Hello all!
I was awoken with a facetime video at 6am today because my leo (at home while I am in college) has some issues in his undercarriage.
To me it looks like a dried poop in his cloaca or potentially stuck under a hemipine. My mum was a reptile handler at a zoo for many years so she is trained to handle him safely, don’t worry.
I have advised her to give him 2 warm baths in declorinated water for the next 2 days, he has already had one.
He ate well last night, had a full bowel movement 2 days ago, and had a shed 5 days ago that was mostly complete (he needed a soak for some toe skin, since he is missing his toes).
Pictures are attached, other than the blockage and some irritation, he is happy and moving and sassy as ever.
Wanted your opinions on the cause and if you think soaking is enough, or if some cleansing of the area with gentle Q Tips is needed.
His abdomen feels soft and normal, no obvious signs of dehydration or impaction other than his nastly little booty.
It doesn’t look too terribly swollen or anything yet… Though I could be wrong depending on his usual ehm…size and the photos blur.
If he was mine, I would very gently try to remove the brown with a wet qtip after the next soak. Hopefully it will come off easily and it will let the cloaca have a chance to close normally and avoid more irritation.
Switch to paper towels temporarily if he’s got substrate.
If the brown comes off and it looks a bit more irritated or raw, I would consider adding chlorhexidine or iodine to the soaks. Maybe a bit of antibiotics ointment to the area after.
If swelling increases or there’s a prolapse of tissue, I would head to the vet. It may need to be debrided and some antibiotics given.
Thank you so much!
Yep he’s err…well endowed I suppose…and isn’t any more swollen than normal yet. Ill try the QTip removal, and look up iodine solutions! Hopefully that should fix it!
Also, he is on paper towels full time now because he is an old boy and his eyesight made him think sand was edible (many months ago, he is not at risk for this being sediment impaction)
UPDATE:
A bit of the poop at the enterance of his cloaca was able to be removed, but it seems there is some stuck under his skin? As best as my mom can put it ‘looks like he has a poop egg, after his anus, but under the skin, like in a tail flap’
Any ideas?
He is still being soaked, now in a warm water/Betadine solution. Still perky and sassy, no abnormalities around the eyes, nose, ears, or mouth. Minimal redness at the vent, but a bit of swelling around the area in addition to this ‘poop egg’
I’ll get him to the vet if needed, but we just lost our house and my grandfather and have a lot of expenses rn, so I’m really hoping to solve this at home if possible. An exotic vet bill is…not the best rn, but I’ll find the money if I need to.
If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
I’m very stressed, bc once again, I’m in exam week at college and won’t be home until a week from today. It’s hard not being able to be directly there to do the treatment, and to only be able to see the issue over fuzzy video calls
Could he have impacted hemipene? That’s what it sounds like to me. As far as I know, those are better removed by a vet. I’d say keep soaking, and only if an actual gecko person agrees; if it doesn’t seem to cause discomfort, gently massage behind the lump (trying to move it towards the vent) after the bath to see if it will dislodge. If he doesn’t like it though, don’t try too much, you could do more harm than good.
Would soaking a cottonball and trying to make a little ‘chastity belt’ to keep the area damp between soakings be something to try, or probably pointless?
I would also avoid doing anything to keep a moist object against him. What you CAN do is use a small saucer or jar lid and leave a bit of water in it under a hide house.
It’s a thin layer of water in a place that they’re comfortable. Sometimes they’ll just lay in it and relax. Obviously, have it checked/changed regularly to keep the water clean. Do not add anything to it either as they may drink it as well. Sometimes I do this with my difficult shedders as well. Usually works a treat at getting the stubborn toesocks off.
I wouldn’t really be comfortable making any other recommendations over the net. Noodlehaus had the recommendation to do a little massage. It is definitely worth a shot. Sperm plugs can cause issues like this as well. Just be careful and if he struggles too much I would stop because there is a risk of him dropping his tail.
Anything else really isn’t anything I would be comfortable recommending over the net and more you would need a vet on hand. Hope that he does okay though and passes this soon.
Thank you so much, if he doesn’t pass this soon we will get him in before holiday closures. It seems like its just a bit of poop lodged in a bit with the hemipenes, but it didn’t come out when he passed the other stool.
Not sure, but we’ll keep trying.
He’s still bright eyed and bushy (er…scaley) tailed, so no direct signs of anything intense yet, though I know reptiles hide it. But he isn’t isolating and actively comes out to play, which I’m taking as a good sign
Better pic of the issue, thinking it’s a sperm plug or poop stuck. Baths don’t seem to do much, so we were able to get him in for a Thursday appt. hoping it isn’t needed, but better safe than sorry.
Yeah the first picture was questionable but this one is definitely a hemipene issue.
Better safe than sorry and have the vet dislodge it. Sometimes you can get them dislodged at home but if it’s a particularly bad one you need to be able to control bleeding if it occurs so that would be why it’s better for the vet to see them.
Hopefully it’s early enough that the removal is all you’ll need. He may need some follow-up antibiotics depending on what the vet sees.
Hopefully!
If it gets more swollen or goopy in the days before Thursday, they have a 24 hour emergency exotic care building I can use, for a notably more expensive price. So we’ll keep the vet appt if his condition remains stable, but use the ER care if he goes downhill.
Would you all recommend not feeding him in these days leading up to the vet appt? He has a food drive still, but I’m not sure if him passing a poop would irritate the area, or if they should have empty bowels for a vet appt.
He ate 2 days ago, so it would be about a week between feedings, plus maybe 2 more days for post vet recovery. Not a huge strain on an adult leo, but he’s a monster when he gets hangry
I’d say keep feeding unless the vet told you otherwise when you made the appointment. I’d say as long as you keep the area clean & continue soaking, there’s no reason not to feed and it’s probably better to have him as otherwise healthy as possible.
I agree. Keep him eating up until the day before the appointment. That way he’s got enough reserves going.
If he does need antibiotics, some reptiles might refuse food while taking them. You’ll want him to be as strong as possible beforehand. Which is great that the sitter is so attentive as well!
Thank you all!
My mom is doing an AMAZING job at this! Normally, I would have rushed home the instant something happened, as I’m only 1.5 hours away, but of course the Gak Man had to pop a problem (the first health issue with him we’ve EVER had), the day before my finals started.
With a vet appointment made, and the emergency vet within 30 min if the need arises, we opted for me to stay here and (try to) focus on finals while she cares for the boy.
So far so good, and I’m really hoping for an easy solution here.
It has been a BAD year for us, and we simply cannot lose this little man right now
