Another rescued skink - this one is sick

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kingofnobbys
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Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Tue Nov 14, 2017 1:28 am

My wife found a very lethargic and scrappy looking adult water skink near the back of our house this afternoon , she thought it was dead as it didn't retreat or move when got very close to it check it, only bursting into life when I sent her back down an empty old cricket tub lined with paper towel to rescue it and bring inside for me to examine it.

I believe it's one of the gang of skinks who has been living under my house and hanging out under the rim of the back sum.

Been very cool this week , 15 degC overnight and not getting past 20 degC during the day. (Nearly summer here and it's like winter during the days this week while last week were cracked 100 in the old scale for few days).

I've recommissioned Lucky's and Wriggles' old 10L tub to rehabilitate this new rescued water skink in.


The water skink tub is now on the lounge directly under the aircon and where I can see it easily and I've slipped Lucky' / Wriggles' old 5W heatslab under one end of the tub and set the temperature to 35 degC.

While the heatslab was warming up I tried to get the rescue to eat , but noted it's eye lids appear glued shut so it is at the moment (temporarily ?? blind) and placing a mealworm resulted in not interest, same with small silkworm (about mealworm size) , same with a disabled smaller medium cricket - can't see the insect.
Tried squeezing out some mealworm guts onto it's snout, no response.

Likely too cold and lethargic , and very stressed - but worth a try.

Local reptile had already closed for the day so a vet visit will have to wait til tomorrow at the earliest.

I also tried dripping water on it's snout, no response ... body temp too low ==> lethargy.
So broke out the my lizard first aid kit and a 1ml syringe + a 18G catheter tube and slipped the end of the skinny flexi tube into the corner of it's mouth , gave the tube a good biting ( :) that was encouraging ) and I managed to get about 0.5 ml of water into it's mouth very small squirts (don't want to overload it or make it accidently aspirate some water while it's such a weak state.

Then I deposited the skink in the tub directly over the heatslab , and after about 15min it was crawling about and sniffing about and tasting the air ==> very good sign , but the eyes remained shut.

Legs and arms all seem to work OK ==> very good sign

Initially I was not sure it would last much long or see the night out.
I've constructed a little hide for it from an old cricket tub , cloth tap over the outside to make kit nice and dark inside - will help the skink feel secure and safe and deposited the now blind but active skink it's new little house and deposited the house in the warm end of the 10L tub.

No movement seen til my wife started a stirfry in the wok , that got the skink's interest , and can see it crawling about in the little hide and it just poked it's nose out and had a really good sniff of the air - the same way Lucky & Wriggles used.

IF the skink survives the night. I'll try some 1/5th strength Manuka honey in sterile saline ( I have this in my First Aid Kit) on it's eyes and give a drink made with 1/3 - 1/4 strength Manuka honey in water and either some HerpaBoost or Critta Care by feeding syringe IF it's not able to feed (still can't see).
I'll give the vet a call and ask if I can get hold of some antibiotics (either injectable or oral) to administer , I don't think the vet can do much more than get the skink onto a cause of antibiotics.


Summary

Sick adult eastern water skink found on our old concrete slab near the back of the house by my wife on 14nov2017 at 4pm .

Issues
• Shedding / recent but closed up injuries on it’s body (back and sides and legs and arms and head)
• No evidence of penetrating injuried on chest and belly
• Conjunctivitis in both eyes , eyelids glued shut by dry puss (?)  blind at present
• Recently dropped tail
• Cold

Used a catheter tube to give it about 0.4ml of water by syringe.
No luck getting it to eat the inards from a mealworm.
Warmed up in Wriggles’ old 10L tub on her old 5W heatpad set to 34degC. Took 1hr and it was crawling all over the place and quite active.
Arms and legs seem to be working OK.

Image
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Both eyes appear infected and so crusty *MeStoopid they are glued *my stars! , I tried gently wiping the eyes with soggy piece of surgical swab, still closed and the skink didn't enjoy this.

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Initally suspected the poor condition of the skink was due to a lot of injuries that has formed scabs , but I noted scales were coming off , so I'm thinking it's in shed .
Yes - it's had a run in with something that scared it enough for it to drop it's tail relatively recently.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Tue Nov 14, 2017 9:24 am

Update :

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Sleeping , I had lifted the bit of paper towel that she'd crawled under off her after lifting her room of her "bed"/"hide".

