My blue bited his own tongue !

[blackofsolace]

Few day ago my sister played with him and he bited his own tongue hard. Since that day his tongue can't came in his mouth. And sometimes he chew his tongue like he can't get it back in! His eyes always wide open. Now he can't eat or drink anything for days. And there's no vet for reptiles in my country. Can someone help me? If there's no cure I think he's going to die soon...(

[Jeff]

I have never heard of aa bluey biting its tongue before. Are you SURE that is what happened? It might help if you coould post some pictures. Is the tongue stiicking out all the time?

Also, what country are you in?

[blackofsolace]

He get his tongue back in now but he can't lick or open his mouth. I usually see a little saliva cover around his mouth. He seem really weak now. And I don't know post a photo of him!

[Katrina]

Don't waste time trying to post pictures - if he seem weak or lethargic and can't open his mouth get him to a vet immediately. We won't be able to help with anything that serious.

[Jeff]

If there really is no vet in your country, then you might have to guess what is wrong. Seeing pictures may add information that could help figure out what the problem is. Without knowing what is truly wrong, it is hard to give any useful advice.

If your skink can't use his mouth right, the first thing I would worry about is keeping him hydrated. Can he, and is he drinking? If not, you will probably have to force him to. You could try to soak him in water that is a few centimeters deep. He may get some water that way, but you will likely need to use a syringe to get anything into his mouth. A sick bts won't last very long if he gets dehydrated.

Most serious conditions that can be treated will benefit from increased temperatures in the enclosure too.

I still think it is unlikely that the problem is that he bit his tongue. Even if that happened, I don't think it would have any long lasting affects unless it got infected. It sounds like it could be something serious, but if this is just a weird thing that happened, and he only has a minor injuy on his tounge, then it might be best to do nothing at all. I would be very hesitant to do anything until you know for sure what is wrong.

[Bird_Brain]

Ask Jeff asked previously (and got dismissed), in what country are you located? We can help find you a vet. Even if they are not a practicing "reptile vet", doesnt mean they dont know how to diagnose and treat reptiles. I would be calling around to all the local vets and see if they would take a look at the skink. If they dont know exactly what to do, they can call a friend who might see reptiles or an old classmate that concentrated in Exotic Animals.

[Alioop]

The OP is located in Vietnam.

[Lea]

Is this the same skink you had in August 2010? What happened then? You had issues finding a vet then, I just wondered what solution you came up with and how you dealt with that. We never heard from you after that. Are there no vets at all, or just no reptile vets?

Just trying to get an understanding of your situation. Your skink sounds like he needs more than home care, so you may need to travel a longer way for assistance. I am sure there must be a vet somewhere in your vicinity, unless you are in a very remote area??

[Susann]

Can you email photos? Is it just that you don't know how to upload photos here on this forum? If you can get some digital images/photos of your BTS and send them in an email, I'm sure Jeff or Katrina could look at them and then post them here for more opinions.

I think ReptileKing has a good point in you maybe calling any veterinarians you can get a hold of, and see if they can tell you where to turn for help for your BTS.

Please let us know how he is doing and what is happening. We would love to help in any way we can. Good luck! We all hope for the best for both you and your skink.

[Linnea]

I have got a vietnamese friend. blackofsolace, do you want her to translate what we have wrote to vietnamese?

[blackofsolace]

Can you email photos? Is it just that you don't know how to upload photos here on this forum? If you can get some digital images/photos of your BTS and send them in an email, I'm sure Jeff or Katrina could look at them and then post them here for more opinions.

I think ReptileKing has a good point in you maybe calling any veterinarians you can get a hold of, and see if they can tell you where to turn for help for your BTS.

Please let us know how he is doing and what is happening. We would love to help in any way we can. Good luck! We all hope for the best for both you and your skink.

IMG_3238.JPG

[blackofsolace]

He's really weak, he can't even move.The injured tongue prevent him from drinking water or eating even he really want to. Everytime after he tries to get his tongue back in his mouth, he look exhausted. I don't know what to do now.

[Bird_Brain]

What have you tried?

As suggested earlier the skink needs to be kept hydrated. Are you trying to syringe water/electrolytes in his mouth? Have you been soaking him? Have you bumped up the temps? Have you call ALL the vets in and around your area?

We are a forum and can only provide information. We are not licensed veterinarians that are able to give "virtual care" to the skink. This skink needs to see a veterinarian if you are not able to at least maintain his health. If its decreasing then you need vet care. Period.

[blackofsolace]

I 've bumped up the temps, soaking him and forced him to drink everydays but he can't drink much cause his tongue.

[Katrina]

Can you get him to a vet? It really doesn't sound good, it seems like you need vet care.

[blackofsolace]

If there really is no vet in your country, then you might have to guess what is wrong. Seeing pictures may add information that could help figure out what the problem is. Without knowing what is truly wrong, it is hard to give any useful advice.

