Cactus

This is the story of Cactus.

Our nonprofit was contacted about a possible rescue on December 10, 2017. We learned that an owner had two dragons living together. One dragon was okay, but the one we were contacted about had something wrong with his tail. Once we got cactus in our care, we quickly realized that it was much more serious than we could have expected.

His poor tail

The other dragon that he was forced to share his home with beat him up pretty bad. It was to the point where his tail was rotting and needed to be surgically removed. We brought him in and gave him water right away.

He drank so much, that he filled his beard up with water. Then, slowly he swallowed it, little by little, like a cactus. This is how he came to get his name, “Cactus.”

However, unlike the plant he is named for, our Cactus was not “thorny and mean.” He didn’t have a mean bone in his body.

Surgery

We took Cactus to a vet the next morning to address his tail. There, we hoped that he didn’t have any infection in his blood or more serious underlying issues. They took x-rays and decided to amputate his tail as soon as possible. The surgery went well, his labs all looked ok, and Cactus started his road to recovery and a happier life.

Today

Today, Cactus is happy and one of the sweetest dragons we have. The story of Cactus might have a happy ending, but the message is clear.

Cohabiting dragons, while for a time can seem harmless, is never the best choice for the health and happiness of a dragon.

If you know of a dragon who is cohabited and needs our help, message us at anytime at [email protected].