Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, so...

Due to some husbandry mistakes, my sav seems to be a bit...blocked up. Like he hasn't sh@t in about a week, despite eating very very well. I fixed the husbandry problems (raised his temps, more humidity, etc.), temporarily changed his diet (I normally feed exclusively whole prey), and give him daily soaks in warm/hot water (never hot enough to scald me, but pretty hot nonetheless). I can make a vet appointment ASAP, but I just wondered if there were any other ways to help the poor guy out.

This, by the way, is the same lizard who's just finishing up a course of antibiotics. He is much more active than he was before and will eat as much food (whether mice or monitor diet) as I'll offer him.

Thanks in advance.

Were the antibiotics oral? I guess those can dehydrate an animal a bit, one of my geckos is on them and has a stuck shed despite being kept at 98% humidity. So that might be a factor.
I don't have any other advice, I know how to fix this in a snake but I wouldn't want to recommend the procedure in an animal with legs.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Hmm...yeah. I have to give him .3 ccs of Baytril every day. You can imagine how pleasant that is every morning.

Yes, I can, except the little guy I'm giving it too doesn't really have sharp teeth. Hopefully someone has monitor-specific tips for your prediciment.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

For instance is he being more sluggish than usual and not as active as normal? If hes to this point, you would need to see a vet asap. However you dont want him getting here either. Hopefully the temp spike and added hydration will help. The next of the cheaper treatment plans would be to administer Lactulose to "get him flowing" get him flowing.

However I think overall, unless one has the training, we need to treat our animals like we would our children. When theyre sick, we take them to the doctor.

Good luck!
Michelle

As a matter of fact most probably are a result of this. I remember a reference of a monitor in Florida that lived in high humidity but problems with stuck sheds occurred badly, by moving the animal to south west Texas in the dry heat it shed normal because the ambient temps were higher on average.

I've had to give baytril orally to several different monitors of mine. I've never had any problems with impaction, constipation, or dehydration, and I feed exclusively whole prey mice/crickets. Perhaps it was dehydrated to begin with.

I am not sure what you mean by hot water, but it really sounds like a bad idea.

Short term, you should talk to your vet. He/She has the experience, equipment, resources (and can actually see the animal) to find the problem (if there is one) and to treat it.

If it is dehydrated, you need to figure out why the enclosure is not working and resolve it. Understand that enclosures never work perfectly and are never really fixed, they may be improved for an individual, but never perfect or done. My experience is monitors rehydrate very quickly if given tools that they will use. If yours is not, than the enclosure/husbandry is not allowing the monitor to conserve water. The air can be bone dry in an enclosure, yet still allow a monitor to retain water.

Good Luck,

--Robert

Like here did the temps drop requiring more heat to get the same results? They digest food in direct relation to what temps they are offered. The other thing is dehydration from antibiotics, and reduced bacteria levels in the gut, which slows digestion. Id check ambient and basking temps in the cage as well as humidity and compare to a reference a summer time conditions.

Since I live in Southern California, summer/winter temp drops are not so much of a concern. In addition, my apartment runs about 79 degrees outside of the cage.

Cortes is going to the vet as soon as I can get an appointment with the reptile specialist around here. His cage is about 85 degrees ambient with a 118 degree basking spot and a 93 degree cave (just checked the temps). He is actually much more active than he was last week (when I noticed the problems that led to him getting the Baytril). The warm (again, not scalding) water soaks were suggested to me by my last vet to help digestion along, though apparently I need to get him some other treatment. I have the feeling that Cortes might have some sort of digestive troubles generally--slow bowel movements have been a problem for him in a variety of settings. My other sav, kept in nearly identical conditions, has never had any of these problems. I was hoping to see if I could find some way of helping him out here at home, but I guess the vet it shall be.

Warm water soaks seem to be controversial among keepers, but my vet always recommends them. Actually, he recommends them for EVERYTHING no matter what the problem is, so take that for what it's worth (are you soaking her? um.. no, she's a sand boa).
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Cortes finally did it in the tub, and as I expected, the feces were really hard and dense--compacted hair. I'll concentrate on keeping him hydrated, but now that he's managed to sh!t, is there any more danger from impaction (assuming, of course, that he continues to have regular bowel movements (i.e. do I still have to take him to the vet ASAP)?

*laughs at the thought of a bewildered sand boa in a tub*

The monitors seem to enjoy the tub (they can climb out if they want to, but neither of them ever do). It gives them room to swim, which Cortes likes to do (Xanax not so much), gives them a place to drink running water, and helps correct for any humidity mistakes I may have made. When they're not having bowel problems I use tepid water, but I've warmed it up a bit for Cortes.

I think the vet visit is no longer necessary, just keep an eye on him. If he keeps going on schedule, you should be ok

(@_@)============>

sand boa in a tub
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Thats too funny about your vet. Vets hardly ever see anything other than iguanas...wait, do iguanas soak? hmmmm....Well in about five years Ill be graduating vet school.

The guy tries. The thing is that he just has a book in the back that he looks everything up in. He said we should just buy the book but then we'd put him out of business...
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?