Help... What was wrong...

[Surtle]

Hi guys...
My young bluey just died...
He was aprox 3 years old...
Before he died... he was breathing heavily... Open mouth and taking huge gasps of air...
i called the closest health specialist for reptiles... as i live aprox 2 hours from the closest vet/Hospital (Country lifestyle)
i was told to put drops of water in his mouth every 10-20 seconds..
I did this and about 5 minutes after he stopped taking the water...
A liquid flowed from his poo and wee hole and a liquid also came through his mouth...

Possible Lung infection maybe?
Not 100% sure because this is the 2nd baby that has died from the same mother...

Any ideas anyone? :'(

[Rachael t]

I'm so sorry you lost him. I can't say I've ever heard of anything like that happening before. I'm sure you did all you could for him.

[Surtle]

Thanks im really dissapointed...

But these things do happen and i will just have to push through it

tyvm although.

[Surtle]

May of found the cause... :/

All i can say is... damnit...
I pulled out my high powered torch and started a search for the cause of his death..
I started by opening his mouth and looking down his throat to see if anything was blocking the way... all was good.
so i turned to thinking it was lung infection... and posted on here...

I just had another search of him only to find a Tick in the deep canal of the ear....
is this Tick paralysis?
:/

[Richard.C]

highly doubt it was tick paralysis,the gasping ect u describe is typical of an ailing reptile,with out an autopsy you wont know for sure what the issue was
was it kept outdoors?


did its sibling die of similar symptoms

sounds like a respitory infection type issue,but like i said guessing wont find the cause

sorry for your loss

[Surtle]

It was kept indoors and the "Gasping" i mention was it had it's full mouth wide open like it was yawning but i could see it was trying to breath...

And no the other sibling was found one morning when we woke up all dry and solid..
Im not sure so all help is thanked
^^

[Lea]

Sounds like a respiratory infection, but a necropsy would say for sure and be beneficial if you have other skinks, to help treat and curb spread of an infection.

You seem to have had a few health issues with your skink. He looked a healthy weight and in good condition in your first pictures, it's very sad to hear this.

I am not sure of the intentions your vet had with recommending all that water, but it seemed fairly unnecessary and probably did more harm than good. Poorly skinks tire quickly and are more likely to have an ineffective swallow, particularly when gasping. So much effort is going in to breathing that he would have been a high risk for aspirating, (breathing water into the lungs). I am not blaming you, as you were just following the advice from your vet, I am saying it as more of a future warning to others. Force feeding anything, water or food, to your skink, is extremely risky and can have fatal consequences, if not done properly and with extreme care.

Again, I'm just pointing out the risk, not trying to make you feel bad. Sorry for your loss.

[tylociraptor]

I'm so sorry for your loss... and if what Lea says is true, it makes the whole situation even sadder to me, on your behalf. I hope that it was not the case, I really do. I'm sure you did your best for your skink, right to the end.

She is right that necropsy could tell you for sure. If you have any other skinks living with you it may be a good plan to have one done. I don't know if freezing it would damage cells though, since you're so far away.

[Lea]

I'm so sorry for your loss... and if what Lea says is true, it makes the whole situation even sadder to me, on your behalf. I hope that it was not the case, I really do. I'm sure you did your best for your skink, right to the end.

She is right that necropsy could tell you for sure. If you have any other skinks living with you it may be a good plan to have one done. I don't know if freezing it would damage cells though, since you're so far away.

Only two hours from the vet, umm, I would say putting it in a box, wrapping it in a plastic bag and sealing and then put in the fridge. This will be fine overnight. Obviously, wrap up well so you don't risk contaminating your food.

[El Lobo]

I am sorry for your loss.

A necropsy is the only thing that could possibly give an answer. An RTI or even pneumonia seem the most likely cause but if there was no rasping whilst breathing or bubbling around the nostrils I wouldn't be totally sure. As this is a second sibling to pass away so young, genetics might also be implicated.

There are so many possibilities including fluid build up around the heart and/or lungs causing compression of these organs. With such possibilities I can't understand the vet recommending further hydrating unless he suspected a foreign object lodged in the throat. I don't think my vet would suggest such a course of action with such a risk of aspiration.

[BruinsEv]

I don't have anything significant to add to this conversation, but I am deeply sorry for your loss. Our pets become our family and it is extremely saddening to lose a family member. Especially at such a young age. It sounds like you did all you could for the poor little guy

[bella3]

I am so sorry for you'r loss, and like BruinsEv said sounds like you did the best you could for the little skink.

[Spindown]

Sorry for your loss
Necropsy can be very helpful.

Also, I'm not sure if genetics would be involved, because he made it to 3 years old? I would think (as a non vet non breeder) that a genetic defect/abnormality would have showed up before 3 years? I could see it if it was very young though.

[Richard.C]

is this the same lizard that didnt eat or drink well,had cloudy eyes and stuck shed and had 7 cage mates a few months ago?

its rare they keel over and die over nite,normally when they show they arent well,issues well progressed ,they do a good job of hiding illness,so once it starts showing it,its generally accepted its well progressed

if it is the same lizard,back then it showed signs of being not right back then,possably stressed by cage mates,hiding instead of basking,eating"drinking,shedding properlly ect

i am sorry for your loss,but i hazzard to guess its a build up of things over time thats lead to your blueys demise

[El Lobo]

Sorry for your loss
Necropsy can be very helpful.

Also, I'm not sure if genetics would be involved, because he made it to 3 years old? I would think (as a non vet non breeder) that a genetic defect/abnormality would have showed up before 3 years? I could see it if it was very young though.

I am going to have to disagree with this point. Not all congenital issues will be obvious from an early age. Pulmonary or cardiac under development may not present until the body has reached its full growth. An under developed organ may be able to support a smaller body but not have the capacity to provide sufficient support thereafter. Given that two sibling have died relatively close in time I would not rule out a genetic influence. That is not to say it would be the most likely cause, but then again as symptoms such as rasping breathing has not so far been described it does not easily fit a diagnosis of respiratory infection either.

When any obligate nose breather starts breathing through the mouth they are in real respiratory distress.

[Lea]

I concur. Many congenital defects do not become apparent until later in life. An example of this would be a congenital heart defect, such as those in humans. There is a large proportion that die in their first year, but a considerable number remain asymptomatic and do not express themselves until adulthood. Any congenital defect can potentially predispose an individual to other health issues and can lead to a secondary illness and death. What is apparent, is the secondary illness, such as an overwhelming infection, but the actual cause of death or illness, was the primary defect.

[Jeff]

Sorry for your loss. Have you made sure that your husbandry is correct? I'm not suggesting that it is not, but many, if not most health issues in blueys are due to improper living conditions. That is the first thing I would check if I had multiple animals die. I wish you the best of luck with the rest.

[Surtle]

is this the same lizard that didnt eat or drink well,had cloudy eyes and stuck shed and had 7 cage mates a few months ago?

its rare they keel over and die over nite,normally when they show they arent well,issues well progressed ,they do a good job of hiding illness,so once it starts showing it,its generally accepted its well progressed

if it is the same lizard,back then it showed signs of being not right back then,possably stressed by cage mates,hiding instead of basking,eating"drinking,shedding properlly ect

i am sorry for your loss,but i hazzard to guess its a build up of things over time thats lead to your blueys demise

No this was not the same lizard...
the other lizard is doing very well now its bubble started to shrink and now he walks around with his eye closed the whole time
this one is now eating normally and shedding good we did take him to the vet but they said he was fine
he still walks with one of his eyes closed although.. his name is pirate so dunno... maybe hes living up to his name

[Richard.C]

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh,lol