Penelope

metteycolin

New Member
So I took Penelope to the vet today and had a check up since she has not been eaten,and acting lethargic (thought she was eggbound). Had her x-rays done and found what the vet thinks is constipation. Her is her x-ray what do you guys think?
 

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If it is constipation-i would try a powdered sugar bath (this is what I did with my male) it was 3 tbsp to about 3 cups of water blend well with warm water. set your cham in the water (make sure the water doesnt come over her nose) and make sure her bum is under water. the warm water and sugar should losen her up. (my cham didnt have a bowel movement in about 4 days and it only took about 2 minutes for it to happen this way) use a old tupperware container that will hold her and not a kitchen sink (poo is unhealthy in a sink) I hope this helps!

By the way, im certainly not an expert, but I lost my female cham to eggbound and those round things in her belly look like eggs to me. As a sugar water bath seems to be a very easy fix if it IS constipation-try that... i would recommend getting another xray after her bowel movement (with prove for the dr that yes she went and she isnt backed up any more) and see if those round objects are still there. (This is all IMHO!)
 
the OP asked me to take a look-

there is no doubt that she has a tremendous amount of material in her caudal stomach and intestines; they can be seen in the looping patterns of solid/liquid material and gas in her abdomen. it is an excellent radiograph, really top notch. as the lungs appear perfectly expanded i don’t see any evidence of free coelomic fluid.

however, i’m concerned about the area in her vertebra that i’ve put the arrows on. being an excellent rad, there appears to be some true loss of mineralization right in that lumbosacral junction. and if there is an infection or growth there that is causing that, it can also cause nerve dysunction. and that’s precisely where the nerves come off the spinal cord that innervate much of the lower GI tract.

your vet should have taken (maybe they did) a ventrodorsal view along with this lateral which would give much more information when the 2 views are put together (technically you can’t even make a call without the 2 views). and if another view repeatedly shows that loss of mineraliztion there, she may be constipated but it’s due to a more serious underlying condition.

can you forward this post/jpeg to your vet and see what they say upon review?

dr. o—
 

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most common answer would be a bacterial infection that got into his bones, though many other causes exist. and the treatment there would typically be a long course of the proper antibiotic (correct spectrum, and able to penetrate bones well). until that 2nd x-ray was taken to confirm that there is a de-mineralized area i would not panic, but it should be investigated.
 
Right now The vet has her on laculose (aka enulose) to losen up her intestines and cause a bm. I was also thinking that I should get some repta_ boost, is this a good idea? She will not eat so I'm hoping Wth this I can provide her with some calcium
 
Right now The vet has her on laculose (aka enulose) to losen up her intestines and cause a bm. I was also thinking that I should get some repta_ boost, is this a good idea? She will not eat so I'm hoping Wth this I can provide her with some calcium

the only issue i have with ReptaBoost is that it has a lot of phosphorous, and i’m not quite sure why. it doesn’t seem necessary and somewhat defeats the idea of a proper calcium/phosphorous ratio.
 
So should Not use it as a supplement? like i said she has not eaten in about 3 weeks and i want to give her something. Should i just give her liquid calcium instead?
 
there’s no correct answer i can give you based on what info we have, particularly without bloodwork.

i keep it natural, and force-feed freshly molted roaches that may be dusted or injected if necessary. i can’t question the benefit of that vs. worrying about every ingredient in all of the supplements available.
 
either way since the intestines still appear so full, i would still wait until the lactulose clears her out a bit.

also, lactulose does tend to reduce overall phosphorous levels in the body while increasing absorption of calcium, so there’s a lot more going on than one may realize at first. that’s also why i say there’s too many variables to really answer your question.
 
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