Mister Twister has a bit of the wobblies! HELP!

[DekuScrub]

We have a dripper running all the time. And he does drink a little from it. I also mist him 3 or 4 times a day, just light mistings to keep the humidity up but it does entice him to the dripper on the rare occasion. I also offer him water by dripping it on his nose 4 or 5 times throughout the day and he will drink that way sometimes. I also will inject a wax worm or dubia with some water instead of the Ca or Metacam.

But the brat still won't have anything to do with the water if it has the calcium supplement added to it.

When he does drink though, he only takes a few slurps and then does his heavy swallowing struggle/effort thing that he does. He has always done this when he eats or drinks, it just seems a little worse now that he has been sickly. I am trying to get it on video but whenever the camera is around, he is camera shy and won't do much of anything.

The day or two after seeing the vet are usually hunger/drinking strike days and today was no exception. The only thing I could get into him was a waxie with Ca and one with water. Hopefully, since the vet didn't do anything to him but hold him a little, I can get him back to eating and drinking tomorrow...

have you tried using a syringe (without needle) and squirting it all in his mouth at once? it takes a bit of coaxing but if you can get him to crack his mouth and slip the tip in then squirt all the contents in at once it probably going to be more effective that putting it through a mister or dripper. and then that way you know how much he has actually consumed.

you can try lightly misting his face if youre having trouble getting him to open his mouth. or even offering some food. ya gotta be ninja quick about getting it in there though.

 

[Elizadolots]

Be careful about that though, you don't want to shoot it past his mouth. They can easily aspirate water forced into their mouths.

Another thing you can try is getting a "bug blower" from a bait and tackle shop. They are used to inflate worms to make them more interesting to the fish, but you can use it to inject water into the worms.

I think hydration is a huge issue. Shakiness is a sign of dehydration. I would sacrifice calcium water in exchange for getting pure water into him and use other approaches to getting the calcium into him for a couple of days.

 

[HolyToledo]

I quit using the calcium additive in his drinking water (he won't drink it if it has the treatment in it).
I use a 25guage insulin needle/syringe for medicating and watering the bugs.
If I try forcing water into his mouth, he just blows it out his nostrils and then has a hard time breathing!
So, I follow your advice and drip the water on his nose. I spend more time chasing him around trying to get him to drink than anything else, but can't find any other options. So thanks for all the help. I do appreciate the support and suggestions.
I know we are difficult but I'm trying not to be!

 

[Elizadolots]

Here's a link to a "worm blower"...you can fill the bottle with pure water, inject your worms and so add a bit of extra hydration into the picture.

http://www.basspro.com/Lindy-Worm-Blower/product/58678/49001

 

[HolyToledo]

Hello, I'm unsure If I'm posting this in the right bit I'm
A little confused where I need to post my questions. My
Veiled is 8 months she is loving and always wants human
Attention anyway but for the last week she has stopped eating
Her behaviour is as usual and colouring has not changed. Im
A bit worried, she is drinking loads and as soon as I put my hand
In her cage she tries to come out, but all the time quite a bit more
Than usual. Does any1 have ideas why she has gone off her food?
Sorry If I posted this on the wrong part of the forum just looking
For help x

hi spammijo and welcome to the forum. You will get alot of help here.
You need to post a thread but start by finding the thread on the health clinic that is called how to ask for help. There is a bunch of questions about your cham that you will need to answer because that gives all the very helpful people on here a place to start trying to figure out what is going on with your baby. send me a private message if you need help figuring out how to do this. It was a bit confusing at first but way worth all the great advice and support you will get.

 

[HolyToledo]

Update with video

http://youtu.be/pDG9cQklBRE

Mister is getting stronger all the time. His appetite is not back to normal yet but that is still okay since he won't be gaining too much weight and putting more strain on his healing legs. He weighs about 100g.

Do you think that his growth will be stunted by all of this? I don't care if he will be little. I am just glad that he is still with us.

He drinks quite a bit but his urates are still dark yellow but slowly lightening up and getting a bit more white in it as time passes.

I would appreciate any input if anyone sees anything in the video that I should pay attention to. His color is kind of dark because he hates the camera. But I really worry about the lumpiness of his legs and wonder if there is anything that I can do to make him better.

