# one of my newly aquired tegus isnt doin too well



## snakehandler (Jan 9, 2008)

i recently bought two tegus. they where rather cheap but the previous owner has fed them porc.. After more than a week one of them isnt doin well. He looked a bit fat to me..it suddenly became very lethargic and his eyes werent looking good. i gave him some flagyl and vitamins. But his situation hasnt improved. I am afraid he is goin to die. The other seems to be doin well. At first it was lethargic too but after giving it some vitamins and calcium it looks healthy and active.


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## VARNYARD (Jan 9, 2008)

If the belly is firm and hard it could be an impaction, you could try some mineral oil in both ends.

But I would see if I could get him to a vet if I was you.


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## DaveDragon (Jan 9, 2008)

VARNYARD said:


> If the belly is firm and hard it could be an impaction, you could try some mineral oil in both ends.


Question - When our Blue was impacted (too much food) they gave him mineral oil with a tube through the mouth. I asked about giving him some with a syringe myself if this happens again. The vet said no, there's too great a chance of getting it in his lungs. 

Opinions, experiences????

They gave us a tube of a laxative which looks like cat hairball medicine that we sometimes inject into the mouth of a F/T mouse.


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## snakehandler (Jan 9, 2008)

when injection into the mouth i use a syringe and uretrha catheder.
when you gently put the catheder into the mouth and push it down the throath you can easily but very slow inject fluids into the stomach.
that the chance of gettin them into the lungs is very limited.


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## snakehandler (Jan 9, 2008)

VARNYARD said:


> If the belly is firm and hard it could be an impaction, you could try some mineral oil in both ends.
> 
> But I would see if I could get him to a vet if I was you.



the problem with vets is that they dont know much about reptiles.
i have taken reptiles to the vet before and they always prescribe the wrong medicines. i dont think its his belly though.
he looks to have stabilised a bit but the problem with reptiles they can quickly get worse and die.


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## snakehandler (Jan 9, 2008)

Giving fluids or anything else by mouth to reptiles can be difficult, given the vast numbers of sharp teeth, the glottis, and often cranky disposition a sick reptile may have. When dealing with venomous reptiles, matters are rather compounded by the fact that you may get more than a few teeth left behind in a bite wound.

When giving fluids by mouth, you need to watch out for the glottis that sits on the tongue at the back of the mouth in most reptiles; in chameleons and snakes, the glottis will be behind the tongue sheath. When using a French catheter or feeding/dosing tube attached to a syringe, you need to insert it into the mouth, sliding it down one side of the mouth or the other to avoid accidentally threading it into the glottis. While the ideal is to insert the tube all the way down into the stomach, this is not always possible so the catheter or feeding/dosing tube should be inserted as far as need be to prevent the fluid from backing up and flooding into the glottis. When expressing fluids or liquid nutrition (slurries) into a reptile, do it slowly enough so that it flows down towards the stomach, rather than so fast that it backs up into the mouth. If fluid or slurry backs up into a reptiles mouth, stop forcing the fluid or slurry through the tube. Tilt the reptile with its head downward to let the fluid or slurry run out of his mouth and let him catch his breath.

For the most rapid uptake of PO fluids, they should be warmed before being administered.


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## snakehandler (Jan 9, 2008)

I think it is stress related due to the poor conditon of the animals.
i hope with enough heating he can overcome this. i gave him some extra yakult which contains a healthy japanese bacteria.
i dont want to distrub him too much though. his colour has improved..

Even very small things that are wrong or just slightly off can, over time, lead to big health problems. Stress onset can be sudden and acute (an earthquake topples an enclosure; the owner moves or gives the animal away; the power goes out for three days; a new cage mate is introduced; the new family dog spends its time slavering in front of the enclosure; etc.) or it can be slow and insidious (reptile not drinking enough because the water bowl is too difficult to access; the crickets fed are just a little too large; there is no day/night cycle of temperatures in the enclosure; temperature gradients are not broad enough; temperatures are too hot or too cool; insufficient or improper hiding places provided; domineering cagemates; etc.). Sudden onsets bring about immediate and dramatic changes in color and behavior that even the only moderately observant owner can pick up on. Slow, constant stress, however, may result in slow, gradual changes in behavior and color. Behaviors such as thermoregulating, hiding, prolonged soaking, reduced appetite, irregular defecation, attitude, regression/increase in tameness, and more can all indicate signs of stress and illness.


