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The blood results came in. He said that she only had two elevated levels, one that is usually because the reptiles aren't eating (which she isn't), and another that's a sign of liver problems. He said it wasn't enough to call it liver disease yet, but when I described how she's been acting the past week (just basking all day, not eating at all), he basically said that there's only really one option that could possibly help. He said that it might be bacause of the pinworms (if it's a really bad infection or something), and that we might be able to bring her out of it by keeping her there a couple of days so they can inject fluids (basically I.V.'s) and stuff. I don't know what to do because I don't want to keep watching her waste away here, but I think it would only cause more problems putting her in a new environment (stress). Plus, I have all of $3 left now after her last vet visit, and they said it would be $15 a day that she stayed there. I guess maybe I'll ask if there's anything we can do that wouldn't require her being there. I think I'm going to try to clear time in my schedule to take her in for another blood test...I think saturday would be the earliest. With another test I think we'd probably be able to compare to last week's and determine what exactly is going on.

But she has the signs of liver disease, so I'm afraid to say I think she might be coming onto the end of her life. She's getting thinner. It's so sad though because whenever I take her out of the tank it's like she's back to her normal joyful self, running around and exploring...but she still won't eat then either. I've checked the cage over and the temps and everything and I can't find anything wrong with that.

How long can a uro go without food if it is just the parasites?

Sorry to hear about this news.
I would get her some silk marian thistle.
This is an herb know to help regenerate the liver. Also
Dandelion is a good blood purifier.
Have heard that they use Silk marian for iquana's.
Doseage would be a guess since no studies have
been made.
Never used it for Uro's
But have for Dogs and humans.
It is a plant
so I would guess it would be OK for Uro's.

If she was mine I would try it. You are at the stage
where it is trial and error.

Just a suggestion.
Good luck,

Radena

I would but I can't get her to eat anything right now. She looks at food, licks it, and then walks away. She threw up last time she ate, and now she hasn't eaten in a while. I'm not sure what to do to get her to eat again. Maybe if I force fed something and also force fed her gatorade? (for electrolytes as well as hydration). She's still got a good strong jaw though so that's sort of tough.

Thanks for the suggestion. If anyone else has any let me know.

>>I would but I can't get her to eat anything right now. She looks at food, licks it, and then walks away. She threw up last time she ate, and now she hasn't eaten in a while. I'm not sure what to do to get her to eat again. Maybe if I force fed something and also force fed her gatorade? (for electrolytes as well as hydration). She's still got a good strong jaw though so that's sort of tough.
>>
>>Thanks for the suggestion. If anyone else has any let me know.

I'm sorry to hear about Sam, Ryan.

People on my bearded dragon forum use a mixture of pedialyte and gerber baby food to help their dragons get better.

It can also be used on uromastyx. Mix in some Gerber Peas (make sure there's no added salt to it and also make sure the salt content is low to begin with) and pedialyte and try to get her to lick it, if she licks it she may open her mouth again and then you can get some more in there. I went out and got some baby spoons that have this rubber silicon on the end(it's what we'd use for a teething baby, that way if they accidentally bite down they get a mouth full of softness instead of biting the metal end of the spoon) they're about $3 for a package of 6.

Hopefully Sam pulls through this whole ordeal. Also ask your vet if you can work out a payment plan. Just tell them that you are sort of low on cash right now and that you want Sam to get the best treatment and just plead with them to let you pay when you get money.

