Vet wants me to consider putting down

[Subion]

My girl Zilla has had health problems since her follicle removal last year. I’ve posted on these forms quite a few times and you all have been very helpful. Last month we found out she is getting follicles back and from what I can tell they me be growing fast, they didn’t show up on the scans a month before that.

Anyways the vet had her on some different meds and on the 15th put her on an anti inflammatory/pain killer and and an anti infection med hoping it would help. She had her on a little calcium .02ml a day but took her off since her blood work it was showing high.

Anyways Zilla hasn’t been wanting to eat and she’s very weak in the limbs to where she don’t move and when she does she drags herself not actually walk. I talked to the vet over the phone fri and told her that Zillas eye look sunken to me and she’s sleeping constantly. All of which I feel she had first time they needed to do surgery. (This is a different vet then the original) She told me to give her between 4-8 ml of herbivore crit care a day preferably closer to 8. I’ve been getting around 5-6 a day in her. She fears she’s badly dehydrated and with not wanting to eat losing her nutritions so that’s why she wants me to push it. Anyways I’m suppose to call this week to give an update.

What I was told is if I can get the crit care in her we can possibly look at follicle removal surgery on the 17th. If not or she don’t show improvement we may want to consider putting her to sleep. The only other option is to admit her and let them run a Cath and stuff to feed her a day or 2 before surgery to see if we can strengthen her. I really don’t want to put her through that though. Surgery and forcing her to eat and take meds are and enough.

I really don’t want to rush the decision either to put her down if there is a chance the surgery could save her. Her colors are fine even her beard is normal. It’s just her eyes that make the vet worry. Hopefully someone on here can help me decide if the herbivore crit care is worth trying. How long does it normally take to show results if people have used it before. Just any advice would be really helpful. I don’t want her to be sick or feel bad and hate the surgery would be another week out. Yet I want to have hope. She’s like my baby and I don’t want to throw in the towel.

I should add my mother says her eyes look better to her since starting the herbivore crit care. And she is holding her tail up and head up more. She just is always sleepy. Sometimes after 5 min others 30 she’s ready for bed. I know a lot of that comes from the follicles too.

I also have emailed Tracie her last test results from blood work and X-rays.


Thanks,
Brandon

 

[KarrieRee]

My girl Zilla has had health problems since her follicle removal last year. I’ve posted on these forms quite a few times and you all have been very helpful. Last month we found out she is getting follicles back and from what I can tell they me be growing fast, they didn’t show up on the scans a month before that.

Anyways the vet had her on some different meds and on the 15th put her on an anti inflammatory/pain killer and and an anti infection med hoping it would help. She had her on a little calcium .2ml twice a day but took her off since her blood work it was showing high.

Anyways Zilla hasn’t been wanting to eat and she’s very weak in the limbs to where she don’t move and when she does she drags herself not actually walk. I talked to the vet over the phone fri and told her that Zillas eye look sunken to me and she’s sleeping constantly. All of which I feel she had first time they needed to do surgery. (This is a different vet then the original) She told me to give her between 4-8 ml of herbivore crit care a day preferably closer to 8. I’ve been getting around 5-6 a day in her. She fears she’s badly dehydrated and with not wanting to eat losing her nutritions so that’s why she wants me to push it. Anyways I’m suppose to call this week to give an update.

What I was told is if I can get the crit care in her we can possibly look at follicle removal surgery on the 17th. If not or she don’t show improvement we may want to consider putting her to sleep. The only other option is to admit her and let them run a Cath and stuff to feed her a day or 2 before surgery to see if we can strengthen her. I really don’t want to put her through that though. Surgery and forcing her to eat and take meds are and enough.

I really don’t want to rush the decision either to put her down if there is a chance the surgery could save her. Her colors are fine even her beard is normal. It’s just her eyes that make the vet worry. Hopefully someone on here can help me decide if the herbivore crit care is worth trying. How long does it normally take to show results if people have used it before. Just any advice would be really helpful. I don’t want her to be sick or feel bad and hate the surgery would be another week out. Yet I want to have hope. She’s like my baby and I don’t want to throw in the towel.

I should add my mother says her eyes look better to her since starting the herbivore crit care. And she is holding her tail up and head up more. She just is always sleepy. Sometimes after 5 min others 30 she’s ready for bed. I know a lot of that comes from the follicles too.

I also have emailed Tracie her last test results from blood work and X-rays.


Thanks,
Brandon

Ok I will flag Tracie here
@Drache613

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon!

I finally got you emailed tonight. How is Zilla doing?
I think that if she can hold up through a surgery that she should be able to go through
it successfully to remove the developing follicles. I do think that they need to give a discount
though for missing that initially & charging you for a spay that didn't get fully completed.
Have you been able to get any extra food or fluids into her?

