Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was gone for a few days got back and went to feed Blackie. He had a hard time eating. I feed frozen and it's usually down in a few seconds, it took him minutes. As I watched him more closely he wasn't lifting his head up and not using his front legs. He could move them, but preferred to scoot on his neck with front legs sprawled out. Off to the vet we went. The Xrays looked good and from what the vet could tell blood work was ok, we compaired it to a skinks value and an iguanas. He's starting to walk on his legs now. But he doesn't seem right. To me it seems neurological. He's jerky and when he turns around he horseshoes and steps on his tail and back legs. He wouldn't eat tonight, i had vit B on his mouse and it smells strong. I tried eggs and he took two small bites. That's not like him. You know monitors they would eat until they exploded. We may be off to the University of Madison to see the vets there. Any info would be very appreciated.

Hello,

It sounds like a neurological/tremor-like condition that I have seen in varanids exposed to toxins; I don't know what it is exactly, a parovirus maybe or some kind of toxic shock syndrome?? I am NOT a vet or profess to know but I have seen a lot of varanids, and 5 of these had this malady your animal may now be displaying? The animals I saw all died soon after this condition ensued...

Look for head-tremors when feeding, inability to walk correctly, lack of tongue mobility, wide-open eyes, and happens to both juvenile and full adult Varanus alike...it reminds me of parkinsons disease in later stages but its onset is swift in varanids.

Good Luck, but prepare for worst scenario, OK?
mbayless

as you might know i had a male pilbara with a neurological condition. all of the husbandry was there, even the smaller female is still doing more than well to this day.

i sent him off to scott stahl in virginia and he and joe lewis were shocked at my accusations of him acting "funny" (not being able to climb well, mouth open constantly, swaying side to side, etc). they said he was doing perfectly. scott set him up on friday night and by monday morning when he walked in he was deader than a door knob. hmmm.

funny that he could go from being very ill looking one second to perfectly normal the next and then die.

this also happened when i took him to an emergency vet at after a 2 o'clock bathroom run. he was perfectly healthy the day before then all of a sudden wasn't, i freaked out, took him in and he acted perfect for the vet. the next day he showed symptoms again, hmmm.

have you seen this kind of stuff first hand?

andrew

That sounds a lot like what happened to Smaug, the savannah I attempeted to rescue. He was eating acting normal then started acting wierd. Took him to the vet, he hissed and tailwhipped at the vet. Brought him home and buried him the next day.

Scott
-----
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Yes, I have seen both things happen to monitors - the first is sometimes called 'star-gazing' and the second, look fine but drop dead scenario = could it signs of exhibiting stress and then die of it?? It is bizarre never-the-less, and a sad thing to see...

mbayless

I have talked about various neauro problems with monitors in the past. There are many different causes from parasitic, viral, to toxins.

All of these can attack the brain and cause these symptoms. One of which acts much like menangitis.

If you cannot find the old posts let me know.

I found a few things on the boards, like the BT that had some of the same symptoms as mine. Is there anybody you know of that found a cause. Any necropsy reprots? His WBC count is a little high, 14,200. They took another blood sample and are looking for specific bacteria in the WBCs. Started him on ceftazidime today. One possiblity could be a CNS mass lesion. We have our claws crossed.

I have more if you need them.

neurological symptoms

Thanks, I want all the info I can get. I'm going to pass it along to the vet. It seems like we don't really have a chance at beating this thing. But you never know miracles happen. I'm hoping I can find something that will set off a light bulb, or give us more ideas on what to do. His second set of blood work should be back today and they are doing a smear. I'll post when I get the results.

There is hope I have seen a few start to recover and go on with life. With two of the ones I had we found bacteria in the cerebral spinal fluid.

Were the ones that had bacteria in the CSF on antibiotics? If so what kind. Blackie isn't eating or drinking. I'm going to take him in for fluids tomorrow. He is 6.1 lbs. If I force feed something like SD A/D how much would you recommend?