Good Luck.
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2 Mali Uromastyx-Ares & Apollo
2 Bearded Dragons- Draco & Hades
1 Saharan Uromastyx-Iris
1 Leopard Gecko-Kalypso
1 Tokay Gecko-Sid Vicious
1 Tarantula-Peter Parker
1 Amazon Red Head Parrot-Pancho
1 African Gray Parrot-Keya
1 Dog-Cheeka
3 Fish-no names
1 Beta Fish-also no name
1 Zebra Finch-Beeps

If she has to go to the vet for treatment and you think it will stress her out to keep her there then try to just take her for treatment and then take her home. It is a pain but it can work.
Good luck and I'm hoping everything works out for you both.
debs
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The addiction can be dangerous. 1 Uro named Buddy aka Big Boy & 1 Ig named Tiny

I figured it would be worth a shot to try one of these on Sam to see if that would help her start eating again. Which should I go with, where do I get it, and how much of it do I give her? Also, I'm thinking about trying a mixture of pedialite and gerber baby food peas (as was mentioned) to try to sort of jump start her. Would this be a good idea?

Please let me know...we want to try to get stuff tomorrow if possible.

I'm really hoping this isn't all happening because of liver problems. The vet said her levels were only a little high which didn't indicate a clear problem with that right now, so that gives me a little hope.

I just want to try everything I can to get her healthy again.

On line try these.
www.reptilesupply.com and www.reptiledirect.com

Acidophilus would be first choice. Then Nutribac, then
Benebac.
Locally ask your vet. Or try Pet smart. I found Benebac
at pet smart in the dog section.

If you are going to force feed anyhow. Go to your local
health food store and pick up some Silk marian thistle and
add little of that to the mixture.

Here is the rest of the post I posted earlier on probiotics:

Probotics are benefical bacteria. Many animals, have naturally occuring bacteria in their gut tract
that help to digest food. Without this bacteria we, and they, would get very ill because our food wouldn't digest properly. When antibiotics are administered they kill both good and bad bacteria.
Stress can also be a factor in gut health.

For regular use,the instructions on the product should be fine to follow. Acidopoliz , Nutribac, or Benebac is recommended. Dairy products,such as yogurt, are NOT good for reptiles.

Probotics are live bacteria that are taken in to replace or boost the naturally occuring bacteria. It is the same thing as when you eat a cup of yogurt from the fridge. Human doctors, though not as often as they should, often reccomend eating a bit of yogurt or taking a pill to help replace this gut bacteria when humans are on medications.
Some humans actually keep up with probotic therapy regularly as it really can help a lot with digestive health.

Hope this helps, Radena
Note: I got this information from Theldara

You have no idea how severe this is, or if it is this at all, yet. Just hang in there, keep trying.

Take her food and put it in a blender, do whatever you must for now. See how things go.
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Eve / PHEve

I got some gerber natural pureed peas and mixed it with some unflavored pedyalite and use a syringe to try to get her to eat some of it. She lapped up very small amounts for a little bit, and then I pushed under her upper lip on the side of her mouth and was able to get some more in her that way. A lot of it just went on to the towel she was on though because she didn't want to swallow apparently. I'm going to try again once or twice more tonight, and then tomorrow night I'm going to try a few more times.

I talked to the vet again. He said the bloodwork showed there was something wrong with the liver, but we can't be sure yet if it's primary or secondary. If it's primary that means it's what's causing all of the problems, and it can't be fixed. In that case all I'd be able to do is keep her comfortable and give her supportive care (syringe feeding, etc.). He also said it could be a secondary thing, which would be much much better, because she could recover. That would basically be if the parasites are causing it because they got to too high of an infection level. Also, I read that often when reptiles don't eat for a while due to sickness (she stopped eating before christmas, then started again for a couple of days, then stopped again) they can't go right back to regular food because their digestive system isn't working right. Once you get them on a liquid food for a while so they can build back their strength, the digestive system is able to utilize solid foods again. This would explain why, last time she did eat, she threw up the day after.

Also, would it be a good idea to offer night time heat since she's sick?

>>Plus, I have all of $3 left now after her last vet visit, and they said it would be $15 a day that she stayed there. I guess maybe I'll ask if there's anything we can do that wouldn't require her being there.
>>

Drop me a line at lotusracer_@hotmail.com if your animal needs hospitalization and you're short on cash. I may be able to help some.
-Scott