If your skink can't use his mouth right, the first thing I would worry about is keeping him hydrated. Can he, and is he drinking? If not, you will probably have to force him to. You could try to soak him in water that is a few centimeters deep. He may get some water that way, but you will likely need to use a syringe to get anything into his mouth. A sick bts won't last very long if he gets dehydrated.

Most serious conditions that can be treated will benefit from increased temperatures in the enclosure too.

I still think it is unlikely that the problem is that he bit his tongue. Even if that happened, I don't think it would have any long lasting affects unless it got infected. It sounds like it could be something serious, but if this is just a weird thing that happened, and he only has a minor injuy on his tounge, then it might be best to do nothing at all. I would be very hesitant to do anything until you know for sure what is wrong.

There are some pics about his tongue :

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IMG_3278.JPG

IMG_3279.JPG

I need some help urgently, because I felt he weakened, he was very thirsty but can not drink, hungry but can not eat. How can I provide food for him? I was really worried. If that condition lasting longer, he would die. He's my hold world . Everyone help me, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee .

[Katrina]

I don't think we can help. None of us are veterinarians. Good advice has been given about temperatures and keeping him hydrated, but I don't think we can offer much more. I definitely can't.

Is there any way you can get him to a vet? That is what he needs.

[Bird_Brain]

Agreed with Kat. And from what I have seen coming out of my skinks mouth, I really dont see anything wrong with the tongue. I think there are larger underlying issues going on.

[Lea]

Is he lapping at water at all? If you make the water icy cold, or as cold as you can, soak a piece of cloth or gauze, something fairly absorbent that won't easily tear or break up, then get him to bite it. Use a small iced lolly stick in the side of his mouth to stop his jaw clamping down on his tongue. He'll feel the dampness of the cloth and probably chew it a bit to get the moisture. If the cloth is layered, you won't need to you the lolly stick to keep his jaw open.

It will be tricky to reduce inflammation with the increase in heat and the risk of infection in the wounds will be greater, too. Keep a good eye on the tiny wounds there and watch for pus, localised puffy swelling or dirty blood leaking out. It looks clean and healthy, just swollen right now, so aside from keeping him hydrated, whatever you are doing is working at the moment. His eyes are also bright and shiny and look moist, so your worries may be too soon. You are right to think about these things and you say you have seen a change in behaviour, so small measures will probably get you through.

Will he take small morsels of food? Something like a mashed banana will provide good energy and be easy to swallow with a sore tongue. Pieces of a "wet fruit" such as watermelon, although not a solution for long term, gives a sweet, juicy energy hit of a high water content, nutritious food. Egg may also go down well, but ensure it's well cooled after cooking.

Whatever soft foods you can find, sticking to low residue (no chewy or hard bits) will limit stress to the mouth. Anything that involves a chew will increase the acid release into the mouth with saliva,, so something that slips down easily will be better.

My advice does not replace that of a vet, which I recommend you try your utmost to find, but I have personally used these methods on very sick BTS in the past,so they can be effective. I hope this helps. Please, please keep us up to date.

[Linnea]

Information from everyone in short, in vietnamese. Translated by a dear friend of mine:

Bạn phải đưa con thằn lằn của bạn đi thầy thuốc thú y, nó không cần phải bác sĩ chuyên khoa, chỉ cần một người có thể cho con thằn lằn của bạn nước thông qua ống tiêm trong miệng (bạn phải phun nước vào miệng của nó với cái ống tiêm, bạn không được tiêm nó!).Nó là một kỹ thuật được sử dụng cho tất cả các động vật. Cố gắng để cung cấp nước thông qua một ống tiêm dày trong miệng, mà không được tiêm nó!

Con thằn lằn của bạn không bị cắn lưỡi, cái lưỡi có vẻ nhìn thấy tốt trong các hình ảnh. Nhưng nó có một vấn đề mà cần phải được xem xét khẩn trương. Có thể có một bệnh khác, mà bạn phải đến thăm một bác sĩ thú y.

Nếu không có cho con thằn lằn của bạn nước nó sẽ chết sớm. Ướt xuống một miếng vải và giữ nó bên cạnh miệng của con thằn lằn của bạn.

Nếu bạn cần thêm sự giúp đỡ điều đơn giản, chỉ cần liên hệ với chúng tôi Ok?
Hy vọng con thằn lằn của bạn sẽ trở nên tốt hơn!

short in english:
- go to a vet, any vet is fine
- we cannot treat it, its beyond us, but we can help with simpler things
- they are okay without food for a while, but need water
- a wet cloth beside the mouth might work (added from leabilly)
- a syringe with water might be used to put water in her mouth.
- you blueys tongue looks good, he has another problem that he urgently needs help with


(for all of those unaware, all medicines are sold without any need for recipes/doctors in vietnam. so if you can recommend any dosage or any brand then please do so. this is very risky blackofsolace so you should NOT try it yourself.)