Was expecting to find she's expired since she disappeared in the hide at about 6pm but was encouraged to find she was still breathing normally.

While she was asleep I opted to apply a couple of droplets of 1/4 strength manuka honey to each eye and to the stump rather than stressing her unnecessarily while she's awake.

Will order in some Terrmaycic Opthalmic Ointment as the little tube I have from when I was treating Puff is now past it's UBD. I'm hoping I can get this "over the counter" ,even if I have get it flown to me from the USA.
In the mean time I'll keep her warm and quiet and do a few eye soaks with 1/4 strength manuka honey.

I made up the manuka honey eye soak / ointment using a 1 ml syringe and a 14G drawing up needle.

Procedure:
1) draw up 0.1 ml of manuka honey from the tube into the syringe using a 14G drawing up needle.
2) draw up 0.4 ml of saline using the same drawing up needle into the same syringe.
3) mix by drawing the needle plunger all the way out and reversing , but only a little way several times.
4) using the same drawing up needle and syringe deposit a couple of small drops on each eye and let the spread / soak in for 15mins, repeat = a couple of small drops on each eye.
5) draw the needle plunger all the way out , place drawing up needle cover over it - to seal it and keep it clean.

If she is still alive tomorrow when I get up , will also try her with a luke warm dilute Betadiene soak tomorrow - but I'll have to be very careful she doesn't drink the solution.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Tue Nov 14, 2017 9:07 pm

Update 2:
Very good news.

She was up and sitting in her water dish (more a pond for her) and "looking" around this morning when my wife got up for brekky , and she really responds to my wife's voice .... she's the one who has been feeding my resident wild skinks while I've been housebound - too dangerous for me try to get down the steps while I'm rehabilitating and using a walker still.

I've been studying the photos of the outside water skinks who live under back of my house , she's one of the gang who hang out together under my back steps and porch and back tap's sump.
She's also a skink who's been resident , but never came inside , since 2014 - so I think she's about 4 years old and I'm very sure she is a daughter of the old matriarch who lived for nearly 10 years in my shed who I also befriended ( I have been checking the dots on the side of her neck and comparing .)

I've made a more private hide for her with a smaller entry hole in the side - see seems to really like it.
The other hide has been up turned and is now ontop the new one and she seems to like the private rooftop retreat and explored and spent a while in it immediately

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Cheaky bugger hey !

She is very aware of what's going on and of her surroundings and if I wasn't sure her eyesight is very restricted at the moment I'd think she's studying me (right now as she's been staring at me for 30mins).

She's been drinking of her own accord , and bathing too , and is definitely in shed. So will get a better sight of any scabs and wounds once she's finished shedding (fortunately with water skinks sheds are quick affair , over a few days normally).

Weighed her at 23g.

I can already see some improvement in her left eye - it's open just a crack :) , the diluted manuka honey seems to be doing the trick.
Will order in some antibiotic eye drops/ointment , if the honey does the trick I'll simply set the drops/ointment aside in the lizards' shelf in the fridge.

She's had another couple of small drops of the honey solution on each eye and her tail stump at 1pm , she was very good , hardly squirmed and immediately started licking her lips when placed a drop on them - loves the taste of the honey solution (as they all do).

Not fed her yet , there is a 2in plastic petri-dish with some mealworms in it and the lid on in her tub - I want to see if she shows any interest in the worms in the petri-dish and tries to get at them -if she does , I''ll drop a worm in the tub for her to see if she can catch it and eat it.

Ordered in a tub of BSF lavae , as I don't have any silkworms that are small enough for her and I'd rather give her these instead of crickets (except one's I kill for her) or mealworms.

Will make up a sloppy mix of Veta-Farm lizard pellets and RepCal juvenile beardie pellets with a little CalciVet and Herpa-Vite mixed in later today to see if she'll remember the smell and part-take.
I have HerpaBoost and CrittaCare on standby , but would rather not stress her unnecessarily by syringe and feeding needle feeding.

Spoke to the local vet over the phone - told him I've another rescued skink , his advise is make a booking for next week and do as I'm doing. If anything happens I can bring her in anytime if it's an emergency , all her treatment in the practice is at not cost (since she's wild).

