EDMONTON -- A Uromastyx lizard named Maze was surrendered to the Edmonton Reptile and Amphibian Society (ERAS) in February after an x-ray at the Harvest Pointe Animal Hospital in Ellerslie, Alta., revealed he had a massive kidney stone.
The vice president of ERAS, Brandy Johnstone, told CTV News Edmonton “the lady that dropped it off took it from her friend and brought it to the vet to have it looked at due to the fact that it wasn’t eating or drinking or looking after itself.”
Once the stone was discovered, the original owner surrendered the animal as they didn’t have the means to pay for its vital surgery. Maze was then enlisted into the ERAS foster network.
“From there we take the responsibility of the reptile on, we take of the vet bills once it’s been in rehab for awhile, then we’ll put it up for adoption,” Johnstone said.
According to Johnstone, the Uromastyx is a desert like creature that requires more water than we would expect to stay hydrated and soak up nutrients.
“The previous owner didn’t leave a water bowl out just assumed it would get all of its nutrients and humidity from its vegetables it was eating.”
“But in the desert there’s a lot of burrows that tend to have water in them so they’ll go underneath the ground to get their water,” she said.
If properly hydrated, Maze should have been able to pass the kidney stone on his own before it increased in size.
“It stopped eating and the reason it stopped eating is because the stone began to pinch off its colons and its intestines so it had no way to digest food or to pass it,” Johnstone added.
“The vet did say now that it’s had this, it could potentially get it again.”
Maze is estimated to be about 10 years old and the life expectancy in general of the Uromastyx is up to 25 years.
Because the stone was so large, Johnstone said it caused a lot of damage near the incision site making it difficult for the veterinarian to stich it back up. It’s a long road ahead for Maze.
“The longevity of the chronic dehydration and poor husbandry they figure he’s going to be at least months or a year for full recovery,” Johnstone told CTV News.
Maze will stay in rehab until he makes a full recovery as he receives pain injections and needs to be tube fed.
“He has a very very strong jaw,” Sage Lawlor, the foster, said. “He doesn’t really cooperate very well when you’re syringe feeding him.”
“There’s not a lot of hands on work involved right now, but we do keep an eye on him all day,” she added.
The cost of the surgery was just under $1,000 according to Johnstone and funds from the ERAS were used to pay for it. But, they are accepting donations to help cover the costs.
Updates on Mazes’ recovery will be posted on the ERAS Facebook page. Once Maze makes a full recovery he’ll be put up for adoption.
