BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

Hello everyone, just got another call from the vet, Riley has opened his eyes, but I've been told to not get my hopes up just yet, he still isn't moving or responding to stimuli.

Just a bit of background on Riley, he is without a doubt one of the greatest pets or personalities in my life, here are a few images of him, I thought you all would appreciate seeing him.


http://imageshack.us/a/img14/291/7jtl.jpg


Here he is on a log, his favourite place in the enclosure, although blue tongue lizards aren’t well known for their climbing abilities, it doesn’t stop him from perching on the highest point he can climb onto.


http://imageshack.us/a/img189/6937/wx8m.jpg

Here he is with his tank-mate, Geoff, although it’s a general rule of thumb to house them separately, they are best friend, I bought them both together when they were hatchlings and they go ballistic when the other isn’t in the tank, they start climbing up on the glass and hissing if I take out one and not the other. When I take them outside for sun during the warmer months, they always follow each other, and as you can see, they always curl up with each other when they sleep or go out for a bask. They are completely inseparable.


http://imageshack.us/a/img832/1/r7hd.jpg


Here they are again, together enjoying the heat rock, UV-A + UV-B light and heat lamp. If Riley doesn’t make it, not only will I be devastated, but Geoff will be as well, unfortunately.


http://imageshack.us/a/img404/1838/cat0.jpg


Here they are chilling out on the other end of the tank (It’s quite large, roughly 800mm x 2500mm).


http://imageshack.us/a/img89/1007/z560.jpg


Last photo, Riley sleeping alone, quite a rare sight indeed!

And whenever I have them roaming about my room together, whenever this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=berj8BGDmd0) comes on my playlist, he would always scurry up next to the subwoofer and sleep, not sure if he just enjoyed the vibrations from the sub or had a fondness for music.

I do give as much as I can for their wellbeing, throwing thousands of dollars month after month for bi-annual check-ups, enormous enclosures for space and comfort, all the gadgets and gear I can lay my hands on, fresh organic produce (they eat better than I do), nutritional supplements and so forth. It just destroys me that in the blink of an eye they can go from being full of energy and life to comatose, no matter how much you care for them.

(hopefully the image links work, not exactly well versed in forum postings)

Riley didn't make it, just got a ring from the vet, he passed away at ~5:20pm, the vet is completely baffled as to what cause it, saying a healthy blue tongue lizard very rarely decline as sharply and as rapidly as he has, from what the vets have observed, it's most likely nerve and brain decay.

So sorry for your loss.
We feel your pain.
Our thoughts are with you.

I'm very sorry Riley didn't make it.

Is the vet going to perform a necropsy to try to determine what caused the death? It would probably be a good thing to know considering Riley shared his home with Geoff who may possibly also be infected, depending on the findings. As the vet said it is unusual for a bluey to decline so rapidly with anything like a respiratory infection.

Again, I'm sorry for both your and Geoff's loss.

I really don't want to have the vet perform a necropsy, it's a personal thing for me, I'll be building a coffin for the little guy and burying him under the ground cover he would hide in when I took them outside, but I will take Geoff in for a check-up and some antibiotics for him, will also of course do a deep clean of the enclosure, new substrate and boil wash all the props, water dishes and clean the heat rocks. If there's anything else you suggest I should do, let me know.

bummer

sorry for your loss robert

So sorry for your loss Try to take comfort in the fact you did all you could.

My heart goes out to you, Robert! Seeing the pictures of Riley and Geoff and listening to that song really pulled at my heartstrings! I'm so sorry for your loss, and I hope that Geoff remains healthy!

Thanks everyone for you kind comments, it helps.

As far as having a necropsy goes, It's not a faith thing, I'm atheist/scientific theory through and through, I just couldn't deal with having Riley go through it, even though he's no longer alive. That being said, Geoff is going to the vet to undergo all the tests and analysis I could get the vets to do tomorrow/throughout the week, from stool samples to X-ray's to make sure he's as healthy as he can be, and take care of him if anything comes up.

Speaking of which, Geoff isn't taking it too well, he's spent all day hissing, franticly climbing up the glass and scurrying up and down the tank, it's half past 2 in the morning and he still hasn't stopped. Hopefully the little guy gets over it soon.

Wow I'm so sorry for your loss of Riley. I agree you did everything you could. That's heartbreaking tho, for both you and Geoff.

I hope Geoff soon settles to his altered environment. Keep an eye on all his behaviour, especially ensure he keeps eating enough to maintain his health. Different species of animals respond to losses in differing ways so observing for behavioural changes could help minimise any long term effects.

Im so sorry about Rilley.

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