Leo ate paper towel and stuck in mouth. Help please

[greedo11]

Help, I would massively appreciate any input.
Went to peep in on my leo who has just finished a shed, to find her with paper towel hanging out of her mouth, her mouth was open and I was worried she would choke. :main_no:
I lifted her out and pulled out a chunk, but more was inside. She is not struggling to breath or looking too stressed but every know and then she would open her mouth and look uncomfortable. I cant get it out. (she seems to know Im trying to help and will open her jaws for me, but its too far for me to remove with fingers.)It is in the area just beyond her tongue, not in her throat but that flappy bit on the chin (sorry I know thats not very technical).Its been about half an hour now and she is no longer open and shutting her mouth and is actually looking very relaxed.
There is not much on the internet about paper towel ingesting, it seems to be seen as not as worrying as sand ingesting, but surely it can still cause problems???
Any ideas if:
She will swallow it ok? Will she choke or be able to swallow it in small pieces?
If she does what are the chances of impactation?
If it travels through the gut ok, how will she pass it? Am I looking at anal prolapse?
Anyone else had experience of this whether harmful or harmless?
She is sat on my knee as I type looking, well quite happy. Maybe Im worrying about nothing but she is my baby.
Can I also please stress
My gecko is fed a regular diet of locusts dusted in Repton ( a calcium powder) she is if anything, a bit chunky and has a big fat tail.
She has a waterbowl and dish with small amount of calcium powder (changed daily)
Thanks, any input at all is useful
Caz x

 

[DierdreDreamwalker626]

I wish I had advice, but I have never had this happen to me. :/ I can say that if she has swallowed a good bit of it that she may end up not being able to pass it properly. I don't know for sure, but that just seems to me like one of those things that doesn't digest well. (lol) Maybe if you can call and talk to the vet and ask them. I'm sure someone on here will know just as much if not more though. (lol) I hope you get it squared out and she's okay. Good luck. Keep us posted!

 

[greedo11]

Thanks Dierdre! Yes If she seems to struggle at all, Im contacting a vet. Shes seems fine at the moment (fingers crossed) but I will check throughout the night. Also the shop where we got her, unlike a lot of pet stores is run by keen reptile fanatics, so I will be calling them tomorrow. Im suprised theres not more info around. Im happy though that googling "leopard gecko ate paper towel" didnt bring up loads of horror stories. And to think I have paper towel as its the safest! Arrgh - substrate! Its a nightmare isnt it!! x

 

[Russ S]

I wouldn't wait. Call a vet immediately.

 

[reps4life]

Help, I would massively appreciate any input.
Went to peep in on my leo who has just finished a shed, to find her with paper towel hanging out of her mouth, her mouth was open and I was worried she would choke. :main_no:
I lifted her out and pulled out a chunk, but more was inside. She is not struggling to breath or looking too stressed but every know and then she would open her mouth and look uncomfortable. I cant get it out. (she seems to know Im trying to help and will open her jaws for me, but its too far for me to remove with fingers.)It is in the area just beyond her tongue, not in her throat but that flappy bit on the chin (sorry I know thats not very technical).Its been about half an hour now and she is no longer open and shutting her mouth and is actually looking very relaxed.
There is not much on the internet about paper towel ingesting, it seems to be seen as not as worrying as sand ingesting, but surely it can still cause problems???
Any ideas if:
She will swallow it ok? Will she choke or be able to swallow it in small pieces?
If she does what are the chances of impactation?
If it travels through the gut ok, how will she pass it? Am I looking at anal prolapse?
Anyone else had experience of this whether harmful or harmless?
She is sat on my knee as I type looking, well quite happy. Maybe Im worrying about nothing but she is my baby.
Can I also please stress
My gecko is fed a regular diet of locusts dusted in Repton ( a calcium powder) she is if anything, a bit chunky and has a big fat tail.
She has a waterbowl and dish with small amount of calcium powder (changed daily)
Thanks, any input at all is useful
Caz x

I tried to warn people about this in this post, but someone made it a joke.
I think you had asked in this post.
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=78079

My friend had a gecko who all of a sudden stop eating. He took him to the vet and an exray was done. The vet said there was something stuck in his intestine but was not sure what it was. The vet said to give him a certain amount of mineral oil for 2 days and luckily a bunch of pieces of paper towel finally was passed if not they would have had to remove it surgically. it also caused a bacterial infection in the gut that was treated with antibiotics. So as precaution you might want to have an exray taken.

