Lamp fell on Kevin!

What can I do to help him shed? I know not to pick at it, as much as I want to. I know warm baths & misting. But he can't really move around well enough to scratch at it himself. He's having a rough go with this one. His nose plugs are poking out a lot, he has a sweater of shed & he was eye bulging most of the day yesterday. His beard is just hanging there lol. He's keeping his eyes closed a lot & just looks down & out. I know it's bothering him but idk if there's anything more I can do for him to help him out. What has come off is just beautiful! His last body shed didn't make much of a difference but this one he's so yellow & orange.


Shine bright like a diamond, Kevin! ????

He should be fine, this is a natural process and it's not as torturous as people sometimes think it is. If you want, spritz him down and then veeeery gently + slowly stroke him with a baby toothbrush or an old soft toothbrush. If he seems to like it, fine. If he doesn't, then stop.

AHBD":3u2gibb4 said:

He should be fine, this is a natural process and it's not as torturous as people sometimes think it is. If you want, spritz him down and then veeeery gently + slowly stroke him with a baby toothbrush or an old soft toothbrush. If he seems to like it, fine. If he doesn't, then stop.

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Well, turns out he's a ton more mobile than I thought! Glanced down for one second & he had completely turned himself around. He got fed up with the shed. He was scooting all over the place with a black beard & tail. Just mad at the world! He got most of it broke loose & when I seen how mad he was, I put him in some water & he has his very own toothbrush I got last time just for such occasions lol. He loved it. Got most of his head & sweater off. Still got quite a bit to go but much better. I didn't mess with his eyes but I think he's got a shed scale in his left eye. Don't know what to do about that.

Since then, he's been more relaxed. He's scooting around a lot today! He uses his head mainly but I've noticed he's starting to grip with his front legs & he tanks them away from me. So he's definitely improving!

I made him some honeydew water cause that's all I have on hand & were so broke we counted change for gas today lol. He didn't like it. I'm gonna grab a few different things to play around with tomorrow. And some cherry juice. It has to be a certain kind right? And can I get it from Wal-Mart?

Thank you, AHBD.... I love how quick you reply & ask about him. And the Kevin Love thing is adorable. I told him he has a fan lol!

Aw, good ! He's a trooper. Everyone reading this is pulling for him. A small insignificant creature that is coping with stuff that would make us frazzled + tired as well, but WE would at least know why it was happening. He doesn't know but he's coping + fighting the best that he can. And yes, Kevin Love seemed to just suit him because he's already a Kevin.

Hello,

Wow, Kevin is really turning a corner now, what progress he is making now! That is so
wonderful.
How long has he been off of the calcium now? You can start him back on what the vet
gave you, after a week or so. Did you discontinue the meloxicam also?
It sounds like he is really feeling a lot better now! Shedding is a terrific sign. I'm sure
he is happy to be getting the shed off, too!
The black cherry juice is relatively easy to find. The brand R Knudson is a good brand &
it's organic too.
Honeydew water sounds really good, but he didn't like it?
I am so proud of little Kevin, he is a fighter for sure!

Tracie

How's Kevin doing ?

AHBD":2eds1fl9 said:

How's Kevin doing ?

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He's still truckin.... He hasn't really changed much so I been trying to not drive everyone crazy. This thread is already gonna be 1000 pages by the time it's all over lol.

He's still scooting around a little but he goes all black beard & black tail when he does. He also just mainly uses his head. It's weird. He is starting to move his front arms around a lot more but they are very shaky. His tail has starting slapping around & he moves it when I touch it. I think he lost all feeling in everything and it's starting to slowly come back. I hope. But I also think he's in pain now. For the most part, he's content just laying around looking out the garage door. I have to really watch his temps tho. He used to not move out of it at all but now he does but it takes him forever & I know it hurts him & wears him out. I've learned he doesn't like it a degree over 105 but will tolerate 106. 107 he starts moving. Kinda hard to get the perfect temp for him but we're getting there. I've put a box in the bottom of his tub & covered it with a towel so he's not 8in under the UVB with nothing in between. But he's closer to the heat so... ugh lol

I'm gonna start him back on the calcium from the vet tomorrow. Very anxious about that but it will be exactly 1 week without any so I think he needs some again. No Metacam at all. I ordered some serrapeptase from Tracie so pretty excited about starting him on that.

