Re: Illness or stress?

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Posted by iZ's mom on April 10, 2001 at 11:09:49:

In Reply to: Illness or stress? posted by Dave on April 09, 2001 at 21:59:11:

pretty much i think i'm echoing Travis + Marisa here ... *grin*

yep! you've tub-trained' your ig without realizing it! and now that he's realized that he can poop somewhere *besides* his enclosure, he's not gonna poop in there + stink it up! if you can put him in the tub everyday about the same time, he'll prob'ly be thrilled to go on a daily basis ... once he's pooping on a regular basis, especially daily, his appetite and general outlook on life should improve ... being full o' s*** is not a pleasant feeling! (*grin* i'm leaving myself wide open with that comment!)

ok ~ by him emptying out on a regular basis, he's gonna eat better, feel better, be happier ...
by eating better, he's gonna be happier + healthier as well ... it would also very likely help with the shedding issue ... by all means, sprinkle his salads with water to get some extra moisture into him + that will help too ...

at 5yo, your ig is *pretty much* done with "growth spurts" that they have when younger and so an older ig just doesn't shed as *constantly* as a younger ig does ... but sounds like he's not shedding much at all + so i would wonder about that ... could be diet, stress, lack of moisture (*inside* him as well as just misting/baths), illness ...

if he hasn't been to a vet in a while, take him! take a fecal sample in + have it checked for parasites and have some blood work done to get a calcium:phosphorus level and get an idea of how healthy his insides are ... find a vet who *knows* igs and get an expert opinion on this guy's health and find out how you're doin'!!! preventative medicine is worth it + a lot cheaper than trying to remedy a problem ...

and you HAVE to let him get enough dark + quiet at nite to sleep! lack of solid, restful sleep will stress ANYone out and stress WILL cause serious problems if it goes on for too long!!!

and to answer your question about if he was sick, wouldn't he be dead by now??? well, no! not necessarily!! not everything kills quickly + painlessly ... expecially with igs because they are VERY good at *hiding* that fact that something is wrong with them until they are deathly ill ... don't assume that all is ok ~ keep checking everything!

it does sounds like this is more stress than an illness ~ for now ... stress WILL LEAD to illness tho and so it's not something to just kinda 'blow off' ... (make sense?) ...

when i check on iZ late at nite before *i* go to bed, he is SO conked out in his bed that me going into his room + checking the various equipment (water pump, humidifier, the heater, etc) doesn't faze him one bit ~

hmmmmmmmmm ... just re-read your post and i have a thought (scary!) that may or may not help ... he sleeps on TOP of his enclosure not inside??? maybe covering him with a thick bath towel for a 'blankie' at bedtime would help??? it'd cut the light and *some* noise ... ???

but i can't say this strongly enough ~ take him to an ig-vet and get a professional/medical opinion as well as working on reducing his stress level!!! alot of igs seem to start having kidney problems at 5 years + he should have a check up to MAKE SURE HE'S OK ... it IS worth the $$ !!!!

best wishes! let us know how you + he are doing!
Bon. (who tends to be a wee bit over-protective with her "dragon baby" AND her g-daughters)

and iZ (who has his own room, is spoiled rotten + LIKES it that way!)

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: pretty much i think i'm echoing Travis + Marisa here ... *grin* : yep! you've tub-trained' your ig without realizing it! and now that he's realized that he can poop somewhere *besides* his enclosure, he's not gonna poop in there + stink it up! if you can put him in the tub everyday about the same time, he'll prob'ly be thrilled to go on a daily basis ... once he's pooping on a regular basis, especially daily, his appetite and general outlook on life should improve ... being full o' s*** is not a pleasant feeling! (*grin* i'm leaving myself wide open with that comment!) : ok ~ by him emptying out on a regular basis, he's gonna eat better, feel better, be happier ... : by eating better, he's gonna be happier + healthier as well ... it would also very likely help with the shedding issue ... by all means, sprinkle his salads with water to get some extra moisture into him + that will help too ... : at 5yo, your ig is *pretty much* done with "growth spurts" that they have when younger and so an older ig just doesn't shed as *constantly* as a younger ig does ... but sounds like he's not shedding much at all + so i would wonder about that ... could be diet, stress, lack of moisture (*inside* him as well as just misting/baths), illness ... : if he hasn't been to a vet in a while, take him! take a fecal sample in + have it checked for parasites and have some blood work done to get a calcium:phosphorus level and get an idea of how healthy his insides are ... find a vet who *knows* igs and get an expert opinion on this guy's health and find out how you're doin'!!! preventative medicine is worth it + a lot cheaper than trying to remedy a problem ... : and you HAVE to let him get enough dark + quiet at nite to sleep! lack of solid, restful sleep will stress ANYone out and stress WILL cause serious problems if it goes on for too long!!! : and to answer your question about if he was sick, wouldn't he be dead by now??? well, no! not necessarily!! not everything kills quickly + painlessly ... expecially with igs because they are VERY good at *hiding* that fact that something is wrong with them until they are deathly ill ... don't assume that all is ok ~ keep checking everything! : it does sounds like this is more stress than an illness ~ for now ... stress WILL LEAD to illness tho and so it's not something to just kinda 'blow off' ... (make sense?) ... : when i check on iZ late at nite before *i* go to bed, he is SO conked out in his bed that me going into his room + checking the various equipment (water pump, humidifier, the heater, etc) doesn't faze him one bit ~ : hmmmmmmmmm ... just re-read your post and i have a thought (scary!) that may or may not help ... he sleeps on TOP of his enclosure not inside??? maybe covering him with a thick bath towel for a 'blankie' at bedtime would help??? it'd cut the light and *some* noise ... ??? : but i can't say this strongly enough ~ take him to an ig-vet and get a professional/medical opinion as well as working on reducing his stress level!!! alot of igs seem to start having kidney problems at 5 years + he should have a check up to MAKE SURE HE'S OK ... it IS worth the $$ !!!! : best wishes! let us know how you + he are doing! : Bon. (who tends to be a wee bit over-protective with her "dragon baby" AND her g-daughters) : and iZ (who has his own room, is spoiled rotten + LIKES it that way!) :

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