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon!

I finally got you emailed tonight. How is Zilla doing?
I think that if she can hold up through a surgery that she should be able to go through
it successfully to remove the developing follicles. I do think that they need to give a discount
though for missing that initially & charging you for a spay that didn't get fully completed.
Have you been able to get any extra food or fluids into her?

Tracie

I just responded to the email.

She’s about the same, fighting me more and more when I try to give her meds or the crit care from a syringe. She just does not want to open up. So I’m hoping that means she’s feeling somewhat better and stronger. I don’t blame her though, I know what it’s like being forced to take stuff.

The vet told me to quit liquids and only do the crit care to make sure she is getting the nutrition she needs, that she’ll get enough water from the crit care mix I don’t need to worry about that. I did mix a little of the cherry juice in with it today though to give a bit different taste. She’s currently taking around 5-6 ml a day where vet wanted up to closer side of 8. It’s just hard to find a time to get it to her that much without making her sick. I also managed to give her a bit of pumpkin baby food the other day just to have something different in her.

The vet that will do the surgery this time is the specialist in Ohio. Not the one she originally went to. They do things different there. They told me they keep them over night or 2 nights until they wake up and start eating some on their own. They also will have a cath in her during that time. I really don’t like that idea but if it helps her chances then I guess I have to go for it. Where the local one just sent her home that same day and took her almost a week to wake up fully.


Edit: A few pics I took today while outside. You can see her eyes better. A lot of stuff I feel is being caused by the follicles.

Also she tried to move a bit in the grass mad she won’t fully stand up and three of her legs are very shakey I feel like it could be the calcium being drained.

 

[Subion]

Just an update.

Yesterday she tried to walk a little more outside and at least 3 legs are definitely shakey and weak. She’d only go a few steps. Then I don’t know if she was trying to go potty or trying to lay eggs even though she was spayed. But, she would suck in her gut like trying to push with no luck a couple a times. She only did it when outside though in the grass, not in the tub or anything.

I do give her a bath once to twice a day right now just to try to help her relax and go potty if needed. Today I put her in and she just Laid there. I was rubbing her tummy and felt a bit of a small bump towards her back side. I started rubbing it gently and she went potty. It got stuck in her half way so took a bit for her to get it out. I checked it and the outside of the white part was normal but once I got though that the inside was solid. At first I thought it was a rock or something but it broke apart with some pressure. I know this means she’s dehydrated. Between the baths and giving her 6+ml of crit care a day I thought she would be getting enough liquid. Should I be giving her just plain water instead of just the crit care like the vet said? It had been 3 days since she went to the potty. There for awhile it was every day. This past week it seems to be more of 3 day stretch before she’ll go.

 

[Subion]

Quick update:
Her 2nd follicle removal surgery is set up for the 17th. The vet feels she’s been taking enough crit care to proceed instead of thinking of putting her down. I know there is alot of risks and I’m glad we have something set up. Still worried though about the procedure itself.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon!

How is Zilla doing today? I do think that her developing follicles again, has likely zapped her
calcium reserves which is causing her to lose some strength.
I'm glad to hear she is taking in some critical care to help keep her weight stable. Keep her as
hydrated as you can. The critical care is fine to give to her but be sure it is thin enough she
wont choke. You can add some sugar free pedialyte or sugar free gatorade too daily. Or, if you
feel the black cherry juice is helping you can continue that as well.
The surgery is coming up so try to keep her nice & relaxed as much as you can. If the weather
is decent try to get her outdoors for some sunshine also.
I don't really think they spayed her since she has developed follicles again, on both sides. I'm
not sure exactly what they did other than just remove the eggs & clean out the abdominal area,
but that's about it.
So they need to do a complete hysterectomy this time. Are they going to give you a financial
break since the first procedure wasn't successful? I do think she will be fine for the surgery.
We are all thinking about her. Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon!

How is Zilla doing today? I do think that her developing follicles again, has likely zapped her
calcium reserves which is causing her to lose some strength.
I'm glad to hear she is taking in some critical care to help keep her weight stable. Keep her as
hydrated as you can. The critical care is fine to give to her but be sure it is thin enough she
wont choke. You can add some sugar free pedialyte or sugar free gatorade too daily. Or, if you
feel the black cherry juice is helping you can continue that as well.
The surgery is coming up so try to keep her nice & relaxed as much as you can. If the weather
is decent try to get her outdoors for some sunshine also.
I don't really think they spayed her since she has developed follicles again, on both sides. I'm
not sure exactly what they did other than just remove the eggs & clean out the abdominal area,
but that's about it.
So they need to do a complete hysterectomy this time. Are they going to give you a financial
break since the first procedure wasn't successful? I do think she will be fine for the surgery.
We are all thinking about her. Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

Hi Tracie,

She’s about the same. Seems like her eyes are a little less sunken to me and she does look around some when I do have her out. It’s been cold here lately or rainy. So when I do get her out it’s only maybe for an hour then she’s ready for bed.

