uromastyz health

Question
QUESTION:  Hi
Our approx. 7 yr old male uromastyx stopped eating about 2 weeks ago. He sleeps about 17 hrs a day even with the lights on. When he is awake and out of the tank, he is moderately active and social. He seems a bit gassy, and will on occasion, softly squeak as if he is uncomfortable.
 We have been force-feeding Lizzie with critical Care for lizards once or twice a day. He does not like this. We have been giving him warm baths daily to assure that he does not get dehydrated.
 Since he stopped eating, his stools have contained quite a lot of mucous. They range from a loose green stool, to a whitish and yellow stool. On a rare occasion his stool will be normal.
 Two or so years ago, Lizzie underwent surgery to remove three small stones from his stomach that he had eaten. He has since not eaten anything inedible.  Last year, because we were told to change his bedding from sand to birdseed, he consumed some which caused irritation in his belly and was slow to pass. There was a small amount of blood in his stool, and x-rays showed him to be significantly bloated.  He was treated with mineral oil and given Critical Care then, and also given warm soaks. The seeds passed and he recovered nicely. Now his bedding is Astroturf for reptiles and there is no seed in his diet. He is given dried beans and thawed frozen peas with occasion kale or collard greens thrown in. His food is dusted with calcium.  He generally is a picky eater and will not eat other veggies if offered (when he I S eating).
 Could Lizzie be dealing with scar tissue issues? If so, what , if anything can be done about that?  We are not in the position of being able to afford another surgery, so would very much appreciate any ideas you can give us to try to help this poor little guy.  We love this little boy so much and want to see him be


ANSWER: Hello Holly,

Well, little Lizzie has been through it hasn't he?
Why don't you tell me a little bit about his setup too, such as what type & brand of UVB are you using, & what type of basking light are you using?
What are the temps for his basking, & what type of thermometer are you using to measure his temps with?  A stick on type of thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun?
How often is he getting the calcium?  Just when he eats?  He needs it 2-3 times per week, as well as vitamins 1 time per week.
Great the substrate has been changed to astroturf.  The diet you are feeding sounds pretty good.   
The stools that are mucous laden & greenish in color indicates possible amoebas or flagelletes in his stool, or another type of parasites.  I recommend that you get a fecal done on him to determine what is going on with his system.  If he is having digestive issues, parasites, etc, really affects that.  
While it could be some scar tissue issues with his intestinal areas, he sounds like he has some parasite issues too.
I understand about money, geez.  Anymore, who can afford anything?  Let's see if we can him better without any surgery.  
If you can find some probiotics such as acidophiliz, or benebac or nutribac that may helop.  He might need meds for parasites though.
Oh you can get the acidophiliz & the benebac from here:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/index.php?cName=Medications%20%26%20Treatments&cPat

You can get the nutribac from  here:

http://www.reptileuv.com/nutribac-df-probiotic-for-reptiles.php

Also, you could look at the grocery store for some non dairy soy yogurt that could be given as a probiotic as well.  

Let me know what is going on with him.

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks, tracie!
 The uv lighting used is the exo terra repti glo tube light 10.0;  33%uva, 10%uvb.  I'm not sure that the lamp reaches him adequately, as he is in a 29gallon high tank, and altho' there are rocks in the tank, he tends to spend most of his time on the bottom of it. I bought a thermometer that supposedly checks the ambient temp of the tANK; IT RESTS ON THE SURFACE OF WHEREVER i PLACE IT.  Right now the temp on the lowest rock is reading 95. the top rocks at the left of his tank average between 85 and 93 degrees.  At night the temps average at around 60 or 65 degrees. He spends a fair amount of time under his rocks, the rest of the time he likes to h ang out and sleep on the bottom under the lights.  We take him out of the tank once a day to put him in the sun of our sunroom and get a little exercise. He loves that!  
As for the rest of Lizzie's lighting, we use incandescent bulbs;  on the left over the highest rocks, there is a 75 watt bulb with reflector;  iin the middle of the tank is a65 watt bulb with reflector,followed by another 75
watt bulb with reflector, and finally, there is a lamp onthefar
right with a 60 bulb - watt bulb -no reflector .
Thanks for the quick response!

ANSWER: Hello Holly,

How long have you been using the Reptiglo 10 flourescent tube light?
Unfortunately, those lights are not very good, as they put out low wavelength UVB which is harmful.  It also does not put out favorable wavelength for D3 synthesis & wont allow for proper calcium absorption.
I really recommend if you can, to get a Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb instead as it is the best UVB bulb you can get here in the US.  You can find it at:
www.petmountain.com


Hm, that is ALOT of wattage for the temps to only be 95.  What type of thermometer is it, a round analogue type or a thermometer that has a wire with a probe at the end?  If you have a round type that will not be accurate.
All of the basking lights need to be at one end of the tank to focus most of the heat there along with the UVB light running by it.  The recommended basking temps for Uros are 120-130 & the gradients should decrease around the basking spot.  The cooler end needs to be around 80.    

So he enjoys sitting in the sun in the bedroom?  Good that he gets some exercise.  
How is Lizzie doing, has he eaten today?  

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks again, Tracie! I believe that the Uv bulb has been on the tank for at least 6 months. It still shows blue.  Will definitely look into the Reptisun bulb.
The thermometer is not round, but rather rectangular. It is by Accurite; I bought it at Walmart after it was suggested to me by someone for Liz.  It has a remote Supposedly, it is supposed to measure the ambient temp of the area.
I have never seen the other type of thermometer that you referred to.
 Yes, Lizzie L O V E S basking in the sun . He spent a good couple of hours today gloriously basking in the very warm rays of the sun.  
He seems happy, but he still hasn't eaten.  We are trying bit by bit to increase the amounts of Critical Care that he receives, still offering him peas or greens. We also add a tiny bit of x-tra virgin olive oil to his mixture for
calories.

Answer
Hello Holly,
Yeah the UVB lights don't burn out but the emissions do decline even if the light is still not burnt out.  
Oh accurite is a good brand.  Do you feel it is accurate with measuring the temps?  The ambient temps are important, but you do need to know what the basking temps are & he does need it alot higher than the 95.  Could you post a picture of the thermometer?  Does it have an in & an out reading?
The sun, is it shining through glass?  If so, he will get the warmth but wont get any UVB rays through the glass.  It is fine to let him sit in the warmth though for awhile.  
How is Lizzie doing today?  
Definitely continue with the critical care.  Let me know how the temps are coming along.

Tracie