Vet wants me to consider putting down

[xp29]

I love the pic of her gaping, sge does look a little better i think.

 

[Subion]

I love the pic of her gaping, sge does look a little better i think.

She seems to act like she feel me a bit better with all the injections of saline. She still wants to nap from time to time and lay around without holding herself up when in the house. But outside and if I’m holding her she seems to hold her head up and look around a good bit. She even moved a little in her cage today. Not much and it took her a break in the middle but she made it about half way through where normally she just lays down wherever I put her and maybe takes a few steps at most to get comfy.

 

[xp29]

That's a start hopefully she'll be back to normal soon.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

She is looking a bit better there, bless her.
The critical care is high in protein & calcium for nutritional purposes. I would recommend decreasing
the use of it & rotating it with other slurries, etc. Mix up blended greens, squash, sweet potato, turkey or
chicken & give to her instead. It would be lower in calcium & protein. Perhaps it is just overloading her
system.
I hope she is feeling better & is able to start moving more soon.

Tracie

 

[Subion]

I’ll get some stuff here shortly to try and make her some slurries. I only gave her a couple crit cares yesterday and she had a few for lunch today.

We did get another 6ml of fluids injected today and I feel awful about it. They also decided to give her a shot of vitamin b before even telling me about it. So I’m a little annoyed they didn’t tell me in advance or ask if I wanted to try it. We have to go tomorrow for more fluid. He said if she seems to do better over the weekend we won’t need anymore.

Since we got in she has been laying around, I’m hoping she’s just sore from the shots some. She’s wide awake though today. I tired to let her take a nap and she won’t shut her eyes even under the cover. She seems to be feeling worse after the shot so I’m hoping the vitamin didn’t do something to her. Also since we were on the way home I kept smelling something like a sweet odor. It seems to be coming from her. I didn’t smell it until we got in the car on the way back but it wasn’t there when I took her today. Is this something normal with the vitamin shot or is it something I need to look into?

I’ll update you all later tonight if there is any change.

Edit: our grocery store sucks. Hardly any greens and all the chicken/turkey looks like its expiration is close. Of course no one in deli today. I did find some baby food with chicken in chicken broth or turkey in turkey broth. I know it’s probably high sodium so I can only give her a small bit at best. I’ll have to stop at the grocery store by the vet tomorrow to see what they have.

Edit 2:
I have another question. Now that it’s getting warmer out I’m having issues keeping the humidity above 22% under her basking spot where she wants to lay. Because of her surgery I can’t put in a water dish or anything that she can hurt her incision on if she decides to try and walk around. I tried an humidifier but it had to be so close that it sprays on her lights unless I hold it in a certain way so worried it’ll cause issues. Im currently using a spray bottle around the area but it seems like after a few sprays it jumps to over 50% then in less than 5 min it’s back to 22%. I could try to over some of the holes with a towel or something on top of the lid but worry it would get too hot from her lights. Any one have any idea a good way to keep the humidity good for her without risking her stitches and incision getting wet?

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

How is Zilla doing tonight? I think the sweet smell was probably the B12 vitamin shot they gave
her. She probably didn't need that but at least it is water soluble so hopefully it will flush out of
her system quickly.
Did she ever take a nap at all?
It is hard to find things in the grocery store now. If you can't find the baby foods, just get some
organic chicken or turkey & cook it up. Then, grind it & puree it in with squash or sweet potato
for her.
Maybe try some rolled up wet paper towels or a wet washcloth rolled up to put in her tank. You can
simply put it in the corner area to help it release a little moisture into the air.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

How is Zilla doing tonight? I think the sweet smell was probably the B12 vitamin shot they gave
her. She probably didn't need that but at least it is water soluble so hopefully it will flush out of
her system quickly.
Did she ever take a nap at all?
It is hard to find things in the grocery store now. If you can't find the baby foods, just get some
organic chicken or turkey & cook it up. Then, grind it & puree it in with squash or sweet potato
for her.
Maybe try some rolled up wet paper towels or a wet washcloth rolled up to put in her tank. You can
simply put it in the corner area to help it release a little moisture into the air.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

Sorry for no update yesterday. It was a busy day and by time i remembered it was so late I was in bed lol.

She didn’t take a nap that night at all until around 5pm when we wernt inside she was tired. She’s been going to bed around 6 or 7 so I let her go to bed and just woke her up for her meds and let her go back to sleep.

Yesterday was her last dose of the cipro and she had 6ml injection of fluids again. If she does good over the weekend she won’t need to go back.

She hasn’t wanted as much water to drink when getting up in the morning though last couple days. She was taking 4-5ml with her meds. Last 2 she only wants 1-2.

