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Here's a quick update, I wanted to post this morning but I wanted to check with the vet to make sure what I saw was in fact improvement and not confusing indication that things might be worse.
Bacardi to seems to be getting better! His head tilt is still there but not 90 degrees more like 70 or 60. And is coordination reminds me of toddler. To anyone else he may not look like he is doing better but to me I can already see a world of difference.
Before he would lay there and only moved when provoked or handle, even then it was guarded movements. He would only right himself when he seemed to be in very awkward positions. This morning however I opened the cage door and he lifted his head (still at an angle mind you) and attempted to walk to the front of the cage. I was blown away just yesterday evening was the first time I saw him start moving on his own and even then it was just turning around. He made it halfway to the front, which does not sound far but that was a major mild stone. I got him out the rest of the way.
Now when I asked the vet tech how to give his injections she said in the front leg under the scales and sub-q. Now I use to be a vet tech and still do some animal medicine so that was not what I meant. I rephrased it to say how should I restrain him for the injections because I will be doing these myself. I appreciated the honest response of, don’t worry for the first few he will be like this it’s going to take awhile before the meds really help, by that point you should be good at it. We Bacardi doesn’t know that and now my arms are all cut up from his razor claws because I did not want to trim them on Tuesday when he was sick.
After the battle of the injection I set him on the couch to get a progress vid. They are hard to take but we do this at the zoo. It’s easy to think an animal is getting better or at the least not getting worse. However by comparing video it’s very easy to see changes in behavior and health that our emotions often block out. He moved around for a bit, but once the camera was off and I sat down on the couch is when I had the camera on. Bacardi was a good 3 feet from me on the other side of the couch, he circled around and pushed his nose between my lower back and the couch back. I chuckled thinking well this is improvement. Tears rolled down my face when he started to climb up my back, I helped a little just by putting my hand against his back to give him something to push up against. He made it up to the love handles (hey I’ll admit I an’t so little around the middle) and up into my lap. He let out a deep breath and went to sleep. Now I am not kidding myself he did this because the couch is cool and my lap is warm, I know that, I was crying because he was climbing (that and it felt like needles in my side).
Putting him back in his cage was hard, both emotionally and physically. He whipped and huffed and once in he tried to get back out. That spunk and attitude I know so well are still coming through loud and clear. He sure is fighting this and I will make to help him as much as possible.
There is another herp vet near my mom’s place that I am tempting to get a second option from but right now may hold off due to the progress that Bacardi is making.
Bacardi to seems to be getting better! His head tilt is still there but not 90 degrees more like 70 or 60. And is coordination reminds me of toddler. To anyone else he may not look like he is doing better but to me I can already see a world of difference.
Before he would lay there and only moved when provoked or handle, even then it was guarded movements. He would only right himself when he seemed to be in very awkward positions. This morning however I opened the cage door and he lifted his head (still at an angle mind you) and attempted to walk to the front of the cage. I was blown away just yesterday evening was the first time I saw him start moving on his own and even then it was just turning around. He made it halfway to the front, which does not sound far but that was a major mild stone. I got him out the rest of the way.
Now when I asked the vet tech how to give his injections she said in the front leg under the scales and sub-q. Now I use to be a vet tech and still do some animal medicine so that was not what I meant. I rephrased it to say how should I restrain him for the injections because I will be doing these myself. I appreciated the honest response of, don’t worry for the first few he will be like this it’s going to take awhile before the meds really help, by that point you should be good at it. We Bacardi doesn’t know that and now my arms are all cut up from his razor claws because I did not want to trim them on Tuesday when he was sick.
After the battle of the injection I set him on the couch to get a progress vid. They are hard to take but we do this at the zoo. It’s easy to think an animal is getting better or at the least not getting worse. However by comparing video it’s very easy to see changes in behavior and health that our emotions often block out. He moved around for a bit, but once the camera was off and I sat down on the couch is when I had the camera on. Bacardi was a good 3 feet from me on the other side of the couch, he circled around and pushed his nose between my lower back and the couch back. I chuckled thinking well this is improvement. Tears rolled down my face when he started to climb up my back, I helped a little just by putting my hand against his back to give him something to push up against. He made it up to the love handles (hey I’ll admit I an’t so little around the middle) and up into my lap. He let out a deep breath and went to sleep. Now I am not kidding myself he did this because the couch is cool and my lap is warm, I know that, I was crying because he was climbing (that and it felt like needles in my side).
Putting him back in his cage was hard, both emotionally and physically. He whipped and huffed and once in he tried to get back out. That spunk and attitude I know so well are still coming through loud and clear. He sure is fighting this and I will make to help him as much as possible.
There is another herp vet near my mom’s place that I am tempting to get a second option from but right now may hold off due to the progress that Bacardi is making.