2nd Update for today :
No attempt made to get at the mealworms.

Tried a few killed medium-small crickets , deposited not far from her hide's entrance --- hoped maybe the smell will get her interested.

She LOVES her cozy warm little hide, keeps poking he nose out every so often and sniffing the air (diner time - food cooking - very interesting smells for a skink).

3rd Update for today :
Never touched those dead crickets, so I gave her 0.5ml - VERY SLOWLY - of VetaFarm Critta-Care - took about an hour because I didn't to stress her by forcing the feeding needle down her throat into her stomache , so I opted to dabbing a tiny droplet of manuka honey on her lips to get her licking and then I'd deposit a drop of Critta-Care on end side of her mouth and end of nose and wait for her to lick most of it off and eat it before repeating.
Overall , she did much better than I expected with the assist feeding by syringe.

The dose of Critta-Care is 5ml per 100g BW once per day , for her 23x5/100 = 1.1ml , so 0.5ml on our first effort is good IMO.
The 18 Gauge crop needle drew up the mixture OK , but slowly.


Patience and having a lot time are virtue , I'd forgotten how time consuming feeding a small sick lizard can be.
I had to do similar things for Lucky my first rescue who was only a little juvenile and only 5g at the start , and I was really struggling with his intensive care doing a lot of firsts .... was very time consuming as well as very fiddlely and messy with him as I had not intensive care kit like I do now - add it's hard to get a grip on her as she's in shed and the old skin is loose. I'm covered with tiny bits of shed , and some of it is super sticky to the shirt and hands.

She essentially was so tired that she flopped where I deposited her when I returned her to her tub.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:00 am

Still here , eyes are still glued shut with puss.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Sat Nov 18, 2017 3:29 am

Meant to update yesterday : here is yesterday's update.

Right eye appeared open just a crack today :) .

She did really well with the assist feeding of VetaFarm Critta Care - Reptile , I deposited a drop of manuka honey on her snout first and the slipped the little 23G plastic catheter tube into the corner of her mouth , this encouraged her to lick the honey and while she was doing this I deposited a small drop of Critta Care on the side of her mouth and snout.
She took 0.4ml in about 20min and was licking the Critta Care quite nicely , only had to "tickle" the tongue from the back corner of mouth a few times to keep going.
She also told me when she'd had enough ,the skink neck twisting thin that water skinks do when they are full and trying to make more space.

She is also getting stronger.

I feel that she's making slow improvements.

Seemed to enjoy the UV from the old 26W UVB200 ( which now performs like a 26W UVB150 ) , spent 2.5 hr under it before crawling off to a shady / warmer area.
Lucky and Wriggles ( water skinks ) used to only bask for maybe 1 hr before they crawled away looking for shade.
Been overcast / rainy most of the month til the day we rescued her ,so she probably needs the UV .

My kit (add a 23G catheter (plastic) tube:
Image
1ml syringe has made in the syringe 1:4 manuka honey in saline, has drawing needle attached.
5ml syringe has Critta Care Reptile in it - I keep the Critta Care in the Syringe in the fridge between feeds, has a feeding needle attached.

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Fluffy close up of her worse eye , yesterday ( that's a bit of shed hanging off her near it ).

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Nasty lacerations on her back - whippersnipped ??

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Bathing and drinking in her shallow pond (only about 3mm depth of water in it). Saw her little blue coloured tongue for the first time while she was drinking.

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Exploring while basking under the old 26W UVB200, it throws a bit of warmth (BTW).

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Basking under UVB today after feed.
Her back is a rough state - lots are lacerations , all being treated with 1:4 manuka honey.
Her tummy and chest are in good shape.

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nap time after a bit feed of Critta Care this afternoon. Stayed there for 3hr then moved about 3 inch to a cool area .
Not sure what the 2 blemishes under her chin are - keeping a close eye on them.

Today's Update :

Named her Fluffy .

I'm hoping Fluffy wasn't attacked by one the flee ranging local cats , or the dogs next door , I'm hoping she was just accidentially whippersnipped and her tail actually got cut off in the accident. but will never know.