She’s taking about 6ml of crit care and I’m making it extra runny and giving it to her through a syringe so it’s defiantly very small pieces or it clogs the tip.
Yesterday I decided to only give her 3 ml of it. Give her a couple ml of just water and one of black cherry and water mix to get extra liquid in her.

It’s a different vet doing the surgery this time. So I doubt they will give a discount. I’m fine with that as long as they do a good job. I’ll have to ask about checking into the hysterectomy, I’ve only heard them say spay. I’m not sure what the original vet did either, the paperwork notes only say “spay” and all I know from X-rays is she does have clips in her to hold things in place.

I did pick up some Gatorade and Pedialyte today to try. How much do I give of the Pedialyte? I know it can cause diarrhea and vomiting in some cases so don’t want to overdo it with her. I was planning on using maybe .25 of it and the rest of the 1 ml syringe as water just to start out. Also do I have to worry about it interfering with any of her meds? I never used it before. I’ll add a pic of what I got to make sure it’s the right stuff. Also I got a pic of her eyes while outside just so I can keep an idea of how sunken they are day to day.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

Sorry I haven't had a chance to email back, so I thought I would check back here.
Those products are fine. Yes, just use a small amount as you were thinking, mixed with water, &
it shouldn't cause diarrhea or anything.
Her eyes don't look too bad, plus, she doesn't have a black beard.
Oh I guess that is right, a different vet is doing this surgery. If a spay was performed, then they
definitely did something wrong because she shouldn't have developed more follicles on both
sides in her ovaries!
It is hard to get the critical care thin enough so it goes through the syringe, I know! Is she taking
that pretty well then I hope?
Just a few more days until you can get her taken care of this time I hope! Keep trying with her, she
is a fighter & isn't giving up. Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

Sorry I haven't had a chance to email back, so I thought I would check back here.
Those products are fine. Yes, just use a small amount as you were thinking, mixed with water, &
it shouldn't cause diarrhea or anything.
Her eyes don't look too bad, plus, she doesn't have a black beard.
Oh I guess that is right, a different vet is doing this surgery. If a spay was performed, then they
definitely did something wrong because she shouldn't have developed more follicles on both
sides in her ovaries!
It is hard to get the critical care thin enough so it goes through the syringe, I know! Is she taking
that pretty well then I hope?
Just a few more days until you can get her taken care of this time I hope! Keep trying with her, she
is a fighter & isn't giving up. Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

So she took a bath and went potty again. It looks like she struggled getting it out some. The urate and bit of the feces itself had what looked like fresh red possibly blood on it. But by time she was done I think it washed off I couldn’t find the bright red. I don’t see any on her outside at all. I tried breaking it apart to see if I could find any inside of the waste. It seemed like some of it was solid and she may had an undigested blueberry it looks like. She hasn’t taken a blueberry in over a week. I got some pics with red in it but it’s not as bright as what I initially saw and I can’t tell but some of it may be watermelon (again Havnt had it in over a few weeks) or if it’s blood mixed in.

I’ll add a few picks I took maybe you can tell if it’s something I should be concerned about. Like I said it’s not as bright as it was on the urate but I think all that washed off since I couldn’t spot it anymore. She only goes lately like every 3 days so it would be a few days before I can check again.

is it possible she may have been backed up some? Last time she went it had that hard urate in it and I could feel a small bump in her tummy until she got it out. Now she has a bit of issues today and it feels a little solid when I tried to break the poop and since it had what looks like part of a blueberry it had to be in a while. If you think I need to try to call the vet I will. Just don’t want to bother them if it’s nothing.

Sorry for the pics in advance. The ones that look like a mess is where i tried to break stuff apart in to check the insides. Also she hasn’t had anything to eat recently but crit care and a small bit of pumpkin baby food so that’s why color is off for her.

 

[Subion]

Just an update.

Last night after potty Zilla started acting a little better. At bed time she moved her front of body to get more comfy where she normally just lays where I set her. She also swung her tail like a chopper blade when I was carrying her. She hasn’t done that since right before she got sick.

Today she got mad and wobbled off my chest when I was trying to feed her while we layed on the bed. She went s little bit and layed down. Her legs are still really weak though.

Plus as I was letting her take a nap earlier she decided to get up on her own and crawl out from under the covers a bit. Her paws don’t seem as swollen either. So hopefully that hard potty break she took yesterday helped her.

