New crestie!

[spygirl]

There's been this little male crestie at the PetCo I dog train at for a long time. No one wants him because he's "ugly". So what was I supposed to do? Tell him no, he couldn't go home with me! Besides.... I had an empty tank and some plants and some bowls.... So here is my new little buddy, Don Juan. Named because he just charmed the pants off me!

I'm horrible with crestie morphs. Does his coloring have a certain name? I'm thinking about getting him a lady or two. Any suggestions about what I should get?

[Boanerges]

I think he is a good looking boy!!! Congrats on your new addition

[mlededee]

Aww, he's cute--not ugly at all! He is a flame morph--looks brown in the pics but maybe he fires up darker or maybe a reddish color?

[spygirl]

Yeah, I think he's pretty cool myself.

Yes, when he fires up, he turns a very pretty dark red. Hopefully I can snag a better pic of him when I can steal the good camera from the hubby!

Thanks guys!

[Michelle.C]

Very cute and very healthy looking! Give me?

[spygirl]

Ack, I need help!

So I get home from work and I find his mouth full of coco fiber! I immediately clean everything out and check with a pen light to see if anything else is stuck. It looks empty, but he's still very weak. He's now on paper towels in a kritter keeper with a small dish of Rapshy.

He's temps (as of right now and this morning) are at 80 degrees with 60% humidity. He was trying to crawl all over me, but was obviously having issues.

What else can I do for him? His belly doesn't feel hard like anythings impacted. Should I soak him?

I'm tempted to see if there's a herp vet on duty tonight at the emergency clinic. My usual doc will be open at 8:00 AM. Do you think a vet can do anything really?

Ah, I'm so worried about him!

[mlededee]

Lower his temperatures--80 is a little high and if he is stressed or ill temps that high could make it worse. You want to shoot for a high of about 78.

Were you feeding insects? Could that be the reason his mouth is full of coco fiber? if not, sometimes when a gecko on loose substrate has seizures they get a mouthful.

I wouldn't soak him unless he seems dehydrated. The less you handle him the better right now--you want to reduced stress as much as possible.

Make the kritter keeper extra humid and provide a source of water for him to drink. Leave him in a dark and quite area to rest.

It's probably not worth it to take him to an emergency vet at this point unless that vet specializes in reptiles. If he is not much improved by morning I would get him in to see a herp vet ASAP.

[spygirl]

Ok, update...

He's doing much better. Emily, that's pretty much what I've done now. I moved him out of the herp room because it was getting so warm in there. He has no heating equipment on him because of this. He's now in the hubby's office which is holding steady at 77 degrees.

Now as to why there was so much in his mouth, I haven't a clue. He's not a big insect eater at all. I fed him one cricket the day he came home with me and that's it. Everything else also appears normal. He has been eating and going to the bathroom.

So for now he's staying on paper towels. I plan on weighing him later to check for weight loss, but only when I think it won't stress him too much. But otherwise he's looking really good. Sticking to the side of the kritter keeper and acting normal. There was a point when I thoughtnhe wasn't going to make it through the night. But now Im way more hopeful.

[mlededee]

I'm glad to hear he seems to be doing better. Do keep him on the paper towels for now and just keep a close eye on him.

[spygirl]

Things have gone downhill since last night...

I checked on him this morning. His temps and humidity are where they should be. But he just hasn't improved. It looks like he can't even move his back legs at all. He still looks plump, not dehydrated, and his calcium sacs look good.

I did call my vet and he told me if I really wanted to I could bring him in. But he told me all he could really do is run an x-ray and take a fecal. He said the tests may be so stressful that that in itself does him in. And at this point, I kinda agree.

I just wish I knew what brought this on. Did he become overheated? A seizure? I know that most of his life at the PetCo (they had had him for 9 months!) he was housed with another male. The other male was sold about a month before he came home with me. He had been picked on according to the other employees. Maybe that has something to do with it. Who knows...

So now I'm not sure what to do. Gah, I hate feeling helpless!