Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi!

I have a male collared, about 5 years old, who is acting strange. Taco has prety much refused food for the last week. Yesterday he ate some mealworms which he later regurgitated (yum) and today he ate only one cricket. His girlfirend, Squirt, seems to be doing well and is eating crickets like they are going out of style. They both refused the offer of wax worms, but that's not a surprise; my lizards normally won't eat waxys.

Toco is getting very skinny. He is also hiding under his rock and trying to dig into the substrate. Unfortunatly, we have had to keep my collards on carpet due to Squirt's eye problems so there is no substrate in which to dig.

What can we do to help Taco through this?

He has a nice cave which sits on the carpet that he cah hide in, but this allows for no digging at all. Should I put them on sand for a while to facilitate taco's dreams of sleep, or do you think he'll find a comfortable spot to bunk down under his rock for his autumnal nap? Are there any alteratives, such as shredded paper towels or some sort of bark that may work better in this situation?
What happens if we keep offering only the carpet to him?

I only what to help him in any I can. He deserves to be comfortable if he's going to hibernate.

And what does this mean for Squirt, Taco's girlfriend? She seems to not want to hibernate. What do you suggest I do for her to make life mofe comfortable?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

I think perhaps Taco is ill. At any rate, you cannot brumate him if he is very skinny. He should be fattening himself up for a long nap now, not getting skinny. Are there any popping or clicking noises when he breathes? Is his breathing labored when he is resting? Eyes look ok? If he hasn't been eating and is really skinny I would really recommend a trip to the Dr if he does not start eating very soon. The skinnier he gets, the more difficult his recovery will be and the more care he will require. I would also recommend isolating him from the rest of the family in his own enclosure until you find out what is going on with him. That will also make it easier to monitor his food intake. If you have a place outside of town where you can be reasonably sure no pesticides or herbicides have been used, try catching some grasshoppers. Mine go nuts when they are offered grasshoppers and they have also been getting other bugs that we manage to catch. No beetles or spiders.

I don't use substrate in isolation cages. I tape paper towels to the bottom to keep their live food from getting underneath. Hydration is paramount to a thin or sick collared. Offer Taco some water with an eyedropper or needle-less syringe. Put a drop on the tip of his nose, I have found if I cover the nostrils it will annoy them enough to get it off, sometimes by actually drinking it! Others will lap right off the end of the dropper.

I am sorry Taco is not eating and has lost so much weight. I hope he turns around for you soon.
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Valerie Rae

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.--

God bless the USA

vrk.photosite.com

Taco gets really stressed if I take him out of his cage. I'm afraid that isolating him may had a very bad result. Plus he won't eat if he's in the isolation tank. Poor guy. Maybe I'll move my female to the other tank for a few days until we see what's going on.

We have gond through periods of sickness before, but I have forgotten what I can feed him through an eyedropper if necessary.

I plan to make their cage warmer, and I'll give him some drops of water on his nose as you suggested.

Fortunatly, his eyes look clear and his breathing is normal. They are not on sand, so I don't believe he's impacted.

I just feel so bad for him. Thanks for your advice. Any more would be helpful.

Sometimes just getting a sick lizard hydrated with water will help them to start eating again. For dropper/syringe feeding you can try a product called Nutri-Cal. Another forum member in the past said she had great success with a canned dog food called, I believe, Hills Diet A/D. Both should be available at a veterinary clinic. They also ought to be able to help you out with a couple of syringes - the kind that has a tapered end to accept a needle hub. I like these better than droppers. If you can get the lizards mouth open it is easier to squirt in a bit of food than with a dropper. I like a very small syringe that only holds about one cc and has marking for each 10th of a cc. They are skinnier than a pencil and it is easier to control how much food you are giving than with a bigger, fatter syringe. I have found forced feedings to be much easier with 2 people, one controlling the lizard and trying to get the mouth open and the other concentrating on getting some food in there. I let the lizard bite my finger, they usually don't let go and that holds the mouth open. Then I try to deposit a small amount of food via syringe behind the finger.
I have not tried the dog food, but I have used the Nutri-Cal. It turned out the lizards I fed it to had anatomical problems that led to their demise so I cannot really rate the product. I have a hatchling now that I fed it to once, and am still hydrating her daily. She is eating on her own and picking up her weight slowly, but I suspect her improvement had more to do with the water than the one feeding she got. Nutri-Cal is a rather thick, pasty stuff and I had decided to try watering it down and seeing if she would just drink it like she did water rather than a force feed, but fortunately she started eating better and I didn't have to intervene again.
Keep Taco warm, even at night.
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Valerie Rae

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.--

God bless the USA

vrk.photosite.com

Hey there, all the info you got is excellent, so I'm just adding my 2 cents from experience with sick lizards. My girl Houston got sick last year and I came to kingsnake.com. Given the symptoms, it was determined she has a resp infection. I had my usual vet do a fecal sample and he said it was clean, she was fine. I described her symptoms and he just shrugged and gave me his "well, she's so small i don't know what you want me to do" line. (This man is a dedicated avian and exotic vet). I brought her to a SECOND vet who told me she had parasites. I said no, her fecal was clean. He said "well I didn't do the fecal" and pumped her full of parasite treatment. I said I think she has a resp infection. He said "well what makes you think that? Take her home and feed her Ensure by dropper." By the time I got the second vet to agree it may be a resp infection, Houston passed away. She was my baby. I was FURIOUS.

Bottom line: Ensure is good, but only if you are using it for the right thing, so IF YOU ARE HEARING POPPING WHEN TACO BREATHES..... if he is tilting his head back when he breathes.... if it in any way looks like he is having trouble breathing... if his eyes are closed... if he is not eating... take him to the vet and if you don't like what they tell you get a second opinion. Hell, try for a third if you need to.

Meanwhile, I brought $100 worth of fecal samples to my usual vet last week just for a check (never hurts) and I still haven't heard back from him. I don't buy into "no news is good news". If I'm paying this much money on a vet, I want a phone call. If your vet isn't doing his job, find another. I'm hunting for a new one, but options are limited here.

I hope Taco is doing better, I know I jumped on this post a little late, but I don't come to kingsnake.com as often as I used too, I've gotten so busy.

Keep me/us posted!
Best of luck!!!

~Tiff
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"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."