Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new to this forum, having just discovered it while searching for info to help with my ailing MTS. (wish I had found it sooner!) We have had him for 2 1/2 years (inherited from an acquaintance, so not sure how old he is) and he has always been healthy and vigorous. For the past week or two, he has been much more lethargic than usual, tho still moving about some. He is eating & drinking very little, and now we are hand feeding him & giving him water by syringe. His eyes appear nearly shut -not swollen, but sunken. His breathing seems deeper than usual.
I am worried that he may have some type of infection, or possibly that he is malnourished, as for many weeks he has only eaten green beans.
Does anyone know of a vet in the Los Angeles (Venice Beach/Santa Monica) area that I could bring him to?
Thanks for any help.

I'm sorry to hear about your skink. It does sound like you need to get him to a vet ASAP. There is a website, (herpvetconnection.com) that should have the information you're looking for. Just scroll down, click California, & then you can find the location that's most convenient for you. I hope this helps.

Best of luck to you & your MTS.

Sherri

n/p

good advice, from everyone see your Vet. Let us know how ya make out !

Eve

While you're waiting to find and see a vet (hopefully not too long), try to raise the heat and humidity in your skinks enclosure. Ideally you'd like the temp to be in the top end of his range (around 86 degrees) and the humidity up around 60 F. This will boost his metabolism and make it easier to fight off an infection.

Good for you that you're taking your skink to a vet. Too many folks don't. Just remember that reptiles aren't like cats and dogs when they get sick. Mammals tend to show signs of illness pretty early on. Reptiles often don't show any signs until they're on their last leg. The sooner you can get him in, the better.

If you don't find any herp vets on the 3 websites that have been recommended you might try 2 things: 1) post over at the rec.pets.herp newsgroup. Someone there might live in your area and have a good recommendation. 2) Start calling vets in your area. You'd be surprised how many have herp experience and just don't advertise it.

I wish you luck!

-Z

Thanks for all the advice & good wishes. I was able to locate a vet nearby from the info you gave me and am about to bring Mo there now. We have been giving him sugar water every hour by syringe into his mouth and he seems a tiny bit better. He almost seemed to like it - kept sticking out his tongue for it - hope he doesn't get too used to this treatment!
Well, off to the vet and hopefully, recovery!

np

Sunken eyes are a definate sign of dehydration or severe mite infestation!!!!!!!!!!
Some MTS although against popular belief do not regulate their temp in captivity properly!! Your temperatures and humidity may be off or your MTS might on its own not be regulating its temp correctly for whatever reason.
Mites also can be a problem where an infestation is bad enough that it is just draining the MTS of fluids!!!!!
I am not a vet and am not diagnosing anything but have been in your situation with one or two of my guys and gals before.
My two just were not regulating on their own which I later found the cause to be a bad shed, I used a popular sport drink, which rehydrated them and reset their electrolytes. There is also a commercial product that can be used called HYDRo-life which is sold in a small bottle at most petshops or can be found online. A vet visit never hurts though!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck and let us know what happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Eveyone Is In A Hurry To Get Nowhere Quick, Fast!!!!!!!!!!!