impacted?

Heidi15461 · #1 11-26-2011, 02:13 PM

I posted on here a few days ago bc my leo was acting strange and I though see had a eye problem. But now I think she is impacted. I heard he sqealing this morning and the first thing I looked at was her but area and sure enough, it looks a little ruff. The other day it was not like this and i feel really bad that I didnt notice. I did notice she wasn't pooping that much but I thought it was bc she wasnt eating that much. What can I do? I dont have a vet around that takes care of lizards but I dont want her to die. Right now I have her soaking in warm water and gave her a few drops of extra ver. olive oil to maybe loosen it up. what else can I do and what could of caused this? She has always been on paper towl so I know its not that.

Yoshi'smom · #2 11-26-2011, 02:57 PM

You said she's on paper towels... Has she been exposed to any substrates recently that would cause her to be impacted? Perhaps you could post a picture of her vent area so that we can see what you mean.

Heidi15461 · #3 11-26-2011, 08:05 PM

thx for replying. I attached a pic of the setup she is in and then a pic of her vent area. Its not looking so good, but it wasn't like this the other day. there have been no changes in anything other than the log I put that in there about 2 weeks ago bc she out grew her coconut hut she had. I dont have any lights in the cage and there is a UTH on the bottom side by the log. And since earlier when i tried the warm soak and oil there is still no change.

Yoshi'smom · #4 11-26-2011, 08:35 PM

The only thing I can tell you is that you need to take her to a vet asap. It looks like a pretty serious infection.

**Elizabeth Freer** · #5 11-27-2011, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heidi15461

I posted on here a few days ago bc my leo was acting strange and I though see had a eye problem. But now I think she is impacted. I heard he sqealing this morning and the first thing I looked at was her but area and sure enough, it looks a little ruff. The other day it was not like this and i feel really bad that I didnt notice. I did notice she wasn't pooping that much but I thought it was bc she wasnt eating that much. What can I do? I dont have a vet around that takes care of lizards but I dont want her to die. Right now I have her soaking in warm water and gave her a few drops of extra ver. olive oil to maybe loosen it up. what else can I do and what could of caused this? She has always been on paper towl so I know its not that.

What are you feeding her? Mealworms, by chance?

Heidi15461 · #6 11-27-2011, 11:06 AM

yeah she never seemed to like crickets but I was going to get some small ones today and try to soak her a little bit more.

**Elizabeth Freer** · #7 11-29-2011, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heidi15461

yeah she never seemed to like crickets but I was going to get some small ones today and try to soak her a little bit more.

Mealworms can cause impaction. Read the sticky by Riverside Reptiles right at the beginning of the leo subforum. If you think she might be impacted, you might try a drop or two of mineral oil on her nose for her to lick and lukewarm water soaks 2x/day for about 10 minutes each.

If she is young, try cutting off the back legs of the crickets at the knees and place them in a shallow feeding dish.

Has the situation with her vent changed at all? Does anything seem to be "hanging out" of her vent? Heard where one GU member had success using Preparation H to massage a prolapse back in!

Heidi15461 · #8 11-29-2011, 08:27 AM

I have read that the mealworms could cause impaction, but when I bough her, they say thats what she was eating and my 2 bigger geckos do fine on them. I never really had a problem. I've had her since about July and this is the first problem I've had. I did put a few small crickets in with her to see if she would eat them but she has no interest. I read somewhere to try and feed her water downed chicken baby food. I can see that she has lost weight. I've done the water and oil soaks for about 2 days now. Nothing seems to be haning out of the vent area so I don't think its prolapsed. It just looks red and a little crusty. And all she wants to do is lay around.

**Elizabeth Freer** · #9 11-29-2011, 11:45 AM

Heidi ~

Good to hear that nothing is hanging out. The change in activity and losing weight seem to signal something is wrong.

Do you see or feel any dark/hard mass in her belly? What temperature are you keeping the cage? Leos depend upon belly heat to digest their food.

Try the chicken baby food lightly sprinkled with calcium with D3 2-3x per week. No need to water down the chicken bf. Thing is, if it is an infection, you really need to get some antibiotics.

Angey · #10 12-01-2011, 10:04 AM

I dont see anything in her belly suggesting impaction, looks more like infection.
I agree, try to see a vet for some antibiotics.