Gravid female, eggs not developing - how long is safe to wait before surgery?

[Starlily]

Just checking in , is the surgery today ? How is she doing ? I hope to hear good news and maybe see a jar of big follicles. I wondered if they would even have possibly become shelled during this time.

Good morning!

Yes, surgery is today. I just dropped her off in fact. Awaiting to hear how the X-ray looks and how we’ll be proceeding. Have a feeling she’ll be having surgery… please keep her in your thoughts! I’m hopeful she’ll be just fine. She’s been her usual self throughout it all, minus a little diarrhea early on!

 

[AHBD]

O.K, I have been thinking of her all along. Thanks for the update and look forward to hear how everything goes !

 

[Starlily]

@AHBD @Drache613 Lily is currently in recovery and I’ll be seeing her later today.

Upon x-ray, follicles looked unchanged so spay and removal was recommended and completed. Vet told me that they pulled out a whole army of follicles (Lily’s body was working overtime and trying really hard to make as many as she could, poor girl!)

Calcium count was a little high and some yellowing spotted at liver during surgery but blood work looked great. I was told high calcium is fairly common during egg growth as could be the yellowing (but also could indicate a problem because of her weight - certainly this will be addressed more vigorously after recovery).

Follicles appeared to be in various stages - assuring me that it was okay to wait a little longer to feel confident in my decision - but ultimately proceeding with treatment was the right thing to do.

Next up is rounds antibiotics and pain meds - not really looking forward to this because Lily is so feisty (I know I use that word a lot to describe her - but it’s so true!). Any advice to make that part less stressful would be so welcomed! No matter what, I know she’s going to be ticked right off for the next 10 days!

Her enclosure is sanitized and ready for her. Can someone confirm this is appropriately boring for a recovering dragon? (photo below)!

Any other thoughts welcome. I await eagerly to see my girl!

- Luna

 

[AHBD]

Whew, mission accomplished as far as getting through the operation ! Hopefully she won't be TOO feisty but you can ask mizjackson9 for some tips on giving meds. since they just went through this . The first few days she might be drowsy and not put up too much fuss.
The enclosure looks good but get rid of the hanging ladder in case she decides to climb it, they are not always the brightest.

 

[Starlily]

Hehe, that’s no ladder - those are ventilation slats!

I’ve not seen either dragon attempt to climb those - (we’ve made two enclosures exactly the same)

Thanks for all of your support AHBD! you’ve been so helpful throughout all of this! Not sure I would have managed nearly as well without your help!

@Mizjackson9 AHBD made a good suggestion that I ask if you have any advice for medication administration. I’ve got a very busy girl on my hands who is likely to put up one heck of a fight!

Whew, mission accomplished as far as getting through the operation ! Hopefully she won't be TOO feisty but you can ask mizjackson9 for some tips on giving meds. since they just went through this . The first few days she might be drowsy and not put up too much fuss.
The enclosure looks good but get rid of the hanging ladder in case she decides to climb it, they are not always the brightest.

 

[AHBD]

"Hehe, that’s no ladder - those are ventilation slats!" LOL ! If anyone's not " the brightest ", it's me ! I've seen slats like that before too, no excuse !
As far as giving meds to a stubborn clamped mouth I'm sure others might chime in but one way is to slide a credit card in there to wedge it open slightly and wiggle the syringe in quickly .

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Hi there, I went through this too with Charlie! She's doing much better now 1 year post. Charlie has always been really good with meds (shes a healthy and curious eater haha always willing to try anything that remotelty seems like it could be food), but my other beardie Taro was ironclad tight mouth when it came to meds. I can offer some small advice:

You can try gently wrapping her in a towel and then using a card to force her mouth open. What also works is applying light pressure on the sides of her mouth at the same time- this will cause her to try to ease pressure by opening her mouth. Taro was an angel never bit me once even though she was so tight mouthed. I miss her dearly hope this helps

 

[Morri]

So glad that Lily's surgery went well! Overproducing follicles sounds just like what Zoom did.

Definitely feeling your pain of administering meds to a feisty dragonette. I second making a dragon burrito using a towel. I have not tried the credit card method, because I feel like she would only chomp through it (she murdered about 10 syringe tips). After a few times of struggle that was basically a full body workout for the both of us, I figured the best way to do it was pulling her lower lip down from the side (not jaw, just the lip) ever so slightly, then gently putting in the syringe tip and releasing a small drop onto her gums in front of her teeth. This prompted her to part her jaws to either try to lick it off or maul the syringe (more often the latter). Either way, there was a way in.

 

[Starlily]

Thank you both for the help! We’ve been doing the burrito and card method and it’s working out! She definitely doesn’t like it but soon this will pass! I haven’t fully inspected the incision site but man oh man that thing felt gnarly when I picked her up - which naturally made me think a burrito was the way to go. Poor little cutie! Though, the alternative could have been much worse!

Can I just for a minute say how crazy this shed has been (photo included)! She’s had it for quite some time now - though the vet indicated it could be that her body was focused on other things… like making over thirty follicles!

 

[Morri]

Oh bless her little scaly butt!
Good that the dragon ATM is working for you. She definitely looks way more alert than Zoom was for a few days after the surgery. She was high as a kite and mostly asleep. She also had zero appetite until we stopped the opiate pain killers. Is Lily interested in food?

 

[Starlily]

Oh bless her little scaly butt!
Good that the dragon ATM is working for you. She definitely looks way more alert than Zoom was for a few days after the surgery. She was high as a kite and mostly asleep. She also had zero appetite until we stopped the opiate pain killers. Is Lily interested in food?

Hi! We did convince her to eat a roach this morning (so we could give her the pain meds). Greens were untouched. Lily is typically one ravenous girl for her bugs and raspberries! Funny, neither of my dragons enjoy blueberries AT ALL and I’m told most love those!

Lily definitely was sleepy when we picked her up at the vet but quickly became alert once in her enclosure (as much as one can be from such an invasive procedure!). I could be overthinking but I’d wager a guess that she isn’t quite at home in there right now because we’ve stripped it pretty bare to keep her incision site safe and clean. It almost seems like she’s not sure what to do!

Today was spent on her perch sunning herself and that’s about all - but she definitely kept a watchful eye on us (as she always does ). She is not moving around much and when she does she moves slow and carefully (completely understandable under the circumstances). I imagine she isn’t feeling too well (but we couldn’t be more relived that she’s home safe!)

 

[AHBD]

Good to see how well she is doing, I think she'll get through this like a champ.
She does look as if nothing has happened to her, just a displaying her bravery and over all cuteness.

Did the vet gift you with the problem follicles ?

 

[Starlily]

Good to see how well she is doing, I think she'll get through this like a champ.
She does look as if nothing has happened to her, just a displaying her bravery and over all cuteness.

Did the vet gift you with the problem follicles ?

She definitely is a cutie! A very sassy cutie!

Re: Follicles - No! And I was just saying to my husband yesterday that I sure wish I could have seen them - from sheer curiosity!

 

[AHBD]

Yes, most vets keep them to show the owner what they removed from their dragon. I should have mentioned for you to ask. The important thing is she's going to be feeling better if everything was done right !