Brick's thread- no more surgery hopefully!

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We've had our dragons since the beginning of August and Brick has been at my house for about 2 weeks; it's about time His Highness got his own thread! ;)
For those of you who don't know, my fiance and I got Lady and Brick from his mom's friend's son (or something along those lines) who was moving and couldn't keep them. He gave us the vivs and lighting too, which was awesome! Their setups are great (except for the crushed walnut substrate! It didn't cause any problems but I don't want to risk anything so I switched to shelf liner when Brick moved in with me. Lady is still on walnut because my fiance thinks it's fine. :|), and they were well taken care of. So we got two healthy, happy dragons. They didn't have names, but we fixed that. The female is now Lady Fromage, and the male is Captain Brick Bordeaux (fromage is French for "cheese" and Bordeaux is a type of wine. Get it, wine and cheese? I'm a dork I know :p).

About two weeks ago I finally convinced my dad to let one of the lizards live here (Yep, I'm 26 and I still live at my dad's. For now anyway. ;) I do kind of like it though, since it's good food and cheap rent and sane company, plus my younger sisters are here as well). Anyways. My fiance is already quite attached to the sweet, cuddly, sociable Lady; so I got Brick. He's kind of a grump but I love him all the same. And without further ado, pictures!

Coming to my house! I waited til after lights-out and burrito'd him up, and he slept through the whole car ride and moving process. Sorry about the bits of scale and substrate lol-
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Showing a bit of (shedding) sexyleg. I feel bad for moving him during a shed though. All that stress! I totally wasn't thinking. :( Luckily he's handling everything like a champ. :)
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And a few pics of him exploring (the walls look extra-bright green in these pics! I definitely didn't paint them or choose that color, haha)
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And here is my current favorite picture of him. It was his first bath in the bathtub instead of his shallow rubbermaid container, and at first he acted like I was trying to put him in a tank full of sharks! Of course I had to get a picture ;)
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He's still going through a bit of relocation stress, but is doing great overall! And now I have to go make dinner. I'll post more if I think of something, thanks for reading! <3 <3
 

snazzyglasses

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sweetiepie9":27pixvr5 said:
You mean this one? :( And don't forget this one :banghead: which is what I do constantly with my crew.
Haha yep, both of those!! And often this one as well :shock:

So when the vet got my message on Tuesday night, she had put a request in that someone (receptionist or vet tech) call me back to discuss Brick's tail in the morning (turns out she had gotten my message but didn't have time to call me back). I beat them to it though lol, and we chatted on Wednesday morning about how the vet says I need to bring him in for a re-check and possibly schedule amputation surgery.
So. She re-checked his tail yesterday; the last couple of inches are dead and un-saveable but there are no signs of infection so the amputation isn't urgent. The "withering" has finally stopped travelling too I think? I'll check my reference photos today.
But since his little body isn't making any efforts to get rid of the end of his tail itself, we'll have to do it surgically. :(
Surgery is currently scheduled for August 12th, unless the blood sample they took yesterday shows something is wrong and he's not healthy enough for anaesthesia. And the vet will take off that weird lump in his mouth while he's anaesthetized as well. 2 birds with 1 surgery bill I guess?

Oh my head (and my wallet!) :shock:
 

sweetiepie9

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Yes, I know, head and wallet, but so worth getting him healthy again. I'll be thinking of you and Brick on the 12th, keep us updated on the blood work, hopefully that is completely clear. Good luck!
 

snazzyglasses

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sweetiepie9":admwbkm9 said:
Yes, I know, head and wallet, but so worth getting him healthy again. I'll be thinking of you and Brick on the 12th, keep us updated on the blood work, hopefully that is completely clear. Good luck!
Thanks!! :) And agreed :) I'd do anything for my dear little monster! :love5: Brick barely gives me the time of day but I'm so completely in love with him anyways.
The vet is a little worried that he's shedding so strangely (she's seen him two Fridays in a row now and said none of his big ol' shedding areas are progressing correctly), so that's the other reason she wanted to do bloodwork. His environment and hydration and diet and temps are okay (humidity is slightly high b/c it's summer, but not high enough to cause this weird of a shedding issue). Apparently problem sheds are a symptom of certain systemic things like hypothyroidism or an infection? :?
I'm thinking and hoping he's just a slow shedder (and unfortunately I can't remember exactly what his past sheds have been like, to compare this one to). He's still active and eating and drinking and pooping like usual though! And doesn't seem bothered in the least by his mouth lump or withered tail-end.
 

