zooeymama
Hatchling Member
So around Sept9 he hurt his foot. It became very swollen. (i shared pics here) I wasted NO time in taking him to the vet. Took him as soon as I could.
The vet that saw him is also the SAME and the ONLY one who sees Petsmart and Petco's animals/reptiles. That made me nervous- I had reservations. But no choice. Only place open on a Saturday at 4pm.
She said he looked supremely healthy and he probably twisted his ankle. Gave me Baytril and sent us home.
I removed everything from his cage- it's like a giant fluffy bed in there now. Basking light and Reptisun and things to snuggle softly on. I waited a week to start the antibiotics thinking it was just a twist and would get better. After a week no improvement BUT his appetite remained voracious and he was spunky still and still tried running around. Two days after I started Baytril his appetite decreased. 3 days after he stopped being so spunky but was still alert. Now we are almost 6 days in on the Baytril and he has had 5 crickets since yesterday morning (it's almost 2pm the next day) and two of them he ate this morning. She swore up and down Baytril has ZERO side effects because I asked. I am a mom of 4 kids- I know what the heck I am doing with meds. I ask questions.
Now he is laying alot in weird positions and just less active than normal. He is still sweet as ever and he won't stay in 'bed' unless we snuggle for about an hour in the PM, then I cover him up and he sleeps all night. If I don't do that then he finds a weird spot in the corner of the tank and like he's 'climbing up it' falls asleep like that. Today his leg is really swollen and he favoring it more than usual. Things I recall him doing when I first got him were trembling briefly when I first held him (thought maybe he was scared and let it go) and his rear end is getting nubbier (like the bones poking up more than usual)...it's just weird. His tank buddy at Petco was obviously sick and now I'm just pissed. Their lighting is for crap there, their tank temps are def not all that warm, food I saw them eating appeared to be an iceburg salad mix.
I love my Nikko. And I am just mad and mad and mad for him. How much pain is he in?? He just has to 'endure'? This sucks. I am taking him to MY usual vet (was vet hospital I took him to before) and I hope pray hopppppe that they know what the heck they are doing. I leave in about 45 minutes. I will report back.
I am obsessed with figuring out how this could have happened. From Day ONE I have obsessed with getting it all correct. Temps, humidity, basking light, UVB light (around day 8-10 of having on whatever light they sell there- my Reptisun finally arrived), ditched the calcisand asap, put in tile, baths, little crickets 2-3 x's a day, fresh approved greens (mustard, dandelion etc), snuggled daily, almost never let my children touch him, dusted crickets once a day, UVB and heat light on 12hrs/off 12hrs...I spared no expense and spent many sandy red eyed nights making sure I was doing it all right. Could the week or so he was on the generic light I first had bought done this?? Is this all my fault from one stupid bad light for a week?
I feel so bad for my little Nikko.
The vet that saw him is also the SAME and the ONLY one who sees Petsmart and Petco's animals/reptiles. That made me nervous- I had reservations. But no choice. Only place open on a Saturday at 4pm.
She said he looked supremely healthy and he probably twisted his ankle. Gave me Baytril and sent us home.
I removed everything from his cage- it's like a giant fluffy bed in there now. Basking light and Reptisun and things to snuggle softly on. I waited a week to start the antibiotics thinking it was just a twist and would get better. After a week no improvement BUT his appetite remained voracious and he was spunky still and still tried running around. Two days after I started Baytril his appetite decreased. 3 days after he stopped being so spunky but was still alert. Now we are almost 6 days in on the Baytril and he has had 5 crickets since yesterday morning (it's almost 2pm the next day) and two of them he ate this morning. She swore up and down Baytril has ZERO side effects because I asked. I am a mom of 4 kids- I know what the heck I am doing with meds. I ask questions.
Now he is laying alot in weird positions and just less active than normal. He is still sweet as ever and he won't stay in 'bed' unless we snuggle for about an hour in the PM, then I cover him up and he sleeps all night. If I don't do that then he finds a weird spot in the corner of the tank and like he's 'climbing up it' falls asleep like that. Today his leg is really swollen and he favoring it more than usual. Things I recall him doing when I first got him were trembling briefly when I first held him (thought maybe he was scared and let it go) and his rear end is getting nubbier (like the bones poking up more than usual)...it's just weird. His tank buddy at Petco was obviously sick and now I'm just pissed. Their lighting is for crap there, their tank temps are def not all that warm, food I saw them eating appeared to be an iceburg salad mix.
I love my Nikko. And I am just mad and mad and mad for him. How much pain is he in?? He just has to 'endure'? This sucks. I am taking him to MY usual vet (was vet hospital I took him to before) and I hope pray hopppppe that they know what the heck they are doing. I leave in about 45 minutes. I will report back.
I am obsessed with figuring out how this could have happened. From Day ONE I have obsessed with getting it all correct. Temps, humidity, basking light, UVB light (around day 8-10 of having on whatever light they sell there- my Reptisun finally arrived), ditched the calcisand asap, put in tile, baths, little crickets 2-3 x's a day, fresh approved greens (mustard, dandelion etc), snuggled daily, almost never let my children touch him, dusted crickets once a day, UVB and heat light on 12hrs/off 12hrs...I spared no expense and spent many sandy red eyed nights making sure I was doing it all right. Could the week or so he was on the generic light I first had bought done this?? Is this all my fault from one stupid bad light for a week?
I feel so bad for my little Nikko.
