# Rat fur impaction?



## DaveDragon (Oct 25, 2008)

It looks like both of our Blue Tegu's are impacted with rat fur. 

I've seen the male eat cypress mulch (dummy!!). An x-ray taken last Saturday looked like he was impacted in the middle of his intestines. The blockage is soft. We haven't fed him in 3 weeks (he was getting only 1 small rat per week in the feeding rotation). 3 or 4 weeks ago after he threw up his small rat (ate it 2 days before) I removed all the substrate and he's living on the vinyl flooring with plywood leaned up against the sides for hides & basking platforms. He used the platform until the last week.

The female is always wiggling her butt and trying to go, but she may get a little liquid & urate but that's it. She was getting a small rat every other day since she laid eggs 2 months ago. That took alot out of her so I was trying to quickly build her back up with the protein & fat. Instead it looks like the fur plugged her up! We haven't fed her in a week. Her blockage is soft also.

Basking temps are about 100. The male hasn't been basking at all in the past week, the female does.

Today the vet gave them both the liquid barium so they can do an x-ray next Saturday. The male threw it up when we got home. We'll have to call them Monday to see what they want to do with him next.

We've heard mice fur is easier to pass than rat fur. Is that possible??

Sometimes I give them Cod Liver Oil with their turkey. I should have given it to them more.


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## leoares27 (Oct 25, 2008)

wow, that really sucks! I hope they pass that fur soon. 
good luck with them!


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## DaRealJoker (Oct 26, 2008)

wonder if u cut some raw egg with Cod oil maybe that'll get things sliding a lil or even just straight raw egg lots and lots of water too even try adding water to the egg


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## DaveDragon (Oct 26, 2008)

I think the rat fur is piled up in a ball inside them. We'll see when they do barium x-rays next Saturday.


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## Harveysherps (Oct 26, 2008)

Too bad cat fur ball medicine wouldn't help. I wonder if it is common for this to happen with Tegus.


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## DaveDragon (Oct 26, 2008)

Harveysherps said:


> Too bad cat fur ball medicine wouldn't help. I wonder if it is common for this to happen with Tegus.


I gave the male Laxatone (hair ball med) for 2 weeks. He finally passed some of the Laxatone and not much else. I'm thinking they must need to eat more greens (fiber) to keep their digestive system moving. I sometimes see "hair balls" in their enclosures. But many times hey bury their BM's & hair balls, making it hard to figure out when they're not going.


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## Harveysherps (Oct 26, 2008)

Maybe that's why Bert fed his so much plant matter. He may have been on to something with that. But if you fed only processed meat that could be avoided too. This makes for a good topic for discusion though. I'm sorry it had to be your tegus that are going through it though.


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## DaRealJoker (Oct 26, 2008)

Have you tried to masage the obstructions? A close friend of mine had to masage his son from birth. His boy is ten and still gets them. He's had them as far as the intestine through to the colan area. What my friend would do was masage his sons stomache and back below the ribcage to "soften" the blackages. I tell you for a person, these are excrutiating. I feel so bad for the boy as they are 1:1 as in he never gets a break from these. The boy has 'em everyday. Doctors have tried many medications but eventualy surgery will be the topic for him. I dunno, maybe masages will work for your lil guy and gal. I really hope they aren't in any discomfort and I feel for you aswell as this must be very worrysum. Best of luck to the three of yas . I think they'll be fine since this has only been one occurance :-D


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## DaveDragon (Oct 27, 2008)

DaRealJoker said:


> Have you tried to masage the obstructions? A close friend of mine had to masage his son from birth. His boy is ten and still gets them. He's had them as far as the intestine through to the colan area. What my friend would do was masage his sons stomache and back below the ribcage to "soften" the blackages. I tell you for a person, these are excrutiating. I feel so bad for the boy as they are 1:1 as in he never gets a break from these. The boy has 'em everyday. Doctors have tried many medications but eventualy surgery will be the topic for him. I dunno, maybe masages will work for your lil guy and gal. I really hope they aren't in any discomfort and I feel for you aswell as this must be very worrysum. Best of luck to the three of yas . I think they'll be fine since this has only been one occurance :-D


Thanks!! We've done some massage but more would probably help.

The male has had this happen 2 or 3 more times in the last year. He tends to eat his cypress when he's hungry, and/or he's got a kink in his intestines. He's basking more so maybe he's feeling a bit better.


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## jor71 (Oct 27, 2008)

Have you tried giving them some metamucil?

I heard it is fine to give them that, as it is a good source of fibre.


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## DaveDragon (Oct 27, 2008)

jor71 said:


> Have you tried giving them some metamucil?
> 
> I heard it is fine to give them that, as it is a good source of fibre.


The last time I gave them some turkey I put in some Glycolax. I think it's too late for that. We'll see what the vet says.


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## jor71 (Oct 27, 2008)

Ok, good luck and keep us posted!


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## DaveDragon (Oct 27, 2008)

Will do!!


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## olympus (Oct 27, 2008)

I wish there was something I knew that could help. I know a guy that is the reptile supervisor at Turtleback zoo near my house, I'll ask him to see if he knows anything.


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## PuffDragon (Oct 27, 2008)

How is Turtle Back Zoo? I've been past it many times but never in it.


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## olympus (Oct 27, 2008)

It's okay nothing like the Bronx Zoo or Camden Aquarium.


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## PuffDragon (Oct 27, 2008)

Yeah, I can walk to the Camden Aquarium!