Anyways time for some good news. On the way to the vet she got so warm in the car she tried to start climbing my car seat. I had to stop her and put her on me then she climbed me a bit ot get comfy. Her paw is looking a lot better and she actually is trying by to grip on and close her front paws when needing to rip on to things. With the swelling she couldn’t even move her toes to try to close them. After get though she wasn’t as active, I assume it was the shots making her sore. She did get a small nap in after we got home but the rest of the day she stayed awake and we spent about 80% of that time outside. She had been trying to walk some in the grass, still struggling with her legs and will move a bit then stop for along time before taking a few more steps. She even went potty and it’s almost back to having the shape to it, just slimy from all the fluids. She even walked away from where she went intraday of leaving her tell lay on it so I don’t have to clean her up after.

She ate a good size chunk of watermelon on her own yesterday. I Havnt given her any crit care just been doing the slurries and grinding it up to a pure liquid for her right now. She didn’t want much of the first one that had some yellow squash in it. The second I replaced it with some sweet potato baby food and she really seemed to like it. I’ve been mixing it with water, kale, mustard greens and a little of her turkey in turkey broth baby food. I got some other stuff to mix in but I want to mix it up so she has different tastes every few days.

Last night she was gaping more when we were outside she even would try to jump off me in to get on the ground like she use to. I’d put her in the shade and she’s be fine. Then before bed when going trough the hall to get her meds she would try to move like she was eyeing up the floor to jump from my shoulder. Then she really fought me when I tried to give her meds again. When I finally put her down to go to bed she wanted to climb out of it to get on my bed so I had to fight her to stay where she sleeps for a bit. She’s still not getting up in her own but as soon as I uncover her she is opening her eyes instead of laying there with them closed like she don’t want to get up.

She’s definitely showed a good improvement yesterday so hopefully it keeps up and we’ll see how well she does without the injections this weekend. Just got to try to keep her hydrated without overdoing it.

Here’s a few pics I took over last couple days also to show progress.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon!

She is looking quite a bit better, her eyes are looking bright. Did she have a nice time outside
in the sun?
If she is starting to fight you on getting her meds & or fluids then she is definitely feeling more
energetic. It's great to hear she is moving around more as well.
I hope her appetite continues to improve & her energy levels become higher too. Keep on
encouraging her to move around more but it's ok to let her rest & take naps, too. She has been
through a lot of stress so she does need extra rest.
Keep us posted on her progress!

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon!

She is looking quite a bit better, her eyes are looking bright. Did she have a nice time outside
in the sun?
If she is starting to fight you on getting her meds & or fluids then she is definitely feeling more
energetic. It's great to hear she is moving around more as well.
I hope her appetite continues to improve & her energy levels become higher too. Keep on
encouraging her to move around more but it's ok to let her rest & take naps, too. She has been
through a lot of stress so she does need extra rest.
Keep us posted on her progress!

Tracie

She’s been enjoying the outside. She only moves some when she’s hot but not to far. She did try to go after a bee yesterday and I had to stop her.

She seemed to be a bit more active today. she climbed up my shoulder more and when I’d try to give her water or something she’d turn her back and move a way a few steps. She did do one weird thing today while we went for a drive. She put her paw, the one that was swollen bad, up to her face like she had an itch but only touched the side gently with one toe touching her face. She then proceeded to lower it slowly like she was waving which she’s only ever waved once or twice. She did that like 4-5 times in a row and then I turned the heat off and she quit. So I have no idea if she was waving at something we drove by, had an itch, or just trying to stretch that arm some.

She hadn’t really wanted much to eat or drink today. She went potty and there was a lot of just liquid that came out. I think she’d had to much fluids lately between what I’ve given her and the injections last week. I want to make sure she’s staying hydrated but at same time she’s not even getting 10ml a day where I was told she should be atleast taking. So I don’t know if I need to cut back some or keep pushing her right now.

She also tried to hold herself up a little more on her front legs I believe today. She still won’t stretch them out or stand on them only put them enough to hold herself up a bit using mainly her forearm pads the elbow, Her legs do look a little deflated like she may need to build up her strength again. Wish I could put her in the tub to swim some but got a few weeks left before stitches may come out.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

That is very positive news she is more active, so she doesn't seem to be in much if any pain.
Interesting behavior of the arm movement, it does kind of sound like she was waving. It is so
neat to see them wave.
Yeah, you will need to wait to bathe her until her stitches come out, to be sure they heal up. You
can try to push the fluids, but you don't have to give so much she is floating. Her body should start
to normalize soon. Are you still giving some squash & sweet potato to help try & firm up her stools
so that they aren't so liquidy?
I hope her strength increases, but it will probably be pretty slow. Keep us posted on her!