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## snakehandler (Jan 9, 2008)

some funny things i found about stress in reptiles:

There are also the things that go on behind your back... One woman found out from neighbor, who observed what was going on through the window while the owner was at work, that her cat would sit staring into her iguana's enclosure, nose pressed up against the glass, for hours at a time when the owner was at work. Since the cat never engaged in this behavior when the owner was home, she never thought there was a problem with the cat. Another woman found out that her husband was turning off the heating equipment in her reptile's enclosure at night after she went to bed "to save money - it's a cold-blooded animal, so it doesn't need heat all the time" was his rationale when she finally figured out why her reptile was sick and stressed.


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## DaveDragon (Jan 9, 2008)

snakehandler said:


> the problem with vets is that they dont know much about reptiles.
> i have taken reptiles to the vet before and they always prescribe the wrong medicines.


The vet we take our reptiles to is probably the best herp vet in Connecticut. It's an hour drive each way, but there's a decent pizza place nearby! There's a reptile vet the next town from us but we don't like her. Not very caring.


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## Swtbrat (Jan 9, 2008)

Dave


> but there's a decent pizza place nearby!



Mmmmmmmmmmmm Pizza!

Brat!


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## AB^ (Jan 9, 2008)

What about trying some baytril


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## snakehandler (Jan 9, 2008)

AB^ said:


> What about trying some baytril



i already gave her/him some flagyl which also kills microbes.
i'll wait and see. i dont want to stress the animal too much.


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## snakehandler (Jan 10, 2008)

i gave him some olive oil and he defeacated. he smelled like a dead chicken. still isnt doin well so i gave him some baytril as well.
after thirty years of keeping reptiles i still wonder about how badly 
reptiles are treated in general.
i also learned another lesson. Never buy any animal that doesnt look
optimal from the start. Well maybe i saved one tegu from certain death.


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## AB^ (Jan 10, 2008)

snakehandler said:


> i gave him some olive oil and he defeacated. he smelled like a dead chicken. still isnt doin well so i gave him some baytril as well.
> after thirty years of keeping reptiles i still wonder about how badly
> reptiles are treated in general.
> i also learned another lesson. Never buy any animal that doesnt look
> optimal from the start. Well maybe i saved one tegu from certain death.



Yea, sometimes animals that even looks good have underlying issues that the stress of moving them will cause them to be revealed. Best of Luck to you and your tegus


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## snakehandler (Jan 10, 2008)

thx, as i checked this morning his colour looks better.
i''ll wait and see.


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## snakehandler (Jan 11, 2008)

my tegus have been given flagyl against internal parasites and additional calcium and vitamins. After two days the sick tegu began to breathe with his mouth open. This animal i have put on baytril.
Although he seemed near death he has recovered fairly well so that he now has clear eyes and can walk a bit again. His breathing is normal again. Both tegus get an additional bath of uva from a lamp used for humans fifteen minutes a day.
they seem to become fairly happy tegus now. although the sick one is still fat. He must have eaten all the porc.


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## VARNYARD (Jan 11, 2008)

I am glad to hear he is doing better, I hope he pulls all the way through.


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## COWHER (Jan 11, 2008)

congratulations we will keep our fingers crossed till he is 100%


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## nat (Jan 12, 2008)

glad to hear he is doing better. best of luck


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## snakehandler (Jan 16, 2008)

Both tegus are doin fine now. the sick one also pooped although he hasnt eaten yet. Must have been stuck in his gut.
he doesnt look as swollen up anymore and is a very nice colourfull animal with lots of yellow dots and a yellow belly.
i am very relieved they both made it through the first initial time.
the former owner kept them too cold as well.
its almost a miracle to see an animal like that recover from near death.


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## DanRC30 (Jan 16, 2008)

Wow... great that you saved them. It's a good feeling when you can actually save an animal...

Post some pics of these guys!!!


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## snakehandler (Jan 16, 2008)

i did post some pics in the tegu pic forum.

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## boygenius (Jan 23, 2008)

i hope your tegus do a lot better, the one i just received has been in poor health conditions as well and is in the process of recovering.


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## snakehandler (Jan 23, 2008)

yeah sometimes it takes a long time for them to recover.
the one that was sick is still way too fat.
i think this is one of the reasons he has got health problems.


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