Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently aquired a male uro from a friend, and i believe he is very sick. he has a vet appointment coming up next week, but i am afraid he wont last that long. he has what appears to be a squishy lump on his side by his hind leg, and he blows up and wheezes when he tries to poop. he also doesnt seem to be making full, healthy poops. he is eating like a champ and i hope it is just something simple that will pass soon, but im worried that he may have an obstruction or something. is there anything i can do or feed to him that may alieviate his discomfort until his vet appointment???? Please help!

Here's a couple of suggestions that may or may not help out. Avoid feeding him any dry foods (seeds, lentils, etc) until the vet check. Don't feed any insect matter, either. You might up the amount of water-heavy foods you offer - like romaine, cucumber, squash. Double check the temperatures in the cage with a reliable thermometer (digital or infrared - no stick ons) and be certain they are where they need to be. Basking of at least 130F, warm side at 100F, cool end at 85F. Last, you can try a short soak in warm water. Put about 1/2 inch of water in a tub or sink - as hot as you can hold your hand in. Let him soak in it for 10 minutes or so. Be sure to sanitize the soaking container when finished.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.1 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, Tank, and Lilly)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Felis domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

Romaine is great for hydrating your uro's due to it's high water content.I just rehydrated mine with romaine for the last 4-5 days and he's back eating every single green in his food dish.You could also try giving him pedialyte or water,just make sure you don't give it to him cold warming it a little bit helps.You can use an eye dropper or needless syringe and put drops just above his lips and this will get some in when he licks it.Just be patient it can take a little while to do.Mine seemed to like the grape pedialyte more then the water.But you can choose whatever flavor you think he'll like best.I think you should still take him to a vet though,make sure the vet knows how to treat uros as many don't really know much about them.I hope this helps and let us know how he is doing and what was the diagnosis.
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ)

my egyptian was bunged up once and he used to blow up when trying to poo. i gave him a drop of olive oil in a needless syringe and he got the lot out no messin. I mixed a drop of olive oil with about 5ml of water and he took probably a couple of drops from the syringe.

Hope its OK
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AndyD

0.0.1 Mexican Kingsnake
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Hypo-Green)
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Red Phase)
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Hypo Red X Purple Tiger)
1.0.0 Egyptian Uromastyx
0.0.1 Frilled Dragon

You can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!!

I'll have to keep that procedure in mind.My uro is eating like a champ,pedialyte and the romaine added to his normal greens for the last week has done miracles on him.Still haven't gotten my mega ray yet,going on 3rd week,hopefully it'll be here by the end of this week or next at the latest.
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Cajit

URO'S RULE ALL!!!

1.0 Mali Uromastyx (OZ)

Thank you all so much for your help - I have been feeding him endive with his veggie mix and gave him a tiny bit of olive oil mixed with water...he wasnt happy about it, but he got some of it into him. He also got a nice warm bath. He is active and still eating, but his mushy lump is still there, so we will see what the vet says saturday...
One other thing - I read on www.deerfernfarms.com that pet store sand is a no-go, and thats what he has right now. Can I mix it with playground sand to make it better, or should I just bite the bullet and change all of it?
Any other recommendations would be great, you are all a huge help to someone who is new at this. I am going to try and get some pictures of him up once I figure out my camera so everyone can see how cute he is. His name is Fugs and he is about 13 inches long and really, really fat. He also has some white patches on his front leg and head, not sure what those are but the scales are perfect and I think they give him character.
Thank you thank you!