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

That is very positive news she is more active, so she doesn't seem to be in much if any pain.
Interesting behavior of the arm movement, it does kind of sound like she was waving. It is so
neat to see them wave.
Yeah, you will need to wait to bathe her until her stitches come out, to be sure they heal up. You
can try to push the fluids, but you don't have to give so much she is floating. Her body should start
to normalize soon. Are you still giving some squash & sweet potato to help try & firm up her stools
so that they aren't so liquidy?
I hope her strength increases, but it will probably be pretty slow. Keep us posted on her!

Tracie

She’s doing good I believe right now. I’ve been letting her sleep a good bit since it doesn’t get warm or sunny out until around noon she’s been getting up at 630 taking her meds and going back to sleep until 10 or so. Then we get up and go outside if it’s warm or even just go for a car ride for a bit. I think she’d sleep all day if I’d let her. I am giving her slurries with sweet potatoes yellow squash or butter squash daily. She seems to like those. She’ll take 3-4 ml on her own when she’s ready. I mix them up a little different every few days though I’ll try to add some green beans or something to give a different flavor. But she does also get fresh fruit that she takes without me bleeding up. She had banana yesterday and she’d keep pulling herself back to get it she’d about fall out of my arms when I was holding her. Her waste is back to having a normal shape she just had a lot of just fluids come out with it.

Yesterday she got mad at me in the morning and held herself up with her front legs stretched out all the way and put her head looking as high up in the air as she could to try and get me to quit giving her meds and water. Then she turned away from me. I have noticed once in awhile when she does try to walk her back legs sometimes move slow and have a bit of a jitter. I’m hoping it’s just where she hasn’t built them up since her surgery much. I don’t notice it when she tried to climb up or down me though. She had been wanting down on the ground more sometimes just to lay others she will try to walk a bit. Yesterday a honey bee landed in front of her and she took off and grabbed it. I had to fight her to get it out of her mouth before she swallowed. I don’t think it stung her thankfully, she’s acted normal just mad at me since. She also didn’t like that it was cloudy and chilly wind all day. So we didn’t get out much. I did offer her 5 bsfl last night and she ate 4 of them. It’s been first insects she had all month. I don’t want to overdo it right now since the fear it’s her calcium caused the swelling I’m worried she may get too many and swell up again. So I’m trying to let her system flush out some and slowly build up the insects.

She’s currently getting maybe 1-2ml of just water and then 3-5ml of slurry a day along with any fruit she’ll eat. Seems like after that she wants to fight and doesn’t want anything else. I keep offering to see if she will though. When she was getting the fluid shots and on her antibiotic those last few days she took about 3-5ml of water in the morning when she took her meds alone. Now if I get 1ml in the morning in her she acts like it’s enough. Any idea what a good amount would be? I read online they are suppose to have between 10-30ml a day. I just don’t want to overdo it at same time I don’t want her to not get enough since she isn’t able to drink from the bath if she needs more.

I’ve also tried to wiper her off a few times with a wet paper towel and she still has that odor from the what I want to say was the vitamin b shot on her. Seems to be really worse smelling in the morning when she’s been covered up under the heated blanket all night. Though out the day it’s still there but no where near as strong.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

That is great she is slowly improving right now. That is perfectly fine to let her sleep a little more,
as long as she is getting basking time in. Does she like the sweet potato & squash I hope?
Did she bite you when you were trying to get the bee out of her mouth? They are so fast, it's hard
to get things out of her mouth.
Try to keep her supplementation low right now, to help her body flush out excess. Her body is likely
very sensitive to supplements. It's hard to know exactly what amount of water & or fluids they need.
I wouldn't overdo it because you can overhydrate them. Give just enough to keep her urates soft &
her pads on her head elevated. Maybe 3-5mls daily of a combination of water, slurry, etc on average.
Go easy on adding in any insects for her.
I hope she is able to build up her strength in her back legs again, that will take some time.

Let us know how things are going!
Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

That is great she is slowly improving right now. That is perfectly fine to let her sleep a little more,
as long as she is getting basking time in. Does she like the sweet potato & squash I hope?
Did she bite you when you were trying to get the bee out of her mouth? They are so fast, it's hard
to get things out of her mouth.
Try to keep her supplementation low right now, to help her body flush out excess. Her body is likely
very sensitive to supplements. It's hard to know exactly what amount of water & or fluids they need.
I wouldn't overdo it because you can overhydrate them. Give just enough to keep her urates soft &
her pads on her head elevated. Maybe 3-5mls daily of a combination of water, slurry, etc on average.
Go easy on adding in any insects for her.
I hope she is able to build up her strength in her back legs again, that will take some time.

