kaylaajuhnn
New member
Hi all, first time posting in the forum, but long-time lurker.
Many apologies in advance for length :
Our baby Idris (~3-4 months old) has had a rough past few days. We took him/her (will refer as he/him for ease) to the Emergency vet on Sunday (now Tuesday) for some pretty severe respiratory distress.
He had his usual shower after getting his vent all dirty, was basking afterwards when I started to notice some breathing changes. He even slipped off of his branch onto his back and couldn’t flip over, so I flipped him onto his feet. Our regular vet was closed, so we took him to emergency. They kept him for a couple hours and said he was dehydrated and probably needed calcium from our regular vet. They sent us home with critical care (0.5ml / 4-6 times a day) and told us to soak him twice a day for hydration and call our vet for the calcium.
Come Monday (yesterday), we proceed with his treatment and called the vet for calcium - did his critical care and soaks, but he seemed to get worse with the liquid feeding. I’d even say he was pushing the liquid out of his nose as opposed to swallowing it?? And being fed liquids seemed to agitate him, after swallowing he would breathe heavy and his body would almost roll over onto his back. He rolled over a couple times and seemed to not even try to get back up, so I flipped him onto his feet. I called the vet AGAIN to let them know about the stringyness in his mouth and the bubbles in his nose etc - she made an exception and saw him last night, suspecting pneumonia.
We came home from the vet with calcium injections (to be given every 6 hours, 8 syringes), liquid calcium (to be given orally once injections are done), and Tazicef antibiotic injections (once every 72 hours, 3 syringes).
I have a few questions about husbandry changes, though.
With pneumonia / clicking while breathing, what is the best body position to keep him in? Since he’s not moving around, I’m wondering if there’s an optimal position for him to lay in to help him breathe/get mucus out?
What temperature should I be keeping him in while he’s sick? I’ve read to increase the basking temp a bit, but should I keep him in his basking spot all day? Which temp is ideal for his recovery/making sure his medicine works? Will higher temps help get rid of mucus?
How can I make sure he’s properly hydrated through his recovery? When I try to give him water via syringe or dropper, it’s as if it leaks back out of his mouth or nose instead of him swallowing. I’ve been tilting his chin upward while I give him water and it seems to help - I’d hate to make things any worse though
Today, he’s had 2 of his calcium injections so far, and has had ~1.5-2ml of critical care and roughly the same amount of plain water. He soaked once today and pooped once, has not tried to flip his body over at all since yesterday. He’s breathing rhythmically, but still with clicking sounds and in a gasping fashion. He just seems super tired and I hope that this doesn’t mean he’s going downhill.
Does anyone know good signs / recovery signs to watch out for? I’m waiting until his popping noises go away when breathing and hoping he’ll try to move or reposition himself.
Thank you so much for any advice, apologies for length
Many apologies in advance for length :
Our baby Idris (~3-4 months old) has had a rough past few days. We took him/her (will refer as he/him for ease) to the Emergency vet on Sunday (now Tuesday) for some pretty severe respiratory distress.
He had his usual shower after getting his vent all dirty, was basking afterwards when I started to notice some breathing changes. He even slipped off of his branch onto his back and couldn’t flip over, so I flipped him onto his feet. Our regular vet was closed, so we took him to emergency. They kept him for a couple hours and said he was dehydrated and probably needed calcium from our regular vet. They sent us home with critical care (0.5ml / 4-6 times a day) and told us to soak him twice a day for hydration and call our vet for the calcium.
Come Monday (yesterday), we proceed with his treatment and called the vet for calcium - did his critical care and soaks, but he seemed to get worse with the liquid feeding. I’d even say he was pushing the liquid out of his nose as opposed to swallowing it?? And being fed liquids seemed to agitate him, after swallowing he would breathe heavy and his body would almost roll over onto his back. He rolled over a couple times and seemed to not even try to get back up, so I flipped him onto his feet. I called the vet AGAIN to let them know about the stringyness in his mouth and the bubbles in his nose etc - she made an exception and saw him last night, suspecting pneumonia.
We came home from the vet with calcium injections (to be given every 6 hours, 8 syringes), liquid calcium (to be given orally once injections are done), and Tazicef antibiotic injections (once every 72 hours, 3 syringes).
I have a few questions about husbandry changes, though.
With pneumonia / clicking while breathing, what is the best body position to keep him in? Since he’s not moving around, I’m wondering if there’s an optimal position for him to lay in to help him breathe/get mucus out?
What temperature should I be keeping him in while he’s sick? I’ve read to increase the basking temp a bit, but should I keep him in his basking spot all day? Which temp is ideal for his recovery/making sure his medicine works? Will higher temps help get rid of mucus?
How can I make sure he’s properly hydrated through his recovery? When I try to give him water via syringe or dropper, it’s as if it leaks back out of his mouth or nose instead of him swallowing. I’ve been tilting his chin upward while I give him water and it seems to help - I’d hate to make things any worse though
Today, he’s had 2 of his calcium injections so far, and has had ~1.5-2ml of critical care and roughly the same amount of plain water. He soaked once today and pooped once, has not tried to flip his body over at all since yesterday. He’s breathing rhythmically, but still with clicking sounds and in a gasping fashion. He just seems super tired and I hope that this doesn’t mean he’s going downhill.
Does anyone know good signs / recovery signs to watch out for? I’m waiting until his popping noises go away when breathing and hoping he’ll try to move or reposition himself.
Thank you so much for any advice, apologies for length