Index Updated 3/19/03   3/19/03 - I've got Picasso's photo album up and linked here. Click on the "Image Gallery" button above and it will take you there. I plan on making another photo album of her earlier photos to show her progress as listed in her diary below. I haven't been making journal entries because 1) she's been about the same since the last entry (though nothing bad happened from the coughed up squash) and 2) I'm terrible about keeping up with writing. I mesaured her yesterday and she is 14" svl.; 49 1/4" stl.(long tail!!!) 8/9/01 - Picasso coughed today and hacked up what appeared to be some butternut squash. Even more odd than the fact that she did this, was that she didn't have any butternut squash this morning - just greens. She seems fine and has been eating since the episode and has also done some more climbing since then too. I'm keeping an eye on her. I took her outside for some sun too and she seemed to enjoy that (now that it's not feeling like 100 degrees outside anymore ;-)). 8/8/01 - Picasso pooped today and the previous two days. Seems she's on a start of a regular schedule with that. Today she also climbed this little plastic rock formation that I normally have in with my geckos. I cleaned it and didn't put it back in the cage. It was sitting on the floor and Picasso climbed right up it. 7/24/01 - Offered Picasso a bowl of water and she actually drank on her own (quite a bit actually). I don't feel comfortable keeping it in her cage when not attended - yet. She also pooped again today in her cage (on her heating pad). Again, it was a huge amount. I'm seeing that she's going more frequently and without any assistence. She is continuing to hold herself up higher with her front end. I'm rather confident that her rear end will someday lift off the ground too. 7/19/01 - Caught Picasso climbing the side of her cage again today. If she sees me in the lizard room cleaning, she will dig to get out. If I open the cage door, she will climb out of the cage on her own (There's a bit of a step to get over to do so). 7/17/01 - Picasso pooped a huge amount in her cage, on her own. 7/12/01 - I went into the lizard room this morning to check on everyone and found Picasso really holding up her upper body well... so, well that I took a picture 7/10/01 - Picasso slid off the couch. I got her right away and set her on my lap while I was at the computer. She pooped all over me! I've been terrible with the updates. Picasso has been eating well - even on her own - though she prefers that I hand feed her ;-) As you can tell, Picasso is now pooping well on her own. She's pooped 3 times on her own now. She is also moving better and faster now and her right "hand" is consistently flipping forward now when moving. On 7/5/01 she managed to climb the hardware cloth on the side of her cage, which was a huge accomplishment for her! 6/29/01 - Picasso got to see Dr. Bronson today. She was impressed with Picasso's improvement. 6/6/01 - Picasso ate on her own again today. I've noticed in the last few days that she's able to move better on her own (scooch around) and that she is passing gas on her own (no more needing to tube the air out of her anymore to unbloat her ;-)). Got 9cc of fluid into her today. Hoping to get her outside tomorrow as it's supposed to be in the 70's and sunny. 6/4/01 - Picasso ate very well for me today - ON HER OWN!!! Got her outside for a little bit late this afternoon when the sun peeked through and it was warm enough. 6/3/01 - Picasso was looking very bloated this evening, so I ran the tube up her hoping to alleviate some gas pressure, and she pooped for me (A LOT!!!). 6/1/01 - Picasso scooched completely around on the dryer this evening. She’s still not eating on her own. I’ve been sticking the food in her mouth to get her to eat. I’ve also been pushing at least 6cc water/aloe vera, sometimes up to 9cc of this mixed liquids a day. 5/29/01 - Picasso pooped in her cage. It was there in her cage when I removed her in the morning. She’s refusing to eat on her own now. 5/23/01 - I placed Picasso in the tub today with enough water to cover her lower half, and while supporting her upper body to keep her head above water. She pooped - A LOT!!! She looked like a different lizard after that. After that she ate a Mott’s cup of greens and veggies. She got some outside basking time today, but not as much as I would have liked to have given her, but it was a bit too chilly outside. She scooched forward again today using her back legs and her forearms to move. 5/22/01 - Picasso was in a different place than where I put her last night for sleep. I’m very glad I put the “fence” up around the shelf or she would have fallen. Later today I actually saw her scooch herself forward using her back legs. She did that twice while I was watching her. She’s been very alert - watching everything around her. Released more gas from her again, and some liquid waste. She ate some, but not a ton. It’s been colder and somewhat overcast again. I think that’s why she didn’t eat as much. 5/21/01 - I set Picasso up in the garage under a heat lamp, so I could watch her while I cleaned the garage. She seemed to enjoy that and the view of the front yard (garage door was open). 5/19/01 - Picasso went potty today - just liquids and urates, no solids. She also ate fairly well considering she didn’t eat well the last two days. 5/18/01 - Picasso is eating a bit better today, but this has been in the evening, and not during the day. It rained on and off all day, so again, she’s been sulky. 5/17/01 - It’s overcast outside and Picasso is being picky about eating and seems to be sulking. It’s like she’s telling me she won’t eat if I don’t take her outside and put her in the sun. 5/13/01 - Picasso ate right away again today. I got her outside again today for more fresh air and sunshine and she ate a lot while we were outside. I had to refill her Mott’s applesauce cup a couple times while outside. She seemed very bloated, so I soaked her for a while and that didn’t help, so I gave her an enema. The tube for the enema released a lot of gas and the warm water and mineral oil I flushed up into her system washed out a small amount of fecal material as well as some soft white urates. She ate a little bit after that, but seemed tired. She’s definitely not bloated anymore. Gave her the calcium gluconate and got her up to bed. 5/12/01 - She seems to have slept well and ate first thing in the morning when I brought some food to her. She still can’t move her limbs. I took her outside for some real unfiltered sunlight. She seemed to enjoy that - darkening her body to really soak in the heat. She ate several little bites of food (maybe 5 bites each time I fed her) maybe 5-6 times throughout the day. In the evening I gave her the calcium gluconate and even put her in the bathroom sink and moved her legs back and forth for therapy. We continued the therapy outside the sink afterwards - moving her front legs and back legs in 3 sets of 10 - just full range of motion, back and forth movements to keep the atrophy at a minimum. She didn’t seem to mind it and ate a few times for me during the breaks we took. Her eyelids appear a bit droopy and her pupils seem awfully dilated, even in bright light. I saw her pupils constrict only when she focused on and was interested in food. She is doing less of the “gulping” she was doing when she got here. I think it is because the swelling in her throat is going down. I also found out today that she did a huge poop at the vet’s during her stay - so I’m less concerned about her not pooping for me yet. She’s still very alert and continuing with the tongue flicking. I find that and her interest in food encouraging. I’m hoping a steady diet of nutritious greens and veggies and natural unfiltered sunlight will bring her around. She still can’t right herself, though it seems she wants to more this evening than last night. 5/11/01 - Took in Picasso. She can’t move her limbs and she has quite a bit of edema around her throat and neck area. She is very interested in eating and ate maybe a couple of tsp., but seems tired. Her body has a tendency to want to lean to the side and she has a slight hunch in her back which makes her head stay down most of the time. She also shakes her head “no” in an attempt to move herself. She’s very alert and is doing a lot of tongue flicking. After giving her the calcium gluconate as directed, I could see fluid/bubbles through her ear covering. I elevated her upper body by propping her with a washcloth. She can’t right herself.