Severe impaction - what options do we have?

AHBD":1cc6lyq4 said:

O.K., that's about all you can do to move impaction if that's what it is. Since baths are stressful you might just do one a day.

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Will 1x bath be good enough? The last ER said due to the size of the mass it was highly unlikely to pass, so 2-3 baths would be best. It clearly stresses her out, but she’s still lighter in the bath than she is when we put her back in the tank. Whether it’s a tumor or not, she’s continuing to bloat and has not been able to evacuate no matter how hard she tries. 2x of the last days she hasn’t even tried even though she now has 4x days of laxatives in her. The mass is about 2x finger widths long and one finger width wide. If it’s a tumor then we will need to euthanize her, but if it’s not a tumor and she doesn’t pass it the end result remains. ???

One bath will be fine, and you can also put her on a warm heat pad that is covered so you're sure she can't get burned. Try letting her run in a warm room as well, the excitement can help them to have a b.m at times. Is there anything in her past diet that would have contributed to impaction [ like lots of superworms ] or possibly a foreign object swallowed ? I know this is very stressful + sad for you.

AHBD":ny8uc5sz said:

One bath will be fine, and you can also put her on a warm heat pad that is covered so you're sure she can't get burned. Try letting her run in a warm room as well, the excitement can help them to have a b.m at times. Is there anything in her past diet that would have contributed to impaction [ like lots of superworms ] or possibly a foreign object swallowed ? I know this is very stressful + sad for you.

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All she has eaten is Dubias, crickets, and general greens (dandelion, collard, mustard) we use a separate feeding tank and she’s never out without constant supervision so it definitely isn’t something foreign. We are letting her run around the bedroom, it’s about the warmest place. She doesn’t like being on the floor but maybe we will try that later today.

You're doing a great job with your good girl. I hope it ends up just an impaction that will soon be passed, the baby food , olive oil, honey + laxatives can all give her a good chance. Some beardies DO go that long without a b.m, it's on the forums all the time.

AHBD":12drsjd9 said:

You're doing a great job with your good girl. I hope it ends up just an impaction that will soon be passed, the baby food , olive oil, honey + laxatives can all give her a good chance. Some beardies DO go that long without a b.m, it's on the forums all the time.

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Yeah the length of time isn’t that much of a worry, she was only going about 2 times each month in the last 4 years, sometimes less. The worry is how she keeps trying and only getting tiny squirts out as well as the size/firmness of the mass in her colon. We gave her a morning feeding but will try a little baby food mixed with olive oil later this afternoon

You can give her as much baby food as she'll eat. That can help loosen the stool.

Got some prune baby food (was all they had at CVS). Mixed it with some water, olive oil, and raw honey. She happily consumed about 3ml of that. Just doing 2x baths today, second one soon so she was a couple hours under the lights before bed. Vet appointment is 1:30pm tomorrow.

She’s so active when we take her out and still eats so we don’t think it’s cancer, but surgery is still probably out of the financial question. Feels really awful to have our baby taken from us because of capitalism

That's a good concoction and a good plan ! If it's not a tumor then she should be able to pass this at some point.

AHBD":28v91ami said:

That's a good concoction and a good plan ! If it's not a tumor then she should be able to pass this at some point.

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You think? It’s so large....... she’s been on laxatives for 4x days now, though her temps are still not where they should be at night

Hello,

Poor girl, it sounds like she is having a hard time of things right now. I hope that there isn't
a tumor. It is strange she had a small lump that got larger so quickly. You are sure she
does not have eggs?
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

Vet took an x Ray, said there is a large amount of gas built up in her system that is compressing her chest. Vet said she won’t make it much longer and surgery may not even be an option if we can afford it. We are going to speak to the mspca hospital and see if we can possibly afford surgery but otherwise we are going home with some pain medication and will be making the call probably tomorrow

I've never heard of surgery for a gas/bloating problem. Can you post the xrays ? This sounds like something that she will pass after she has a b.m. I wouldn't put her through surgery for gas. She's only been on the laxatives 4-5 days and the baby food should work now that you've started on it.

AHBD":mgv48ijg said:

I've never heard of surgery for a gas/bloating problem. Can you post the xrays ? This sounds like something that she will pass after she has a b.m. I wouldn't put her through surgery for gas. She's only been on the laxatives 4-5 days and the baby food should work now that you've started on it.

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Surgery won’t help the gas problem. The gas problem is affecting her quality of life. The mass is about 3x finger width s long now

You stated in the beginning that she is still alert + active so I was basing my thoughts on that. I guess you'll have to decide, I would wait for her to pass it on her own but I can understand your fear and reluctance to go that route.

AHBD":2rd281wh said:

You stated in the beginning that she is still alert + active so I was basing my thoughts on that. I guess you'll have to decide, I would wait for her to pass it on her own but I can understand your fear and reluctance to go that route.

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We were fine doing this if she wasn’t in pain, but based on the amount of gas built up in her system the vet believes she is pretty uncomfortable. We don’t want her to suffer if it can be helped and with all that gas compressing her chest the vet believes she is in pain. We were given 3x doses of meloxicam. We are letting her bask a bit then we are gonna take her out for a bit until she doesn’t want to be out any more, we will medicate her, and put her to bed. Tomorrow we are gonna play and play and play until she’s done, then we are going to have to make call. Not a single vet has expressed any degree of hope for the situation so it’s challenging to be told “she just needs to poop” and even more challenging to believe it