Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Erwen is Mighty Dark in color lately, and she has been hiding in the bottom of the flowerpots that hold her live plants lately, except at night, when she climbs the plants.
She only ate 2 red wrigglers yesterday, and she has not shed in the past 2 weeks that I have had her.
When I took her to the vet (over a week ago) he said she was going into shed, because one of her claw/paw/feet was whiteish in color.
He treated her for internal parasites, and 2 days later she had a SLIMY MESSY stool, and I have only seen one since, and that one was the one I posted about earlier.
Could she be stuck in early shed? How long does it take to go through shed for a HMD?
I do not want her to be ill. I M going to get some more night crawlers today, then she will not have to eat so many to be full.
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Elizabeth (ecb)

'Good Judgment Comes From Experience
but Experience Comes From Bad Judgment'

Hmmmm........ That isn't the normal behavior of my MHDs when they are pre shed. They may go off their feed and may get darker, but they don't usually hide on the bottom even durring the day.

You said the Vet treated her for internal parasites. Was this a one time treatment or did he give you drops to administer at weekly intervals? Usually with Pancur and/or Flagel(sp) you would give a treatment once a week for 4 weeks.

Can you find out what he gave her and I'll get back to you.

Marcia

Yes those were the 2 drugs given to her
I was told to bring her back in a month for another dose
they said her apetite would increase after being treated, and it did, but now she is grumpy and irritable, and dark
she is not going in the water any more either
she is breathing ok, but she looks so limp when she drapes herself in the plants, and she looks very uncomfortable in the flower pots (have U ever seen a kid LOUNGE in an oversized chair, they LOOK uncomfortable, twisted and contorted, but they like it)
I M leaving her alone, and feeding her in the cage, not bringing her out anymore
I HOPE she is ok
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Elizabeth (ecb)

'Good Judgment Comes From Experience
but Experience Comes From Bad Judgment'

I'll be crossing my fingers for you. These guys can put the scare in you, sometimes without cause. I think they like to see us freak! Do keep an eye on her and if she looks worse I recommend you call your vet and see what he thinks. If she is still eating I wouldn't be expecting her to be in too much danger.

Marcia

U know, she did just that, I got her out last night to feed her, because she had not eaten all day.
I put her on my lap, on a tee shirt, with 5 or 6 Red Wrigglers, and a little Repti-vite (to make them move more)
She ate all of them, then 4 more, then she tried to run away, so I put her in the tank, actually IN the water, and she went over and did that rubbing her body on the water pump thing again.
After that she went up in the plants pot, and then she climbed down and acted as if she were stuck/pinned down
so (being a dutiful mother) I made sure she wzas not hurt, and moved her up onto the plant, and moved them around so she could not get 'caught' again next to the water tray, and she jumped down on the bottom of the tank, the floor per se, and began thrashing around again. Sliding her feet on the glass, rubbing her face on the glass, bobbing her head up and down.
At that point I figured she was ok, and just let her go at it, and eventually she stopped, and climbed up in her plants, and did a hammock imitation (I hope U know what I mean) and slept, complete with her eyes closed, and deep, slow breathing.

But anyway, when I had taken her out of the tank, she TURNED green, right in front of my eyes, like a camelion. Did my heart proud.
Maybe I should take off the night time light (the vet said she needed one, he also said that she could not be sexed untill she grew some Pores in her legs?)
and maybe keep the lgiht off in my room at night (I sleep with it on)
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Elizabeth (ecb)

'Good Judgment Comes From Experience
but Experience Comes From Bad Judgment'

How warm are you keeping her? The vet doesn't know about MHDs. Females do not develope pores, neither do males. It's all about the buldge at the tail base. If he suggested that he may also have suggested that you keep her too warm. They don't like it above 77-80 really and will often show stressed colors. Lower in the tank it will be cooler than higher up if you are using heat lights. Check your temps to be sure they are acceptable and if it doesn't get too chilly at your home get rid of the night heat.
I hope this helps.
Cheyanne

That is what I thought (and that he does not know what he is talking about, he refered me to a Horned dragon experts book, because he had broken them down into individual species)
I have gotten some rocks for the water dish/pan, so she has something to scrape against (she might be humping the pump because she itches)
I bought some fist sized pond stones, and am having the kids scrub them with water, and picking out the ones with the most texture, and lining the side of the paint tray with them, for 2 reasons.
1) to give her something to rub against
2) to cut down on the splashing out of the "pond" from the fountain pump humidifying the air (which is at about 75-80% now)

She is eating again, she likes coming out on the towels to eat, and takes the worms more quickly that way.
She is Positively FELINE when she has eaten enough, she closes her eyes and slightly everts (turns away) her head. Once she is sure we KNOW she does not want anymore, she will start to explore the great open (out of tank) world she is in.
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Elizabeth (ecb)

'Good Judgment Comes From Experience
but Experience Comes From Bad Judgment'

It sounds like she is okay then. Maybe it is just a matter of getting more used to her new surroundings.
The rocks are a good plan, I have a number of large somewhat rough stones in the water dishes too. I find that they really use them when they are bubbling in the pool. Especially this little female I got form Marcia, she will rub for a long time and then just hang out on her favorite stone.

It's funny, when they are done eating they are definately done! Most of mine just shut their eyes when they are offered food after they are full.

If you have been to Marcia's site you have the information you need to take good care of your little girl. This forum is also a great place to come if you have a problem, as you have probably found. I have to say this is the gathering place for the foremost minds in MHDs! Many vets tend to not continue their learning once they become certified and major changes can take place in minutes in herpetoculture. Hands on experience is always the best. Use your vet for diagnosis and meds but don't really listen to him otherwise Or bounce what he says off a forum member or two first. Either through a post or email.
Good luck and great job!

Cheyanne

Spitfire Reptiles

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