Zilla RIP 3/2/14 : Started a new thread for Sid!

Hi all. Never in a million years did I think I'd get so excited about a lizard pooping in his bath before. Lol

I want to potty train him, so I'm super excited. He's only ever pooped i the tub once. I was hoping today was the day since its Saturday, since he hasn't pooped in about a week and since he ate about 14 supers for breakfast. Yay!!!!!

What a nice birthday present. For him. Lol. He's a year old roughly right around now.

 

[BrendaKay]

Darn! When I had the vets office on the phone yesterday, I should have made an appointment......
I called this morning when they opened and the only available slot was at 4:30. I took it figuring I'd feed him in the morning, run home at lunch to feed him and bring him to work - then leave early at 4:15 for the appointment.

No sooner do I get here and got notice that our staff meeting was changed to 3:30 - 5:00 today, instead of the normal 8:30am tomorrow.

So i was able to change his appointment to 9:00 tomorrow (HA! no staff meeting to worry about!). I'm a little upset he won't be seen today to start meds, but at least he's handing the assist feedings pretty well. He has perfected that stink eye, but instead of running away from me, he runs up me and closes his eyes. So sweet.

I leave for Camp Talkalotta on Saturday after much debate on actually WHEN to leave. I don't know if I'll take him with me or not - will decide that last minute. Richard is not going, so I will probably want to leave him home. And, it's a 5 hour drive in the car each way to the beach. And it's cold here. Ugh.

This year we are going to Edisto Beach, SC - never been there before so I'm excited to explore a new area. Richard's step-mom rented the house for a whole week this tiime - Thursday to Thursday. Two people will be there for the whole time, most everyone will be there Friday to Monday due to school schedules, and I will be there Saturday until Thursday probably. I might come home early depending how bored I get. LOL

I'll update after the doc appointment!

 

[ohsnapitscharity]

Darn! When I had the vets office on the phone yesterday, I should have made an appointment......
I called this morning when they opened and the only available slot was at 4:30. I took it figuring I'd feed him in the morning, run home at lunch to feed him and bring him to work - then leave early at 4:15 for the appointment.

No sooner do I get here and got notice that our staff meeting was changed to 3:30 - 5:00 today, instead of the normal 8:30am tomorrow.

So i was able to change his appointment to 9:00 tomorrow (HA! no staff meeting to worry about!). I'm a little upset he won't be seen today to start meds, but at least he's handing the assist feedings pretty well. He has perfected that stink eye, but instead of running away from me, he runs up me and closes his eyes. So sweet.

I leave for Camp Talkalotta on Saturday after much debate on actually WHEN to leave. I don't know if I'll take him with me or not - will decide that last minute. Richard is not going, so I will probably want to leave him home. And, it's a 5 hour drive in the car each way to the beach. And it's cold here. Ugh.

This year we are going to Edisto Beach, SC - never been there before so I'm excited to explore a new area. Richard's step-mom rented the house for a whole week this tiime - Thursday to Thursday. Two people will be there for the whole time, most everyone will be there Friday to Monday due to school schedules, and I will be there Saturday until Thursday probably. I might come home early depending how bored I get. LOL

I'll update after the doc appointment!

I'm only drag about two hours from edisto beach! Was actually there this past weekend! Stay warm! I'd leave him home though if I were you.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'll be waiting to hear how he does with the vet, hopefully it's something that can be gotten rid of quickly, so he can get back to normal! No wonder he's been so uncomfortable and not eating, so glad he's now starting to take down the slurries so well. Good luck tomorrow, will be thinking of you!

And yes, leave Zilla home so you can enjoy yourself 100%, give you a break after all you've been through. Richard can handle everything, right?

 

[BrendaKay]

Back from the vet and Zilla is here at work with me so I can keep an eye on him.

I fessed up and told the doc I stopped giving him the antibiotic shots since he wasn't exactly diagnosed with anything - and he didn't get mad at me. Whew! But Zilla is now back on the same dose of the same meds for 7 more days. That should clear up the abscess, and if not, he can go in and lance it and clean it. He gave him some fluids too to help hydrate him more. He told me to give him lots of carnivore care as well, so i will mix more of that in with his slurry.

He pooped a few minutes ago and it stunk oddly. I guess its the fluids. He's sleeping now and I'll give him a drink in a little while.

Yesterday was the first day in months that Zilla showed interest in eating a worm, but he wouldn't do it. He knows his tongue hurts and he winds up chewing on it. So that is very good news. I'm very hopeful hes snapping out of it now. Doc even said he was sure this is a combination of a few things going on, and semi brumation is playing a part as well. I have to agree!

