GiGi's vet vistit. =[

[Allee Toler]

Lets start off with the good news:

-She's gained weight since her last visit. She was really under weight.

-Now 37.5grams at 9 1/2 months.

-8 1/2 inches long.

I guess that's all the good news.

Bad news:
She has fatty liver disease. But it's common in reptiles. So I'm not TOO worried.

She has an abscess. Behind her eye. Caused from salmonella.

She had an eye infection due to salmonella a few months ago, I guess it never cleared up.

She's got eye ointment antibiotic, and a shot she takes in her leg every two days for the next month as an injected antibiotic.


She needs surgery, to remove the bump and take out the mass. But I can't afford it. So the vet gave me a lancet, saline to flush, and sutures.

She should be fine. But I keep my fingers cross that I get it all out tonight.

 

[ColdBlooded]

That's rough, I'm sure you and her will do fine, though! Good luck.. and congrats on the gained weight!

 

[Pookey]

Good Luck Allee, I know you can handle this! Let us know how it goes

 

[cat_named_noodles]

Oh poor Gigi! I know she'll be fine and you'll do great, you've taken such great care of her. She is a very lucky leo to have you, and I'm sure she appreciates all you do for her.
And good luck with draining the abscess, that's never a pretty process.

 

[Allee Toler]

I got it out!! It was a pustule and an abscess. I took pictures and emailed it to the vet. He said it looks like I got it all out.

I had to make an incision about 1/2 a centimeter long. Once it was cut, I had to make a line straight through the middle... like a sideways T. Then I took the saline and flushed it out. She didn't bleed much. Sat still for most of it. I used orajel to numb the area. Vet Boyer said it wouldn't hurt her if it got in her blood or eye.

She's sleeping right now. Clearly exhausted. I got the antibiotic ointment inside her incisions, and on top as directed by Boyer. She just got her first antibiotic shot as well.

Poor girl... But she should be doing fine.



Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. I'm sure she'll be fine. I can't help but worry about her! Once this is gone, she'll only have the fatty liver disease (which actually effects 1 in 3 reptiles! go figure.).

I'm so glad she gained some weight. Lol. She was 29.6grams two weeks ago. Now she's 37.5. Gained all in two weeks. Yay!

 

[cat_named_noodles]

I have two words for you: Hurray! and Ick! Good going getting that thing out, AND emailing pictures to the vet; I bet he loved that (they actually do!). How many stitches did Gigi get? I bet she's worn out poor girlie.

 

[Allee Toler]

Yeah the vet LOVES pictures of things like that. When she had her eye salmonella, he took upclose pictures and blew them up for a book he was working on. So yay! GiGi's in his book!! =D The pictures showed her eyes all goopy. It was literally to the point that her eyes were too swollen to open. Poor baby. =[

GiGi's still asleep. She's moved into a sterile tank. It's only a 5.5 gal. She was in it when she was a hatchling. She looks too big for it, but I'm more concerned with her keeping her stitches clean and dirt free. She's on paper towels now too. Which she tends to nibble on. But that's better than getting some loose sand off of her realistic viv stuck in it.

She still needs to be hand fed. Since her whole side of her face is medicated, they don't want her to lick it off. Like when she eats she licks her whole face. But when she's hand fed, she doesn't bother.

She got a GRAND total of 3 1/2 stitches! Yes, 1/2. Lol. I had to make a smaller stitch. They're really tiny! But it looks great. =]

Long road to recovery. About a month or so. She's a trooper, that's for sure.

 

[Viridovipera]

How come the vet couldnt cut her up and flush out the stuff inside the absess? That realy shouldnt be something you have to do by your self. I am happie for you that it turned out good so far, lets hope she gets even better now

 

[Allee Toler]

As I stated in my first post, I couldn't afford the surgery bill.

Local Anesthesia- $54.94
Sedation- $44.25
Wound dressing, minor- $75.91
Removal, Biopsy & Lab- $177.41
14ct Antibiotic shot- $51.93
Optical Antibiotic- $28.21
Saline Wash- $11.90
In-office Visit- $60--

Total, before tax- $449.61

So what I did was get the supplies I needed to perform the surgery myself. All he would do is cut it open, flush it out, suture it. Tah-Daaa.

What did I do? Cut it open, flush it out, and suture it.

So instead of spending that monsterous $449fdgfdg I paid:
14ct Antibiotic shot- $51.93
Optical Antibiotic- $28.21
Saline Wash- $11.90
In-office Visit- $60--
Total before tax: 152.04
My $25 off coupon (yay!) I paid: $127.04 before tax. Total came out to like $140something with tax.

Why should I pay for her to go under anesthesia and sedation when I can use oragel to numb it, and cut it open myself. I'm comfortable in doing it. I see nothing wrong with it. I have a very VERY tame gecko. Even the vet is amazed that she just sits there while he gives her bi-weekly vitamin A shot in her arm. She never fights. Not unless if it's a TOTAL stranger.

pshhtt. Let some stranger nurse touch my GiGi. Poor girl would drop her tail.