Today she took another 0.4 ml of CRITTER CARE with manuka honey entrée to get her licking her snout, her limit seems to 0.35 - 0.4 ml which is about 1/2 the recommended daily feed but I'm happy to get that much into her.

I'm thinking of upping the concentration of manuka honey eye drops from 1:4 to 1:2 so they are a little less fluid and stay on the eyelids were I want to be and will give her the benefits of the antibiotic properties in manuka honey. 1:4 seems too liquid and runny.

Today while I was feeding her - slow time consuming job but at least she's getting the hang of it and knows when I touch the corner of her mouth with plastic tube form a 24G SURFLO IV catheter it means => lick lips and nose , so it's getting a bit quicker a process.
I'm glad I haven't needed to resort to using the feeding needle to get food directly into her stomach , but on the second day this was looking like a necessary evil.

More improvement , I'd sware she turned to look over my thumb at the corner of the lounge (lots of possible hidey places there and she may well know them and remember them if she's been coming inside over the last few years) and then she tried to leap off my hand --- only stopped her by holding one of her legs , settled and finished her meal after that.
She probably has some vision through that little slit in her left eyelid , and the fact she tried to make a bid for freedom is IMO a very good sign.
She's an assertive little girl.

Another indication that she has some sight is I placed her in her rooftop private basking spot in preparation to place her (in her tum in the 30L archive box) under the 26W UVB200 , no soon has I turned then UV on she got active and climbed down and made for her little warm hide's door and disappeared inside. Obviously had enough UVA & UVB the other day.

=========

UPDATE : Cheakie is back inside, saw her come out from under the (just closed by me) laundry door, she explored the bedrooms, bathroom and study and then disappeared back under closed laundry door into the laundry - not seen her a few weeks, but heard something in the bedroom yesterday making scratchy sounds behind the chest of draws.

My wife reports the number is skinks hanging out under the back sump is now two , was 4 . (They were very hungry this afternoon and enjoyed a feast of mealworms and dead crickets, and got two dead small (mealworm sized) silkworms and a bunch of dead crickets yesterday so they are very well fed.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:49 am

update - 1 week on .

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One of Fluffy's goofy sleeping positions , how I found her last night - sound asleep - when I had to wake her to do her eyes and stump and back lacerations with 1:2 manuka honey mix at 1am. She thinks it's comfortable.

Both her eyes open a crack today , could see the LED headtorch reflecting off the eyeballs .
ImageImage

Even opened her left eye all the way just briefly and momentarily while I was letting explore my hand and chest . :) I am very pleased !!

Found another poo in her water dish this morning and she again wasn't hiding in her little hide while sleeping over night but chose to sleep up against the wall of the tub where I can see her / and she could see me ( and the TV ? ).

Some mealworm sized silkworms + a small tub of BSF lavae arrived today , maybe this time next week she'll be chowing down these instead of my needing to assist feed her with Critta Care by syringe.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Thu Nov 23, 2017 8:34 pm

Today (24 Nov 2017)

Vaste improvement in Fluffy today.

Fluffy is much more curious and active today , still not keeping her eyes open all the time but she is opening both eyes completely to look around quite frequently when I'm trying to feed her by syringe and treating her eyes and lacerations with dilute manuka honey , and simply showing her curiousity about me and everything else she can see.


The calories in the manuka honey and the Critta Care liquid food + the 90 minutes per day under the 26W UVB200 globe (giving her UVA and UVB exposure are really her a boost).


I am now converted , I never expected the manuka honey to be so effective at clearing up her eye infection. It's marvelous stuff.

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Hard to believe this was the same near dead skink my wife rescued only a week ago.
Got in some small silkworms and some BSF lavae specially for her , I'm hoping she'll be well enough to take some of these by this time next week. I do have mealworms but I'd rather give Fluffy worms that are more nutritious and easier for her to digest , and the of cause silkworms contain some enzymes that will be beneficial to her too.

She even had a visit from Cheakie ( one of the 2 wild water skinks who regularly come inside to visit ) while her 10L tub was on the floor in the 30L plastic archive box and she was getting her now daily 90 minute dose of UV (A&B) under the old 26W UVB200. Fluffy ignored Cheakie , but Cheakie certainly knew Fluffy was there and she was trying scratching at the side of the archive tub for a while.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Wed Nov 29, 2017 7:38 am

Update on my latest rescue - Fluffy The Water Skink.

