I'm surprised they told you not to spay when she was healthier. My girl Charlie had her spay today, i took her in the moment she laid less than 10 eggs. She was otherwise healthy. When they took her in today though and operated, they actually found she was eggbound and her left ovary essentially died off. They said the left side was a mess. I'm lucky I have experienced vets and we acted quickly. Praying all goes well tonight for her recovery and I can take her home tomorrow. Most beardies actually DO recover from this surgery as well. I think the mortality is around 5% but this is mostly due to deconditioned dragons. I'm so sorry for your girl. It wasn't your fault and thank you for sharing this, I'm going through it right now but fingers crossed the spay is a successful outcome for us. 😢

Oh no! That’s terrible. My dogs vet calls after appointments and after I haven’t been there in a while to ask if she’s okay. This place sounds terrible. I’m so sorry about Lucy 💞

I’m so sorry. 💔💔💔

Sorry to hear about Lucy

I’m sorry for your loss love. My Spence is having surgery next month as that’s the only option she has at this point. Hoping she can make it through but there’s a chance she won’t make it. 😢

Thank you so much for sharing! My husband and I live in Escondido and have three female beardies. We had the same thing happen where we were misled by the vet and then found out things were much more serious. Our beardie ended up passing away. We had gone to another vet in Linda Vista area. We now go to see Dr. Boyer at Rancho Penasquitos and have really liked him! I’m so sorry to hear about your experience with him! He is the only vet there we like, but they do get so slammed that it’s hard to find appointments and hear back from them without reaching out continually! Thank you for sharing your story! Please let me know if you’ve found a better vet since then in the area!

I had the same thing kind of happen to me with my cat a week before Christmas 2 years ago. I had adopted him from a shelter and had him 3 months and he declined fast. Couldn't breathe. Ended up having covid. By the time I took him to the vet it was too late. There wasn't a cure for it regardless. 95% fatality rate. I'm sorry love. I keep reminding myself that I did what I knew I could at the time. Ive since adopted another cat and I get them regular health checks.

Rip Lucy 💚

Such a shame! He’s so out of touch 😭 happens too often that people are in the wrong industries. I hope they take your review seriously and make some big changes. RIP Lucy ♥️♥️♥️

Hugs 🥺🖤💋 x

The same thing happened with my Stella 😭 but in her case, her blood panel showed elevated calcium levels but the vet prescribed liquid calcium and that gave her seizures! I contacted the vet and said I think the calcium was giving her seizures and she denied that was even possible and she just wanted me to throw more money into doing the same tests again, claiming that they don't always check everything they only checked for what the symptoms were. And I was so pissed because why wouldn't they check for everything when I'm paying for all this testing and then prescribed her something that she probably didn't even need and it gave her seizures and she died not even a week later. I wanted to sue that damn doctor so bad.

Rip Lucy 🙏🏼

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This was the hardest watch ever just made me think of my buddy! 😭 he was bunged up and it took us multiple phone calls to find someone who had any knowledge of reptiles and when we found one he gave him an enema told us to come back in two days and do an xray if nothings changed, I had him in bed with me all night and you could just tell he was not in good shape every time he fell asleep he'd make a squeaking noise and wake back up that morning he had blood coming out both ends and was put to sleep, will always blame myself for not pushing for the xray on that first visit 😭😭

I couldn’t agree with you more. As a bearded dragon owner myself (along with my other reptiles)… I know how frustrating and sad it is to see your bearded dragon declining. I have a male bearded dragon, Blaze. He is seriously my whole heart. I’ve worked at big corporate pet store, been around animals and now currently working at a vet clinic as an RVT.. and let me tell you, bearded dragons are sold so easily, with little knowledge. I got my bearded dragon from a petsmart. He is 6 years old, I’ve spent about $4,000 in vet bills trying to figure out what is going on with him. I have had multiple blood test, multiple radiographs, multi fecal samples, multiple medications, subcutaneous fluids… it goes on and on. This is because there is not enough research and it is SO HARD to find a reliable veterinary who actually knows about bearded dragons… at least where I am from (Los Angeles, California). It’s what thrives me in my career. It is people like you, Kristen, who shed the reality of owning reptiles and shining them in the right kind light. Thank you. I respect you so much and your channels. You are amazing!!!!! And your going to be an amazing MOTHER! 💕

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Ur legit telling me my story 1 or 2 diff but my experience is so similar

Reptiles are considered a exotic animal, what the doc should have said is either I do surgery or I can put the animal down

