Confused

[pawsfoot]

My tang CT Peaches is walking weird. She just shed about 5 minutes ago and I had to help her a little. She's not very good at it. She stays in the humid hide all the time except when she sheds, then she just sits under a regular hide. Anyway, now she is walking kind of slow. She is not really shaky or anything, just slow and kind of funny looking, not haha funny but weird funny. Like she is not walking with her feet flat, but sort of turned in. Not really good at explaining it. What should I do. She is steadily gaining weight and I see her eating. Her warm side temps are 91-92 daytime and around 78-80 cool side. Her night temps are around 83 warm and 80 cool. Her mealies are gutloaded with Pro Gecko gutload and shaken with pure calcium and every week or so multivites. She has a bowl of pure calcium in her dish as well. The nearest herp vet is 1 hr away and I have to make an appt if I'm going to get her there. What does everyone think?

 

[GoGo]

The cool side should be cooled down a bit, 75-80 instead of so close to 80, it provides a night-like coolness. Her night temps are also a bit high, though the warm side is fine th ecool is too high. There might be nothign wrong, it might just be how she walks once out of a shed. But if shes still walking like this tomorrow, make an appt with your vet asap.

 

[Wretched]

Also make sure you are supplying enough calcium. Calcium goood.

 

[pawsfoot]

For everyone, here is an update. Peaches was worse this morning. She barely walks at all now. I have an appt at 2:15 today with the vet so I am about to head out with her. I hope she gets better. She is one of my friendlier geckos.

 

[KiKi]

i hope peaches gets better soon. let us know how it goes

 

[pawsfoot]

UPDATE

I took Peaches to the vet. They took Xrays (NO MBD, YAY!!!!!), and they drew blood from her poor little tail (will get the results tomorrow). Upon palpation of her tummy my vet thinks her kidneys may be enlarged. Since she is not full grown yet and I did not take one of my other geckos with me she is not sure from the xrays about her kidneys. The CBC (complete blood count) results will be back tomorrow and I will know. The only other thing that my vet could think of was some type of viral infection (O NO!!!). I know this sounds bad, but I am hoping for a organ problem or something of that nature because she was in an enclosure with 4 other girls and if she has a viral thing than they have it too. I'm hoping to get a poop sample to take to the vet and check for any parasites as well. I cleaned the cage last night and there was no poo to take today. Anyway, thanks for listening I will let everyone know how Peaches is doing when I get the results tomorrow. Also I would like to add, after watching her for a few hours I do not think she is eating. She has a good sized tail, but if she doesn't eat then I can't get a poop sample.

 

[brandy101010]

Good luck. I hope everything turns out ok!

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Does she get any D3 or UVB?

Although they are nocturnal, I feel that they still need a small amount of D3 to process the calcium and a build up of calcium may affect the kidneys. Just some of my thoughts and Im not a vet so take it as you will.

 

[pawsfoot]

HAHA. You probably have more info than most of the vets I know. She does not get any UVB, but she does get a vit. supplement with D3 in it once a week. I just don't put it in her calcium dish because I heard too much d3 can hurt them.

 

[pawsfoot]

Ok so this is my last update for awhile. The vet called and Peaches does not have anything viral. She has a kidney/metabolism problem. I have to give her injections of 2ml of sterile water into her abdomen twice daily. We are trying to dilute the uric acid that is building up in her system. She is not eating so I am going to use Marcia's slurry to keep her eating. Thanks for caring. It is going to be a long haul, I hope things start to work for her.

 

[brandy101010]

I hope you can get her back to health! Good luck!

 

[dragonflyreptiles]

Did they give you any reason for the kidney/metabolism problem?

And the injections of sterile water to the tummy kinda scares me!

Ive never heard of a uric acid build up.... How do you gu load your feeders, maybe their diet is too acidic?

 

[pawsfoot]

She's only 3 months old and I've only had her for 1 month myself. They are fed mealies and small supers that are gutloaded with Pro Geckos gutload and potatoes for mositure. I worked at a herp/small animal vet for 5 years, she wanted to keep her for 2 weeks to give the injections herself but I've done this before to iguanas and such, it is to help boost her fluid level in her body. Since we can't put an IV catheter in it has to be this way. Her tummy is the easiest place to give it because you can see her organs. I feel more comfortable doing it than the vet did. She gave me no reason for this condition, she thinks she just may have bad kidneys and that they may be starting to fail on her. Some animals were just not cut out to be living that long. She did tell me she does not think that it is somethign I did, because it came on way too fast, she just thinks that her body has a hard time processing the uric acid in her body. Basically everything you eat and drink is transformed into uric acid or stool in your body. To the healthy person it is metabolized in the kidneys and liver to come out as urine Hers is not processing correctly and the uric acid is building up in her bloodstream which can get caught in her joints and form urates kind of like salt crystals. That is very painful which is why she walked funny. Anyway I'm getting all scientific and I could go on for hours. Since this is somethign painful at the end of the 2 weeks if she is not better I will have to let her go. I do not want her to be in pain if there is nothing more I can do for her.

 

[GoGo]

I dearly hope she gets better, its not easy to let a pet go.. Ive had to let go many myself, a kitten, a ferret, a bunny, lots of fish, a beloved hermit crab and a beloved chinese water dragon. Its never easy.

 

[pawsfoot]

I'm very distraught at the moment. I've been doing everything I'm supposed to, but Peaches does not want to eat. I drip the slurry on her nose, but unless I physically rub her or move her she does not want to lick it. All I have been able to get in her is 1/2cc. She does not move in her cage unless she desperately has to. I know it has only been 2 days but I feel so overwhelmed and I feel as though she is not making progress. I think she is to the point where she dreads the fact that I am coming for her. She just looks like she wishes I would leave her alone. When I fed her a little bit earlier I even tried sticking the dropper in her moth and slowly letting a little bit drip on her tongue and she thanked me by spitting it all out. Sorry I just had to tell somebody because my fiance is not home and I feel so alone and like I am not helping her.

 

[Nastynotch]

I'm very distraught at the moment. I've been doing everything I'm supposed to, but Peaches does not want to eat. I drip the slurry on her nose, but unless I physically rub her or move her she does not want to lick it. All I have been able to get in her is 1/2cc. She does not move in her cage unless she desperately has to. I know it has only been 2 days but I feel so overwhelmed and I feel as though she is not making progress. I think she is to the point where she dreads the fact that I am coming for her. She just looks like she wishes I would leave her alone. When I fed her a little bit earlier I even tried sticking the dropper in her moth and slowly letting a little bit drip on her tongue and she thanked me by spitting it all out. Sorry I just had to tell somebody because my fiance is not home and I feel so alone and like I am not helping her.

well maybe the best thing to do is give her some space.

 

[BalloonzForU]

Vicky, I'm so sorry you are going through all this. The poor little girl. I'm sure you are doing the best you can for her. Keep us up to date on how she's doing.

 

[pawsfoot]

She actually seems much better today than yesterday. She was very squirmy when I tried to turn her over to give her the tummy injection. Today was the first day I had to ask my fiance to hold her. I got her to eat about 1cc of the slurry. Hopefully she will have a nice poop for me since I haven't seen any poops in 3 days or so. I just finished messing with her to feed her a little, I'm going to try to give her more later. Now she is just laying in her cage with her head high in the air.

Other than the fact that her eyes are open, this is how she has been sleeping lately. Always on the warm side and not even bothering to go into a hide.

Other than the fact that I haven't seen her poop lately her tail fat isn't looking too bad for her not really eating for 4 days.


Oh I just wanted to say that her tummy looks so fat because of the sterile water I have to put in it.