rehab of Cordylus tropidosternum jonseii...

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Posted by jmorris on March 03, 2003 at 10:42:50:

This is a tough rehab project, and I could use all the help i can get. I was recently offered a Girdled lizard (sometimes called an armadillo lizard, but only Cordylus cordylus can claim that name rightly). I went to pick it up Saturday morning, and here is the story:

I expected to see a healthy animal when I went to pick up the C. tropidosternum Saturday, but what I found was anything but that. It has had some sort of chronic eye infection (possibly a form of conjunctivitis), and both eyes seem to be crusted with a kind of plaque. It is also extremely dehydrated, and has never had access to proper lighting. The good news is, the fecal I had done came back normal, so despite the obvious neglect he has faced, the stress has not caused parasites to build up. The lizard weighs 13g.

My vet and I are following standard protocol for the health issues present. For the eyes, I am warm compressing twice a day, followed by a Lactated Ringer Solution (LRS) flush, and a dap of antibiotic ointment w/ Hydrocordizone. As for the dehydration, I am delivering .5mL of LRS by tube twice daily, and following up with soaking and misting. I am adding a little callories and calcium into the morning fluid with .1mL sweet potato/chicken babyfood and .02 mL Neo-Cal Glucon in .4ml of LRS. I will be upping the concentration of callories gradually over this week (.15mL babyfood tomarrow, .2 the next day, etc...). The evning feeding will still consist of just .5mL of LRS by itself.

Our goal is to get fluid back into the body before any real food, therefore hopefully preventing liver/kidney problems associated with recovering dehydration patients, and "Re-feeding" syndrome. I am exposing the animal to UV by placement in a screen cage outside, with heat from a lamp keeping him warm in the cool spring air.

I currently have paper towel rolls as hide areas, a single rounded rock for a basking area, and a sterilized 5 gallon for his living quarters (he is in the mesh cage outdoors all day). I will be setting up a Zoo-Med 5.0 light and a heat lamp in a 20 gallon enclosure tomarrow. I'm keeping the basking temps around 90, and the ambient temps around 75, with no significant night drop until his health starts to return (fingers crossed).

Any advice would help,
Jared

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