Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

First, we do have an appointment with a vet Monday morning, but that is the soonest we can get.

He is a Cayman hybrid about 6 years old and 4 feet long. He has been in great health. This is the first time he got sick. We kep him good and warm and have big mercury vapor UV on him. In the summer, he gets full sun.

He is lethargic, not eating, and has not passed much. We think he might be impacted, but are not sure. We are quite worried about him. We have seen him sample small particles of dirt, but this was never a problem. I know they will sometime do this for minerals. We don't ever let him eat much of it.

We have soaked him in warm water and he did drink a lot of it.

Does anyone have ideas about what else this may be? Or could you give us some ideas? I know the vet will be the ultimate decision. We are just very worried because this guy is like our son. Thanks for any ideas.

what do you feed? what are the temps? cage size? free roam?
more you can give us the better our opinion.

jf

Impaction is serious stuff. Many years ago a friend lost a $5000 "pure" lewesi to impaction -- it was eating the sand in his cage. Once took a cuban to the vet for the same problem: The vet administered a mineral oil and messaged the intestinal tract: this was successful. Bathing is good for hydration, so if he is not eating, you might want to continue that process. Let us know what the vet does for you, Good luck.

Gravel impaction? Wow. Glad I keep mine on concrete.

This is such a FAR longshot but who knows- when my cyclura first was gravid she exibited a whole bunch of the same symptoms---but she was 2 years old at the time, and obviously a female, after hundreds of $ on x-rays, and bloodwork- she layed eggs. Just an idea...

Gravid is definetely possible, and would not be a first. There is a lewisi that was put outside for the first time in March, layed eggs a week later, and they were incubated and 6 miraculously hatched ! !

Its just crazy how gravidity (?) can mimic things that we think of as impactation, which essentially is what it is. I was shocked the first time mine was gravid and I was convinced that she was impacted because she was pooping out small amounts of newspaper- It was just that she was insane, eating weird stuff, and full of eggs.