High Blood Sugar

[DragonBus]

Pocketdragon76,
Last post cut out, hard to type on my tiny cell phone keyboard.....
I think there is infection involved with Peekaboo.....though I wont get in to check her blood sugar again till January.....sounds like the same perhaps for dude....with all that sugar in their systems, infection thrives on that and for a while Peekaboo was on it for most of the time her sugar was so high. I got an ultrasound to look for tumors, which sometimes occur in the stomach and cause high blood sugar. According to Dr. Burgess, by the time symptoms show, the tumors are too big to remove. Fuzzy did not have a tumor, and his blood sugar went down on its own.....during summer while he was getting to go outside and run around, Peekaboos went down too this summer. Dr. B. said stress can raise blood sugar too.

Does Dude get to run around? Is she overweight? What is her diet? How many hours Uv does she get? What are her temps....does she get overheated often like Peekaboo does?. Best Wishes. Stephanie.

 

[pocketdragon76]

I will suggest those things to the specialist when she calls me tomorrow with an update. Thank you so much for your reply. I'm having a hard time concentrating on studying for my final tomorrow as all I want to do is research this. I work for a vet who at one time saw reptiles regularly and has been in the field for several decades and talked to him tonight. He said that he has heard of it happening, said any animal can get high blood sugar although he has never personally seen a case. He recommended I get in touch with the Northern Ohio Association of Herpetologists (NOAH). Said he's referred a lot of people to them. I've never left her anywhere else before and it's driving me crazy. She's not having a real hard time pooping, but i did notice the other day she just went a little. I've been giving her a probiotic for lizards called Acidophiliz and force feeding baby food (beef w/beef broth and some green beans) and she'll eat that up, usually a cc of both, but she ate 4cc of the beef the other night and only about 2cc last night, though I didn't get to feed her til late. She's always been a pain about eating her greens, kale is her fav when she eats it. I also mixed in some of her calcium powder and vitamin powder with the baby food twice last week to get those in her system. Praying for the best for both of us, I'll send some reiki your way if you like.

 

[DragonBus]

Pocketdragon76,
Try blending the protien with the greens. I got a cheap used blender, and I increased the greens to almost threequarters, they are old enough that they dont need as much protien......otherwise Peekaboo wont eat her greens, and more greens fights high blood sugar. I have to syringe feed it to her even so.....gotta get em down her. Lightly boiled Collards (to release the calcium) are good with beef flavors. Kale is pretty good too.
Good luck on finals. Relax, The Dude is in good hands, enjoy the break, and dont feel guilty, I know how it is when my dragon is not home, drives me nuts.
Steph

 

[DragonBus]

Peekaboo passed yesterday morning at 6:30 am. I found that she had moved to the basking area in the night and must have overheated. She was so week, I think she went over there to poop and gets too exhausted after pooping to move I have been noticing. Something was really wrong inside because she was in extreme pain before pooping lately, would hold it for days and then would sleep all day after. I had been checking on her every two hours for months because she was too weak to thermo regulate herself. I noticed the day before her skin was light like she was hot, but she was quite cold to the touch. I turned up the heat, and gave her her glipizide the night before just before bed. Her beard immediately turned black and she was writhing in pain. I checked her around 1:00am and she was extremely cold although the temps were normal. I turned up the heat again, my phone went dead and I did not awaken till 6:30. It was 100° where she was lying dead, hotter than I wanted for night time temps for her to be stuck under. I feel so guilty, but I did the best I could, and I wonder if these are symptoms associated with her illness to be aware of. The whole thing has been exhausting and I am looking forward to getting a full nights sleep again.

 

[DragonBus]

Dropped Peekaboo off at the vet for a visual necropsy. Dr. Burgess is not charging me for it since no tissues are being sent for tests.

Now Hutch is the last of a clutch of six. She was the runt, hatched a day later than the others and always hid from the other dragons that picked on her. Now she is out front and center, enjoying being the new queen. She does seem sad at times though....she was bonded to Fuzzy and Peekaboo and I can tell she misses them.

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Awwww, not Peekaboo too! I'm so sorry Stephanie. I haven't been on since well before Christmas. I just saw your post and my heart is just broken for you. Two of them in such a short period of time. Sending Love and big hugs to you. I hope Hutch will be ok. Probably missing her best friends... Please give Hutch a little head scratch from me and Dino. <3

 

[DragonBus]

Thanks for sending Hutch a head scratch Sue. She is out front and center constantly now and does not hide at all now. I think shes lonely and is wanting attention. Got necropsy results for Peekaboo. She had high blood sugar and slight liver complications confirming she was worn down by the constant high blood sugar. Vet said the heat was not the issue which makes me feel less guilty. Everything else seemed pretty normal. She was in quite a bit of pain at the end and is at rest now. She was quite a girl.

 

[SpikesAgirl]

I honestly didn't think the heat was the issue. It wasn't extremely high. I'm sure that made you feel a little better, knowing you didn't do anything wrong. You tried and tried to help them get better. We know that, and I'm sure your babies knew too. It did sound like she was having a real hard time at the end. Poor girl. She's in a better place now, pain free and hanging out with Fuzzy. <3

 

[pocketdragon76]

So very sorry to hear about your loss. The Dude passed away in the early morning hours of Dec. 22nd. I figure if you're gonna go, why not go on the solstice. There were times when I thought she was improving, but at other times no. She was trying to crawl out of her bath the day before and I took that show of energy as a good sign. I did have to force her to drink and give her belly massages to help her poop. I had decided that day to give her some of her probiotic to help her with digestion because the antibiotics were probably killing all the good stuff. Thinking back on it now I wonder if the sugar in the papaya in the probiotic was too much, damn it. After she ate she was so bloated and uncomfortable, while she was basking she was wiggling around and I thought maybe she was trying to go to the bathroom so I gave her belly rubs. I placed her on her rock so that she wouldn't fall off of her branches and she was still there when I woke up in the morning when usually she'd have moved to the center or onto her branches and upon checking found that she had passed away within the few hours that I had been asleep. I did not have a necropsy done as I had already spent $600 of my student loans in a week, but the vet that I work for was not surprised and said that as wasted away as she was she was like the walking dead. But the specialist said it was worth trying so I did everything I could. I hope the probiotic wasn't the cause, I was just trying to help her. As much as she was eating though, she wasn't putting on any weight. Poor girl. She's now at peace and playing with my cat Lucy again. My other cat, Sylvester, was looking for her in the tank the next day I let her 2 vets know, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to call the specialist. I miss her so much and still expect to see her when I walk into the living room.

 

[DragonBus]

Pocket Dragon,
What you are describing is very similar to Peekaboo. She would always have an upset tummy after feeding, and the last few weeks I had to massage her belly to encourage pooping too. I tried and tried to do what I felt was best for her. We both did the best we could. Hindsight is always 20/20. We did the best we knew to do, sounds like you have some herp skill on you so don't guilt trip on anything. I did it too-its one of the normal 5 stages of grief and is to be expected. Peekaboo was also a rag doll barely alive case, the blood sugar had worn her down over time and as there is currently no cure, we made them as comfortable as humanly possible till the end.

 

[pocketdragon76]

That we did and I'm glad we've had each other to talk to. Give Hutch a scratch behind the ear for me, that was Dude's favorite, and a hug from me to you.

 

[DragonBus]

Hugs and ear scratches to you and Sylvester too.

 

[pocketdragon76]

 

[DragonBus]

 

[DragonBus]

Ear scratch from Pocket Dragon76 being delivered. Check out the self destruct switch on the dash of the bus.