brought home a monitor; Atlas

[Rosebud]

Hi,
I got your pm. That is indeed a severely emaciated lizard and you should not be attempting to feed him ANY feeders right now. Since he threw up, I suspect that he is severely dehydrated and probably impacted, and he can still be impacted even if he has an impaction. You cannot feed an animal in this shape anything that is hard to digest, and really, you need to go very slow on protiens period. Animals with deghydration and starvation of this level can sustain kidney damage if you try to feed them a normal high protein diet.

The first thing that you must do if he is to survive is rehydrate. get some pedyalyte, and get as much down him as you can in SMALL feedings of a few mls at a time. Give him nothing but the pedialyte for 24 hours. If he holds it down, then at the end of that 24 hours, you can mix in some ReptiAid. Make it loose, like 3 parts pedilayte ot one part ReptiAid. Give him SMALL feedings of this for the first day, say two feedings of 2-3 mls each, and NO MORE. Resist the urge to feed feed feed. I know he looks like he needs to pound down the food, but he will not be able to process it right now, and the name of the game is SLOW with reptile rehab. If he keeps this down, keep feeding him like this. Once he poops, you can slowly start to increase the amount per feeding and the consistency of the formula.

If he throws it up, you need to take him to a vet. A vet can administer sub cutaneous fluids that are injected into his sides and absorbed through the muscle tissue rather than through the gut.

If he won't allow you to hand feed him, then I highly recommend turning him over to an experienced rescue/rehabber who knows how to tube feed. A lizard this ill is going to be very hard to save for an inexperienced person.

You have a good heart for trying. Do these things, keep us posted, and we will move on to the next stage if he is keeping down the ReptiAid for a few days and is pooping. But remember, NOTHING but pedialyte for 24 hours. :wink:

 

[jscott]

hi, thanks for the reply. i will follow those directions. i wish i could find someone to take him but i dont know anyone who cares about reptiles. would a shelter or vet be able to take him from me? i would much rather an experienced person help him than me, im afraid ill hurt him...

 

[Drache613]

Hello Jason,

How is he doing today? Any improvements? Were you able to get fluids into him with much trouble?
Definitely go very slow with the feedings. Oral fluids are very important to get his system in working order first. Reptiles get well very slowly.
Keep us posted!


Tracie

 

[jscott]

im broke until tommorow. ive been trying to give him clean water through a dropper with no luck so far. how do i get this monitor to open his mouth?

 

[sunkist]

Ohhh I'm sending you some moniter magic. I have no advice but applaud you for the big heart you have.

 

[Rosebud]

Will he lap if you drizzle it down the front of his snout? You can also try putting him in a bath, and drip water over his head. Sometimes that works. But he really needs the electrolytes. Water alone won't be enough. Will you be able to get the pedialyte tomorrow? Have you looked into rescues in your area?

 

[jscott]

ive tried dripping water on his nose and head but it doesnt work. he only opens his mouth to flick his tounge. i try to catch him when he does that but its hard. even when i do get the tip in there he pulls away with his long neck.

yes i will get that pedialyte as soon as i get some cash. is there arything particular about pedialyte which makes it safe for beardies? someone i talked to said they wouldnt give their baby pedialyte because of something they read... i have no idea what that was, they just told me that wasnt good for some reason. anything you could think of as to why they would say that?

ive looked around online but havent found anybody i think would take proper care. i want somebody who will give him the right sized cage, proper temps and food. i will continue to look and call around though today is sunday... i doubt anybody will be picking up phones at the office but i will try anyhow.

thanks again for everything :wink: .

 

[Rosebud]

I use pedialyte on all of my rescue reptiles and it works. Water alone will not solve a dehydration issue that bad. he needs electrolytes to help restore electrolyte balance in his system.

You can try placing the tip of the dropper just under his lip and see if he will start lapping. The flavored pedialyte might attract him.

If he won't cooperate and you can't find a good rescue, let me know. He really needs fluid replacement soon if he is going to survive.

 

[jscott]

no, i understand the urgency. i was just wondering why somebody might suggest a different electrolyte source.

 

[Rosebud]

What other electrolyte source do you have access to? It doesn't have to be pedialyte necessarily, but it does need to be soon. Pedialyte is redily available, but if you have another option that you feel better about, go for it.

 

[jscott]

hydrolife electrolyte formula. is that any good?

 

[atreyu917]

Oh wow, he looks terrible in that first picture. You can tell how dehydrated he is. I don't know anything that Tracie hasn't already said. I'm at a loss. all I can offer is my prayers. I wonder how old he is.

Once he can start eating protein, A/D canned dog and cat food is a good sourse of protein, fat, etc. It also has a fair amount of water in it. He may even eat it without much persuasion. But, I know it's too early for that now. I guess it's good he is eager to eat though!

I'm going to keep my hopes up and pray he isn't past saving! I have faith in you Jason!

 

[Rosebud]

hydrolife electrolyte formula. is that any good?

I'd say sure. Electrolytes are all pretty much a blend of crucial salts and sugars. What is that product made for?

 

[jscott]

heres a link to a page describing the product. do you think this would be appropriate?

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=1230

 

[Rosebud]

That looks perfect! It might even be flavored to make them want to take it. Just follow the instructions for severe dehydration/starvation.

I have emailed a rescue org in LA and am waiting to hear back. Not all rescues do the level of rehab that he needs. If he starts cooperating and you want to try to rehab yourself, you will hopefully at least have people to guide you and show you how to do some things. I will let you know as soon as I hear back. :wink: