- That’s one tough reptile to survive getting half frozen to death.
The recent winter storms have dumped a foot or more of snow onto large parts of the country. In many areas, people are still trying to dig things out from under all that snow.
Some have found surprising things buried in all the white stuff — like this exotic lizard.
A Rhode Island man shoveling his driveway got a shock of his life when he discovered a shivering tegu lizard in the snow bank. Yet, he didn’t waste time gawking at his unexpected find, and quickly set to rescue the reptile.
The man took the tegu inside and wrapped the cold-blooded animal up to give it some warmth. He then alerted a local exotic pet store and asked if they could take care of the strange beast.
Together with the New England Wildlife Center (NEWC), they took the tegu in. Its survival wasn’t given, however, as the tropical lizard was extremely weak from the cold.
The veterinarians had to amputate parts of the tegu’s tongue due to severe frostbite. Ultimately, their efforts fortunately began to bear fruit.
Now, the lizard — dubbed Frankie — is still not completely in the clear, but recovery is ongoing. Meanwhile, animal rescue and control officials are trying to figure out how on earth the tegu ended up in the snow.
Surprise in the Snow
On January 27, an unidentified man from Providence, Rhode Island, was clearing his driveway of snow after a storm. As he was working through a batch 20 inches deep, he suddenly saw something outlandish crawl out of the snow.
It was a large, black-and-white lizard.
We can certainly all agree that this wasn’t something that belonged in frigid New England. Yet, despite the shock the man must’ve had, he immediately noticed that the reptile was in grave need of help.
The lizard was moving very slowly — which probably doesn’t surprise anyone. Our man immediately sprang to action and scooped the lizard out of the snow.
“He kindly brought the lizard inside right away and wrapped him in a T-shirt to help conserve heat,” NEWC said in a Facebook statement.
With the lizard momentarily secured, the man started looking for anyone who could help him save the exotic reptile. He discovered ET Reptiles, a pet store in Warwick, and alerted them about the lizard.
ET Reptiles rushed over to pick up the lizard, which they identified as a tegu. These large lizards live in the rainforests and grasslands of Central and South America, so a Rhode Island blizzard really isn’t the right environment for them.
Poor Condition
ET Reptile took the critter over to their store to warm up while they set up a vet visit. Together with NEWC, ET Reptiles arranged for the tegu, which they’d identified as a female and dubbed Frankie, to be taken to Odd Pet Vet.
There, the resident animal doctors evaluated the lizard — and it wasn’t good.
“Upon arrival, Dr. Mertz and Dr. Gannaway found the tegu to be extremely weak, underweight, and not moving well. He had suffered frostbite to his tongue and showed signs of significant muscle weakness after prolonged exposure to the cold,” wrote NEWC.
As you probably know, reptiles are cold-blooded and unable to maintain their body temperatures like mammals do. When exposed to cold temperatures, their blood flow can slow to the point that their cells begin to die off.
And that’s exactly what had happened to Frankie. She had experienced some muscle injuries, but her tongue had suffered the worst damage.
Its forked tip was so badly frostbitten that it had become “nonviable” — in other words, the tongue tissue was partially dead. Consequently, the vets had no option but to amputate the gangrenous bits off Frankie’s tongue.
In addition, they “provided supportive care, including steroids, to help address inflammation and generalized weakness.” Frankie has also been prescribed antibiotics for a lung infection.
‘Sweetest Girl’
While nobody would have probably been all too surprised if Frankie didn’t survive her ordeal, it seems things are looking better. According to ET Reptiles, whose staff is caring for the tegu, she is slowly but more or less surely getting better.
Frankie has become more active and is enjoying warm baths to keep her body temperature up. Her tongue is reportedly still swollen, but vets are keeping a close eye on it to make sure it’s healing right.
“She has been doing the best we could possibly ask for, even though she is very stubborn with her antibiotics,” ET Reptiles said in a Facebook post.
We’re not vets, but if she’s getting strong to try to fight the yucky medicine, it can only be a good sign.
“We think she can tell we are giving her our 100% effort, so she is tolerable of us having to hand feed [and] provide medicine. When she’s not being medically treated, she is pulling at our heart strings by being one of the sweetest girls in the world,” said ET Reptiles.
For now, NEWC and ET Reptiles have contacted local animal control to determine how Frankie got buried in the snow. So far, no one has come forward reporting a missing tegu.
Together, the animal rescuers have appealed to the public to let them know if someone lost their lizard in a blizzard.