Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just recently got back from the vet. Isis looks very good except for a rather large, irregular lump in her abdomen. The vet told me it could be either fecal matter or possibly a tumor. He said he thought it felt more like fecal matter though. We both decided to try conventional means for dealing with impactions (ie. hot soaks, massages, etc.) before considering anything more invasive. I gave Isis a nice hot bath today and dried her off with a blow-dryer. She took it pretty well, so I guess I just needed to show her who was the boss around here

On a happier note, I showed Isis to Ra today (from the other side of the glass of his tank of course). She didn't really care either way, but Ra approached her and tried to lick at her through the glass (he only licks things when he finds something interesting). He seems to have taken an interest in her. I hope this predicts good things in the future

Any suggestions about dealing with impactions are very welcome. Thank you everyone.

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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra and Isis)

I've changed her substrate to newspaper but I'm keeping the moist nestbox/den in there to help with her shedding and give her a place to dig. I'm going to mix some prunes in with some Pedialyte and feed that to her while also offering her the standard staple of dandelion greens. She will be getting daily soaks and tummy massages.
Is there anything else I can do or have I pretty much covered everything for now?

Thanks
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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra and Isis)

im pretty sure you have it all covered. im sorry to here shes not feeling well i hope she gets well soon.
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brandy

Hopefully it is an impaction and not a tumor. It most likely is though, so just keep helping her out. Has she been pooping regularly prior to now? Have your temps been really up there (like 135-140)? Just make sure you keep her temps hot, because heat will help her pass it. Bathes are also very good help in a situation like this. If (well, when) she passes it, let us know what was in it, like if it was sand or what. Sand impactions are rare in uromastyx, because they are built a little tougher than other reptiles that are more prone to it, but impactions do happen. I had a long conversation with my vet on the subject, and he says it's amazing how often peoples' bearded dragons and leopard geckos get impacted. Bearded dragons generally get it from eating food off the ground (which is why when I do use sand I put paper towels under and around the food dish, and I don't feed my beardie crix in his cage anyways). What he said was really amazing is impactions in leopard geckos. i've since done some research and found that leos dwell in rock crevaces in the wild, and there for don't come into contact with sand too often, so it makes more sense to me that sand could cause problems for them. But anyways, he says he gets it all the time. People put their leos on sand and they seem to just fill right up. He doesn't use sand with his reptiles anymore (I think he mainly keeps bearded dragons), and I guess that's understandable, since the guy has to deal with reptiles dying or coming close to death from sand impactions on an almost regular basis. He tries to tell people the risks involved with certain species on sand, and that you shouldn't feed live food on sand, but I guess people get the message a little too late.

Good luck with Isis. i know she'll do well.

Ryan

Please try to be more specific in your posts:

“Have your temps been really up there (like 135-140)? Just make sure you keep her temps hot, because heat will help her pass it.”

Someone could very well read this statement and believe that you are referring to the overall temperature of the enclosure. A steady 135-140F enclosure temperature would be lethal to a uromastyx . I believe that you intended to say that a basking temperature of 135-140 with a proper gradient temperature for thermoregulation might be helpful in helping your uromastyx pass the possible impaction.

Isis actually has 2 basking spots; one under the infrared heat light (140F) and one under the MVB (110F) and the cool end of her enclosure is about 90F. She spends a good amount of time in each spot which means that she is thermoregulating. I wish I could do more for her.
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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra and Isis)

Its terrible that your uro is sick. When I got my new Saharans I was worried about them getting sand impaction, so I changed their bedding from Sand to Bird seed. The male is doing real good on the bird seed. But the female died a week ago yesterday *friday* because she was sick when I got her.

I hope all goes well and I hope she gets better and passes what ever is clogging her up.

Good catch. The regulars on here knew what I meant, but sometimes I forget that there are (most likely) other people reading that don't know temperature gradients, so I'll have to remember to specifically say basking spot temp. Thanks for the catch.

i find impactions are caused by two main problems, lack of sufficient temps, and poor hydration.

your temps sound decent, but how are you taking your temps? be sure to use a good quality, accurate thermometer, not one of the analog dials or color changing stickers (blech!)

hydration is the other common factor. too much dry, coarse, gritty substrate gets eaten with food, and crampola, it gets impacted by an overly dry digestive tract. soaking the animal once or twice a day MAY help, but once it is bound up, it may be too late.

we use soil with a LOT of lizards, for years and years now, and i have never had a single impaction problem. they have humid burrows to retreat to, and moderately humid air to breathe. that keeps everybody plump, hydrated, and healthy.

impactions in the old days with leopard geckos and sand? sure, typically with babies and smaller juvies. but that was on a bone dry setup as well. i wouldn't do that again, it just seems dumb, from everything we have learned from keeping lizards over the last few years.

best of luck to your animal.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Thanks Robyn.
I'm taking temps with a digital thermometer and a temp gun. I'm attempting to keep her hydrated with a moist nestbox (which she uses frequently), hot baths, and a mix of Pedialyte and prunes. She is basking very often so I take that as a good sign. I will do whatever it takes to get her healthy again, even if that means surgery (as a last resort of course). She's got too many good genes to pass along to a future generation for me to lose her now. Plus, I think Ra really liked "the girl next door"
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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra and Isis)