Fluffy's stump , regeneration in process
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Fluffy's back and side lacerations
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Treating these with 1:1 manuka honey

Fluffy enjoying a snuggle
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...
She seems to enjoy a tummy tickle (she was standing up on my tummy to my hand and I thought I'd see how she's respond to a tummy tickle since her tummy was exposed- she didn't object and stayed that way still for longer than she has before ==> I think she quite enjoyed the new sensation , she also likes having a nice firm snout rub between the fingers , just like Lucky & Wriggles did. Sorry not enough hands to take a photo.

Dropped a mealworm sized silkworm in with her today - not interested.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:21 am

update :

Fluffy is back onto whole live insects
tried leaving a small live silkworm in her tub on Wednesday = no interest
tried leaving a few BSF lavae and pupae in small plastic petridish on Thursday , still there this afternoon.
deposited 4 fresh form very wriggly mealworm pupae in with her this afternoon after her feed of manuka honey and Critta Care , see made these disappear in under 30mins and was looking for more !!

Very pleased !! ....

update :

Fluffy is back onto whole live insects
>> tried leaving a small live silkworm in her tub on Wednesday = no interest
>> tried leaving a few BSF lavae and pupae in small plastic petridish on Thursday , still there this afternoon.
She probably didn't recognize these as food because they smelt strange to her.

>> deposited 4 fresh form very wriggly mealworm pupae in with her this afternoon after her feed of manuka honey and Critta Care , see made these disappear in under 30mins and was looking for more !!

Been hyperactive today while I was trying to syringe feed her , only managed to get 0.1ml of Critta Care into her , manuka honey she was licking off the end of the syringe and off my fingers .... nom nom nom !!!

Even more active after she had belly full of yummy soft newly formed mealworm pupae , been thoroughly enjoying her water dish , splashing about in it , but cant swim in it as it's only got water about 5mm deep in it.

:) is nice to have a win , in a lot of ways her personality and character is very similar to how Toothless was.

Very pleased !! ....
Fluffy has decided she's ready for whole live insects , had he first 4 mealworm pupae today , loved them and made them disappear in no time and was looking for more.


Here's Fluffy today after her meal of Critta Care & Manuka honey enjoying a lovely tummy tickle from me

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- she LOVES tummy tickles , lets me know when she wants a tummy tickle by positioning herself to let me have free access to her exposed tummy ,and stays like that (standing up) for 10 minutes for more each time ,when any other time lately she's super active crawling all over my hands and chest exploring here there and everywhere. That look on her face says it all .... "ohhh !!! bliss .... that's so nice".
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Sun Dec 03, 2017 1:18 am

I've recommissioned one of my old 100L rearing tubs , has a 7W heatpad (sandwiched between 2 layers of ceramic tiles + controlled by a simple Ebay switching thermostat --- these work very well and have proven very reliable and durable) & a 6 month old 26W UVB200 in a NanoHood attached under the lid) and some spare acrylic fake rock lizard furnature.
Removed the basking bulb that was used in the 100L rearing tub when I had one of the bearded dragons as a hatchling & juvenile in the 100L as it is too hot for an eastern water skink.

Note : my Solarmeter microW UVB meter and new Solarmeter microW UVA meter both indicate the 6 month old 26W UVB200 is now equivalent to a new 26W UVB150 so perfect for Eastern BTs and Easter Water Skinks.

She spends the night and morning in the 100L tub in her 10L tub (with the lid removed) and I've provided a means for her to climb out of her 10L tub into the larger 100L tub.
The UVB200 comes on at 6am so she gets UVA & UVB exposure for up to 8 hrs before I take her and her 10L tub out to feed her the daily 0.2-0.3ml of Critta Care + manuka honey (entrée and desert) & to treat her eyes and back & flank lacerations with 1:1 manuka honey in water.

I've been doing this fro 2 days now and I've already observed an increase in her activity and appetite , 8 mealworm pupae were eaten yesterday and she was looking for more.
She's been offered small silkworms -- no interest , and offered BSF lavae -- no interest. So I'll keep on giving Critta Care for now as it's calcium enriched.

I have Calcivet on hand and will swap over this when to provide her with her calcium needs when I stop giving Critta Care to her daily.

