Impaction!!!

[chamlover]

Another one of my veiled chams a female about 2 years old is in trouble and i can't get her to the vets today. She is VERY bloated. At first i thought she needed to lay but i've come to the conclusion she doesnt. She was fine a few days ago and then all of a sudden she started going to the bottom of her cage because of her swollen abdomen i thought she might have eggs so i prepared the egg-laying bin and left her in there for 2 days. In which time she just layed on the dirt doing nothing. When i tried to put her back in her cage last night i noticed she was having a tough time holding on. She did look a little dehydrated so i put her in the shower for a half hour. I found her on the floor of her cage this afternoon again. My vet is gone for 2 days and i can't get into another repitle vet today. I just went to force feed her some bug juice and pulpate her abdomen again and i noticed she doesn't seem to be moving her hind quarters at all!!! Now she has always been a fabulous eater and she is never given big crickets but i suppose she could have eaten too much or something. Anyway because of the back legs and her bloating i'm pretty sure she is impacted or at the very least constipated. Now i've heard you can use mineral oil to help things out but that it isn't necessarilly very good for them. I've given her another shower to help, but is there some kind of laxative kind of thing that i can give her to see if that helps?

 

[skully23]

You should post pictures and I would take her to vet asap anyway

 

[dodolah]

If you are sure that impaction is the case in here, you can try mineral oil or cod liver oil as laxative/ lubricant.
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/health-section-c-impaction.html

If she is impacted, I would not force feed her. This would worsen the situation. At least don't do it, until you can get her to the vet ASAP.

 

[sallyb]

Has she laid previously ? Pictures would definitely help the more experienced members to assist you. I am a novice myself so can`t help much. Do you know how long it is since she has "been" ? I can only suggest you get her to the vet asap as it sounds like she is suffering. Good luck i hope she is soon better.

 

[draetish]

When was the last time she layed? I thought with females you should 'always' have a laying bin. If she is bloated and impacted, the last thing I would do is try to feed her bug juice. Since she is having a hard time holding on, I would lower her basking area closer to the floor of the cage and up the basking temp and keep a laying bin close to her.

 

[Elizadolots]

You might try going back into the shower for a longer period of time, or even a very careful warm bath might relax her enough to let her poop.

 

[kinyonga]

I wouldn't use cod liver oil because of the amount of vitamin A in it....just my opinion.

Repeating draetish..."When was the last time she layed? I thought with females you should 'always' have a laying bin."

 

[chamlover]

Ok let me see if i remember everything. She hasn't laid for several months. She does have a laying bin in her cage but she doesn't use it. When she is ready to lay she continues to try to escape. She hasn't gained any weight either. I weighed her at 154 gr, slightly above normal for her. My other veiled who just laid a couple of weeks ago is 124 gr. I also showed her to my male to see if she would color up gravid and nothing. So i'm pretty sure that isn't the case.

Her light hasn't been lowered, i fixed a hammock for her to rest on after her shower.

I was going to force feed her until i noticed her back legs, then stopped. She does have some grip in her hind legs, but very weak compared to her front.

I already gave her a shower and she is warming up. I'll wait another hour and try the mineral oil and the bath. Vet can't see her until 10 am tomorrow. Thanks for the link.

 

[chamlover]

How much is recommended for a 154 gr chameleon? Mineral oil that is.