Let us know how things are going!
Tracie

Sorry it’s been a few days. Had a lot going on. She seems to love the sweet potato baby food mixed in with her slurries. I’m going to try to get her some actual sweet potato to try separate when the local store gets some good looking ones in. She’s been eating yellow squash out of my hands or in slurries and enjoys it also. She seems to take everything pretty good except greens. She likes them in slurries but won’t touch otherwise. I’ve been mixing it up too, been using kale and mustard greens. Got her some endive and escarole yesterday. Been looking at colored greens again but they all look so bad in stores I’ve been passing on them for now.

Sat I took her to the pet store for a bit to watch fish. She loves watching them on a tablet but in real life her head will follow them. Seems to cheer her up some. Also got her a small/med hornworm and she did good with it. Got her some BSFL on order. I’m taking it easy until her follow up for stitch removal to see how she’s doing with her labs and stuff that day. It’s on the 19th.

We’ve been getting cloudy cool weather again so not able to make it out as much. But when we can we’ve been outside most of the day she’s awake sitting in the sun until she needs a break from it. In her cage she’ll move around until she finds a place under her light uvb she wants to lay and then plop down like she’s exhausted. Sometimes it’s close to the heat lamp other away from it. Then that’s it until I get her out for the most part, she just lays there. I think she’s somewhat depressed with all her normal stuff out and just pillows in the cage. Soon as I get her out her head is raised and looking around again.

Yesterday I let her sleep in extra since it was cold, finally got her up around noon so she could get sun while it was out. She’s fighting me more and more when she wants. She wanted down on the ground so bad yesterday she crawled around the back of my neck and tried to jump off or something. I couldn’t get ahold of her except her tail so she was dangling a little while I was holding her to help her down. I didn’t want her to make a fall and hurt herself and I had no other way to get to her from the angle she was. Then when I put her on the concrete she went chasing after a big all the way on the opposite side of the walkway. She took off running like her legs were not an issue at all. Other than that she just move a few steps then rests a bit.

Now she is starting to look like she is shedding around a few places on the face so that’s not going to be fun.,nothing to rub on in the cage and no baths. So I’m trying to help her rub it and keep moist to hopefully ease it up some. I also am catching her puff her beard from time to time. So that’s a really good sign. When she got sick she wouldn’t even try.

Edit: forgot to add she did get 4-5 good bites in on me getting the bee out of her mouth. The. She was mad at me rest of the night and wanted to walk off when I looked at her.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

She looks pretty happy there! It sounds like you are definitely going to have to watch her pretty
closely if she can take off running like that, outside!
At least you kept her from jumping or falling off of your shoulder. They can definitely get very
rambunctious.
Since she is fighting you so much that is a great sign she is feeling better now. Most of them tend
to like the sweet potato & squash mixture. It gives some healthy carbs & fiber for her system. Just
do your best trying to get her to eat greens. They can sure be picky with that, too.
I hope she starts basking more but eventually she will get back to normal.
Shedding her face will be an annoyance but a good sign. The rest of her body will likely follow.
Let us know how the vet visit goes!

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

She looks pretty happy there! It sounds like you are definitely going to have to watch her pretty
closely if she can take off running like that, outside!
At least you kept her from jumping or falling off of your shoulder. They can definitely get very
rambunctious.
Since she is fighting you so much that is a great sign she is feeling better now. Most of them tend
to like the sweet potato & squash mixture. It gives some healthy carbs & fiber for her system. Just
do your best trying to get her to eat greens. They can sure be picky with that, too.
I hope she starts basking more but eventually she will get back to normal.
Shedding her face will be an annoyance but a good sign. The rest of her body will likely follow.
Let us know how the vet visit goes!

Tracie

Will do. Not much changed last few days. Trying to get her to eat greens that’s not in a slurry is about it. She has a good appetite it seems. Sometimes she’ll take 3-5 slurry on top of what else she’s eating that day. Her fruits and squash she’s doing really good with. We’ve been going for small drives and even stopping at the local park just to get out more. She cares around a little on the bed now to get comfy. Still not walking to much but between the shed and temps have only been 75 at highest here with cold winds I don’t blame her. She’s not wanting to try to stand up either until she tries to walk, just lay around. We really need some good weather. Next few days I’m going to be getting everything ready for the trip to Ohio I may need. Not looking forward to the drive but want to get her stitches out so she can start bath inn again and hopefully get good news with her tests they do. Also want to see if she needs to go back on her heart meds.

Edit: @Drache613 she just went potty after a few days and it’s still a lot of liquid coming out. Hardly any urate, I could see very little white mixed in with some of the stool and even the liquid seemed a little more darker. I’m only giving her liquids and food she will take not forcing it on her. I’m going to have to try and cut back some I guess and see what happens. I give her a little black cherry Juice a week to help her flush out but she’s been like this since the fluid injections. Sorry about the pic and it’s not that clear but just to show an idea of what she’d been going lately. It’s first pic I could get where it’s not in the grass and this is first time she hardly had any white in it.