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 #1713864


Draco10201
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 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

For those not familiar w/my previous post, my rhino ig Draco, was spasmatically scratching her face and throwing her head around, and she had not eaten in about 4-6 days. We brought her to the vet and he said that she had giardia in her stool and her blood work was fine. They gave her a dose of flagyl (about a week ago) and she has to go in for her second dose in about a week. We’ve been giving her a bath nearly everyday so see if we may be able to relieve any irritant cuasing her spasmastic head scratching, but it doesn’t seem to help.

My current worry is that she’s still not really eating. She rarely comes out from underneath her rock to bask, and she only eats a few bites a day now, if that. Is there anything that I can do to encourage her to eat?

Thanks!
Nat & Mike
04/23/08  06:39pm

 #1714099


Pocochu
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   Message To: Draco10201   In reference to Message Id: 1713864


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Like I was telling Fire4life that medicine will decrease their appetite....Just keep giving the baths and that will keep her hydrated. I would give her a bath every day and mistings. She will die of dehydration before of starvation...So keep up with the baths and misting her...Gosh I hate worm meds, they are so hard on reptiles....Good Luck I hope she gets better soon.....
04/23/08  09:22pm

 #1714183


Tone102
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   Message To: Pocochu   In reference to Message Id: 1714099


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Awe, I do hope she gets well. Are you giving her a probiotic inbetween the med times? Maybe that would help with her appetite a little.

Good luck with everything. I do pray she will be back to herself very soon

Tone~
04/23/08  10:01pm

 #1714289


Fire4life
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   Message To: Tone102   In reference to Message Id: 1714183


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

probiotic, i have seen that in other posts. what is it, and how does it help?
04/23/08  11:14pm

 #1714329


Draco10201
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   Message To: Fire4life   In reference to Message Id: 1714289


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Her spaztic behavior and face scratching/rubbing are worrying me too. I look over her face everyday but can’t see any irritation w/her eyes or mouth. Even when she’s trying to eat her few bites, its like she can’t stop shaking her head. She’s getting a bath almost every day so that should keep her hydrated. She’s not getting any probiotic. I’m going to have the vet check her out again when I bring her in next Tuesday.

Thanks to everybody who replied. I’m really worried about her. :(



04/23/08  11:55pm

 #1714437


Pocochu
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   Message To: Draco10201   In reference to Message Id: 1714329


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

You know this might be totally off the wall...but about the face scratching & rubbing....could there be something in your water that is irritating it? or what are you feeding her...maybe she’s having a reaction to something she’s eating...I know it sounds kinda far fetched but it just came to mind...

One of my WD’s (Morkie) is allergic to crickets...yes crickets I almost lost her around Xmas time..After doing a bunch of research I found out that crickets are loaded with Phosphorous and she LOVES crickets...thats all I could get her to eat was crx, well her abdomen got so swollen & bloated....One day I found her in the viv almost lifeless she was limp and unresponsive, I thought for sure I was going to lose her, I had just lost her sister (Mindy) a week before she had all the same symptoms as Morkie....Well thats when I started doing all the research to find out what was wrong with her and I narrowed it down to what she was eating and that crickets were very high in Phosphorous and too much Phosphorous is very hard on the kidneys and I felt her kidneys and they were soooo swollen and big...she was going into renal failure....I started her on some baytril and stop her renal failure.......She recovered and is doing fine now....Her kidneys are still enlarged but I pay close attention to her Phosphorous intake..I don’t feed her crickets any more but once in a while she will steal one out of the dish when I’m feeding the other dragons ( I hand feed all my dragons) She can be a little stinker at times....she stole one today and her abdomen swelled up like a balloon..so I think I’m going to have to take her out when I feed the others crickets.......

WOW sorry so long winded I get going sometimes I don’t know when to stop...LOL....But I just thought it could be something in the water or something that she is eating to cause the scratching.....Gosh I hope she gets better.......Keep us posted please............
04/24/08  05:04am

 #1714459


Jif
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   Message To: Pocochu   In reference to Message Id: 1714437


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Flagyl (metronidazole) is actually considered a mild appetite stimulant so it shouldn’t be causing the animal to be anorexic. I still believe an xray should be done and a thorough exam of the animal’s notrils and inside the mouth. I have an acquaintance that was witnessing the same head shaking and rubbing in an adult female Rhino. It seems she had a piece of substrate or something stuck up in one of her nostrils. Do Draco’s ears look normal? Is there any discharge from the nose or eyes, even the slightest amount? When she walks or moves does she do it normally or does she seem clumsy?

