Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My male PTS has been coughing repeatedly since last night. He usually
takes a few deeper breaths then coughs as if he's trying to expel something
(can they regurgitate?). It started when he was eating a mixture of whole
pod edamame, collard greens and a some mixed frozen veggies. Everything was
combined in a blender with some water. Anyways, the whole pod edamame is
somewhat stringy. I think he may have a "string" of edamame (kind of like a
celery string) stuck in his throat. I've tried forcing feeding
water to clear the problem, but have been unsuccessful. Has anyone
encountered this problem? Any suggestions? He ate a few
collard green leaves tonight, but that didn't seem to solve the problem.
I don't believe it's a respiratory problem since we've had him for 2 years w/ no resp. problems, there's no mucus around the mouth, no runny nose, no wheezing, and the problem began while he was eating.H e's going to the vet first thing tomorrow morning, but I wanted to see if anyone else had encountered this problem.

Thanks,
Fritz

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Fritz,

Yes, PTS can cough and regurgitate food. Sometimes when I place a favorite plant in a cage, the colony goes into a feeding frenzy and some of them eat too fast and don't chew the leaves well enough. Then they cough and cough, and the next morning I find regurgitated, leaves.

I would not recommend forcefeeding water.

Good luck.

Susan

What kind of plant to you feed your PTS? I am planing on getting a BTS and I hear they are not fond of their vegges. Unless PTS like their greens more than BTS...I would like to know what plant they like so much.

PTS (Prehensile-Tailed Skinks) have a much different diet (strictly herbavours) than BTS. I wouldn't base your BTS's diet on what people feed their PTS. There are plenty of sources out there that can advise you on a BTS diet, and many people on this forum that have much more experience with BTS than I do so I'd ask them about BTS preferences. Good luck.

Fritz

I thought you guys were talking about pink tounged skinks, as opposed to blue tounged skinks. My mistake.

Fritz,

How is your PTS? Did you go to the vet?

Susan

Susan-

Thanks for asking. Tripp (my male PTS) went to the vet Saturday morning. The diagnosis was a high protozoa count and he thought the coughing was some excess mucus/phlegm that he was trying to rid himself of. We're treating with metro-nidazole (sp?). So far I've noticed he's coughing quite a bit less, but he's not quite as active or aggressive as normal. Hopefully he'll perk back up in the next few days.

Best,
Fritz