She hasn't climbed out of her 10L into to 100L yet, but has been seen up on the rim of her 10L tub looking it over .
She is really enjoying the warmed water in her fake rock water dish , spends ages luxuriating in it with her arms and head resting on the rim of her private "heated pool" soaking up the warmth ( gets to 34 oC ) and soaking up the UVA and UVB in the mornings.

She comes out in her 10L tub for the afternoon and evenings , for feeding , and honey treatment. And spends a lot of time watching me , the two BTS and our beardie (Peppa) being fed, and having daddy time and fun floor time and daddy & mommy snuggles (if they want snuggles) , and yes watching her new human slaves and the things we do , especially interested in our meals (the smells of cooking food really interest her and excite her) and watching TV (yes she's discovered TV).
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:08 am

Fluffy's new tail ( a work in progress ) , yes it's does wriggle .
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Tonight at about 11pm , Fluffy using my thumb as pillow
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Tue Dec 12, 2017 2:31 am

Sad news.

Fluffy's 4 babies were all born dead , two were fully formed (and terribly cute , a little boy and a little girl I believe) and two were underdeveloped still in their sacks (slugs). :( I more or less expected this , the trauma of her encounter with someone's whipper-snipper and her illness caused this. I do think she may have one baby still developing inside her as she's still not as slim as I'd expect after delivering all her babies.

This is how I found the two dead babies
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The two dead babies (still born) and two aborted fetuses (in sacks)
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The dead baby boy :(
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The little girl still has a yoke sack attached so she had a chance.
I am pretty sure both are dead ,as I've seen no removement or response to being touched from them but they are still not showing signs of rigor mortis so they may be alive, wont call it until they stiffen up and definitely dead.

The boy's yoke sack had burst when I found them, the girl's is still in tact and seems to have shrunk this afternoon (??).

I discovered the babies near Fluffy's water dish (she's been sleeping and spending the mornings in Toothless' 100L rearing tub (for the UV and to allow her to have more room to crawl and climb).

She seems none the worse for the experience but was not as frisky today as she was yesterday and not really interested in eating today, so I let her have a snuggle before returning her to her 10L tub for the afternoon.

Fluffy after and while I was trying to coax her to eat some Critta Care.
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Fluffy handsurfing - get a load of her cute little new tail , and yes it does wriggle.
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Wound up just wanting to snuggle into me and snooze so I gave in and let her , I expect she's exhausted after giving birth this morning.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Tue Dec 12, 2017 3:18 am

Just checked Fluffy because I was worried about her after her big effort today. Good a time as any was when Peppa went back into her tank for some UV after her very long daddy snuggle (9pm).

She woke up while I was lifting her still in her hide out of her 10L tub (heard her moving right away) and she was H-U-N-G-R-Y !!! , 4 pupea and 1 decapitated meal worm, her biggest meal with me yet so far.
All taken with a vengeance from my fingers all I had to was take the bug's heads off and let her get a sniff and it was all over in a few minutes, too full to eat the 5th insect ... very frisky tonight too.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Wed Dec 13, 2017 6:45 am

Yet another update , and another still born baby (boy this time) :(

But at least Fluffy sees OK and not the worse for this , and she shed today too .

9pm...Just put Peppa back for the night , after time out on the chair next to and then her daddy snuggle.
My wife discovered Fluffy laying in her water dish, she's fine, she does that lots and even submerges her self completely very often ==== WATER SKINK , they often swim underwater for over 2mins and bob up like a micro-crocodile maybe 20 -30 m away with a tadpole or yabby in their mouth.
She was just having a nice soak, but when she climbed out when my wife lifted her 10L tubs lid to check she was still alive she spotted another baby in the water, don't how long it's been in the water, was pretty cold , so I nursed it for a while in my nice warm hand with it's head sloping down just in case it was still alive. But no sign of life - and I noticed she (another little boy) had a nasty bite on it's side clear through to the gut cavity
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- I think I think Fluffy bit it's side to drag it all the way out so I think it was also born dead like it's dead siblings. And no yoke sack on this one, just a ruptured yoke sack membrane, so it had no chance.

So that could have been 5 baby water skinks had she not been injured and gotten so sick. :( .... She is certainly very fertile.

