How to clear impaction

[moviemanmania]

I fed Rocko a wc locus from the yard and he can't seem to pass it. He's been trying for three days now to pass it. I've fed him baby food pears when I first noticed this. I've also tried to lubricate his anus with a qtip dipped in ky. He's still trying but to no success. Has anyone had any success clearing something like this?

 

[Hoj]

Try some mieral oil, take a feeder dip its head into some minerl oil and feed it off. Maybe a silkworm would be a good choice. they always seem to inspire some good poops.

 

[AngieL]

You need to give him plenty of LONG warm mistings. You could also try the shower chamber treatment- place your chameleon on a plant in the shower, aim shower at the wall and let the spray bounce off the wall onto your Cham

Don't let it go in too long as it could be fatal.

 

[jannb]

Hi Jon, I haven't gotten around to returning your phone call yet but
Dr. Alfonso always recommends to me plenty of water. Like a 30 minute shower where they are forced to drink and no food just long showers for a couple of days. If that doesn't work when Elly had the prolapse she was given Lactulose.

 

[moviemanmania]

Rocko is at the vet right now getting an enema to clear the Impaction. If this doesn't work the vet's prognosis on surgery is not good.

 

[AngieL]

Good luck buddy! Hope your little guy gets on ok

 

[KirbyTheCham]

Rocko is at the vet right now getting an enema to clear the Impaction. If this doesn't work the vet's prognosis on surgery is not good.

Wow this sounds serious, please keep us updated. Was the locust he ate larger than his typical meal items? What caused this?

 

[jannb]

Hi Jon, Just checking in to see how Rocko's doing?

 

[SunnyBaby]

Ok so I know there is a bigger issue going on here but I have to know... what is "baby food. Pears"? Is it litteraly baby food pear flavor or something else? I'v read that someone else gave their cham this and want to know what it is and for what its for. I never know if I'll need it and good to learn something new

 

[HolyToledo]

Yup, pear baby food or just mashed pears. Worked wonders for Twister. He had other health issues and sometimes wouldn't poop for days. I keep a jar in the freezer and when it was needed, I fed him a bug sized daub once a day for a couple of days and that was all it took.

Other suggestions I was given were slices of grapes, showers or a drop of vegetable oil. Never tried them, the pears worked for us.

NOT MINERAL OIL. Was told that if they accidently get any in their respiratory tract, it will not break down or be absorbed or whatever and may build up in their lungs over time. (I'm sure Dr. O can explain this better than I can but that is the jist of what he told me.)

Hope that the enema works and Rocko gets some relief soon. Will keep my fingers crossed for you both that surgery isn't necessary.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

NOT MINERAL OIL. Was told that if they accidently get any in their respiratory tract, it will not break down or be absorbed or whatever and may build up in their lungs over time.

When a substance is aspirated into the lungs it is slowly broken down over time by macrophages (a cell of your immune system). It takes a very long time for this because the cells take particles away microscopic piece at a time since they can only reach the particles on the edges, unlike if it was surrounded by blood where macrophages can have unlimited access to all parts. Macrophages basically digest the particles with enzymes to break them down. Well macrophages cannot digest oil. So there is nothing to ever take the mineral oil out of the lungs because the body can't break it down or absorb it. So it dangerous to give because oil in the lungs is permanent and can kill.

 

[xanthoman]

too much food can cause impaction, as well as too much calcium. a healthy cham can go weeks without eating so, imo, i would recommend

1. discontinuing all calcium until the problem is resolved. excess cholecalciferol/d3 acummulates in the liver, and hangs there for weeks, so imo delivering d3 for the next couple of weeks not an issue

2. unnecessary additional food is likely to make the problem worse, so imo i would as recommend discontinuing any food that is not deemed necessary for delivery of some laxative agent. and even then minimally at best. the less food it gets, the sooner it is likely to clear on its own

3. if its still eating, i have had good success with a daily feeding of a single small crick gutloaded on dried prunes.

4. imo, its not normal for healthy chams to get impacted. chams usually get impacted because of some pending metabolic imbalance or other care issues. of course for now, job one is to deal with the existing problem, but imo, understanding its cause could be helpful in that. imo, i would consider it a warning flag of other likely pending issues, filling out the help form is recommended, both for a better understanding of the current issue, and for help in prevention of its re-occurrence

5. imo, plenty of time to work the problem, so imo, best taken slow, the most important thing is not to generate any compounding issues before it is resolved. imo, for the time being, i would consider hydration the most important issue. jmo

 

[Psychobunny]

My vet once told me to give my cham warm soaking baths and let them sit in it for 30 minutes twice a day.
You can also gently massage his/her tummy with your finger.

Doing this helped to get my cham's train running

 

[SunnyBaby]

Yup, pear baby food or just mashed pears. Worked wonders for Twister. He had other health issues and sometimes wouldn't poop for days. I keep a jar in the freezer and when it was needed, I fed him a bug sized daub once a day for a couple of days and that was all it took.

Other suggestions I was given were slices of grapes, showers or a drop of vegetable oil. Never tried them, the pears worked for us.

NOT MINERAL OIL. Was told that if they accidently get any in their respiratory tract, it will not break down or be absorbed or whatever and may build up in their lungs over time. (I'm sure Dr. O can explain this better than I can but that is the jist of what he told me.)

Hope that the enema works and Rocko gets some relief soon. Will keep my fingers crossed for you both that surgery isn't necessary.

Intresting! So do you first feed it to the feeders ANNND THEEEN the chammies eat it? or is there some method to this? Sorry I keep questioning this... Just want to be safe...