He's finished shedding & is so pretty! His tail & back legs are getting ready now so hopefully his bad spots will shed off with it. I'll take a pic before bed to show off how pretty he is.

He goes black beard about 2 or 3 times a day so that worried me. But again, I'm pretty sure from the spastic movements he's started in parts he never moved before is just feeling coming back & it don't feel good. Maybe it was a spinal cord thing, swelling & pressing on nerves & now the swelling is going down so it's all reacting. I hope thats what it is. Hes definitely going in a good direction tho, whatever it is. He will slightly grip my hand when i move him around now. I havent left him at all! I even went to petsmart & bought a little carrier for ferrets so i could carry him with me & still have hands to pull money out at the registers lol. Everybody wants to know all about him & hold him when they see him. So im spreading awareness too. Poor cashier at the dollar store is in love with him & made the mistake of telling me she was gonna get one... had to give her a complete care guide down to substrate & uvb & warning to not listen to the pet store. employees and don't buy the kits lol! And warned her how expensive they really are, even though they're pretty cheap themselves. Probably scared her!

His uninjured legs swelling goes down during the night & back up thru the day. Not sure about that either. He pretty much doesn't use it anymore. He pulls himself by his head & tries to use his front legs but they flail. Kinda like swimming around. But again, so much of an improvement from not moving at all. But also why I'm anxious to start the calcium back up. I've seen MBD has the same affects.

His appetite is back in full swing! About 14 crickets for breakfast & dinner each. Lunchtime he's been refusing them but I decided to offer him some greens by hand & he's taking them. It's been weeks since he has shown any interest at all in greens! He will only eat a couple of small pieces, but hey, that's awesome! Of course, he wants nothing to do with the BSFL I ordered & waited forever on... brat... I give him a hornworms after dinner just for fun & be sure he's full. Still hates all water i offer. Tried grapes, apples, honeydew, strawberries... nothing. I taste it myself so i know its pretty yummy. I'm just gonna drip reg. Water on him from now on. Making all these fancy waters is exhausting!

Anyway, thanks for checking in on him! Sorry it was so long, but it's been so long since I posted... had a lot to say apparently!

It's mixed news I guess, good that he's moving a bit, and definitely good that he's eating pretty well ! It's probably best for him not to move much, if this is indeed spinal then the less movement the better for a while.

Be careful about taking him out with you, that might stress him and I wouldn't let anyone hold him at all. He needs as much rest + least stress as possible. But I think he's doing O.K, sure hope it's not too much pain but just more discomfort.

Hello!

It sounds like little Kevin is doing better. That is great he is moving around more, even if he
is having trouble still. He is probably happy to be able to move more. I hope he isn't in too
much pain though. He might just be getting frustrated trying to move more, which will make
him mad & black beard, etc. I am not sure what could be going on with that swollen ankle,
very strange indeed! Hopefully that will heal up soon for him.
Yes, Metabolic bone disease will cause a lot of the coordination & strength issues. I think it
will be much better using just one calcium source, once daily.
A lot of them don't really like it much over 105F, it's just plenty of heat. LOL
It is quite possible that he is experiencing a lot of new feeling in the back, tail & limb area
to the point it hurts a bit. Can you pinpoint exactly when he started declining, was it when
the meloxicam was added, or the other calcium sources?
At least his appetite has picked up though, that is excellent news!
If he is starting to slap or whip his tail, that is a lot of progress right there. It takes a lot of
strength for them to support their tails.
Keep up the phenomenal work with him, I know he appreciates your love & attention towards
him. They are so very precious.
You can update absolutely anytime here & your thread can go as long as you would like it to!

Tracie

I should've pointed out that NO ONE has been allowed to hold him! I've went straight to pointing out he's injured so we can't mess with him but you can look lol. That's another big reason I got the carrier. So no one can even see him. But I don't take him out a lot either. When I take my daughter to school in the mornings I have a little bed made for him that's his car seat & he really seems to enjoy that short little ride. It's only about 2 miles & take 10mins to drop her off & get back home. But we went to Wal-Mart Saturday & he seemed fine but I could tell he was happy to be back home as well. I usually just have someone babysit him when I go out rather than take him. It's only to make sure he doesn't flip over, which he haunt done since the last time I posted about it, almost a week now I think. I have another Dr appointment tomorrow h he won't be going.