 

[Dimidiata]

Well look whos right^, i would ef call the vet asap. has it tried drinking any water. I would imagine this might help brake it down but im unsure.

 

[DierdreDreamwalker626]

My friend had a gecko who all of a sudden stop eating. He took him to the vet and an exray was done. The vet said there was something stuck in his intestine but was not sure what it was. The vet said to give him a certain amount of mineral oil for 2 days and luckily a bunch of pieces of paper towel finally was passed if not they would have had to remove it surgically. it also caused a bacterial infection in the gut that was treated with antibiotics. So as precaution you might want to have an exray taken.

Oh wow. Yea. So glad that we don't use paper towels now. :/







I don't know how everyone else on here feels about it, but I recomend coco-fiber. We've gone through everything under the moon trying to find something that wouldn't hurt our babies. We were told vermiculite by one source and we had some constipation and eye infection issues from it. Since we switched to the coco-fiber we have had no issues and it's not really that expensive.

i would do what everyone said. Call the vet to be safe. Once again, I hope everything goes okay and she ends up being fine.

 

[reps4life]

Oh wow. Yea. So glad that we don't use paper towels now. :/







I don't know how everyone else on here feels about it, but I recomend coco-fiber. We've gone through everything under the moon trying to find something that wouldn't hurt our babies. We were told vermiculite by one source and we had some constipation and eye infection issues from it. Since we switched to the coco-fiber we have had no issues and it's not really that expensive.

i would do what everyone said. Call the vet to be safe. Once again, I hope everything goes okay and she ends up being fine.

I posted an article I found on vermiculite you must read.

http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=79992

As for as coco fiber, I will explain the problem. It is not the worst substrate but because most reptiles become dehydrated at some point in their life it can bulk up and become difficult to pass. I used it for my monitor lizard and after a while he became constipated. The vet told me that most lizards are poor water drinkers and normally have mild dehydration regardless of all the water dishes you offer. So she recommended I got rid of it asap.

 

[greedo11]

Thankyou very much everyone for the advice, much appreciated.
My leo is acting normally and is looking good luckily.
The vet said to me I still just need to monitor my leo at the moment, as surgery can sometimes be uneccessary in these cases, particulally as she is so relaxed and active at the moment. However I need to check her behavior does not become strange and that she does not struggle too much to poo.
In reply to your question Dimidiata, yes she is drinking water, no more than usual, just licking the drops off the tank when I spray her.
She "asked" to come out the tank today and played on the bed too. She ate 2 locusts too, so Im hopeful she will be ok.
Reps4life, read your post that someone joked on (didnt seem anything to joke about) about the overhead heating and papertowel. I found that one very interesting and the one about vermeculite. Will we ever find a truly safe gecko substrate??
Interesting about most lizards being poor water drinkers, Greedo never drinks in her bowl but as a baby would stand in it ( too aid shedding I suppose) and poo in it (large poo). Now it seems to be redundant. When I spray the walls of her tank she drinks the run off, maybe it seems more natural like rain running down a rock..
Anyway thanks again for the all the posts. Obviously I will continue to update, and am nervously awaiting her next poo.
xxxx

 

[reps4life]

Thankyou very much everyone for the advice, much appreciated.
My leo is acting normally and is looking good luckily.
The vet said to me I still just need to monitor my leo at the moment, as surgery can sometimes be uneccessary in these cases, particulally as she is so relaxed and active at the moment. However I need to check her behavior does not become strange and that she does not struggle too much to poo.
In reply to your question Dimidiata, yes she is drinking water, no more than usual, just licking the drops off the tank when I spray her.
She "asked" to come out the tank today and played on the bed too. She ate 2 locusts too, so Im hopeful she will be ok.
Reps4life, read your post that someone joked on (didnt seem anything to joke about) about the overhead heating and papertowel. I found that one very interesting and the one about vermeculite. Will we ever find a truly safe gecko substrate??
Interesting about most lizards being poor water drinkers, Greedo never drinks in her bowl but as a baby would stand in it ( too aid shedding I suppose) and poo in it (large poo). Now it seems to be redundant. When I spray the walls of her tank she drinks the run off, maybe it seems more natural like rain running down a rock..
Anyway thanks again for the all the posts. Obviously I will continue to update, and am nervously awaiting her next poo.
xxxx