So that's 3 fully formed babies & 2 slugs.

Fluffy has just about finished shedding now - I wish beardies shed like skinks do, all over in a day or two. And she looks very good now, the scabs have mostly come off and her back and sides look very good.


Two more pupae tonight .... made them disappear pretty quick , and was very active and wanted to investigate everything and as usual crawled all over me and my hands and finally crashed snuggled into my tummy and lower arm before she decided she was ready for bed, and she actually put herself to bed tonight, her 10L tub was on the coffee table and she crawled down my tummy onto the coffee table and wanted in , so I placed my hand conveniently and she crawled on and the crawled off into her 10L tub.

Fluffy now she's offloaded 3 babies and 2 slugs and now she's shed nearly completely ---- looking very good , crashed after having some fun crawling all over me and another couple of pupae.
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My monkey !
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I think you get a feel for how active and lively Fluffy has become.

handsurfing
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Her regenerating tail
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kayla990
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kayla990 » Thu Dec 14, 2017 1:20 am

Sorry to hear! Must have been a rollercoaster of emotions.. At least you were still able to save Fluffy - who looks like she's thriving (so adorable too!). Just wanted to say you've done so well at rehabilitating her :D good job
- Hons. Degree Animal Management -4 years volunteer in a Zoo -10 years volunteer in animal shelters -Enclosure enthusiast
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Thu Dec 14, 2017 2:31 am

kayla990 wrote:Sorry to hear! Must have been a rollercoaster of emotions.. At least you were still able to save Fluffy - who looks like she's thriving (so adorable too!). Just wanted to say you've done so well at rehabilitating her :D good job


Thanks, has been a roller coaster for the last few weeks, lost our 2 yr old boy beardie to an undetected and very sudden and unexpected organ failure , was perfectly happy and getting up to mischief and as far as we knew - fine the day before, only sign something was wrong was he sicked up. This happened about the same time we rescued Fluffy. Really missing his antics and mischievousness.
I was nursing and trying to comfort Toothless in final hour and his last minutes and death throws were horrible to experience. But at least he died knowing he was loved and we were with him and comforting him even if we were powerless to help him (being a Sunday and all the vets here being closed).
His sister Peppa have been really missing his daily visits (raised in separate rearing tubs so never allow to be together) and she's been super clingy and not wanted to leave me and wanted lots of daddy snuggles since Toothless died.

Fluffy has been great at keeping me busy caring for her , was touch and go for while.

Would have great to have Fluffy's babies born alive and healthy .

Full of beans this afternoon , only managed to get her take some manuka honey and a tiny bit of Critta Care .... she was just way too active and wouldn't sit still long enough to eat much of the Critta Care .

I think she may have had a big out on the mealworm lavae & pupae I left in her new worm proof feeder dish as only a few pupae and a worm were left from the 8 worms I lift for her overnight and for this morning. So too full to eat so I'm not terribly worried about her refusing the Critta Care today. She might be trying to tell me " no more orange goo please - I want whole insects now ".
She turned her nose up at a small silkworm this afternoon , will try her with a silkworm tomorrow. I'd rather feed Fluffy silkworms than mealworm lavae and pupae.

Have some Repashi GrubPie on the way , Fluffy is not keen on BSF lavae and pupae, turned her nose up them , but she might like GrubPie made as wet paste.

The mealworm she ate a couple of days ago has passed with her poo this morning.... very good - no blockages in her plumbing - working well.

Wife reports Fluffy was much more settled in the 100L tub this morning and greeted her this morning at brekky. She's learning our household routine and was keen to come out to have some "daddy" time this afternoon. I think Fluffy quite likes her two tubs , the 10L tub she spends the afternoon in , and Toothless' old 100L rearing tub she spends the morning in.

Here she is in her 100L tub
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She particularly loves her nice big warmed water pool and her home made hide.

Fluffy's eyes look great today too.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Fri Dec 15, 2017 12:59 am

Getting better and better .... :)

Fluffy had a big meal off me last night when I had her out to treat her eyes with diluted manuka honey ( 1 mealworm + 3 mealworm pupae ) , all taken from my fingers and very appreciated by her - she's definitely got the handfeeding lurk worked out.

