Leo ate paper towel during shed

[Yoshi'smom]

I'd give it another day or so for him to poop. I'd say if you haven't seen poop by Wednesday night, it may be a good idea to bring him back to the vet.
Have you given him a drop of olive oil to help with digestion and passing, just in case?

 

[Andi]

both of my LG's have eaten paper towel (the only 2 I've ever owned)...so in my experience Paper Towel in the moist hide is going to accidentally get eaten. It's only a matter of WHEN, not IF.

One of my LGs required a vet visit and it had to be removed. The other was able to pass it. My suggestion to you is to try to see how much of the paper towel is remaining, so this way you can estimate how much your LG ate. If it's a small amount it should be ok...if not, your LG will probably try to regurgitate it....but If you are providing quality heat and husbandry, your LG may not try to regurgitate it, and may try to digest it (unsuccessfully). As soon as I physically transported my LG to the vet, she started regurgitating the Paper Towel, and I chalked that up to being away from her heat and being stressed out.

 

[thepianoguy]

and maybe raise the heat?

 

[JIMI]

[MENTION=31373]Yoshi'smom[/MENTION] I'll definitely take him back on Friday morning if he has not passed it by then. Hopefully he does. I asked my vet if I should give him a drop of olive oil and she recommended against it so I have not given him any yet. She instead suggested the moist food to try to clean him out.

[MENTION=46823]Andi[/MENTION] what substrate do you use in your moist hides now? It appears that he managed to tear off half of the top layer of a half sheet of paper towel and the morning that I woke up to the sound of him breathing abnormally he had already regurgitated a few balls of paper towel. I saved them in a plastic bag, I'll see if I can post a picture of them. On my way to the vet I was really hoping that he would regurgitate whatever was left of the paper towel, but he surprisingly he did not regurgitate or poop. It's hard to say how much he has left, but some did appear on his x ray. He still seems to be behaving normally- he's responsive to roaches and actively attempts to hunt them, he is just as active since before the incident, and he's been hanging out in his most and warm hides. How did the vet remove the paper towel from your other leo?

 

[JIMI]

and maybe raise the heat?

It's already pretty warm and it's what he's used to, but maybe I'll try raising the heat by one degree.

 

[JIMI]

He pooped!! Never have I been so happy to see poop!:yahoo:

It is slightly green in color, but it doesn't seem to have any paper towel in it... No blood so that's good. The urate is also yellow. The coloration is probably due to his diet and the amount of stress he's experienced this past week, but I'll be taking in a sample to have it tested for parasites. I was surprised that there was no paper towel in it. I uploaded a picture of the poop and of the paper towel he regurgitated that morning. The poop looks greener in person than in the photo.

 

[muffin_song]

Go go Theseus!!! :cheer:

(Said it before, but will say it again: "Leopard Gecko Fans: We Talk About Poop a Lot." ;-))

He pooped!! Never have I been so happy to see poop!:yahoo:

It is slightly green in color, but it doesn't seem to have any paper towel in it... No blood so that's good. The urate is also yellow. The coloration is probably due to his diet and the amount of stress he's experienced this past week, but I'll be taking in a sample to have it tested for parasites. I was surprised that there was no paper towel in it. I uploaded a picture of the poop and of the paper towel he regurgitated that morning. The poop looks greener in person than in the photo.

View attachment 38447
View attachment 38448

 

[thepianoguy]

yeah!!!

that sounds a bit wrong...lol

hopefully he will be okay!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

......

The vet assessed him and noticed a white piece sticking out of his esophagus; she pulled it out, but it turned out to be a piece of his molt. She took an x-ray to check if the paper towel would appear on the radiograph. It did look as if he had some in his stomach, but it didn't look clumped, which is what we were hoping for. If it looked as if it were a thick mass, she would have suggested sedating him so that she can pull it out, but since it wasn't she wants to see if he can pass it himself.

She suggested that for the next week I feed him a little bit of baby food each night and give him a couple of hornworms or silkworms since they're high in moisture content. I'm going to be giving him warm soaks daily and dabbing the side of his mouth with a little bit of water as well. I also have the humidifier running in attempts to keep the humidity consistently around 40%. At first I was worried about the baby food, so I ordered some Oxbow's Carnivore Care. It figured it could possibly come in handy if things were to go bad. It should be arriving on Sunday, so in the meantime I bought a jar of gerber turkey baby food to try out. I also ordered some silkworms, but they won't be arriving until next week. She said I could just continue to feed him his roaches, but I'm worried that it might make it harder to pass. What do you guys think about this plan? Any other suggestions?

I'm worried about the kind of poops that I am going to see. If there is any blood, I will have to take him back in to have that taken cared of. And if he starts to reject food and behave abnormally I'd also have to take him in so that they could remove the paper towel themselves. I just hate the amount of stress that this is putting him through. She said that he'll likely be able to pass the paper towel since he's in good health, but to also be prepared for the worst. I really hope that he is able to pass it:sad: curse you paper towel... I'm going to be switching to coconut fiber as soon as he is better. I'll keep you guys updated on his condition. Sorry that this was a pretty long post. Wish us luck!