I've had to remove nails out of my brothers arm before. He shot off a nail gun on accident into his arm (he's aspurger's autistic so don't be mean) and I had to remove all 11 of them. So I'm not nervous about removing things by cutting open skin.

 

[cat_named_noodles]

Oh good she only needed 3 1/2 stiches! lol 1/2 a stitch.
I think when you have certain types of critters (livestock, reptiles, exotics, etc.) is it almost necessary to know how to do simple procedures on them (like dress a wound, etc.) for basic first aid. To my knowledge the nearest vet (to me) that knows anything about reptiles is in the next city (45 minutes away). I mean if you can afford to take every creature you have in to the vet for every thing it ever needs, by all means do it. I don't take my kidin to the doctor every time he has a cold or cut, or my dogs in every time they get a hot spot. I think it's perfectly fine to treat your own animals for minor stuff, but only if you know what you're doing and/or have a veterinarian that will guide you.
Kudos to Allee for having the stomach to drain an abscess! Oh and for pulling 11 nails out of your brother's arm! Wow!

 

[rglove]

Has your gecko any internal problem? Because that weight to that age isn't normal. I think that she should weight a little more.

 

[Allee Toler]

Has your gecko any internal problem? Because that weight to that age isn't normal. I think that she should weight a little more.

Hah. You're funny. Telling me my gecko is severely overweight on the other thread, then telling me she's underweight now. I told you, I know my gecko.

------
Anyways. I told you she was skinny for her age. What happened was she was plump, growing like a weed like any gecko should be at 6 months. Then she got the eye infection. She literally shriveled. I had skin and bones as a gecko. She also stopped growing length wise. Stayed at 6 1/2 inches for two months straight. I believe, and so does the vet, that her getting sick with salmonella stopped her from growing.

Since then she's put on nearly 20 grams in the last two months, and 2 inches. She's JUST starting to grow again. The only internal issue with her is fatty liver disease. It's not bad. I don't let it be, she gets herbal treatments to help her body breakdown the little fat she eats.

I say in two months or so, she'll be where she needs to be. Just that the last four months she's been fighting salmonella.

It's the same thing when we get sick, we lose weight. She's actually got a pretty big belly. She just needs another growth spurt.
------------
GiGi update-- Frisky as hell this morning. I woke up and she was trying to get out of her tank. Yay! She had four phoenixworms. She's looking a lot better. The area's just a little swollen.

 

[rglove]

Sorry, I didn't know the weight of leo and for photos he looked me fine and a little bit fat. But now I saw that is not that... Sorry...

 

[Allee Toler]

It's fine. I get over things quickly. Just don't be quick to judge an animal you've never physically seen. Especially when one has been in and out of the vets.


Right now, she should be 45-50grams. But having her at 37.5grams is a big accomplishment! She's so tiny for her age. I'm sure she'll catch up in a month or two. =]

She was a huge baby. I got her at 3 weeks and she weighed 9 grams, by four months she was 20something. She got to be 25-ish before she got sick. The dropped to about 15grams.

At 4 months, she was the size of a 9 month old. Talk about a BIG and LONG baby!

 

[Allee Toler]

GiGi shed today and pulled out her stitches by rubbing up against the glass. Silly girl. But the skin looks healed enough. Lol.

Anyone want to see some pictures of her?

 

[houseape57]

Sure, I would be very interested in seeing some Pixs.
Kathy

 

[Allee Toler]

It's pretty swollen still. It's like 1/8th the size of what it was.

One picture the sun is in her eyes, so she's doing a wink at the camera. Lol.

The tail pictures show how much of an improvement her tails been since her accident. The whole end, 1 1/2 inches, scabbed over. I keep neosporin on it 2 times a day to keep it hydrated and bacteria free. It's just a little scabbie now. and it's actual falling off. So we won't have a dropped tail. =D I saved it.

The ones of the base of her tail are just for show. Each time she sheds, the yellow strands on her tail get brighter and bigger. It was just 1/2cm inward on her tail before, now it's 1 1/2 inches in. I love her yellow tail. =D It's not the same yellow as her body. Her body is sunshine yellow, her tail is golden yellow.

 

[jking]

I think you have a really nice looking gecko. I like the pic where she is blinking. I was just wondering about transport to the vet. I have only had my Jackie for about a month and am thinking about taking her to the vet just to get looked checked out. What is the best way to transport a gecko to the vet. Outside temps are about 50º. Thanks.

 

[hyposhawn]

Good for you. Congratulations. It seems like you fell in love with Gigi and it is nice to know that she's OK.

 

[cat_named_noodles]

I think you have a really nice looking gecko. I like the pic where she is blinking. I was just wondering about transport to the vet. I have only had my Jackie for about a month and am thinking about taking her to the vet just to get looked checked out. What is the best way to transport a gecko to the vet. Outside temps are about 50º. Thanks.

If you can get her in a warm box with a hide, and then scramble to the car (running and warm already), and don't tip the box, she should be fine. A Critter keeper with paper towel in the bottom and a hide should be ok. Try not to have her in the cold for more than a few minutes if possible. That's what I would do.