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Merauke/Halmahera persistent RI

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 5:24 pm
by EricSeavers87
We have a Merauke/Halmahera? BTS we rescued back in June. He came with a nasty respiratory infection and is still having issues getting over it. We have found a new exotic vet, as our first vet had identified him as a Northern, and being a first time skink owner, went with it and didn't provide the proper husbandry, mainly humidity. We later reached out to forums and at least discovered he was an Indo species after he didn't seem to be getting better. Anyway we have had X-rays, a culture, and batril. We are now on ceftazidime injections every 72 hours, plus critical care formula. Diet is mainly mustard/turnip greens, meal worms, bananas, and Wellness core dog food with nutricbac probiotic and D3 sprinkled atop. Substrate is a mix of Cypress mulch and coconut fiber with a humid hide in the cool corner containing damp new Zealand sphagnum. Gradient also check out very well ranging from 105 basking to 80ish cool side. We have also recently purchased a fogger/humidifier to help with humidity as the tank we were given contain mesh lids and glass sides, choked off one side with foil tape. My main questions are, is the fogger doing more harm than good for the RI? Should I let tank humidity stay between 40-60% as there is a humid hide provided? I do notice when the fogger runs he tends to rub his nose and eyes along the wall. So, will more or less humidity be beneficial in treating this persistent RI? I literally don't know where else to turn to at this point. Thank you.

Re: Merauke/Halmahera persistent RI

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 8:48 pm
by Janella
So I would absolutely bump the humidity up to at least 80%. Indo species need higher humidity to help with shed and RIs. I personally would move the humid hide to the warm side to make it more humid. Is that suck shed I see as well? Proper humidity levels will help with that. As for your fogger, what water source do you use? Most require distilled. If you use others it could cause irritation and that could be why your skink acts the way it does when running. How often do you have it running as well. If it runs to much it could cause issues too. You don't want the enclosure to be damp. I use Zilla jungle mix with reptibark on top. Once a week I pour 16 ounces of water all on top of the enclosure. Not once has my Merauke had an issue. I wouldn't feed meal worms. They have zero nutrition. If you want to offer live foods I would do hornworms, roaches, super worms, silk worms, etc. Also I would add more veggies as well. Use squashes, green beans, carrots, zucchini, etc. Hope this helps

Re: Merauke/Halmahera persistent RI

Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:31 pm
by mb606587
So you can rest assured your skink is Merauke. In this case, I'd consider cranking down the fogger unless your humidity will plummet under 50% without, as overly moist conditions probably won't help, just as Janella mentioned. Absolutely keep a humid hide. Typically my Meraukes will have some areas of the enclosure that are a bit drier and then a humid hide with levels around 70%-80%. They will utilize the humid hides when they need to. Heat is essential so keeping your skink warm will aid in recovery. Consider using 24 hour heating. Try to raise humidity naturally in the room, ie using a portable humidifier.

Re: Merauke/Halmahera persistent RI

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2019 7:32 am
by EricSeavers87
Thank you guys for your extremely helpful opinions. We just picked up our custom tank we had being built in Dickson, TN. It's 60X24X17 glass with mesh lids and interchangeable glass inserts. Have about 50% of the tank covered and the rest open for continual ventilation but not too much, still monitoring that. Also, put a nice size humid hide on the warm side with fresh saturated sphagnum moss inside. As for the fogger, we have ONLY been using distilled water :) I will incorporate more vegetables in the diet and drop the meal worms for sure. We actually do have some super worms and horn worms we feed our beardies, so I'll happily share around. And those first few photos are a bit older, from a few months ago. He has gone through a full shed with utilization of the humid hide, so as of now no stuck shedding. I'm not sure how long (minutes per day) I should be running the fogger. With the tank drying throughout the day I have the fogger set on medium to run 5 minutes every two hours. I still do a misting in the morning and evening if I see it's dropped below 50%. I absolutely don't want to keep it damp and moist, so is it better letting the fogger periodically run during the day (or is this bad mixed with heat?); or leaving it off at night (unsure about cooler temps and moisture)? I will tone down the fogger though, especially with the humid hide available at all times. We're keeping our CHE on at night as well for his illness. Thanks again for the input. Also, our substrate mix now is coco fiber, cypress mulch, and sphagnum moss.

Re: Merauke/Halmahera persistent RI

Posted: Sat Nov 30, 2019 9:19 pm
by mb606587
Yes, run your fogger periodically as opposed to continuously. You'll have to do a bit of trial and error to find that perfect amount to run it where you maintain the humidity without letting it plummet too low, but keep the enclosure from getting soupy. And yes, cold temperatures along with moisture will not be a good combination for your skink, especially while sick, so as long as you're running the CHE overnight, you should be good. Seeing how it's been over a week, are you noticing any improvement?