I don't know what happened!

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

Shorty my BTS is sick! It was just so fast! I thought I almost lost him..

I have a vet appointment first thing tomorrow at 11am.

I had him out earlier today, I let him roam around the floor, then I picked him up and let him roam around the couch. He seemed like his usual self, he didn't like to stay in one place for too long. Unless he wanted a nap, but he always wanted to burrow before settling down. I put him back after 15 minutes of handling. I hung out in the living room where his cage is. A friend and I were watching TV, about an hour after putting him back I heard something that sounded like coughing coming from his cage. I walked up to him to see what was going on and he had his mouth open and coughing, he sounded all congested. I took him out and put him on the floor so I could see him better, he seemed slightly frantic and was trying to find a quick place to hide. I picked him up and set him on my lap and took a look inside his mouth, he didn't fight me at all with this. It looked all puffy and mucus and foamy bubbles. Then he went limp on me, he didn't move at all when I picked him up. I started patting his back and leaned him to where his face to angled to the floor. I kept trying to move him to get him angry at me, I wanted him to respond. He seemed to move a little when I did this, I ran to my room and grabbed a pipette and started trying to get the bubbly stuff out of his mouth. He seemed to respond more and more, I kept patting his back and I opened his mouth to try to get more out. He seems to be breathing a bit better, but he's VERY lethargic. He's actually laying on my bed right now, which he never stays in one spot. He always wants to keep moving. So there's something seriously wrong and I have no idea what. To be honest, I'm guessing URI. But he doesn't show any other symptoms, no bubbly eyes or nothing. He never seemed congested at all earlier. He seemed like his normal self earlier today. I didn't hear any crackling or see any bubbling.

I'm worried he wont make it by tomorrow.. The only vet clinics that have 24 hour are not specialized in exotics... He just laying on my bed, looks like he's sleeping. I just have no idea what brought this up at all....

[Katrina]

They sometimes drink too much water and will get a bit of foam / bubbles in the mouth.

Honestly - I'd put him in his enclosure and LEAVE HIM ALONE. The handling, back patting, pipetting etc. is really doing no good and is stressing him out a lot. If he is ill the best you can do for him is leave him to rest and not stress him. Being outside his enclosure, even lying on your bed, isn't good because he will want to be safe and hidden and needs to keep warm. Let him go into his enclosure and just leave him be until the vet appointment tomorrow.

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

I was only doing the back patting and using the pipette when he wasn't responding to me, since he's responding better now I left him alone on my bed. But after reading your post I did put him back in his cage. I'm just worried to leave him alone.. I know you're right about that, it would make him feel better. I just don't want him to die..

[Katrina]

Remember that reptiles and humans are different - he doesn't want to be cuddled, reassured or to have any company. If they aren't feeling well they want to hide and be left well alone - they are at their most vulnerable and any company that might stumble upon them could easily be a predator looking for a meal. So try to remember that if you want to check on him. I promise - he'll be much, much happier alone.

[Clara13]

I hope he pulls thru for you! How scary indeed! I will keep you two in my thoughts, please keep us updated!

[saisaac]

How is he doing?

[Katrina]

Yes, any updates? Hope it isn't anything serious!

[Spindown]

I would never recommend trying to home treat a reptile unless you are a vet, or very experienced. It can be easy to damage or harm unknowingly, especially to animals so different from us.

I hope he is doing better, if not, you need to see a vet asap.

[Richard.C]

It sounds like it may have eaten something it shouldnt have,ri,s dont usually suddenly appear,let us know how vets goes

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

I want to make clear that I didn't harm him in any way, I was as gentle as I could be with him. I just knew if I didn't do anything, he wouldn't be with me right now. Just the way his eyes were when he went limp, he had his mouth partially open. Staring into space, totally unresponsive... I couldn't sit there and do nothing.. Sorry if some people disagree with what I did, but like I said earlier. I felt like if I didn't do what I did, he wouldn't be here with me still..

Anyways, I made it to the vet today. He lost a little over 60 grams in 5 months. He hasn't eaten in one month with no interest in food so she's concerned about that. She believes that there's an infection going on with him, but probably not URI. She instructed me that I bathe him once a day to try to get some fluids in him, then she prescribed Fortaz 280ml shot every 3 days. I chose the shot over oral meds because I thought that every 3 days to medicate would be less stressful for him. She said that if he doesn't start eating by Monday, they want to keep him to try and force feed. Then blood work would be in order.