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## olympus (Oct 28, 2008)

Dave he told me that the basic stuff works the best. The warm baths, increased temps and that he wouldn't recommend a stool softner because he has never used it on any of their animals. He wouldn't want to steer you wrong.


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## Harveysherps (Oct 28, 2008)

Maybe hairless rats need to be on the menu from now On . LOL Emerald Tree Boas and BCC have a problem with rat hair. i got around it by breeding hairless rats. The rex rats are also a thought as far as feeders. I am going to breed some hairless again. I bred it out of mine and just all of a sudden. It showed back up again. So I am going to breed them back into my others.This winter I could ship you some young ones to start a colony of your own. It will be a few months. Most suppliers of Frozen rats. Have the hairless ones. Maybe that is something to check into to avoid this problem all together. This is just my opinion. But I think the freezing process makes the hair on the rats more coarse. I could be wrong. This is why I only feed prekilled.


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## DaveDragon (Nov 10, 2008)

UPDATE!!!!
The female passed 2 huge urate plugs last week after daily baths for 2 weeks. 2 days ago she finally had a small BM in her bath. Yesterday she passed 3 wads of fur in her bath, then a normal big BM on the floor!!!! I think she's clear!! Now we just have to get her eating again. She's been refusing ground turkey. Tonight I'll try some tilapia. Then I'll get some F/T adult mice. I'll have to get a crapload of them at the next show for them so this doesn't happen again.

The male had a small BM in his bath 2 days ago. He's not done yet.


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## ashesc212 (Nov 10, 2008)

That's great news!!!

What did you use to get the cypress mulch out of your male in the past btw?


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## DaveDragon (Nov 10, 2008)

ashesc212 said:


> That's great news!!!
> 
> What did you use to get the cypress mulch out of your male in the past btw?


They've been to the vet 3 Saturdays straight, but this past Saturday was just x-rays to check their progress. They give them fluids under the skin and mineral oil with a tube down their throat. And long daily soaks!!! The male normally likes them and falls asleep (I don't know how he's never drowned!). I think the cypress eventually dissolves, but he can't eat much while he's plugged up or he throws it up. He's eaten 3 times in the past week and hasn't had a problem, other than he hasn't had a good BM in the past month.

We'll see what happens tonight.


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## DaRealJoker (Nov 10, 2008)

Hey awesome news Dave Glad to hear your lil Lady is doin well. Hope your young man gets better soon too. They're so lucky to have a good handler like you. Great job.


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## DaveDragon (Nov 10, 2008)

DaRealJoker said:


> Hey awesome news Dave Glad to hear your lil Lady is doin well. Hope your young man gets better soon too. They're so lucky to have a good handler like you. Great job.


Thanks!! The main thing to do is learn what caused this in the first place. 

The female was fed a small rat every 2 days to put weight back on her after laying eggs. She normally would only get 1 small rat per week. *Action* - Feed only large adult mice to reduce the possibility of fur impaction.

The male has a habit of eating his substrate. He has no substrate right now. It looks on the x-rays that he may have a kink in his intestines that prevents the passing a hard objects. *Action* - Feed only large adult mice to reduce the possibility of fur impaction. Find a substrate that is impaction resistant, mold resistant, is easy to burrow in, and is inexpensive.


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## jor71 (Nov 10, 2008)

DaveDragon said:


> Find a substrate that is impaction resistant, mold resistant, is easy to burrow in, and is inexpensive.



If you find one, please let me know.


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## DaveDragon (Nov 10, 2008)

jor71 said:


> DaveDragon said:
> 
> 
> > Find a substrate that is impaction resistant, mold resistant, is easy to burrow in, and is inexpensive.
> ...


The vinyl he's on right now has all the qualities except burrowing!


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## jor71 (Nov 10, 2008)

Oh, how about humidity?


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## DaveDragon (Nov 11, 2008)

jor71 said:


> Oh, how about humidity?


OH!!! It "holds" water well!! :mrgreen:


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## ashesc212 (Nov 11, 2008)

Are you still going to use Cypress Mulch at all? I'm just wondering because I bought cypress mulch in advance for down the road...(I'm taking all my cues from you lol)


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## DaveDragon (Nov 11, 2008)

ashesc212 said:


> Are you still going to use Cypress Mulch at all? I'm just wondering because I bought cypress mulch in advance for down the road...(I'm taking all my cues from you lol)


The female is fine with it but the male likes to eat it. The female was impacted with rodent fur only. The vet suggested rabbit pellets or hay but they mold easily and must be cleaned often. I don't think we'll be using cypress with *HIM* again. We have the pellets and he'll be getting it soon. He also suggested staying away from rodents and feed more fruits & veggies with turkey for protein. I think this would only apply to adults Tegu's, younger Tegu's need lots of protein to grow.

Any type or particle substrate has the risk of impaction. It seems most Tegu's have no problem with it, just our male Blue.


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## Harveysherps (Nov 11, 2008)

This is just something I'm gonna throw out there. But this problem is why I am against feeding F/T. Their isn't enough fiber in them. Prekilled has more muscle fibers because the cells haven't been broken down in the freezing process. A lot of your problem stems from lack of fiber in the diet. F/T tends to dry out the gut also. Which will let the hair stick and get the problem started. Kinda like arteries clogging. I can't back it up with scientific proof. But this is my opinion based on my experiences. I know most don't agree with me. But this is the way I see it.


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