Spicoli is not well

Diegar · Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 8:00 am Post subject: Spicoli is not well

Hello all,

Spicoli, my 35 day old Argentine B&W Tegu is not doing well. Last thursday, I noticed that all of a sudden, he lost the bilateral use of his front legs. He drags them behind himself and pushes with his rear legs. I took him to the vet on Friday and we tested his blood for calcium. His Ionic Calcium levels were 1.95, which is high-normal for this breed, according to the vet. Since, though, that this is not an accurate view of his average levels, but merely a snapshot view, the vet was leaning toward Hypocalcemia, instead of a spinal injury.

We discovered that his UVB fluorescent tube light was too far away from him in his cage, at 24", so I have since mounted it inside his cage, at 13" from his mulch surface. We aren't sure if this or anything like this could have caused Spicoli to get sick in such a short time, but fixing it for the future seemed like a good idea. The vet gave me some kind of liquid calcium to shoot into his throat, with a needleless syringe, which i am to give him every 12 hours at a dose of 0.075cc each time.

Saturday, i counted the crix in his cage and he had not eaten any, though he was already sleeping for the night, so i let him be. The next morning, after giving him his calcium, I dipped a cricket in some Reptivit and reptical and held it by tweezers to Spicoli's nose and he took it, though it took several tries. He is not very fast anymore. After the cricket was gone, i tried with another, but he would have no part of it.

Monday, i received an email from Bert at Agama International and he suggested that I get another needleless syringe and fill it with yogurt and sourcream. With this mixture, i am to drip it on his snout, without getting it in his nostrils, and he will lick it off. He did and that went really well. He took 1cc of the cream, before giving up on that. According to Bert, this mixture is full of natural calcium and stimulates the appetite.

Bert also brought up something in the email that contradicts most of what i have heard concerning temperature. His basking spot should be no higher than 90f and his ambient cage temp should stay somewhere around 80f. I had always heard of much higher numbers with regard to heat and am working on lowering the temps in his cage, as i keep Spicoli around 90f in the ambient and about 105 on the basking spot.

Another interesting thing Bert brought up is supplements. He doesn't use them and most of the time, wouldn't recommend them either. He states that too much vit A, and/or D could cause an overdoes and lead to symptoms like the one my tegu is showing. He wasn't stating that for sure though, considering he is 1000 miles away.

So for now, i will just keep doing what i am doing and hope for the best, but if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I could use any piece of good advice at this point.

Thanks,
J
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The Jay

MO · Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 8:25 am Post subject:

Poor little man......I have no ideas, only happy thoughts for little Spicoli.

Diegar · Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 8:40 am Post subject:

Thank you! :O)
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The Jay

Shan · Honored Member Joined: Jul 26, 2005 Posts: 155

Diegar, I am so sorry to hear about Spicoli. How are you holding up? Are the vets going to do more tests or do they have an idea of what may be going on with him? Spicoli will be in my prayers. Shannon

holygouda · Member Joined: Aug 18, 2005 Posts: 48

Hope he gets better! It sounds like you've done everything humanly possible to help him. My best goes out to you and little Spicoli

Teiidae · Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 9:42 am Post subject:

Hope all goes well for you and your Tegu

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James_James · Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 10:44 am Post subject: UVB light

Sorry to hear about your Tegu. Just another example why youngsters need UVB light, maybe an undetermined cause, but this is were I 'd point my finger! UVB travels only about 12 inches from light fixture, and does not penetrate through glass! Hopefully other owners will learn from this thread, and understand the importance of UVB light!

MO · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 8:00 am Post subject:

How's your little friend? Did the lighting change help any? Was that the problem? Is it too early to tell?

Diegar · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 8:56 am Post subject:

Well... so far today, he isn't any worse. That isn't to say he is improving either. Today, on Rick's advice, i will get some cat food and see if he wants to eat some of that. I lowered the ambient temp in his cage to the 80's and continue to give him his calcium medication.. All i can do is wait.
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MO · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:42 am Post subject:

Alright, we all wait with you. Kiss his little head, sometimes that works, well with people anyway.......

Rick · Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject:

Diegar · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 7:23 am Post subject:

Last night was a good night. Spicoli took his first pinkie. He never seemed interested before, but i kept trying and last night, he took it with great enthusiasm. I also noticed that he ate some ground turkey while i was at work. This is good also because he never seemed all that interested in that either. All he ever wanted was crickets and more crickets, but now, since he can't seem to catch the crickets, he is settling into a more balanced diet.

A great piece of good news as well last night, and it may not be that big of a deal, but it was to me. When he took his thawed out frozen pinkie, he had to kill it first, by thrashing it around a bit. When doing this, he stood up on his front legs. This is the first time he has done this since he got sick. He still isn't using them much for walking, but I think it is a good sign.
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Teiidae · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 7:49 am Post subject:

Eating and standing is an improvement - Hope it continues for you guys

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Diegar · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:13 am Post subject:

Today's update....

As of now, Spicoli is still not able to put his front legs in front of himself. If i hold him in my hand and put his hands on my finger and pull them gently in front of him, he can pull with them. He can also grip with his fingers, but he can't seem to get them in front of himself.

Yesterday, i went to get one of the frozen pinkies out of the paper bag and noticed that they accidentally gave me a pinkie rat. But he was not prejudice, because he took it down anyways. The whole time he was working on how to get it down his throat and smashing and thrashing it, he was standing fully extended on his front legs. I am hoping that these are all good signs, as i really want him to get better.
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Diegar · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:17 am Post subject:

Oh and one other thing. Spicoli shed again yesterday. The back of his neck is now a really cool gray and most of the green is gone. Just thought i would share. :O)
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