She seems to be a bit more alert and staying up for longer periods of time also. So hopefully she’s getting a lot stronger since we’ll need her strength wed for the surgery.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

She does look pretty good there. I hope she hasn't had anymore blood with her stool. I think it was
likely due to straining some. She did a helicopter tail for you, that is surprising. They can get mad
& have temper tantrums! She will definitely need her strength for the surgery next week.
Ok good you are giving some pumpkin then, that can help with fiber intake if she has a decent amount
of it anyway. She could have been a little backed up but hopefully it is all passing through right now.
That would be great if the swelling went down some also. She definitely needs a break!

Keep us posted on Zilla!

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

She does look pretty good there. I hope she hasn't had anymore blood with her stool. I think it was
likely due to straining some. She did a helicopter tail for you, that is surprising. They can get mad
& have temper tantrums! She will definitely need her strength for the surgery next week.
Ok good you are giving some pumpkin then, that can help with fiber intake if she has a decent amount
of it anyway. She could have been a little backed up but hopefully it is all passing through right now.
That would be great if the swelling went down some also. She definitely needs a break!

Keep us posted on Zilla!

Tracie

So a bit of mixed news today.

Seems like the swelling in her paws went down some more. I gave her a bath and she went potty. Had seemed like she struggled a bit and only noticed a tiny bit of what may be blood on the outside. It doesn’t look fresh though like it did the other day. It is attached to the waste where the other day she was freshly bleeding to the point it was washing off in water. But when I tried breaking it all apart when I got the dark section it looks like it may have had a blood on the inside. I can’t tell if it’s all blood or if it could have been something she ate a while back that’s just passing. It sort of has the texture of a blueberry feel on the outside when I picked it up with gloves. If anyone has any ideas if it is blood or something I shouldn’t worry about please let me know. Her surgery is coming up and I’m so worried she may be bleeding somewhere. I’m honestly hoping it may just be leftover from where she pushed hard the other day. Just want to be safe.

Food wise she is only getting herbivore crib care, occasional pumpkin baby food, some non dairy yogurt yesterday, water and very small amounts of Pedialyte. She hasn’t had blueberries or anything like that since the end of last month. Again sorry for the nasty pics. Even tried to offer her a hornworm today and she didn’t want it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I'm glad she seems to be doing pretty well. It is possible it could be blueberry skin, but not sure. If
she has been a little backed up then that is possible. It is also a possibility that it could be just dried
blood passing through, from her follicle issues, etc.
Hopefully they can get all of that cleaned out during the surgery. Is she acting normally with no black
beard? Her surgery is coming up soon!

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello,

I'm glad she seems to be doing pretty well. It is possible it could be blueberry skin, but not sure. If
she has been a little backed up then that is possible. It is also a possibility that it could be just dried
blood passing through, from her follicle issues, etc.
Hopefully they can get all of that cleaned out during the surgery. Is she acting normally with no black
beard? Her surgery is coming up soon!

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

Thanks Tracie,
That’s what I hoping myself. Only thing I can even think she may have that’s had red in it is a little black cherry juice that was watered down. I just thought of that today when I went to get her some. She may had some about a week ago.

She acts and looks good. Well for what she’s going through. Still lazy and stuff of course but besides that she tries. She fights meds and looks around when we go outside. Beard is still normal.

Honestly I keep worrying more the closer it gets to surgery date. One thing the vet said was only thing she ever lost was an iguana who had health issues and bleeding. Zilla has health issues and when I saw the blood it just really set me off. I’m trying to stay positive but seems like everyday has its ups or downs. Yesterday she liked a little non dairy yogurt off her lips and today she licked her cherry juice/water off her lips some instead of me having to stick the syringe in and force her. So she acts like she’s getting better in that way. She still won’t eat on her own though. I bought her a med hornworm yesterday hoping she’d take it but she just watches it even if I hold it up to her.

she’s trying to go back to sleep already while giving her a small break before the next med. not sure if it’s the pain meds she just took or if she’s that exhausted.

Edit: I think I may have some good news. Today when I had her outside a couple of times she got warm enough to where she opened her mouth for a bit to cool down then tried to jump off me. I put her on ground and she had to pull herself a few steps. It’s hard watching her not walk. So i took her to the shade and let her cool down a bit. I gave her a bath when we came in and she went potty a lot easier. Didn’t seem to have any sticking like last few times and it’s still a bit dark but starting to look more like normal. I broke it apart and I don’t see any sign of blood that I can tell. I’ll watch next time to be safe but I think she just may have been blocked some and when she pushed it out hurt herself a bit. It’s such a relief if that’s all it was. Now hopefully everything goes good from here on out.