I've had my female beard (gru) for about 5 years now and there have been times where she was acting lethargic. my advice fro people with reptiles is to always take your reptile to the vet even if it is the slightest change in the way the normally act, because reptiles don't show sickness as well as humans do. this year was a scary year for me because I recently moved into a dorm with my beardie, not even thinking about how I don't have control over the room temperature. Once they switched the AC to heat for the winter my beardie started hiding and stopped eating and pooping and I was so scared and stressed that she was egg bound not even thinking about the temperature change. I quickly made a vet appointment for her to make sure she wasn't dying. it costed me about $150 for the visit because exotic vets are a bit more expensive, but they just told me that she went into brumation from the sudden temperature change and that it will be best to keep her at her original location where her body is used to the temperatures. moral of the story is to always take your reptile to the vet if you notice something is off or even slightly wrong and to not listen to the internet or watch videos on KZfaq on what you might think it is, since reptiles show the same symptoms or if any with a lot of different sicknesses.

Do you think once you have a baby you will have time for your animals still? I have about 20 animals and don't have any children yet. If I have children in the future, I don't want my animals to suffer and I hope I would be able to balance taking care of my animals and a child and raise the child around all the animals to teach them how to care for and treat animals etc. Just curious what your thoughts are on this ❤

So sorry, our pets are part of the family, think some vets forget that ❤️❤️

Right, and if she dies in the first moment because of the surgery at least she didn't suffer

Looked in the description box and didn't find your podcast?

I was curious , are there any risk handling your animals with the pregnancy. I know like you can’t change your cats litter but i dont know for lizards. For my general knowledge if you know

I’m sorry she passed but you tried your best.

Missed these videos ❤❤❤

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We are moving to Alabama next month (2 1/2 hours from Nashville) . I'm trying to find an exotic vet. What is the name of the vet in Nashville?

I know its not my place. Sounds like a second opinion in AZ would have been better what you should have done. It might not have even been the eggs that ended her. Sand or eggs? No, something was going on but eggs for a year and a half, look at other things first. Sorry to hear you're going through all this while pregnant. Congratulations. Take care of yourself. Have a nice day.

Hello

Oh Kristen!🥺 my heart hurts! There is just something so special about bearded dragons. I had nooo idea they were inbred like that!! Humans are so fucked up..🥺

I just lost a veiled chameleon for the same thing there's nothing you can do when it happens

These vets blew my mind I swear to god and the worst part was that Bec I Gave her proper supplements her blood work kept coming back and saying she wasn't calcium deficient which other than egg bound or blockage from substrate like I can't even with the incompetency

Omfg I can't even express to u this exact shit just happened to me I lost my baby I'm December

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so sorry :( its scary having a female beardie

I missed this ! Pregnant. Eeek. EVERYTIME I HEar that. I just scream. You don’t even look pregnant. CHET IS HUGE. Ha ha

This makes me so angry! Sounds to me like your vets are not very well educated on bearded dragons. I have a veiled chameleon who was egg bound at 10 months old. She was far too young to even have produced eggs to be honest, but she did. So I went straight to my vet, he did an X-ray and booked her in for surgery the very day next! He said there’s no point waiting to see if her situation improves, it’s best to operate now before she starts going downhill. Fantastic service from start to finish. Expensive service but thankfully we could afford it! Anyway, she can no longer produce eggs but she was never a breeder anyway. I don’t breed any of my animals. But the point of my comment is to say that we also discussed bearded dragons, as I have a female dragon and he said if I was ever worried about her, to get her booked in for surgery asap. He also has no problem sterilising dragons, same as you would a dog or cat, as a preventative measure for people who have no interest in breeding their dragons and don’t want the worry of them getting egg bound and it also has the added benefit of potentially prolonging the animals life, as they no longer have to put so much energy and nutrients into producing eggs. Because producing eggs does take a lot out of the animals and he has no problem whatsoever sterilising dragons and chameleons as it is proven to be better overall for a female’s health. And it’s a far easier surgery than if they were to get egg bound, that’s far more complicated and also a lot more expensive. Sterilisation is quick and less invasive. But please, don’t be too hard on yourself, you did what we all would have done, you listened to your vet! They are supposed to be the experts, not you! It’s so easy to say I should have done this, I should have done that but you did what you thought was best. That’s all we can ever do! You know, reptiles are notorious for hiding illnesses, they say once a reptile starts showing signs of pain or being ill, then it’s usually too late anyway. Compared to other domesticated animals, they are still fairly wild and showing any sign of weakness in the wild is a death sentence. So they hide it! Anyhoo, I am truly sorry for your loss 😞 Pets are like family members and their passing hurts like hell. Sending lots of love and hugs from the UK xxx 🤗

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