Sawyer's Latest Vet Visit

[Allysen]

Well, we got Sawyer to eat a barely furred rat pup last Tuesday night, and gave him enough time to hold it down before going to the vet yesterday morning.

He's lost almost half of his original (ie fattest ever recorded) weight, and he's barely 700 grams. UGH. But he's got a crazy appetite, and he's always alert and active, so there's hope yet.

Given that his regurgitations this time around are more infrequent than when he had that raging case of crypto, plus the timeline from eating to puking is off, we don't entirely think it's more crypto. Also, his poops have been pitch-perfect, no diarrhea. (Yay!!)

Anyway, his weight loss is so staggering that we had to leave him at the vet's office to be sedated and tested for a few different things. We were particularly concerned about his liver, and also wanted to get REALLY deep swabs for a fresh crypto test. I was REALLY nervous about him being put under because he's so fragile-looking right now, so I spent most of yesterday waiting nervously by the phone. :(

He was ready to be picked up at closing time, awake and warm, with a very well-functioning liver and good EVERYTHING, except that he's a little anemic, so he got a shot of iron. Swabs have been sent out for the crypto test, and he's got a ton of meds that he has to have every day for the next 10 days or so. He's on Metronidazole, Cimetidine, and Metoclopramide.

Apparently after they woke him back up, our vet wanted him to sit on the heated table for a little bit so he could wake up all the way, but apparently there was some confusion over which tech was supposed to watch him, and the next thing anybody knew, he was gone! :scared: Lol they found him about two seconds later (It's a VERY animal-proofed surgery room) coiled around the leg of the table. He must've decided that he didn't want to get put under again and decided to take off.

Anyway, yet again he charmed everybody in the vet office. He's such a pleasant little boy. The tech that was checking us out and showing us which meds to give him when was nervous about giving him his shot and giving him his oral meds because she'd only ever given medication to a very angry ball python, who didn't take it so well. I told her that he pretty much just opens up and says "Ahhh" for his meds and doesn't even flinch for shots, but she didn't believe me until Sawyer proved me right.

He's gotten his meds for this evening and has another fat fuzzy rat thawing out as we speak for a midnight snack.

Here he is in his little travel tub:




UGH he's gotten SO skinny, and his colors look awful. Poor guy, I hope he turns the corner soon.

Here he was before he got the crypto:




Wish us luck, I'm rootin' for this little guy.

[ssjsmits]

I really hope he pulls through for you. Best of luck Sawyer.

[Johnny Utah]

Good luck! I hope he gets better.

[Jim71]

Best wishes for sawyers health to return to nomal.

[shelly75ster]

Poor baby. I hope he turns out ok!

[JuliusSqueezer]

One thing your vet may not have considered trying that you may want to consider yourself is pro-biotics. If it doesn't help, it certainly won't hurt so it's definitely worth trying. Pro-biotics (opposite of antibiotics) are that in name only. Don't worry with it counteracting any antibiotics treatment you may be giving if any. What happens when a snake regurges, especially after multiple regurges is the enzymes / gut flora in the digestive tract deplete. Normally, they will replentish themselves but it can take a long time and sometimes they need help. Back in the caveman days, we used Yogurt for this. Yogurt has living beneficial bacteria that aids in digestion and does work on snakes too. However, Benebac works better and has no lactose. If you have an avian store nearby, it's a good place to get it because it's mostly used for birds (petco has it too but in small individual sized tubes)..If you are overly worried, it's also labeled for reptiles but you never see it in the reptile aisle of any pet store. It's a green gooey paste packed full of the bacteria your snake needs to digest. When there is a lack of bacteria in the gut, food doesn't break down, it just starts to decay and form gasses / bloat and then the snake has to regurge to keep the decaying / bloating corpse in his gut that won't digest from killing him. It's given orally but you will never get a snake to just swallow it by putting it in his mouth. Use an oral syringe and flush it down with some water. It's also a good idea to squirt some into the rat you are feeding.

Dosage is simple. Just squirt some in. You can't overdose. What they don't need, they poop out. You can't underdose because it is colonies of reproducing - living bacteria that will eventually expand to full capacity down there. It really doesn't take a lot but it's best to give it weekly for a few weeks and keep feeding small prey till there's no bloating at all.

Hope this helps. Good luck

[Allysen]

I hadn't even THOUGHT of Benebac! I have a TON of it for when my chinchillas have babies! I'll put some in his rat pup tomorrow night, definitely, thanks for the suggestion!

[razeraze]

Good luck, and thanks for the update.