beardie very sick - gi obstruction

[otto]

My 18 month old beardie, Otto, is in the hospital with a possible gi obstruction. Has anyone ever heard of this and if so what are his chances? He is in an excellent vet hospital and may be facing surgery tomorrow. I am losing my mind and am terrified of losing him.

 

[Jiffy]

HI.
I am sorry that Otto is not doing well. I hope that he is ok and does not have to have surgery.
I know that they can become impacted from feeders that are too big, or from the calci sand or other things.
Can you tell us about what you feed your beardie, and what type of substrate Otto is on?

 

[LJean]

I hope he doesn't need the surgery. I can only imagine how worried you must be. Keep us posted on how he is doing.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

A GI obstruction is not real common but it does happen.
What has Otto been eating? What substrate do you have him on?
This type of surgery is a little risky, but most of the time they make it through unless it is so severe that they cannot fully remove it.
Endoparasites are the cause of GI obstruction, many times, as well.

Let us know how things go.

Tracie

 

[otto]

Hi, thanks for the replies - Otto's substrate is paper towel and he only eats crickets that are appropriately sized for him and the hospital did x-rays and saw no signs of a foreign object at all. They first thought MBD because of his symptoms - but not that. They did a barium study and it seems to stop at the end of his stomach. I know the surgery is risky - they said they believe it is an abscess from an infection that caused the obstruction ( a fluke thing unfortunately). Are their recovery chances good or not? I am so worried about him. I was always a dog person until Otto and then Violet and the beautiful 15 eggs I am incubating for them right now. Still a dog person, just love my beardies!

 

[otto]

Otto is still fighting hard and we're not giving up. No surgery - we have opted to try medicine in the hopes it is not a perforated intestine and just dilated. He is a tough little guy!