Zephyr's visit to the vet and pics

[nosytrish]

Hey everyone,
yesterday was pretty stressful for Zephyr. We had him out for a cage cleaning, and he seemed fine. We put him back into his cage and soon after, my boyfriend noticed that his anus was coming coming out of his bum and he was pushing really hard. We ran over, and he thankfully "sucked it back in". We called the vet and rushed him there right away. The vet examined Zephyr, and he was weighed (60 grams!) and he seemed totally healthy. We asked her about mouth rot, as we had been concerned in the past, and she assured that it was all part of the shedding cycles, and was very common. Zephyr also got an xray. The doctor explained to us about his calcium deposits and how he was almost perfect, but needed a little bit more calcium in his diet. (good to know!!) The xray showed that he was developing great, but he his intestines were a bit backed up, so she thinks that it could be parasites. We prepaid for a fecal, and he was swabbed on site, but it showed up negative. We are waiting for Zeph to poop, and then we are going to take the sample in to the clinic. The doctor said that if he does not poop by thursday (highly unlikely, he is a poop machine), that we should bring him in for an enema, and a suture to make sure that everything stays "inside". Zephyr is likely going to be put on medication if it is worms, and we were just wondering if anyone has any tips on how he may have contracted the worms, (the doctor said feeders or he could have come with them, but if anyone has any more information/links). Also, are there any precautions we should be taking about extra hydrating/suppliments while on medications for chams. I have previously researched a lot about prolapsed rectums (just to be prepared), but i am unsure if this is likely to reoccur? (we have been monitoring him all day). Any advice would be great, thanks everyone!

We took pics of Zephyr yesterday, hope that you enjoy them.

Trish, Steve, and Z.

 

[jamncristian]

give him some silk worms so his calcium level will go up

and maybe to help him poop since there is no chitin they should as through his body pretty easily

 

[draetish]

For the pooping problem, I would try a cool/warm showering first or try to get him in the warm sun and the enema as a last resort. Hornworms and Silkworms are easy to digest and can get them going too! If you answer the questions on the "how to ask for help" form that would really help others identify any husbandry issues that may need tweaking.

 

[nosytrish]

We already give Zephyr silk worms every once and a while. (every other week or so he gets a few) We are going to start buying them more often to increase his calcium. Sorry if I have been unclear, but Zephyr has not been having pooping problems. He pooped yesterday and we cleaned the cage before the madness began so we did not have a fecal ready, and he has not pooped yet today, but should be soon. (he is quite regular) I was just sharing our experience so far about the sudden prolapsing anus, and was wondering if anyone had any information/links/experience about parasites, and treating chams, because the vet seemed pretty sure that was what was wrong with him. If Zephyr does not poop today, I will message the post, but we are sure that is not really "ready" for a shower today, he does not like to be handled, and after yesterday's visit to the vet, he is pretty upset. I must add though, that I think that it will be a lot less stress than an enema, so we will make sure to mention that to the doctor (shower him) before resorting to the procedure. Thanks for your advice so far.

 

[draetish]

I don't think the prolapse is caused by parasites. If he has never had a fecal before, it would be a good idea to do one. Panacur is one known medication prescribed for it. Yes if handling stresses him out, then a shower would probably really upset him. If he poops normal, I'd just hold out and wait. Mixing up your feeders is always best and yes silkworms have calcium. Does your panther eat crickets or is he a worm guy?

 

[nosytrish]

He is a big cricket guy, but he is just getting into worms. (he never really cared about them before) He likes silkies now because he got used to them being in his cage (he likes his privacy). He was not into other worms (supers) we tried when he was younger, but we are going to introduce them again. We want to get his feeders online now because we are not sure about out feeder guy if he indeed, does have parasites. Hopefully we can find a good variety for him to increase his calcium.

 

[draetish]

Are you gutloading your feeders properly with collard or turnip greens, yams, carrots, apples, oranges? Plain calcium should be give every other day until they reach adulthood which you can cut back then. What other supplements do you use and how much?

 

[nosytrish]

Our crickets eat better than we do! They get a good mix of collard greens, kale, oranges, and carrots. We have a list of feeders and mix it up everytime we go shopping. We already have Zephyr on a repti-calcium every-other-day.( without D3), and we also give him minerall with d3 twice a month (every other sunday).

 

[draetish]

I know what you mean! He looks great and keep us posted if the vet finds out anything.

 

[Julirs]

Prolapses happen for a variety or reasons, parasites, impaction, even lack of room in the "package" area. Glad your guy is doing OK.

 

[jamncristian]

try increasing the calcium in his diet with a higher calcium gutload

if find this very helpful
it talks about oxalic acids and what they have to do with calcium
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/215-oxalic-acid-content-vegetables.html

this is also very helpful
it shows fruits and veggies high in calcium and their Ca ratio
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...sphorus-ratios-common-good-gutload-foods.html

p.s. check out what it has to say about collard greens

 

[nosytrish]

Thanks for the advice on the impaction Julirs. She did compliment his rather larger package, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this soon. The xray did not show an impaction, maybe it can be related to his bulge? She spoke about a suture. Is this a common procedure?

Thanks for the links jamncristian, I will look into them right away

 

[Julirs]

Thanks for the advice on the impaction Julirs. She did compliment his rather larger package, hopefully we can get to the bottom of this soon. The xray did not show an impaction, maybe it can be related to his bulge? She spoke about a suture. Is this a common procedure?

Thanks for the links jamncristian, I will look into them right away

A suture is pretty common. They have to be done carefully to allow the animal to defecate. Was he out or in when you took him to the Vet? Was it a bowel proplaspse or a hemipene? I had a Nosy (actually 2-I had his brother for a day and he prolapsed so I took him back and the breeder gave me a brother) and both of them had shortened tails and large packages. Their parts just did not fit in their bodies. With the one I kept- my Vet and I worked for about a month using sutures on and off hoping he would heal up, but he totally prolasped in the end and there was too much tissue damage to save him.

 

[nosytrish]

He sucked "it" back in right away. We assumed that it was his bowel, but I am also going to look into the hemipene. In your experience, is it likely to happen again once it has happened once? His tail is not short, but hopefully everything is the right porportion.

 

[Julirs]

It seriously could have been a one time occurence, and I would probably wait to see if it does happen again before I resorted to sutures. I hope for your sake it doesn't happen again.