SamanthaLovely
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I think I'd like to try to treat her even if it is crypto but if she continues to lose weight I'll probably have to euthanize her.
New rescue super thin. Advice please?
- Thread starter SamanthaLovely
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cricket4u
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If you can take a picture of her next bowel movement.
SamanthaLovely
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I will do that before I bottle it up and take it to the vet.
cricket4u
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It doesn't sound like that vet will be very supportive and to be honest feeding her a cricket or two is not going to provide her with the nutrition she will need to overcome the situation. Is that the only vet you have access to? I am not pleased with the fact that under the circumstances he/she could not even swab her rectum. Another thing that bothers me is that if she is passing blood in feces, it's quite obvious her GI is inflamed and chitin will make it worst. She will do best on something like Mazuri Insectivore Diet.
XoVictoryXo
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I just wish i had good advice for u that will help. I am just praying and sending good wishes instead.
SamanthaLovely
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Well what we've done is given her the teeny tiniest silk worm and some of the liquid food. We're going to pick up the vet brand of liquid food when I go to drop off the fecal. Hopefully tomorrow or the next day. I hoping that the silk worm will encourage her to go to the bathroom.
SamanthaLovely
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Good wishes and support are just as helpful as advice <3
cricket4u
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Send it as soon as possible. There is still a chance it's coccidia which can be treated. I can't believe these vets act totally useless. :-x They are probably not even equipped with a scope to get a visual of her GI correct? A sick reptile is a dying reptile. Time is of the essence and they are useless. They should have charged you $10 for that service. I'm sorry. Stay focused.
SamanthaLovely
New member
The other one who was fed the liquid diet (who's fecal I gave them today) had stool in her tank just now so I'm hoping little Frodo will have hers soon too. And as soon as I get it collected we'll be going to the vets. I think because she is so skinny the vet doesn't see her as treatable. This might be naive of me to say but she gained 2 grams so how is hope lost if she can still gain weight?
I would assume she would not be gaining weight at all and only losing it if there was nothing at all that could save her. I also think if she were so close to the end she would be lying down and sluggish. She's still alert and spry. She stands up tall and doesn't slink around. She also comes out on occasion to see what's going on and to say hi.
I'm not going to give up on her until there is nothing more that I can do.
SamanthaLovely
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Also what is a GI? I assume it's an organ or some such inner part.
aquamentus_11
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GI stands for gastrointestinal which just means your stomach (gastro), small intestine and colon. Everything's "treatable", whether treatment is focused on a cure or just making someone as comfortable as they can be. Don't be discouraged. Focus on the fecal :biggrin:
aquamentus_11
New member
crypto is not that big of a deal in humans with normal immune systems. it's basically everywhere from what i understand and we usually clear infections fairly easily without medication. it almost sounds to me like reptiles, being cold-blooded, have an "inferior" immune response to begin with or are at least more susceptible to lapses in their immune system when stressed. did you ask about empirical treatment? in healthy humans, crypto is treated with a drug called nitazoxanide, but combined with azithromycin in the immunocompromised (ex. people with AIDS). nitazoxanide will kill the infectious form of cryptosporidium (sporozoite) and its eggs (oocysts) and, from what i'm reading, doesn't come with a whole lot of nasty side effects unless your leopard gecko happens to be allergic to it. sounds like it actually increases appetite.....will you ask for me when you go which drug they use?
cricket4u
New member
This Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital in a lump sum. No drug is effective at eliminating cryptosporidia. At times a negative acid-fast stain only indicates that the reptile was not shedding oocysts at the time and does not mean the animal is crypto free. They are known to wax and wane and the damage caused is irreversible. It includes thickness of the intestinal and stomach inner linings (Gastric mucosal hypertrophy), therefore reducing the ability to function properly. Most will fail to grow at a normal pace. They can also be susceptible to secondary bacterial infections and gastritis.
SamanthaLovely
New member
I dropped off the sample. I wasn't allowed to talk to the vet. They said she was busy with a client. Even though I saw her walking around. Honestly I don't think anyone at that office cares about my Gecko. I'm so upset and angry that I can't even talk to the vet without paying the $70 for an exam. And even then all she does is says Frodo not going to make it if she has crypto and crypto is the only thing she will talk about.
I get the fact that they need to be paid but I'm not made of money. I've had three vet appointments this month. It'll be four on friday. So far it's been probably around $700. If the keep making me bring in my stressed out animals just so I can ask a friggan question I'm going to find a reason to sue them. I'm going to look for another vet but the one I wanted to go to stopped taking on reptiles.
I got the Oxbow carnivore diet today to try.
Is there anything at all I can do to help Frodo? Even just with the GI inflammation? I've heard some people have tried PeptoBismol and it helped. I've heard natural practitioners talk about colloidal silver. I just want to do something for her.
I get the fact that they need to be paid but I'm not made of money. I've had three vet appointments this month. It'll be four on friday. So far it's been probably around $700. If the keep making me bring in my stressed out animals just so I can ask a friggan question I'm going to find a reason to sue them. I'm going to look for another vet but the one I wanted to go to stopped taking on reptiles.
I got the Oxbow carnivore diet today to try.
Is there anything at all I can do to help Frodo? Even just with the GI inflammation? I've heard some people have tried PeptoBismol and it helped. I've heard natural practitioners talk about colloidal silver. I just want to do something for her.
SamanthaLovely
New member
Yesterday I drove two hours with a sick gecko in the car, paid $118 for my vet bill and atleast $30 in gas only to have her tell me if it's crypto then she's as good as dead. I'm not stupid. I know the chances are low. But the vet could have just spoken to me on the phone and I could have avoided stress on the gecko and $148 that could be used for a vet who actually communicates with me.
cricket4u
New member
Please don't try any of those. There is a medication, but must be prescribed by a vet. I have dealt with plenty of GI problems without using anything. The stomache will slowly heal on it's own. The idea is not to cause further irritation which insects obviously can. I know you feel desperate, but try to relax.
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SamanthaLovely
New member
She's off solid food right now. My boyfriend however has been squishing crickets and sort of watering down the carcasses to produce cricket flavoured water to mix with the diet. Do you think it's ok to try it?
I do have pictures of the stool BTW. I'll pst them as soon as I can get them uploaded. It was an odd looking stool. It really didn't even look like something that came out of a gecko's bum.
SamanthaLovely
New member
This first picture is where it was. I had put down a piece of garbage bag in her poo corner to catch it. And I forgot to take a picture before extracting the sample so it's in two pieces. The dark brown spots are some of the cocoa fibre that got blown onto it
Stool1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The second part is what I would consider the actual stool. It look so weird I don't even know what to say about it. It does smell like a normal stool though. I'm assuming it's the remains of the silkworm.
Stool2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Stool1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The second part is what I would consider the actual stool. It look so weird I don't even know what to say about it. It does smell like a normal stool though. I'm assuming it's the remains of the silkworm.
Stool2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!