 

[Elizadolots]

Oh, he's looking much better! That's so great. He didn't grab his own legs once, even when he had to feel for a place to grab. Keep doing what you're doing. I suspect his legs will always look like that. They continue to grow so he might ultimately be "normal" size, but even if he isn't that's okay, right?

 

[HolyToledo]

I don't care what size he is. I thought he was big and beautiful at 6 months when the vet told me he was small for his age! LOL

I'm just thrilled that he is standing and walking instead of slithering and dragging himself around!

Most of all though, I'm just glad he hasn't lost the will to live. I love him even if he does have lumpy legs.

 

[Elizadolots]

I think it looks like he's wearing army boots....not a bad look at all. He's a trouper after all!

 

[jannb]

That's great news! It's nice to see Mister up and walking a bit on his own. I hope he continues to improve for you.

 

[HolyToledo]

Thanks all for checking in on us.

We've had a little set-back now though. We lost power the other night and when I woke up at 3am, Mister was pretty chilly. So, the only way I had to keep him warm was by cuddling him against my neck for the rest of the night! He got more sleep than I did but between the cold and the restless night, he has been napping a bit in the afternoon again for the last couple of days.

Better today though, a bit more active again

 

[HolyToledo]

Progress is slow but sure

The best news is that his urates are slowly getting a little whiter and what isn't white is lightening also. We have almost no dark orange in the urates anymore!!! Yeah!

I am officially changing his name to Trooper Twister on his birthday next month. After all he has survived, I think he deserves the promotion.

Still no full shed.
Some of the swelling is going down in his legs. And he stands to walk all the time now.
Appetite still improving but once in awhile, I still have to force the med-bug. He knows when they are medicated and when they aren't -- the brat!
He still has the funny spot on his lip. It has gotten no worse but I still put Polysporin on it every few days at least. But I am still afraid to take him to the vet and have it re-checked yet.

Thanks for tuning in for his update! And for all your thoughts and support. We are not out of the woods yet, but at least there is sunshine coming through the trees now.

 

[HolyToledo]

Recovery is progressing nicely!

He has made it to his hatchday! So, not only does he get kudos for surviving, he is getting his name changed today. Sort of a promotion. No longer just a Mr., now he is Trooper Twister!

 

[Elizadolots]

Doesn't he look so much better! Trooper it is!

 

[K9Luvn]

Trooper is the perfect name for him!!

 

[HolyToledo]

Please check out our thread in the photo section!

I put together a storybook with photos and started a new thread in the photography section. A way shorter version of what the little man has been through and good pics of his problem areas... And posted that it's his hatchday and thanks for everything and all the help we've gotten in the general discussion section.

Hope you will take a look and let me know what you think of the short story.

Thanks again all for the help and support!

Chameleon Forums Rocks!

 

[HolyToledo]

MAJOR setback!!

Day before yesterday: he was favoring his left rear a little. I just figured he had overdone it a bit enjoying the sunshine.

Yesterday a.m.: seemed weaker and was leaning to the left quite a bit. Grip strong in all four but didn't want to use left rear.

Got home from work and he was climbing back up to his perch moving very slow and shaky. Offered food and was ravenous. Made me think he hadn't moved enough to get to the food bowl so why was he moving back up???

While picking him up to see what was up with him HE SCREAMED!!!

Put him down and isn't using back legs at all. Barely curls his tail. I dosed him with Metacam-waxie and when I offered to put him back in his viv, he tried to bite me!!

All that we have been through before this, I know it is really not a good thing for him to be trying to bite.

Soonest we can get in to the doc is tomorrow... Comfort measures until then...

Here we go again? Is he gonna want to survive this one?

I am heartbroken.

 

[jannb]

Jackie, I am so very sorry to hear this. I will keep you and Twister in my prayers.

 

[Elizadolots]

Oh, I'm so sorry. I wonder if he injured himself in some way.....

 

[HolyToledo]

Broken back!

Compression fracture of two vertebra in his back.
Is using his tail some and both feet are responsive but not using them.
So, there is hope still. Wait and see if he wants to live through this all over again.
So far he is alert and eating and drinking on his own when offered but cannot move well enough to get around much at all.
Doc said he would question survivability in any other cham but doesn't think it would be fair to this little Trooper to make that decision and euthanize him at this time. Right now, he is living up to his new name and wants to live...

So, we're gonna take it one day at a time and see how things go.

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, we need all the help we can get.