I honestly can't pinpoint exactly when the decline was, but it wasn't the Metacam. He wasn't getting any at that time. Only thing it did was make his balance really off which was not good paired with the weak shakiness. I think it was calcium h my own fault. I was dusting all his feeders & probably too much. Plus the Flukers one drop a day. & his UVB wasn't the best & wasn't mounted well enough. I just gave him a dose of the prescription calcium. So maybe there will be more awesome changes tomorrow.

It's funny, well scary, to think if I'd just listened to the vet blindly & not questioned it or came here, he would have been put to sleep this past Friday. If he made it that long. She wanted me to only feed him mealworms, dusted well & give him the prescription calcium. So if he already had too much calcium, that would've done it. She just wasn't trying to find all options and giving up too quickly. I told me husband she didn't even ask any questions or give me time to point out any other symptoms aside from the not raising his chest. That's all I told her. He hasn't raised his chest in a few days. Then straight to boom, euthanasia. He isn't anywhere near better, but he holds his head up all day now & doesn't even look slightly in pain or depressed like he did before. That's enough for me. I will help him however I can for however long he needs it as long as he doesn't look so depressed.

I think the black bearding may be frustration too. That's what I thought at first but then the tail twitching and shaky movements started so I thought maybe pain. Either way, it doesn't stop him from heading wherever he's heading. Just takes him a lot longer. Not really sure where he's going most of the time. It won't be too hot or cold or sometimes he just does a little u turn. Maybe he just wants to move a little lol.

This has definitely made my weird attachment to him stronger. He needs me for nearly everything lol. I've even started trying to train him to poo on paper towels for the future. He goes about the same time everyday so after he eats breakfast, I fold up a couple and lay him on them. He eventually goes & cleanup is super easier. And he just might learn that's where to go when he gets moving better. Ugh... he's my baby, I'm potty training lmao!

Here he is in all his new bright orange glory!

I though about it after I posted, maybe you meant that people asked to but you wouldn't allow anyone to hold him. Mom instincts at work of course ! And if he seems fine with a bit of travel that's good, it might relieve the monotony a little bit.

He looks very healthy there, you'd never know he has a problem. Eating well and getting pampered does a beardie good. You're taking great care of him. !

He's definitely got an overprotective mama... he's so spoiled, it's not even funny. It's ok tho, he had a rough start with me. I had just gained his trust then I drop something on him & nearly break him in half! So I'm gonna spoil away lol!

I was wondering if you guys would recommend some water therapy? I've seen it mentioned a lot but I'm not sure it's a good fit for us. I've put him in warm water 2x & kept his upper body in my hand and just let his lower body be in the water. He doesn't really do anything, but I thought maybe with time it could help him. I know it's good for people. And weightlessness has to feel good on him. Might help him get his strength back a little and encourage him to move & loosen up the tight muscles. I stopped doing p.t. on his injured leg over the weekend because soon as I started to move it a little, I smacked his tail around and got a little twitchy. Not sure if it hurt him but it scared me.

I do dry him extremely well since I had the fungal scare on his tail and leg. I'm positive it's just a messed up shed from the splint now though. The spots it's in is exactly where the splint would've rubbed and it's all flaky now and I see baby scales underneath. Plus that whole leg and section of tail is getting ready to shed so I'm sure it'll go away when it does.

If water therapy is a good idea, how often would I need to do it & what's the best way to do it? As in should I move things for him or just let him float in my hand?

It might be best to keep him from moving very much still, and the leg probably shouldn't be moved manually. Maybe in a couple more weeks but his leg actually would have still been in a splint if he hadn't kept wiggling out of it. So the leg isn't really ready for P.T. yet, that's why he's thrashing around. He's a trooper though and I think he'll keep improving and you are the best champion momma he could have.

Hello,

I agree, he just may not be quite ready for therapy. Has he moved his tail around quite
a bit more now?
He sure does look great, his colors are very bright! He probably does enjoy getting out a
little bit with you. That is ok if you want to spoil him then, he deserves it.
He definitely has improved a lot & I think he will continue to do so. I am happy he seems
to be feeling better!
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie