Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was looking over a few posts in the monitor forum, because I like to see what types of husnadry philosopies I can add into my collection. I came across this post and a few thoughts ran through my mind.

"he was very lethargic and i brought him to the vet today. he has calci sand in his bowels and the dr said he thinks that is the problem and to force feed him soft dog food mixed with water, .4 ccs 3 times a day. he said bathe him in warm water and rub him belly to try to get him to go potty. he isn't compacted or anything and his heat seems fine...98F on the hot side, 85F onthe cooler."

I am attending Southern Connecticut State University for my undergrad to hopefully one day go on to graduate school for verterinarian medicine...its alot of work and the requirements are unbelieveable, haha. Anyway, When I become a veterinarian one day, I will make it my practice to stress the importance of HIGH and proper temperatures as well as PROPER information on how to care for a certain species of herps.

When I read this comment, I get a bad feeling form that Dr.'s knoledge. First off, from what I heard from savannah monitor specialists is that dog food really isn't a proper food, but maybe I'm wrong.

How does this apply to uromastyxs? Well it applys to the requirements of every type of herp. Monitors and Uros have similar requirements as far as heat goes. I've been reading alot about this subject for many years now.

So as a vet, shouldn't you know the importance of proper heating requirements? If the lizard had access to a hot spot of 130 , he would be using it for basking....and I bet he would pass those fine granular sand particles that are trapped in his bowels. Lets not even get into the Sav being setup on sand though...thats a whole another issue . So instead of stressing the animal any more than it is now by "rubbing its belly," Shouldn't you offer it many gradients of heat along with a hot spot of 140 degrees? Impactions are very serious and if not caught right away can kill your animal. However if you move fast enouph with the heat requirements...every thing should go smothly? If I was a vet and I had a patient come in with a impaction due to sand, I would avoid the force feeding and rubbing of the belly. I would get the animal on high temps, depending on the species of cource, and let nature play its role. I bet you anything that monitors and uros ingest debree, sand, etc. in the wild. So what do they do? Theres no veterinarians out there. I bet they seek out high temps/hot spots!? They got to pass it somehow .

Now bathing is not a bad idea. It loosens the bowels of a herp. I would imagine that for a impacted animal, bathing would be a nice idea. You ever place a bearded in the bath tub for hydration, or a female herp after she just layed a clutch of eggs? You get a very nice smelly gift left for you when you walk back into the bathroom.....get out the soft scrub bleach . I have had female beardies, just after laying a clutch, deficate in the tub. They are so tired and dehydrated, but yet they still manage to deficate. So Bathing was a good call, haha.

This is always a interesting train of thought. Whats all of your thoughts and ideas?

Happy Herping,
-Paul

I have once had a beloved herp of mine not lay drops for over a week, I soaked and palpated (softly,in a downward motion) her in a tub of water approx. 100F. Lo and behold, LOTS of poo.
I have seen on TV Dr. Fitzgerald feed herbivores pumpkin pie filling through a syringe when impaction is presenting. The idea is the fiber will gently push out the impaction, hopefully making an invasive procedure unnecessary or easier(keep in mind he has taken x-rays before making this decision). Anyway I am really very busy but I am addicted to this @#*! forum.Gotta Go!

Thats very interesting to know! Now add that to high temps and wha la, a once impacted species is now cured . Now lets add some twist to this thought. In the wild there isn't pumkin pie for fiber (correction...certain plants contain alot of fiber...maybe they also eat something?) and there isn't any one to rub the species bellys.

What do they do to rid themselves of the impaction? Could high temps and soaking in vernal pools or any other water source be the answer, but wait, where the uros come from, its very arid and dry conditions with very little rain fall per yr. So my guess would be high temps = the "natural" way of curing an impaction? Its like going to crainiosacreal therapy or a Chiropractor. Its a natural way/remedie for the body to heal itself. So why not start practicing similar techniques with reptiles, but in doing natural ways such as high temps?

Happy Herping,
-Paul

I think that's where their love for legumes comes in $.02
JG

Hahaha, great observation! Now we are getting somewhere!

-Paul

In the wild they DO eat HIGH FIBER plants, and seeds, and camel and sheep poo to get hay and seed when there is none. BUT probably the most important is EXERCISE. right... digging... right...(also foraging an area much bigger than a cage..blahblahblah...yada ya.)

Let's not forget the SUN. when I take mine out they almost always poop. And I don't think it was ever 120F.

Add UVB to the picture and it starts to come together, Earth, Wind, and Fire. Maybe get a fan for the wind.

haha, I think your taking this a little to far my friend!

Happy Herping,
-Paul

I know. I was joking, but do you think a small exhaust fan would help the humidity,or just blow the temps?

I personally have never used or worked with small fans. Some breeders live by them, others do not. Proexotics is a example of one of those that does not. I got most of my information on soil setups from PE awile back. My humidity is a bit on the high side, like I mentioned before, but I have yet to see problems. Again, I will stress that if your temps are perfect with a wide range of thermal gradients, the possible threat of humidity causing issues should be disreguarded.

Happy Herping,
-Paul

It also depends on the urop itself. How hearty it is and so on. If you have a uro that you are obviously not feeding correctly or something along those lines then making a habitat with too much humidity would probably kill them. That just shows though for those who use the soil and have hearty herps they tend to have no issues, so again it depends on how well you care for it and so on.