I have kept various species of reptiles and very rarely witnessed them drinking from water dishes. Yes, it seems they prefer to drink from dripping water. I water their fake plants daily and they lick while it's running down.
I am glad she is doing well. You probably caught it right on time. Just make sure whatever goes in comes out.

 

[grboxa]

I tried to warn people about this in this post, but someone made it a joke.
I think you had asked in this post.
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=78079

My friend had a gecko who all of a sudden stop eating. He took him to the vet and an exray was done. The vet said there was something stuck in his intestine but was not sure what it was. The vet said to give him a certain amount of mineral oil for 2 days and luckily a bunch of pieces of paper towel finally was passed if not they would have had to remove it surgically. it also caused a bacterial infection in the gut that was treated with antibiotics. So as precaution you might want to have an exray taken.

+1. I witnessed my gecko take a bit out of the tower paper...switched to tile immadietly. I guess tile is the safest?.

 

[grboxa]

I have kept various species of reptiles and very rarely witnessed them drinking from water dishes. Yes, it seems they prefer to drink from dripping water. I water their fake plants daily and they lick while it's running down.
I am glad she is doing well. You probably caught it right on time. Just make sure whatever goes in comes out.

caught mine drinking from water bowl cute to see

 

[reps4life]

caught mine drinking from water bowl cute to see

So cute isn't it

 

[reps4life]

+1. I witnessed my gecko take a bit out of the tower paper...switched to tile immadietly. I guess tile is the safest?.

I would have to say yes.

 

[greedo11]

Thanks again everyone! Update - Greedo has done a poo, a normal one, followed by pure paper towel. The paper towel was actually the same shape and size as a normal poo. It is a light pink colour obviously a small amount of blood (to be expected probably). Greedo is looking happy and eating! Hopefully thats all the paper towel. Phew I really believe she has dodged a bullet now. Time for another substrate change!! I will research tile.
Greedo came with a bag of wood chippings, we used these for a while with no problems, then switched to paper towel as I heard the risks. Hopefully tile is the safer option!
xx

 

[reps4life]

Thanks again everyone! Update - Greedo has done a poo, a normal one, followed by pure paper towel. The paper towel was actually the same shape and size as a normal poo. It is a light pink colour obviously a small amount of blood (to be expected probably). Greedo is looking happy and eating! Hopefully thats all the paper towel. Phew I really believe she has dodged a bullet now. Time for another substrate change!! I will research tile.
Greedo came with a bag of wood chippings, we used these for a while with no problems, then switched to paper towel as I heard the risks. Hopefully tile is the safer option!
xx

I am uneasy about what you said you saw (might be blood) there should not be. Did you use floral printed paper towels? Did you ever see this before? How long ago did you stop using the wood chipping substrate?

 

[gmaier19]

I have a gecko that ate the paper towel out of his moist hide. Luckily he passed it (it was a massive piece of paper towel too) and now he's fine. Now I have a moist hide without anything in it because I know he's prone to eating ANY loose substrate.

I'm glad youre writing about this so more people know that paper towel is not 100 percent safe in all situations. I would say that most leos are totally fine on it but for some reason some leos are big substrate eaters.

Good luck with your gecko I really hope he's ok!

 

[greedo11]

Hi to those who replied! Sorry for not getting back to you had some computer issues! Greedo is fine and well, she passed paper towel again not long after (like yours did gmailer) and there was no blood or anything strange, just paper.
Reps 4 life in response to your questions, the paper was plain, but the blood was literally a small pink spot. Still cause for concern but she is fine now luckily.
I stopped usingthe bark about 6 months ago.
Yes I thought paper towel was 100% safe! Obviously not!
xx