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'm so glad I was right & that it's not difficult to make Zilla well. Sure explains why he didn't want to eat, and semi-brumation is definitely in the mix. That's such GREAT news! So hopefully the 7 days of shots does the trick and it shrinks the abcess & that's the end of it, then he can get his energy back!

So your trip is this Saturday. Have fun! It'll do you good to be away. Can Richard handle the shots and slurries or will you have to take Zilla with you? Guess you'll figure it all out before Saturday gets here. Either way, just going away will be so restful!

 

[BrendaKay]

Holy cow what an afternoon. It started snowing around 1:15 and by 2:00 we had almost an inch, so we closed the office. My little 2.5 mile commute was fine, but no sooner do I get home and get Zilla settled, Richard called and said his truck wouldn't get him home. It's an old truck and is revving high, and it was making him slide all over the place. I had to turn around and go get him! Ugh. It's only 15 miles, but I knew it could be a nightmare because of where we are. I changed into long johns and jeans, grabbed coats and boots and left. It took me almost TWO HOURS to get to his office. Tons of stupid little accidents. I spent most of that time less than two miles from him. I had to pee like a racehorse. Finally got there, and by the time I did, there was FOUR inches in his parking lot! I plowed right through it, thankfully I have a front wheel drive Toyota Camry hybrid, so it's big and heavy. I never slid.

We had no problems coming home and it took us maybe only about 45 minutes or maybe an hour. I can't believe all those cars that were sitting in a parking lot with me (on the highway haha) were all gone. We were only at his office hanging out for like 30 minutes! Craziness.

Peeked in at Zilla and his lights were off. He moved from his basking area to the big water bowl we have in his tank temporarily, AND HE WAS LAYING IN IT WITH HIS HEAD UP THE GLASS. I can't believe I didn't take a picture, it was hysterical.

So I pulled him out dried him off, have him basking again (he's not thrilled at all) and will put him back after he's warm. I'll put the CHE on him tonight too. He was freezing cold, so I want to be sure he's nice and toasty for the night.

 

[sweetiepie9]

So how's he taking the shots & have you decided if you're taking him with you, it's this Saturday that you're leaving, right? One way or the other, have a great trip!

What is with the snow? You're like us, a bit of snow & continuous accidents :roll: honestly, drives me nuts. I stay off the roads if I can if there's even a sprinkle of snow...I'm so glad you were able to get Richard home & also glad you got Zilla nice and warm. Is the water dish in there because the humidity is so low? I'd take it out if you don't need it.

And yes, you can complain any time you want about anything you want. It's part of the site rules :lol:

Puff hasn't laid anymore eggs, though, not sure if she will, and if she does I'm glad I'm off Friday and Monday, can keep an eye on her. She's going to the vet with Rubio on Monday for a checkup, I'll let the vet know what she's been up to. I still will leave her in the living room, as she was so miserable by herself in the bedroom, constant black beard, so if having eggs is the result, so be it.

 

[BrendaKay]

I'm pooped tonight but just a quick note to say I got my first good snuggle out of him in months! I fed him again around three thirty and he ate good from the syringe. Didn't fight it after I got it in his mouth. Rinsed it down with water and then sat with him rubbing his back. After a minute he rested his chin on my shoulder and butt wiggled on my chest and snuggled in to sleep.

I think he's feeling better.......

 

[sweetiepie9]

Oh, that is such good news, the butt wiggle says so much Guess the food & shots are really helping him!

 

[BrendaKay]

Not to much news to post. Still just doing shots and veggie slurries with lots of carnivore care etc in them. That gets washed down with either water or grape pedialyte or watered down black cherry juice. Yesterday I mixed up some squash baby food because he used to like that. He actually licked it on his own!

We've been hanging out snuggling more, like we used to. He looks a LOT better, but still very thin. He is awake longer now too. He did stick his head in his corner hide to go to sleep early on Friday, so we left him like that. He moves around his tank more too, so I'm trying to adjust the basking temp to where he'll stay under it. I think it was down to around 100 degrees now.

Oh, and I opted to not go to the beach at all. The more I thought about it, I just couldn't make myself drive 5.5 hours each way. There were more reasons not to go, than to go. The main one was Zilla, the second reason was $$. I had already spent $60 on groceries and cooked a meal, but it's in the freezer so it didn't go to waste. All in all it would have cost around $250, and honestly - I'd much rather spend that on George Strait tickets next month. They are around $150 each and since it's in Atlanta (5.5 hours away) we'll make a weekend out of it. The only problem with going to Atlanta, is we are dog sitting a friends dog for a week. But, I already lined up a dog sitter for the dog sitters. Lol.

