Mirrorakay
Hatchling Member
First thing Saturday morning I wound up rushing Zeke to the vet because, somehow, he managed to get a piece of paper towel out from under his tile and was choking on it. The vet was able to remove the paper towel, but in the process gouged the side of Zeke's throat (Zeke bit down on the tongs). They watched him for a few hours before sending him home. Unfortunately, about three hours later, Zeke developed a blood clot in his throat that blocked off his windpipe almost entirely. It was a frantic car ride yet again. The vets were able to wash out his throat and get rid of that clot. At that point I opted to leave Zeke in their care since the car ride is minutes and far too long if Zeke were unable to breathe again. Zeke was stabalized and remained there for the rest of the weekend.
The specialist was finally able to get a look at Zeke this morning. The trauma from Saturday seems to be healing and while there is still a clot, they aren't concerned about it blocking his airway. However, in doing the X-ray to determine the damage to his throat they discover something that has been troubling us for over a month. Some of you may have seen my posts in the last few weeks about Zeke not eating and having no parasites. Turns out he is EXTREMELY constipated. The vet doesn't want to call it an obstruction just yet, but it is severe. We're talking to the point where the constipation is slighly obstructing his lung space. The vet is doing a short course of antibiotics to prevent infection from the wound in his throat and is pushing fluids. However, Zeke will be coming home in the next two hours.
Has anyone ever dealt with constipation this severe? The vet has me giving Zeke mineral oil on top of his bath water, but it was his only suggestion. He says that it could take 3+ weeks to clear Zeke out. What can I do to make this process more comfortable for Zeke? Specific foods? Especially with the damage to his throat?
I also know Zeke's mouth is sore. While I was trying to remove Zeke from his tank to take him the vet while he was choking initially, I slipped up with where my fingers were and he managed to latch on to my finger. It took close to two minutes to pry his mouth off and he had managed to bite down close to my bone. No teeth were broken, but prying him off was not a gentle process. So even without the whole constipation issue, he is sore in both his mouth and throat. I imagine he certainly won't be eating for a few days, but do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!
The specialist was finally able to get a look at Zeke this morning. The trauma from Saturday seems to be healing and while there is still a clot, they aren't concerned about it blocking his airway. However, in doing the X-ray to determine the damage to his throat they discover something that has been troubling us for over a month. Some of you may have seen my posts in the last few weeks about Zeke not eating and having no parasites. Turns out he is EXTREMELY constipated. The vet doesn't want to call it an obstruction just yet, but it is severe. We're talking to the point where the constipation is slighly obstructing his lung space. The vet is doing a short course of antibiotics to prevent infection from the wound in his throat and is pushing fluids. However, Zeke will be coming home in the next two hours.
Has anyone ever dealt with constipation this severe? The vet has me giving Zeke mineral oil on top of his bath water, but it was his only suggestion. He says that it could take 3+ weeks to clear Zeke out. What can I do to make this process more comfortable for Zeke? Specific foods? Especially with the damage to his throat?
I also know Zeke's mouth is sore. While I was trying to remove Zeke from his tank to take him the vet while he was choking initially, I slipped up with where my fingers were and he managed to latch on to my finger. It took close to two minutes to pry his mouth off and he had managed to bite down close to my bone. No teeth were broken, but prying him off was not a gentle process. So even without the whole constipation issue, he is sore in both his mouth and throat. I imagine he certainly won't be eating for a few days, but do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!