My vet suggested I boost the the humidity for now to help keep him well hydrated and help him pass the paper towel more smoothly. I'm using a digital hygrometer, but it was also cheap. I actually found it at a thrift store for a dollar :roll: I've compared it to other reliable hygrometers in the past and it seemed accurate. I'll test it out and see if I need to replace it. Any recommendations?

So you've added +2 water dishes. You could add another.

The Bean Farm sells a Cooper digital hygrometer/thermometer for about $35. It takes both readings at the probe. If you get it, I'd go through Amazon. It's easier to return things this way. Of course, a battery operated digital is not "electrical".

Thanks for the tip! I didn't think about that, luckily they were at room temperature when I offered them. I cave him two small molted dubia with a little bit of the carnivore care on top. He seemed wary of the roach at first, and even threw it the first time he tasted it, but eventually all of the movement enticed him and he ate the roach. As he was licking his lips afterwards I was able to get him to lick some more carnivore care off my finger, and as soon as he realized he gave me this face of betrayal and retreated back into his warm hide. I didn't find any poop this morning, but hopefully tonight he finally will.:sad:

I do not know how much chitin/fiber is contained in even freshly shed dubia. To be on the safe side, I'd only feed Theseus Gerber's turkey baby food or Oxbow's Carnivore Care until the paper towels are passed.

Thing is you don't want to compound Theseus' problem.

How come the vet recommended against olive oil right now?

When a prolapse happened years ago to my first female Oedura castelnaui, the vet recommended:

• tepid water soaks (~86*F) 15 min 1x per day
• cat lax on her lips 1x per day
• only Gerber's turkey baby food until she passed the wee bit of sand

I send +++ vibes to both you and Theseus! I know how worrisome this is.

 

[JIMI]

I'll go ahead and add another water dish. I've been pretty successful at maintaining the relative humidity in his enclosure at around 39%. I think the fact that it's made of wood is helping it stay within that range longer, so that's helpful.

About the olive oil, my vet said that there's a possibility that it could get aspirated into his lungs, so she'd like to avoid that risk.

Okay, I'll try to offer him some carnivore care tonight. I'll do my best to get him to take as much as he can! Once the silkworms arrive, do you think it's a good idea to feed him those instead of the carnivore care? They should be arriving today or tomorrow. The cat laxative is interesting. It probably would have helped in my case.

Do you think it's strange that he had no paper towel in his stool? Will it probably take a few bowel movements before I finally see some? I'm happy that he is at least able to poop and that it came out well formed.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I'll go ahead and add another water dish. I've been pretty successful at maintaining the relative humidity in his enclosure at around 39%. I think the fact that it's made of wood is helping it stay within that range longer, so that's helpful.

About the olive oil, my vet said that there's a possibility that it could get aspirated into his lungs, so she'd like to avoid that risk.

Okay, I'll try to offer him some carnivore care tonight. I'll do my best to get him to take as much as he can! Once the silkworms arrive, do you think it's a good idea to feed him those instead of the carnivore care? They should be arriving today or tomorrow. The cat laxative is interesting. It probably would have helped in my case.

Do you think it's strange that he had no paper towel in his stool? Will it probably take a few bowel movements before I finally see some? I'm happy that he is at least able to poop and that it came out well formed.

Maybe 4-5 water dishes in all or some XL ones. 40-50% is a good RH range.

Perhaps it will take a few more bowel movements. It's a good sign that he's moving things through his intestines, of course.

Theseus is well-nourished. The most important things are to keep him hydrated, help him pass the paper towels, and not impact him further.

• I know hornworms and silkworms are full of moisture. I don't know whether they contain any fiber that would compromise passing the paper towels.
• What about catlax on Theseus' lips now? I don't know whether there are any downsides.
• What about gentle massages from throat to vent?

It was about 2004 when my Oedura castelnaui had her prolapse. Her substrate was a mixture of coco fiber and a small amount of Jurassic Reptile Sand (extremely fine quartz). I misted the enclosure and fed crickets free range at the same time. The vet had me wear latex gloves and monitor each feces for sand.

 

[JIMI]

I'll call the vet's office later and ask them about the laxative. I've been giving him massages when I give him his warm bath every couple of nights. I'll start doing it nightly instead. Should I him the bath before giving him the carnivore care or afterwards?

I'll probably just stick to the carnivore core until he passes one or two more stools and then I'll give him the silkworms.

We live and we learn. I'm definitely planing on changing the moist substrate to prevent this from happening in the future. I saved the poo, when I get home I'll breat it up and see if there are any remnants of paper towel in it.

Thank you for the help!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I'll call the vet's office later and ask them about the laxative. I've been giving him massages when I give him his warm bath every couple of nights. I'll start doing it nightly instead. Should I him the bath before giving him the carnivore care or afterwards?

I'll probably just stick to the carnivore core until he passes one or two more stools and then I'll give him the silkworms.

