Ursula Post-OE

Question
Hi again Diane!

Ursula is still kickin' after her ovariectomy.  The stitches come out in about 2 more weeks and she shows no signs of infection or pain! =D

I do have a few concerns though:

First, she is not eating well at all.  It's been about a month since her surgery and one day she will eat a few collard leaves or kale and the next day she will ignore everything.  I feed her melon mashed in her greens in order to get her to eat more, but she just doesn't seem interested.  I've also never seen her drink water . . . not as though that's entirely unusual . . . but it would make me more comfortable to know she is drinking on her own too.

Second, she is extremely restless all the time.  She spends her entire day clawing at the front of her sick ward (a giant dog crate (l x w x h ~ 3'x 2'x 3')with plastic floors and walls that I sanitize daily to keep her incision clean) to the point where she is tearing out all the claws on her right forepaw!  Soon she will have no claws at all on her front legs, so forget about her being able to climb when I put her back in her old habitat!  In fact, she spends so much of her time trying to get out of that crate that she doesn't have any spare time to eat or drink.  She will claw and claw for 5 minutes at a time and then stop and open her mouth as if she has overheated.  She takes a few breaths (sometimes heavy breathing) and after another minute's rest she will continue clawing at the gate again. (Her saliva is slightly ropey, but her mouth looks to be in perfect condition.)   This continues ALL DAY LONG 0.0 and at for at least 30 minutes after I turn out her lights for bedtime.  

What is going on with my poor restless lizard?! D=

Answer
Hi Jessie,
Glad to hear that she is healing well.
Her gut bacteria levels may be low, which will cause her not to eat much...I would use some human grade acidophilus capsules (1 per day for about 3 days) and see how that helps.  Her medications most likely depleted all her gut bacteria that is needed for digestion.  
She may be trying to get out because she is bored in the smaller cage.  Are you able to give her free roam time and possibly set up a basking area for her outside the cage?
If you put her back in her old cage, it may help to use the closet shelving for ramps(if you don't already) as they are easier to grasp with even just the toes.  To be safe, place pillows on the floor of her cage.
Try offering some water or even juice from a syringe for her to drink.
How do her urates look?  If they aren't clumpy, or orange, she probably isn't horribly dehydrated..yet.  Also, you can try adding an airstone(aquarium pump and stone) which may encourage her to drink..
Also, watermelon is a good water source and of course misting her greens.  Try soaking whole wheat or multigrain  bread in water and offer it to her..my guys all love that and they slurp it right up...water dripping down their chins and everything.
Don't be over concerned about her not eating everyday...not all igs eat like piggies daily but more so every other day.
Even though she is now spayed...she doesn't know that and may still be going through the actions of being gravid.
The reason her claws are breaking so easily is most likely due to her not getting her baths due to her sutures.  You can try rubbing some Neosporin ointment on them (since they are basically open wounds) and then Vaseline which should help get moisture back into them.