Yikes! What a Mess!

[Neromom39]

I need some guidance regarding the mess I encountered when I went upstairs to get Zilla to bring him downstairs to eat:

In the middle of his viv was a big pile of . (And for anyone who was ever wondering, it smells like it, too). What concerns me is that the entire pile was unmistakable crickets, butterworms and phoenix worms, mostly undigested. He had the worms 2 days ago and the crickets 3 days ago. There was absolutely no greens in the . My husband feeds them in the morning before we leave for work and he confirmed that at least half of the greens had been eaten. He pooped twice yesterday and once today. He does poop on a regular basis. And he refused to eat crickets yesterday when offered.

A little history about Zilla - he is approzimately a 3 year old male that we rescued (his story is in the rescue forum, I don't know how to attach the link). He had no UVBs for over a year and a half and was severely malnourished. I realize that most adult dragons should not be fed this much protein however, at three years of age Zilla only weighs 248 grams and is still on the skinny side. At the vets recommendation, we have been alternating his protein with worms and crickets.

His enclosure is a 40 gallon breeder with a Powersun MVB. Basking temp is 103 and cool side is 80. We do bathe him daily as we do our other dragons and his substrate is tile and paper towels. The temps are monitored with an Accurite thermometer.

Up to this point he has been improving so well that I was almost in shock to see the mess in his viv. He actually has color (yellow is coming through that nasty grey) and he is starting to feel like he is gaining weight. He is very active so I am praying that this is a one time deal and not a set back that will lead to something more serious.

Any thoughts, advice or suggestions would greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Robin

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

Robin,

As long as he isn't still acting as though he doesn't feel well, other than refusing one meal, I wouldn't worry overly much about it, unless it keeps happening. Just as we do, sometimes they get indigestion or an upset stomach for no apparent reason. If you have any probiotics, such as Acidophiliz+, you may want to give him a dropperful full of that at bedtime for the next couple of days to help settle his stomach, and if he doesn't want to eat for a day or two, don't force the issue. If you can't purchase Acidophiliz+ locally, you can purchase it online at ReptileSupply.com. It's only about $6.00, will last indefinitely if its kept under constant refrigeration, and is a good thing to have on hand for times like this.

One thing that you should double check is the temperature on his basking site. With the changes in temperatures that we've been having lately, it is possible that his temps may be a little off. I would try raising them to about 105-107 degrees, just to be sure the temps didn't cause the problem.

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that he either ate his feeders too fast, or overstuffed himself, and got a nasty case of indigestion. It happens sometimes when they make little pigs of themselves. My oldest male, Ming, does this every once in a while if he eats his Superworms too fast, and doesn't chew them well, and it does make a God awful mess and smells terrible!

If that is what it came from, I would recommend not giving him as many feeders at one time, especially if you're giving him veggies during the same meal. It also sometimes helps if you just give them a few and then wait a few minutes before giving them any more. If they're not given all of their feeders at one time, then they won't gobble them like little pigs, and will usually chew them more thoroughly. At least I've found that it helps to do that with Ming, who practically swallows them whole if he's really hungry, if I don't make him take his time.

I hope this information helps......as long as he doesn't keep doing it, then it was probably just a bad case of indigestion!

 

[Neromom39]

Thanks Denise... since you did mention it, he does eat his "meat" quite fast. In fact, I always giggle at him because he seems to literally leap off of his basking spot when he sees the worm bowl coming. And he does comsume his crickets quite fast as well. I noticed last night night that he was rubbing his head so I am hoping he is going to start a shed. I wasn't sure that this poor guy would ever do that again. Maybe that is causing him to feel crappy as well.

I am really hoping this was a one time incident. I am thinking that by feeding time tonight he should be quite hungry. The pile he left was quite substantial and since he didn't eat last night I don't think there is anything left in him tummy.

I will also adjust his temps just a bit. I remember in the beginning when we first brought him home, the original temps were around 107 and he didn't seem to want to hang out on the basking spot very much. Pretty much stayed on the bottom of the viv under the light. After we started adjusting it, it was at about the 103-104 mark that he started climbing again. So that's where we left it. But I am willing to try anything to decrease the possibility of walking into that again.

On a side note - thank you for your post on retaining shed. I have a 6 month old that has a nub foot and a tail nip and I now know that when she sheds in these areas (which do seem to take a bit longer than the rest) to pay more attention.