We live and we learn. I'm definitely planing on changing the moist substrate to prevent this from happening in the future. I saved the poo, when I get home I'll breat it up and see if there are any remnants of paper towel in it.

Thank you for the help!

Anytime, JIMI.

• I'd feed Carnivore Care before his soak. He'll maybe not be stressed yet.
• I'd do nightly belly-deep soaks for about 15 minutes in ~86*F water.
• Continue the gentle massaging.

I've even heard about leos ingesting moss. My leo's moss is compacted. Some people like compacted coco fiber.

Cha's moist hide

 

[Andi]

[MENTION=46823]Andi[/MENTION] what substrate do you use in your moist hides now? It appears that he managed to tear off half of the top layer of a half sheet of paper towel and the morning that I woke up to the sound of him breathing abnormally he had already regurgitated a few balls of paper towel. I saved them in a plastic bag, I'll see if I can post a picture of them. On my way to the vet I was really hoping that he would regurgitate whatever was left of the paper towel, but he surprisingly he did not regurgitate or poop. It's hard to say how much he has left, but some did appear on his x ray. He still seems to be behaving normally- he's responsive to roaches and actively attempts to hunt them, he is just as active since before the incident, and he's been hanging out in his most and warm hides. How did the vet remove the paper towel from your other leo?[/QUOTE]
^
I'm now using Plantation Soil, it's an exo terra product and similar to eco earth.

Once I got my Leo to the vet, she started regurgitating the paper towel. Again, I believe she did this b/c she was away from her heat source. So I notified the vet and they used forceps to pull out the rest of the paper towel.

If your LG Is really impacted and still has paper towel inside then I doubt your LG will eat. If your LG starts eating (and going to the bathroom), it's probably no longer impacted and got all the towel out.

 

[JIMI]

I was thinking about getting him some safe moss that came in the form of a sheet rather than those that come loose. I'll look around and see if I can find anything like that, if not I might just go with the coco fiber.

I'm wondering if he even has any paper towel left in his stomach. He's behaving normally, eating, and passing stool so he seems fine, but I'm going to continue to keep the humidity up and give him warm baths until he passes a couple more stools. After he passes the next stool I'm going to start feeding him silkworms. I'll still take in a stool sample probably next week to make sure his parasite load is not high.

 

[muffin_song]

Just a guess, but I wonder if the paper towel was able to dissolve in his stomach? It seems like the kind of thing that might not look like the original product when it er, comes out the other end. :roll:

I was thinking about getting him some safe moss that came in the form of a sheet rather than those that come loose. I'll look around and see if I can find anything like that, if not I might just go with the coco fiber.

I'm wondering if he even has any paper towel left in his stomach. He's behaving normally, eating, and passing stool so he seems fine, but I'm going to continue to keep the humidity up and give him warm baths until he passes a couple more stools. After he passes the next stool I'm going to start feeding him silkworms. I'll still take in a stool sample probably next week to make sure his parasite load is not high.

 

[JIMI]

Just a guess, but I wonder if the paper towel was able to dissolve in his stomach? It seems like the kind of thing that might not look like the original product when it er, comes out the other end. :roll:

I also wonder that! I guess I'll just have to wait and see. it'd be great if there was nothing left.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I was thinking about getting him some safe moss that came in the form of a sheet rather than those that come loose. I'll look around and see if I can find anything like that, if not I might just go with the coco fiber.

I'm wondering if he even has any paper towel left in his stomach. He's behaving normally, eating, and passing stool so he seems fine, but I'm going to continue to keep the humidity up and give him warm baths until he passes a couple more stools. After he passes the next stool I'm going to start feeding him silkworms. I'll still take in a stool sample probably next week to make sure his parasite load is not high.

Where are the paper towels as shown by the radiograph?

Any feedback about the catlax?

Why not feed Oxbow's Carnivore Care for more than just the next stool?

 

[thepianoguy]

a dollar? lol that TOO cheap!

good luck!

hopefully your vet is right!

and also ur gecko is alright!

 

[JIMI]

Where are the paper towels as shown by the radiograph?

Any feedback about the catlax?

Why not feed Oxbow's Carnivore Care for more than just the next stool?

Sorry for the wait, just got home and called the vet real quick. She pointed out that there was something in his stomach, and since I hadn't fed him yet we assumed that it was paper towel.

So the doctor I saw was not in today, but another doctor helped me and said that the ingestion of a small amount of paper towel is not something very concerning especially if he appears to be behaving normally and is accepting food. He also said that the paper towel can be partially digested. Since he has passed a well formed stool already he thinks it's okay to give him small insects in small amounts. He did not think that the cat laxative was necessary in my case.

I want to start giving him insects instead of the Carnivore Care because when I put some on his lips he sometimes rubs it off on the cage decor and he'll retreat to his hide again. It seems like it causes some stress and I can tell that he doesn't like it Since he's willing to eat and his vet said it was okay I'd really like to start feeding him silkworms to reduce some of the stress.

a dollar? lol that TOO cheap!

good luck!

hopefully your vet is right!

and also ur gecko is alright!

Lol I'll get a new one soon. Thanks for the good wishes!