Opinions on behavior change

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Torrin’s behavior has recently changed and it has thrown me for a loop. Since about a week after I got her, she asked to be let out daily. She would either sit expectantly at the glass or glass surf. I would let her roam and explore or put her on a window cat shelf where she would both bask in the afternoon sun and be entertained for hours.
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Recently, starting four or five days before she was diagnosed with parasites she slowed down considerably in both appetite and behavior. It didn’t happen fast, rather she slowed over a multiple day period. It was most noticeable in the days immediately after I’d taken her to the vet and changed up her eating schedule (and probably a couple other things changed schedule wise since its summer). She also perked up a little two days later but her behavior has not been the same. She doesn’t ask to be let out and spends her recent days slowly rotating from spot to spot. She’s also been doing the sexy legs almost nonstop whereas the sight was much rarer before her slow down. She still enjoys her favorite window perch, has the tail curl when outside her cage, but is just not as inclined to move or explore about.
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After she slowed down she maintained good color, no dark beard or body. She did have some stress marks immediately after the vet visit, but they went away. She was always aware even though she almost always was in a perfect position for a nap. She looks up at me and shows interest for what’s happening in the room. Her appetite did slow, she’s not eating much for greens (maybe a few pieces a day) but will pounce on any insects. I don’t think she’s ever stopped eating but it’s a little hard to tell since she only eats a few pieces and lays in her salad (guess it makes a nice bed). I also don’t feed her insects everyday so maybe she did skip eating one day and I never noticed.
She is being treated with panacur for a high count of pinworms. She’s had trouble her last two poops and has needed bath assistance (she went both times) to go. Her poop stinks but looks normal, the urate is solid but varies from yellow to a rusty orange. She walks with no problems and there is no swelling that I can see in her belly. Has her recent behavior been due to the parasite issue? Should I take her back to the vet and have her looked over again? Is the change in behavior normal? Perhaps the energy she had when I got her was in response to her new surroundings and her current laziness is her new normal? Or perhaps she was beginning to show symptoms of the parasites and the trip to the vet stressed her enough to change her behavior?

Also, is this possibly egg binding? Maybe her energy when I got her was a result of her trying to lay. She got a big belly pretty really fast after I got her but I made the mistake of feeding her super worms as a staple insect everyday for the first four weeks I had her. She is also overweight. When I took her to the vet, he weighed her at 356 grams at 16 inches. Despite me cutting back on the high fat feeders (I now feed dubia only since they’re mostly protein) and cutting feeding times to twice a week at the vet’s recommendation, she now weighs 379 grams and her belly has got slightly bigger.
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Both the vet and I have tried feeling for eggs but he was unsure and so am I. I feel bumps, but only where her organs are according to anatomy charts. If an x-ray weren’t 350 I would’ve had her x-rayed sooner and my vet didn’t push it at the time.
She scratched at the carpet occasionally when she was exploring. She also did some digging in one spot in her enclosure for two days in a row a few days before she slowed down and I made her a lay box.
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(me interrupting her digging at the one spot in her cage)
Nothing happened with the lay box but I fear I wasn’t as persistent or consistent in putting her in there as I should’ve been. I still put her in the lay box for about 30 minutes a day to see if she does anything, but she just sits on top of the hill of damp topsoil or sits beneath the heat lamp. I haven’t ever seen her dig in it. The lay box is an opaque 72 qt. plastic tote with damp topsoil piled high against the wall on one end. There is a screen covered opening on one side of the lid on which a heat lamp sits.
What are your thoughts? Should I have her x-rayed? Should I take her to get looked over again? Is this normal with parasites or normal in general?
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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The Panacur shouldn't be too harsh on her system. It's possibly just coincidence and she's just going through a slow down phase. That happens from time to time. My guy just started slowing down a bit in the last few weeks too. As far as eggs go, watch her for digging behavior but x-rays probably aren't necessary unless you see signs of a problem (black bearding, straining, pooping yolk, etc), especially at that price. Ultrasound is another way to check for eggs and is possibly cheaper, you'd have to check with the vet on that. I'd just keep an eye on her for now though and let her do what she wants if everything else seems OK. I really like the window setup you have for her!
 

lilyofsalen

Member
Original Poster
Ok, thanks. She definitely doesn't look to be distressed just really relaxed and lazy. Do all reptiles have this sort of behavior change?
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
It's hard to assign the behavior to all of them, but it's common for them to go through phases of high activity as well as phases of low activity.
 
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