I’d remove everything from her enclosure, clean it well, and make it as simple as possible with clean paper substrate just to rule out anything that might have been chemically treated. When you bathe her try rubbing her head and neck area with a soft toothbrush or nail brush.

She sure sounds miserable. I’m sorry to hear that she is not improving. If the vet doesn’t have an answer for you at the second visit I’d be looking for another experienced vet.



04/24/08  07:14am

 #1714737


Draco10201
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   Message To: Jif   In reference to Message Id: 1714459


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Pocochu, I looked at her diet to see if it could have been something i’m feeding her. The vet gave me a list of all the foods high in phosphorous which is essentially the same list that’s on the green ig society page so I don’t think its anything in her diet. I’m going to cut out mustard greens from her diet for a while because that was on the list the vet gave me as being high in phos.

Jif, When she moves around, she does seem clumpsy and sporatic. I check her eyes, ears, and nose daily for discharge, irritation, and inflammation, and so far I haven’t seen anything. I’ll remove everything out of her enclosure today to rule out irritants from her cage furniture. The vet I brought her to has won all kinds of awards in New Orleans for his work with exotic animals, but if I don’t get any answers next Tuesday, I’ll be looking for another vet.



04/24/08  01:43pm

 #1714912


Pocochu
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   Message To: Draco10201   In reference to Message Id: 1714737


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Got a question for you..Was she clumsy and sporadic before she was on the Flagyl......Does she do a lot of twitching....The reason I ask this is she maybe having some side effects from the Flagyl.....Gosh I wished animals could talk and tell you how they feel...It’s so hard to play the guessing game....grrrrrrrr
04/24/08  04:18pm

 #1714997


Draco10201
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   Message To: Pocochu   In reference to Message Id: 1714912


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Yes, It was the lack of appetite and the spazzy behavior the made me bring her into the vet. I wish they could talk to, then maybe I’d know whats driving her crazy. I hate that she’s so miserable.
04/24/08  05:07pm

 #1715076


Pocochu
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   Message To: Draco10201   In reference to Message Id: 1714997


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

You Know I’ve been doing some thinking...and I agree with Jif she needs an Xray not only of the head but the abdomen too....I don’t know if she is old enough to produce eggs, but she could have just one small egg in there and cause her to become sick..The reason why I mention this is because we have a member over on the WD forum that almost put her dragon down because she wasn’t getting better, She was being treated for parasites too (if I do recall) but anyways she was not getting any better just going down hill..They couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her...The day she posted that she was going to put her down we talked her out of it and told her to try this, force feed the slurries,force the fluids ( I know it not good to force feed but..........) and keep her well hydrated and keep the temps bumped up and the humidity up and after about 3 weeks she laid this God awful small rotten egg in her water.......Well she doing great now....

I maybe way off base with this but I just thought maybe because she a female she could have one little egg would make her sick.......or it just could be the parasites making her real sick.....Gosh I’m running out of the maybe it’s this or that. I hate to see my babies sick too. You want so much to make them feel better but you just don’t know how.......
04/24/08  06:04pm

 #1715281


Yoshi55
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   Message To: Pocochu   In reference to Message Id: 1715076


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Hey I have been reading this post and maybe she has a skin irratant (from weather, objects..etc)...and ask the vet if there is an anti-itch he can give you!

I would def try the x-rays too! She sounds just misserable. Also, see if there is something you can put in the water when you give him baths to help the icthing..like you know when we have itchy skin we use... that pink stuff or take an oatmeal bath!! You never know!!

Also, dont know if you have talked about this but what kind of UVB do you haveon him?? And whats the temps and does she have like a cool side and all that?? I know it might be off the wall but just trying to help! :)

Thanks, Lauren~



04/24/08  08:07pm

 #1719778


Draco10201
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   Message To: Yoshi55   In reference to Message Id: 1715281


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Well, Ive got good news. After I soaked draco today, She basked pretty much all day and ate a full serving of greens. It was a small serving compared to what she normally eats, but I was happy she cleaned her plate. I put more in but she was done. She goes back to the vet tomorrow for her second dose of flagyl. Im going to talk to the vet and see if i can get him to X-ray her. She also fought me a little more than usual which is a good sign that she might be feeling better.
04/28/08  11:35pm

 #1719829


Pocochu
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   Message To: Draco10201   In reference to Message Id: 1719778


 Draco’s Condition Not Improving Well

Oh good thats GREAT.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...I’m so glad she ate.....Yay on the xray...it may show something and then again it might not..but it’s always better to be safe than sorry......GRRRRRRRRRRRRR on the meds...I hate giving them meds........Good luck tomorrow... Please keep us updated...
04/29/08  01:49am


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