She also disappeared 2 large (disabled) crickets (dusted with calcium powder) and 2 more mealworms this morning before I got up , these were left in the worm feeding dish (supposed to be exape proof for worms), so not so interested in the Critta Care from the syringe , but accepted some manuka honey from the syringe.

I'm very pleased that Fluffy has such a good appetite for live insects and that she's not needing all her insects given by hand. She was very active this afternoon , and finally after about an hour on me crashed and snuggled into me for a nap.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Fri Dec 15, 2017 5:17 am

UPDATES :
1) moving to one dilute manuka honey eyedrops treatment per day from tonight , unless I disturb Fluffy when I move her in her hide to the 100L tub - her eyes looked very good today and I think the lacerations are well on their way to being healed.
2) when I finish off the current syringe of Critta Care , I'll be stopping the supplement, she's been really active this week and has been eating whole insects ,so I don't think she needs this supplement much longer.
3) I will start her off on CalciVet oral supplement starting tomorrow to help build back up her calcium levels now she's no longer pregnant and will no longer be getting Critta Care , will likely do this for 4 - 6 weeks , once per day.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Sat Dec 16, 2017 3:51 am

Another disabled gut loaded and calcium dusted cricket and a couple more mealworm pupae and mealworms eaten by her from her worm escape proof feeder dish. She left the two small (mealworm sized) silkworms again.
She was still hungry enough to eat 0.2 ml of Critta Care + of cause her "treat"/medicine of several drops of manuka honey when I fed her.

Big mile stone for Fluffy:
- Fluffy met my 7 yr old grandson today for the first time as a pet .... very surprised how well she responded to him :) .... She was on me while I was feeding her when he arrived for a weekend sleepover. She is now so tame that she showed no fear of him and was perfectly fine with his patting her. Fluffy was very interested in him and just wanted to see what he was doing.

Another surprise from Fluffy today:
She was enjoying being out on / with me so much that when I returned her to her 10L tub , she surprised me again by climbing onto the rim of the 10L tub, from inside (not from her hide's roof) , she's been there before ,but always from the roof of her hide, this was new .... as she leapt onto the rim and from the rim to me landing on my knee from where she climbed up to me chest and snuggled into my left armpit so I gave in and let her have a brief nap before returning her to the 10L tub , this seemed to satisfy her.
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Re: Another rescued skink - this one is sick

Postby kingofnobbys » Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:43 am

hyperactive AGAIN at lunchtime , ate 3 Pupa & 1 mealworm overnight/in am , so not hungry - only managed to get some honey into her, no hope with dusted crickets , pupae , Critta Care or mealworms, she was too interested in the visitors and way too active (wouldn't sit still for more than a few seconds at a time ....Fluffy just wanted to crawl all over the place, too much going on , too excited.

She let the grandson pat her a couple of times , seems perfectly cool with him .
I tried feeding her for over 90min and eventually gave up at 12:30pm and put her in her 10L , wanted out but lid was on so she very quickly took the hint and cralwed into and disappeared in her hide.
Back out having some insect from her jar-lid (feeder) and drinks 5:30pm - 7pm , the smell and kitchen sounds drew her out once again - she's very food orientated and gets very excited by the smells of cooking meats in particular.
Then napping for a while more and then I tried feeding her again after the 7yr old grandson had gone to sleep and the house was relatively quiet.
Again once she woke up and I'd coaxed her out of her hide onto my chest she was WAY TO ACTIVE - again - only took ONLY TOOK some honey , she was looking for it everywhere !! could smell the syringe the honey is in - her favorate thing) , but since she's eaten 2 dusted gutloaded large crickets and 2 pupae this evening of her own bat I was am not worried.

She's really asserting herself now , and I think she's telling she likes her insects left for her.

She is becoming a real handful .... so full of beans now it's hard to keep track of her all the time and she's a leaper !!

Talking about "LEAPING LIZARDS", I wore her on the bridge of my reading glasses right between my eyes tonight , I had her perched on my hands and facing me why I was talking to her and suddenly she leapt and all four claws were spread out like a cat and plonk , she landed on my nose.
LOL !!

I'll try one more feed of Critta Care tomorrow after my grandson is picked up but wont be worried if Fluffy says "no" as she's getting plenty of nutrition from the whole insects she's so keen on and she's only feeding herself now.

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