sweetiepie9

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Is she talking about the shed on his tail or other places. It takes forever for my older guys to shed, especially Lonzo and Rubio, but the shed eventually comes off. So I'm a bit confused as to what she's talking about. Adults always shed slowly, and in patches.
 

snazzyglasses

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Original Poster
She's talking about the shed in other places, vs. the band of retained shed on his tail cutting off circulation. :? Almost all of his tail is shedding, plus both back legs, one front hand, the top of his head, most of his belly, and his lower jawline/head spikes are all shedding. (Poor guy!) I'm pretty sure I remember she meant that the skin is behaving differently than a "normal" shed, not necessarily that it's a slowness thing. (I didn't think to write it down, so of course I forgot the details! :oops: :?) We should hopefully have bloodwork and fecal results tomorrow though; I'll ask for clarification on the shed concerns when the vet's office calls :)
 

sweetiepie9

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That's a good idea, and I'm hoping the bloodwork & fecal come back all normal. Will be waiting for an update!
 

morphmom

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snazzyglasses":2ntqls1l said:
We should hopefully have bloodwork and fecal results tomorrow though; I'll ask for clarification on the shed concerns when the vet's office calls
Fingers crossed for the best out come :wink:
 

snazzyglasses

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Aww :) Thanks Deb and Holly! <3 <3
So the vet's office called today! My little Bricklebottom is absolutely healthy enough for surgery, yay! Two things were slightly elevated though (I can't spell them for the life of me, but results are being sent to my email so I'll have details), and both of them mean inflammation is present somewhere in the body. But when my vet tested Brick's mouth-lump back in like March, she found some inflammatory cells. So that's where those inflammation markers came from we're thinkin'.

And the poor guy had a low number of pinworm eggs in his fecal. I was quite surprised! He's never had any signs of pinworms or smelly poops, so luckily his body has been keeping them in check so far apparently. But since surgery = stressful and the worms could take over, the vet recommended starting Panacur this week. Plus the Panacur won't interact with the anaesthesia or any of the pain relievers/antibiotics involved in the surgery (I made sure to have them check :)). So I'm picking some up from the vet tomorrow after work. I can't remember if Panacur kills off the good tummy bacteria, but I always have probiotics handy anyways. Gotta take care of my scaly hooligan! <3

I don't think pinworms can cause shedding problems though, at least not in small amounts? Nothing in his bloodwork pointed to shedding problems either. I'm wondering if his little body is so "busy" with the mouth lump and drying-up tail (and keeping the few worms in check) that it isn't putting enough energy into shedding... if that's even possible? :study: Or he's just a wierd shedder. That wouldn't surprise me in the least ;) Also: my vet is on vacation so I couldn't ask her what exactly she was concerned about with my big guy's shedding. :? The vet who called me back didn't seem worried about any of the blood or fecal results though, especially since: 1. the two inflammation "markers" have an explanation, and 2. Brick is still his normal sassy self.

