Daisy Ferret
Bearded Dragon Egg
- Messages
- 8
My new rescue, 6 month old male renamed Freddy, is a fearful and aggressive little guy. I know the home he came from just had a nasty breakup of the former parents as well as several large dogs that bark a lot. I was asked to take him because the former mom could no longer handle him. I figured with a ton of patience and love he'd be right as rain in short order, but now I'm worried that his issues may be worse than just noise, stress and not enough handling.
We've had him for a week now and he still puffs up and tries to bite every time we reach into his cage. This isn't really a problem as we don't mind the bites and he does calm down after a minute or two of being held and petted. I have got him to where I can reach in a little at a time while talking to him and he calms as soon as my hand is still. Then once I reach his back and am petting him, I can pick him up with a minimum of puffing and tail whipping.
Once I've held him long enough for him to be pretty calm, he gives me these looks that are so sad they break my heart. It's like he's trying to tell me he doesn't mean to bite, he's just so scared he can't help himself. I know he enjoys being held and petted, he's just having trouble getting past whatever happened in his former home.
All that is hopefully enough background to explain my current worry. I've noticed that even when he's snuggled up on me or my hubby and nearly asleep his paws and/or toes twitch uncontrollably if not pressed firmly against something. It could just be fear and stress still, even though we've spent every possible moment giving him pets, cuddles or at least just talking to him while he's in the cage. I've found one out of place vertebra in his tail, which he hates to have touched, and he could have done that by whipping his tail against something hard but it could also have been from something worse. So now I'm worried that the trembling toes might be from some type of neurological damage. If anyone knows what I should be watching for to either ease my mind, or know he needs a thorough going over from the vet asap, please let me know.
I've been trying to spoil Freddy rotten with all the positive attention I can give him, including daily baths since he loves them and will either play or snuggle into my hand during them. He's not a bad boy, I know that. He just needs all the TLC that we can give him, and we are more than willing to do whatever he needs to feel secure and loved.
We've had him for a week now and he still puffs up and tries to bite every time we reach into his cage. This isn't really a problem as we don't mind the bites and he does calm down after a minute or two of being held and petted. I have got him to where I can reach in a little at a time while talking to him and he calms as soon as my hand is still. Then once I reach his back and am petting him, I can pick him up with a minimum of puffing and tail whipping.
Once I've held him long enough for him to be pretty calm, he gives me these looks that are so sad they break my heart. It's like he's trying to tell me he doesn't mean to bite, he's just so scared he can't help himself. I know he enjoys being held and petted, he's just having trouble getting past whatever happened in his former home.
All that is hopefully enough background to explain my current worry. I've noticed that even when he's snuggled up on me or my hubby and nearly asleep his paws and/or toes twitch uncontrollably if not pressed firmly against something. It could just be fear and stress still, even though we've spent every possible moment giving him pets, cuddles or at least just talking to him while he's in the cage. I've found one out of place vertebra in his tail, which he hates to have touched, and he could have done that by whipping his tail against something hard but it could also have been from something worse. So now I'm worried that the trembling toes might be from some type of neurological damage. If anyone knows what I should be watching for to either ease my mind, or know he needs a thorough going over from the vet asap, please let me know.
I've been trying to spoil Freddy rotten with all the positive attention I can give him, including daily baths since he loves them and will either play or snuggle into my hand during them. He's not a bad boy, I know that. He just needs all the TLC that we can give him, and we are more than willing to do whatever he needs to feel secure and loved.
