RedRaven
01-28-13, 04:29 PM
Hello All,
It has now been a little more than a month since Kira had a tumor removed from her pancreas. Since then, she is now mostly back to normal.
In the first week or so since her surgery, she was really out of it. Barely moving on her own, barely responding when she was poked or picked up. It took her a while to remember how to use her tongue, the left fork was crumpled; the left side of her face not as responsive.
After her surgery, I was concerned with getting her a meal as soon as possible. Because of her advanced age, I was only in the habit of feeding her a small F/T rat every two weeks, with the surgery December 20th and waiting for her to wake up she hadn't eaten since the 28th of November!
On December 27th she had been home from surgery for a week, and was awake enough to respond when I opened her enclosure. I offered her a F/T pinky rat which she readily chomped, but after half an hour of munching on it just spat it back out. I was very disheartened because refusing food- after not eating for so long- would be a sign that she was not going to recover well (or at all).
Then a few days later we got a hopeful sign; her albino body was the pale pink of a pre-shed. Another week went by until she finally began to shed. She got started on her head and neck, but then gave up for a few hours. We gave her a soak in warm water and the next day her shed was complete. The incision is held together with wires which will stay in place until she sheds them out. There are a couple of loose scales still stuck in the scabby wires, but other than that the shed went off without a hitch.
With that out of the way, the next day she happily chomped down a F/T rat pup about the size of my thumb.
When she first came home we put her back into the RUB that she had been living in previously. But paper towels and the UTH she had for heat were just not cutting it in terms of temps or comfy substrate. We moved her in to a 20 gallon tank with shredded newspaper substrate and a 75w bulb for heat. It warms up her water dish which has the added benefit of increasing the humidity just a tiny bit. Her activity levels are normal now, sleeping a lot but coming out every couple of hours to cruise around her home, curl up to sleep in a new spot, typical Kira stuffs. So, for the most part, she is back to normal.
There is one section of Kira that never really 'woke up' from being sedated. Something must have happened in surgery because her butt is now completely limp. The last half-centimeter of her tail even went so far as to turn bright red and die. It is being watched closely to make sure that it does not spread any further.
It is a well known fact that Ol' Kira lives to sleep. And poop. I love her to bits but she has crapped on me a couple of times and, well, its gross as you can imagine. Two days after a meal, without fail, her butt will do its little dance and release a squishy white and grey-brown mess.
So when her behind was not behaving in its normal way, there was mounting concern.
When we lifted her out of her pre-shed soak, her vent began to leak... mustard. It was about the same colour and consistency, with some clearer fluid to boot. So... we squeezed her. Like a poopy 'ol toothpaste tube to clear the weeks of backed up... whatever that was building in her system. And there was quite a bit of it.
Since her shed she has eaten twice. A day after and then another a week after. Five days went by since rat #2 and still nothing from her behind. So, armed with some gloves and paper towel, I squeezed her out again and cleaned her vent with a Q-tip dipped in some hydrogen peroxide. After this procedure she curled her tail once or twice, but for the most part it is all dead weight.
I do not know what could have happened to make her behind behave this way. Since then it has not shown any signs of change or improvement. It seems I am resigned to help Kira with her meals now.
I do not mind. A little extra care is a small price to pay to have our good friend healthy again. Thank you all for your support. Kira is doing awesome and will continue to sleep and cruise and poo for many years to come.
For some reason I am still epic fail when it comes to posting links. Mosey on to the comments of the original post by Metallisch to see the album; it is updated with new pictures.
It has now been a little more than a month since Kira had a tumor removed from her pancreas. Since then, she is now mostly back to normal.
In the first week or so since her surgery, she was really out of it. Barely moving on her own, barely responding when she was poked or picked up. It took her a while to remember how to use her tongue, the left fork was crumpled; the left side of her face not as responsive.
After her surgery, I was concerned with getting her a meal as soon as possible. Because of her advanced age, I was only in the habit of feeding her a small F/T rat every two weeks, with the surgery December 20th and waiting for her to wake up she hadn't eaten since the 28th of November!
On December 27th she had been home from surgery for a week, and was awake enough to respond when I opened her enclosure. I offered her a F/T pinky rat which she readily chomped, but after half an hour of munching on it just spat it back out. I was very disheartened because refusing food- after not eating for so long- would be a sign that she was not going to recover well (or at all).
Then a few days later we got a hopeful sign; her albino body was the pale pink of a pre-shed. Another week went by until she finally began to shed. She got started on her head and neck, but then gave up for a few hours. We gave her a soak in warm water and the next day her shed was complete. The incision is held together with wires which will stay in place until she sheds them out. There are a couple of loose scales still stuck in the scabby wires, but other than that the shed went off without a hitch.
With that out of the way, the next day she happily chomped down a F/T rat pup about the size of my thumb.
When she first came home we put her back into the RUB that she had been living in previously. But paper towels and the UTH she had for heat were just not cutting it in terms of temps or comfy substrate. We moved her in to a 20 gallon tank with shredded newspaper substrate and a 75w bulb for heat. It warms up her water dish which has the added benefit of increasing the humidity just a tiny bit. Her activity levels are normal now, sleeping a lot but coming out every couple of hours to cruise around her home, curl up to sleep in a new spot, typical Kira stuffs. So, for the most part, she is back to normal.
There is one section of Kira that never really 'woke up' from being sedated. Something must have happened in surgery because her butt is now completely limp. The last half-centimeter of her tail even went so far as to turn bright red and die. It is being watched closely to make sure that it does not spread any further.
It is a well known fact that Ol' Kira lives to sleep. And poop. I love her to bits but she has crapped on me a couple of times and, well, its gross as you can imagine. Two days after a meal, without fail, her butt will do its little dance and release a squishy white and grey-brown mess.
So when her behind was not behaving in its normal way, there was mounting concern.
When we lifted her out of her pre-shed soak, her vent began to leak... mustard. It was about the same colour and consistency, with some clearer fluid to boot. So... we squeezed her. Like a poopy 'ol toothpaste tube to clear the weeks of backed up... whatever that was building in her system. And there was quite a bit of it.
Since her shed she has eaten twice. A day after and then another a week after. Five days went by since rat #2 and still nothing from her behind. So, armed with some gloves and paper towel, I squeezed her out again and cleaned her vent with a Q-tip dipped in some hydrogen peroxide. After this procedure she curled her tail once or twice, but for the most part it is all dead weight.
I do not know what could have happened to make her behind behave this way. Since then it has not shown any signs of change or improvement. It seems I am resigned to help Kira with her meals now.
I do not mind. A little extra care is a small price to pay to have our good friend healthy again. Thank you all for your support. Kira is doing awesome and will continue to sleep and cruise and poo for many years to come.
For some reason I am still epic fail when it comes to posting links. Mosey on to the comments of the original post by Metallisch to see the album; it is updated with new pictures.