OK, So we purchased an RT from Petco on 4/14/13. He was the most active one in the tank at the store. His eyes were clear, no bubbles or runny nose. A little bit of pyramiding, but it doesn't seem bad. He felt solid when we held him.
Petco said they deworm them all 2x's before they sell them, but I made a vet appointment to make sure.
The first day or so he was not too active which I expected. After that he would be active for a little while in the morning then sleep till late afternoon and be active till almost bedtime. I have soaked him every other day till the vet on Fri 4/19/13 for 20 min. He always pooped.
The vet is not a reptile specialist but seemed pretty comfortable with him. He said he was healthy. His skin and shell looked good, eyes looked good and looked well hydrated. Weighed in at 406 grams. He did see ova in his fecal test though.
So the vet gave me 2 doses of Panacur powder which I gave to Raphael that day in a tiny cabbage burrito and said to give the second dose 3 weeks later and bring in another sample 1 week after that. The vet wasn't sure what type of ova, but said it looked like a type of nematode.
The soaking after the Panacur I spotted the worms in the bottom of his tub after he pooped. It appears to be pinworms.
I have since then been very careful and soaking him every morning to keep his enclosure cleaner. I rinse him in a second tub before I put him back. I also spot clean when I see it. Before the vet I had cypress mulch mixed with eco earth. He loved it and liked to burrow. Since I am concerned about reinfection I cleaned out the enclosure, lined it newspaper and mulch with no eco-earth. I can easily roll up the paper and discard the mulch every other day.
It is day 5 after the panacur and here's where I am concerned. He's seems to be sleeping most of the time and is rubbing his eye a lot. I have a plastic pool that I got at petsmart to get him outside for good sunlight and he usually is very active in there, but yesterday he barely walked around. I know it's still early today, but he doesn't seem to want to stay awake and he didn't do a good poop. I spotted a little debris in the water which may have been one but usually it's a little "tootsie roll". I spotted only a few worms this time, but I'm not sure if he pooped so I don't know if he really expelled any.
I also haven't really seen him eat the way I read about in this forum. I put the food out in the morning and sometimes he eats sometimes not. But it's never more than a little bit unless it's cabbage. I also give him some timothy hay which I have seen him nibble on. I have offered him Kale, Spring Mix, Collard Greens, Carrots and yellow peppers. He has taken a leaf or two of those but mostly leaves them behind. Cabbage he will eat a ton of. He must be eating because I weighed him this morning and he was 412 grams. Not sure how accurate my scale is, but that's around a 6 gram weight gain in less than a week. I have mixed up a 1:1 ratio of ReptoCal and Herptivite which I sprinkle on his food. I had a little light green Zoo Med vitamin/calcium block in with him, but he just walks over it so I took it out while we're deworming.
I have oh so many questions as I have never had a reptile before, but I am completely enamored with him.
So I guess my main question is how long do I wait to take him to the vet if he doesn't become more active and doesn't stop rubbing his eyes. I have until this Sunday to bring him to Petco for their vet to see him. (Although I don't know if that is still available since I brought him to my own)
I'm apologize for novel, I just wanted to cover my bases. I have been on this forum just about every day and I know if anyone can advise me it the people here.
I greatly appreciate any advice given.
Info: Enclosure-3' by 2 1/2' cement mixing tub, substrate-read above, 1 MVB bulb, Basking temp-95 to 100, Ambient Temp 80's, Cool temp 70's, Rock hideaway on warm side, Half Log on cool side, Water dish (not big enough for soaking), tile for food, some river rocks (from the dollar store). Light is on 12-14 hours, Temps dip to 70's at night.
Petco said they deworm them all 2x's before they sell them, but I made a vet appointment to make sure.
The first day or so he was not too active which I expected. After that he would be active for a little while in the morning then sleep till late afternoon and be active till almost bedtime. I have soaked him every other day till the vet on Fri 4/19/13 for 20 min. He always pooped.
The vet is not a reptile specialist but seemed pretty comfortable with him. He said he was healthy. His skin and shell looked good, eyes looked good and looked well hydrated. Weighed in at 406 grams. He did see ova in his fecal test though.
So the vet gave me 2 doses of Panacur powder which I gave to Raphael that day in a tiny cabbage burrito and said to give the second dose 3 weeks later and bring in another sample 1 week after that. The vet wasn't sure what type of ova, but said it looked like a type of nematode.
The soaking after the Panacur I spotted the worms in the bottom of his tub after he pooped. It appears to be pinworms.
I have since then been very careful and soaking him every morning to keep his enclosure cleaner. I rinse him in a second tub before I put him back. I also spot clean when I see it. Before the vet I had cypress mulch mixed with eco earth. He loved it and liked to burrow. Since I am concerned about reinfection I cleaned out the enclosure, lined it newspaper and mulch with no eco-earth. I can easily roll up the paper and discard the mulch every other day.
It is day 5 after the panacur and here's where I am concerned. He's seems to be sleeping most of the time and is rubbing his eye a lot. I have a plastic pool that I got at petsmart to get him outside for good sunlight and he usually is very active in there, but yesterday he barely walked around. I know it's still early today, but he doesn't seem to want to stay awake and he didn't do a good poop. I spotted a little debris in the water which may have been one but usually it's a little "tootsie roll". I spotted only a few worms this time, but I'm not sure if he pooped so I don't know if he really expelled any.
I also haven't really seen him eat the way I read about in this forum. I put the food out in the morning and sometimes he eats sometimes not. But it's never more than a little bit unless it's cabbage. I also give him some timothy hay which I have seen him nibble on. I have offered him Kale, Spring Mix, Collard Greens, Carrots and yellow peppers. He has taken a leaf or two of those but mostly leaves them behind. Cabbage he will eat a ton of. He must be eating because I weighed him this morning and he was 412 grams. Not sure how accurate my scale is, but that's around a 6 gram weight gain in less than a week. I have mixed up a 1:1 ratio of ReptoCal and Herptivite which I sprinkle on his food. I had a little light green Zoo Med vitamin/calcium block in with him, but he just walks over it so I took it out while we're deworming.
I have oh so many questions as I have never had a reptile before, but I am completely enamored with him.
So I guess my main question is how long do I wait to take him to the vet if he doesn't become more active and doesn't stop rubbing his eyes. I have until this Sunday to bring him to Petco for their vet to see him. (Although I don't know if that is still available since I brought him to my own)
I'm apologize for novel, I just wanted to cover my bases. I have been on this forum just about every day and I know if anyone can advise me it the people here.
I greatly appreciate any advice given.
Info: Enclosure-3' by 2 1/2' cement mixing tub, substrate-read above, 1 MVB bulb, Basking temp-95 to 100, Ambient Temp 80's, Cool temp 70's, Rock hideaway on warm side, Half Log on cool side, Water dish (not big enough for soaking), tile for food, some river rocks (from the dollar store). Light is on 12-14 hours, Temps dip to 70's at night.