Snorkelshark
New Member
I’m going to keep this as short as possible and I am open to all responses and suggestions.
I fell in love with sulcatas when I lived in Hawaii. I refused to own one until I had properly researched, considered and thought about long term impacts (I grew up with parrots so I already understood that these animals will probably outlive me and needed a plan in place to take care of them after I die)
5 years later, I bought my baby. I bought a massive tank, heat lamp, UV lamp, hides, bowls, every bedding material amazon had to offer. We measured humidity, adjusted our home thermostat to ensure it didn’t get too cold at night, invested in good light timers for the UV and heat lamp, built an outside run for daily grazing and sun soaking.
I feel like I did everything right (which I’m sure I didn’t, but I learned and adjusted) we all make mistakes when we are learning, right?
Anyway, tortellini seemed great. He arrived in July all bright eyed and adorable. He takes daily warm soaks and daily outdoor time. He eats a variety of greens, lettuces (but not iceberg) no fruits, hay, soaked pellets and lots of clover.
The past week I noticed that he was sleeping a lot more and eating a lot less. I upped his soaks, and checked my humidity. His belly got soft and today he is so lethargic that he won’t open his eyes.
He has no discharge, no eye bubbles, no runny nose. He appears completely normal, minus the soft shell. He was getting calcium sprinkles 2x a week on his greens.
I called my local exotics vet and she hasn’t called back yet. I feel so bad. I thought I was doing everything close enough to correct....and he was perfectly fine for the past few months! He even evacuated with us for the hurricane and spent the week in a fancy hotel being spoiled by the kitchen staff (who brought him up all the little greens left over from prep every day....and they used locally sourced items for their menu so I wasn’t concerned about pesticides or anything)
I even went so far as to stop and pay a lady $5 to pick her prickly cactus pads from her back yard....lovingly (though there was a bit of cursing involved) despined them, rinsed and cut them up for him.
Can someone deduce where I went wrong here. I’m certain he doesn’t have much time left, he is lethargic and refusing to open his eyes today and I’m still waiting on the vet to tell me when to bring him in.
Is there any hope that he will pull through and the vet will have some cure for this? I don’t know what happened and I’m so sad that I am responsible for his care and I failed him.
Sorry for the essay, thanks for listening
I fell in love with sulcatas when I lived in Hawaii. I refused to own one until I had properly researched, considered and thought about long term impacts (I grew up with parrots so I already understood that these animals will probably outlive me and needed a plan in place to take care of them after I die)
5 years later, I bought my baby. I bought a massive tank, heat lamp, UV lamp, hides, bowls, every bedding material amazon had to offer. We measured humidity, adjusted our home thermostat to ensure it didn’t get too cold at night, invested in good light timers for the UV and heat lamp, built an outside run for daily grazing and sun soaking.
I feel like I did everything right (which I’m sure I didn’t, but I learned and adjusted) we all make mistakes when we are learning, right?
Anyway, tortellini seemed great. He arrived in July all bright eyed and adorable. He takes daily warm soaks and daily outdoor time. He eats a variety of greens, lettuces (but not iceberg) no fruits, hay, soaked pellets and lots of clover.
The past week I noticed that he was sleeping a lot more and eating a lot less. I upped his soaks, and checked my humidity. His belly got soft and today he is so lethargic that he won’t open his eyes.
He has no discharge, no eye bubbles, no runny nose. He appears completely normal, minus the soft shell. He was getting calcium sprinkles 2x a week on his greens.
I called my local exotics vet and she hasn’t called back yet. I feel so bad. I thought I was doing everything close enough to correct....and he was perfectly fine for the past few months! He even evacuated with us for the hurricane and spent the week in a fancy hotel being spoiled by the kitchen staff (who brought him up all the little greens left over from prep every day....and they used locally sourced items for their menu so I wasn’t concerned about pesticides or anything)
I even went so far as to stop and pay a lady $5 to pick her prickly cactus pads from her back yard....lovingly (though there was a bit of cursing involved) despined them, rinsed and cut them up for him.
Can someone deduce where I went wrong here. I’m certain he doesn’t have much time left, he is lethargic and refusing to open his eyes today and I’m still waiting on the vet to tell me when to bring him in.
Is there any hope that he will pull through and the vet will have some cure for this? I don’t know what happened and I’m so sad that I am responsible for his care and I failed him.
Sorry for the essay, thanks for listening