He really wasn't himself at all today, there were moments that he seemed a bit more like himself. Like, walking around, not wanting to sit still sort of thing. But he was mostly sitting still. He actually sat on the table when he was getting seen, didn't move. Which isn't like him at all. On the way home, my boyfriend(Ryan) took him out of his box and held him close with his jacket covering him up. He seemed really cold, so he was trying to get him to warm up. He's not much of a cuddle bug, so him actually laying in his arms without a fuss was worry-some. Ryan was afraid to let him fall asleep.

If he ate something he shouldn't, then it must've been an aspen piece. I have aspen bedding as a substrate for him, that is the only thing I can think of.
The vet said that he might have gotten excited the other day and breathed in mucus and it was stuck in his trachea which blocked his airway, which is why he was choking.

This is just a really emotional and scary experience for me, there's a lot of things going on right now and what happened yesterday... Phew.. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if he died..

[Teacup]

So sorry to read your little guy is so sick. I hope the meds you were given will clear whatever is going on with him! Please keep us updated on his progress.

[Richard.C]

A 280 ml shot ?

That could cause implosion

[Katrina]

Has he been brumating? A piece of aspen couldn't cause those symptoms, but brumation or searching for a female could easily be the reason behind not eating for several weeks...

If there is a health issue, it is generally caused by husbandry. Medication won't fix it unless the husbandry issue is corrected as well... what are your temperatures like?

Good luck, hope he's better soon.

[jdheff1982]

A 280 ml shot ?

That could cause implosion

Holy Cow! That's equivalent to 18 and 2/3's tablespoons (5ml = 1 Teaspoon | 1 Tablespoon = 3 Teaspoons)! Yikes! I bet the bellies don't hold that much. Maybe the syringe is prefilled with 280ml of the medicine meant to be injected over a period of time?

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

The syringes are prefilled! Sorry! I have enough for 4 more shots. So I'm pretty sure that's all spread out. Not per shot, sorry!

The basking spot hits 102 degrees F at the hottest. Cool end is 70 at the coolest.
He wasn't brumating, he did brumate from Dec-Jan. But here recently he wasn't brumating. I'm wondering if moving again this year just caused him to stress out to the point where he got ill? I moved a total of 3 times this year. It's been very cold here as well, but I do my best on keeping the car as warm as possible and have a heat pack with him when I transport him from house to car.

I bathed him today as the vet instructed and he seemed to enjoy it. He wanted to sleep, well that's what it looked like. I would say he's still lethargic, not moving much. But he finally ate something! I got some wellness cat food that's turkey stew, it has some carrots and celery already in it. He ate a bit of that, not a lot but I would say it was pretty good since he hasn't eaten in a month.

[dsteamn]

Even if they wake up, they can still be brumating. One of my skinks stays awake all winter, but completely stops eating for close to three months. I use to worry about him because he always gets so skinny, but now I know its just his usual pattern. Since your skink slept for a month, its possible his system is still in brumation. I certainly would never try to force feed them if that has been going on.

How is he doing with his breathing? Hope he gets along ok..

[xxkincadesvanityxx]

He seems to still struggle a bit, after I gave him his 2nd shot yesterday. I put him back in his tank and he sat there for a little bit, then he has his mouth partially open. He wasn't huffing or hissing, he just seemed to breathe with his mouth open, he actually looked like he went to sleep about a minute or two after I put him back. Which worried me, he always likes to burrow when I put him back. So him, not wanting to hide like he usually does worries me.

I don't think brumation is the cause of this, he was very active until the move. Unless they can be very active at some point during brumation? But the weather is warming up here. I was able to feed him a little more yesterday as well. He seems to have gotten his hunger back. But still seems lethargic, but I'd say it's an improvement compared to the day he scared me senseless.

The shots are 1mg of Fotaz which came from a 280ml bottle. I probably confused a lot of people about that earlier and I apologize. I haven't been able to type or even speak clearly. My brain is just all "bleh".