Posted by:
John-C
at Wed Jan 14 22:12:05 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by John-C ]
Crushed walnut shells (especially) can easily cause intestinal
blockage with uromastyx. That's good you took it off of it.
Mixing coconut fiber with the walnut shell can only cause
additional problems IMO. The shells can not be thoroughly
digested and the amount that make it to the intestines will likely cause lesions to the intestinal wall. This combination
of substrate may be beneficial to other reptiles but may cause havoc with the uros digestive system. Uromastyx are creatures of habit and most are the messiest of eaters. They often eat amounts of their substrate when they scatter their food from their dish.
Not sure what the swollen legs issue is all about. I guess you
need to know some history on the husbandry of this uros prior
to your getting it. Could be due to a calc deficiency ... oh, possibly due to the lack of fresh UVB exposure. Might even be the early stages of MBD. Who knows for sure? Don't mean to scare you as I'm merely taking shots in the dark so to speak in trying to figure out how this came about. I suggest you take it to a vet for a check up. A fecal sample (which they'll be able to extract) may be a good idea. He can run a blood test and possibly know what's causing the inflammation. An X-ray may also be in order. The advantage of that is that they can easily see any signs of impaction but also help you resolve your primary concerns re eggs in her oviducts. An X-ray can show any retained eggs which she may have not been able to deposit ... possibly from last summer (laying season)?
Before you do this, please understand that these procedures can get quite costly. I just want you to be forewarned before you get into this way over your head.
Having said that, I wish you good luck with her. I say her only because I saw no signs of hemipinal bulges with the ventral view you showed. Also, femoral pores are often a toss up at this time of year for sexing some species of uros. The dorsal view of her could be male or fem to me. She could be a male mimic female which is not uncommon ... especially
with maliensis.
Sorry for the looong post,
John
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RE: John-C and eveyone else that can help.... - John-C, Wed Jan 14 22:12:05 2004