So, I feel bad bailing on the beach trip - but so be it. Yesterday I did not feel well enough to drive it, and today pretty much the same.

Pix later. Maybe you all can see if you think Zilla looks ok too.

 

[sweetiepie9]

As far as your trip, Brenda, there's next year, too. So if you don't feel up to it, never mind Zilla, then it's not a good trip to take. I'm sure Zilla will appreciate you being home taking care of him, too, sounds like he's doing a lot better. When do the shots finish and you go back to the vet?

I'm so relieved that you found what was wrong with him and that he's recovering so well. Way to go, both of you!

 

[zandi202]

I'm glad to hear that Zilla is doing better. A happy cuddler is the best feeling.

I'm sorry to hear that you won't be able to make it to the trip. Maybe next time though, right?

 

[BrendaKay]

Not much different over here, so I haven't updated lately. I have some pix i will upload to pb at some point soon.

I've been on vacation this week - a 'staycation' if you will - and have enjoyed every minute of it. Getting a few things accomplished, but of course not as much as i would have liked.

I finished up Zilla's shots on Wednesday and the vet actually called to check on him. When the doctor gets back on Saturday they will let me know if he needs to be seen again. I'm pretty sure the abscess is gone - or at least its now so small i can't see it easily. He still will not eat, and is sleeping very soundly a few hours after lights on. He has been squishing himself into a small hide and I have been yanking him right back out. Since yesterday was the first day of no meds, I moved that little hide to the cool side of the tank to see what he would do. He went over to the front corner on the cool side, leaned on a stuffed alligator and went to sleep for the day. I covered him up at lights out, and this morning he didn't open his eyes. I left the lights on for about an hour, checked on him again - still nothing but breathing (yes, i made sure he was breathing!) so i turned his lights off and covered him back up. I'm thinking since he's feeling better and looks 100% better and not sick looking at all, I will let him sleep for a few days. I will wake him on Sunday if he doesn't wake on his own before then. I'll feed him and give him a bath and see what he wants to do at that point.

I think a lot of his problem was winter slow down, and since i didn't realize i was supposed to turn his tank temperature down, his metabolism never slowed down so he lost all that weight. Then he got that abscess at some point and it got infected. Now that the infection is gone (I hope) and now that he is really acting like he needs/wants to sleep, I will let him. I don't think sleeping for a few days at this point will hurt him. I hope not anyway. We will be out most of tomorrow anyway - so if he's sleeping, at least I know he didn't poop in the tank. I will position the camera better on him too, so i can keep a close eye on him.

Ok, I will see about posting some of the pix now too. I'm on a break from my very busy *cough* *cough* day, so I will spend some time away from the tv and on the computer. LOL

 

[Heisenberg]

Good to hear he is feeling better and that the abscess is gone. That was nice of your vet to check in on him, it's great when you have a good relationship with your vet.

 

[BrendaKay]

Thank you!

Here are the promised pictures for your viewing enjoyment:

Earlier in the week, he tried to escape the feedings and stopped like this - mid stride - and fell asleep. Brumation much? And you can see how skinny he got near his hips.

Found him like this after being tortured with a shot and a feeding. I think I heard a faint "kiss it woman" but I'm not positive.

Couldn't resist lifting it up to see how he was laying.

Title turd. Didn't even open his eyes. He really wants to brumate....

Giving me the stink eye because he knows he's getting another shot.

The next day, after that shot, kindly showing me his backside.

Then finally, this was on Wednesday. I don't know how he knew he had just received his LAST shot, but he decided to poke his head out this time. Lol!

So, on Monday, or Tuesday, I drove down the road to the western store to see if they had camo boots. I'm thinking of wearing camo boots under my wedding dress whenever we finally decide on a date. Well, they didn't have camo boots, and didn't have a large selection of woman's boots at all! After trying on about 10 pairs, I found these and fell in love. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

They are Dan Post boots, to the tune of $235!! GULP! Woah. I didn't even want to spend that much on a dress! I went online to the Dan Post website, and found maybe 5 or 6 pair that I really liked as well. I'm going to try to track them down at various stores locally, and after I decide which I like the most - might take a ride to the boot outlet on the way to the George Strait concert next month in Atlanta. I forget where the boot outlet is, but somewhere between here and there. I'll have to upload photos in the order I liked them. These actually wound up being tied for my favorite with two others. Lol. OMG, all of the wedding decisions have just begun......