# Attack on Blue Tongue



## notechistiger (Nov 30, 2008)

Hello,

Tonight, I had a call from a friend saying that her dog had attacked a blue tongue in her yard this morning. She had kicked the dog (good), taken the blue tongue and put it into a box with a towel and left it, hoping that it would die peacefully in the box, away from ants and the dog.

Anyway, she came So, since I own reptiles, I asked her to bring it over so that I can give it some heat and crickets if it wanted any (thinking it was just a minor attack). So, she brought it over, and below is what I saw...

I took some photos to show you just how horrific a dog attack can be on a lizard, then I took it outside and dropped a very heavy rock on it's head. It died instantly.

For those of you with more experience with these things, what are the odds that this lizard _would_ have survived (especially since he was alive and alert (kind of) five hours later)?

http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp289/silvershadowwolf24/IMG_0484.jpg
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp289/silvershadowwolf24/IMG_0483.jpg
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp289/silvershadowwolf24/IMG_0482.jpg
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp289/silvershadowwolf24/IMG_0476.jpg

http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp289/silvershadowwolf24/IMG_0478.jpg
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp289/silvershadowwolf24/IMG_0479.jpg
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp289/silvershadowwolf24/IMG_0480.jpg
http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp289/silvershadowwolf24/IMG_0481.jpg

~ notechistiger.


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## horsesrule (Nov 30, 2008)

The stress will most likely kill it.

I got one in my garden from a stray cats mouth this year and it was no where near as injured as the one in your photos and it died an hour after i rescued it.

I think the stress of the ordeal killed it because it only had one puncture mark and a tail bitten off.

Normally a blue tongue survives injuries like this.


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## gravitation (Nov 30, 2008)

WOAH that is nasty.
Yeah no chance, his little brain was exposed.

They normally do fine if the focus is on the tail or even the legs, but head and torso get damaged and it's usually fatal.

That was kind of freaky actually, i clicked each photo and i was like oh yeah not too bad and then i got to the head.


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## Trouble (Nov 30, 2008)

wow, poor thing. . . I don't think there was _any_ way you could've saved him 
wonder how much longer it would've lasted if your friend didn't rescue it :?

R.I.P blue tongue


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## the.badger (Dec 1, 2008)

Jeeeeezuz. I would have cluncked him with a brick too, poor dude.


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## falconboy (Dec 1, 2008)

I doubt it would survive - infection can be helped with antibiotics, shock however I would think would be the end of it.

Shame, nice markings too, wouldn't mind one like that in my herp collection. Out of interest, is that fairly standard for colourings for a bluey up there? Personally I think our Sydney ones are pretty boring.


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## notechistiger (Dec 1, 2008)

horsesrule said:


> The stress will most likely kill it.



It was already dead before I made the thread.



captainpantspie said:


> WOAH that is nasty.
> Yeah no chance, his little brain was exposed.
> 
> They normally do fine if the focus is on the tail or even the legs, but head and torso get damaged and it's usually fatal.
> ...



That's what I was thinking... And yeah, I understand that... didn't think it was too bad until I saw the head.



falconboy said:


> I doubt it would survive - infection can be helped with antibiotics, shock however I would think would be the end of it.
> 
> Shame, nice markings too, wouldn't mind one like that in my herp collection. Out of interest, is that fairly standard for colourings for a bluey up there? Personally I think our Sydney ones are pretty boring.



I don't know about standard, but I've found another wild one that had very similar markings. I don't get out often enough to find blue tongues.


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## melgalea (Dec 1, 2008)

being a wildlife carer, i have seen numerous things, but that is rather upsetting. very upsetting indeed. poor thing.


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## redbellybite (Dec 1, 2008)

It is sad, this is true ,and putting that bluey out of its misery was the best thing to do .you did the right thing ...if you find you can not bring yourself to use blunt force...then you can place the reptile in the fridge over night ,then take out and place in freezer and leave over night this is also a way to euthanise them...DO NOT PUT IN FREEZER 1ST! .........but I am also amazed that no one has flamed the owner of the dog ...cause if it was a cat ....all hell breaks out on the thread....


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## LullabyLizard (Dec 1, 2008)

Aww poor thing  Nothing should have to go through that much pain :cry:


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## waruikazi (Dec 1, 2008)

That is a pretty bad injury but from those pictures it is hard to see anything other than superficial damage (by that i mean a broken bone and cuts). Chances are it would have been blind in that eye but if it was still alive and alert when it was brought around to you then it probably didn't have brain damage and if the puncture wounds didn't pierce any internal organs i would say it had a reasonable chance at survival with a few weeks in care. They are really hardy animals but without a vet check there is no way of knowing now.


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## notechistiger (Dec 1, 2008)

redbellybite said:


> It is sad, this is true ,and putting that bluey out of its misery was the best thing to do .you did the right thing ...if you find you can not bring yourself to use blunt force...then you can place the reptile in the fridge over night ,then take out and place in freezer and leave over night this is also a way to euthanise them...DO NOT PUT IN FREEZER 1ST! .........but I am also amazed that no one has flamed the owner of the dog ...cause if it was a cat ....all hell breaks out on the thread....



I did use blunt force. In my opinion, it would be too cruel to leave it overnight with injuries like that. And maybe no one's flamed her because she kicked the dog?


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## redbellybite (Dec 1, 2008)

well if they kick their cat would that make it better ?........domestic animals wether cat or dog will and do kill reptiles its a fact ...as owners we should do our utmost to avoid this happening by providing the right set ups for our beloved pets but accidental encounters still happen and I dont think anyone should be flamed over it ....i was being sarcastic about the cat comment in my last post ...and just mention'd teh other alternative to use if you need to put either a reptile or frog to sleep the fridge then freezer method works really well...


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## notechistiger (Dec 1, 2008)

Of course not. I was being sarcastic too.


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