I do have a question though: I have some hornworms and silkworms coming in the mail tomorrow (ordered them before I knew about the pinworms :?). Brick has never had silks or hornworms before. Will the combination of Panacur and "new" bugs upset his tummy too much, or will it depend on the dragon? I had been planning on giving him a small amount of new bugs mixed in with his supers to add some variety and let his tummy adjust to them, but I can always give them to my fiance for Lady. She'll gladly eat them I'm sure! And I can order more another time :)

...good grief I type a lot.
 

sweetiepie9

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Retired Moderator
You can type all you want, it sure explains what Brick is going through. So the meds should be given 1st thing in the am before he eats, then the probiotic in the later afternoon (or when you get home) so the meds don't kill the good bacteria. I'd still off him whatever you want, but don't be surprised if his appetite is down a bit, just try and see how he is. Titan was on Baytril, killed most of the bugs, but also killed his appetite for 10 days. When he was on Panacur about 2 mo later (same thing as Brick, had some eggs left, so gave him a few weekly doses to make sure they were gone) his appetite was fine. So you'll have to see with Brick how it goes.

I'm glad he's going to lose the bad part of his tail, it would just stay inflamed & now he'll get rid of that lump, too, even if it isn't bothering him, best it be taken out. Once all this is done, he'll be all back to normal again!

Keep us updated, k?
 

morphmom

BD.org Addict
Silks and Horns are a great idea! :D
85% water for the horns, great for hydration and silks "Contain an enzyme called serrapeptase, this has properties that make calcium absorption more efficient, can reduce inflammation, pain and best of all it can break down arterial plaque."
Quoted from beautiful dragons :study:
 

ohmybandit

Sub-Adult Member
Don't be surprised if his poops are mushy from hornworms. I freaked out with bandit because I would find just little puddles around her tank and a few inches away she'd leave me another mushy surprise :roll: lol
 

snazzyglasses

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ohsmileb":3nayqrk5 said:
Don't be surprised if his poops are mushy from hornworms. I freaked out with bandit because I would find just little puddles around her tank and a few inches away she'd leave me another mushy surprise :roll: lol
Haha, ewww. Thanks for the warning! His first poop after the new bugs was pretty normal looking but it was also mostly from superworms... We'll still how his weekend poop is lol.

And... surgery on Monday! It's so hard not to stress about it! :shock: :( :shock: I don't want my stress to affect/upset little Mr Brick though, so I'm trying not to worry about it too terribly much unless I'm not in the house lol. ;)
The surgery would have been on the 5th but my vet was going on vacation. I hate waiting lol :? (If an emergency came up and he needed it right meow, one of the other vets could/would have done it). But since it's not an emergency, it's easier to stick with the same vet. :) .... And speaking of the vet, I'm becoming more and more convinced that Brick has a thing for her. He's almost always on his best behavior for her (except when he gave her heck on our very first visit back in March), and he seems to listen really intently whenever she's talking. He also does way more of those adorable head-tilts when she's in the room.

Such a little flirt.
 

sweetiepie9

BD.org Sicko
Retired Moderator
Awww, he's in love with the vet, how cute & good for him, as he'll behave himself more. Please don't worry about the surgery, Lonzo had it and passed with flying colours. Just make sure you have the right dose for the antibiotics afterwards. I gave him almost the whole dose the first try because I didn't know how to ready the syringe. I gave him .6 instead of .06. Good thing it didn't bother him. Mind you he wasn't pleased with me much, took him a month to get over it. Don't forget, we had him in surgery 2 weeks after we adopted him :lol: But he did get over it & so will Brick. It's the best thing for him, don't want him to get sick!
I know how nerve-wracking it is to have to go through this, but Monday will be here soon & it will be over with soon, too, then you'll have a patient at home to care for.
 

zandi202

BD.org Addict
Tell Brick good luck tomorrow and we're all here for him! He'll go great and be back to normal before sun down. :wink: :lol:
 

snazzyglasses

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Aww :) Thanks everyone!! I know he'll be fine, and I'm sure I'll be fine as well lol ;)

I was super-worried like this for my first mammal surgery as well many years ago (surgery to remove foreign object from my sister's kitten's tummy), but since that first one I don't stress as much when one of our dogs or cats has problems or has to go in for something. (Surgeries or medical issues don't happen very often, but I don't worry as much when they do, lol. Thankfully! :))
So I think because this is my first reptile-surgery I'm just extra worried. Hopefully no one will need any other procedures, but if they ever do, I'm positive I won't worry nearly this much.
 
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