BRB Losing Scales? - Page 6

**Andy_G** · 12-12-16, 08:17 AM

Looks really rough, but he's still soldiering on.

I hate to even propose this but has he exhibited any neuro signs that would point to IBD? Does he seem off at all? I only ask because the inability to keep down food is often the first sign...

**Tsubaki** · 12-12-16, 12:31 PM

Poor little guy, he does look skinny

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-12-16, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

Looks really rough, but he's still soldiering on.

I hate to even propose this but has he exhibited any neuro signs that would point to IBD? Does he seem off at all? I only ask because the inability to keep down food is often the first sign...

Nope, he was weak for a bit there but nothing that seems like a neuro issue. He can control his movements just fine, no twisting, nothing. And I would think after exhibiting regurge symptoms for nearly 1.5 years he'd have succumbed to IBD by now.

Snakesitter · 12-14-16, 07:09 AM

IBD is over diagnosed. It is also highly contagious. I doubt he has it, or some of the other animals would show signs by now.

**Andy_G** · 12-14-16, 08:50 AM

True enough...just grasping at straws and wishing you had something to blame for this ongoing problem.

RAD House · 12-14-16, 10:37 AM

I mean keeping weight on and fully digesting meals a good sign, I hope he has turned a corner for you.

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-14-16, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

True enough...just grasping at straws and wishing you had something to blame for this ongoing problem.

I do have something to blame for this problem. A most likely genetic disorder. I've had several other people say their Picasso stripes have regurge issues and the breeder has an adult female aberrant morph BRB with regurge issues as well. She is from a different line, though, and her issues aren't as extreme.

**Andy_G** · 12-15-16, 05:34 AM

...is the line still being propagated by the breeder since this genetic flaw has been discovered?

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-15-16, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

...is the line still being propagated by the breeder since this genetic flaw has been discovered?

Yes. According to the breeder none of the other babies have been reported to have regurge issues. Not to him, at least. He also has several adult animals of the same line that AFAIK never presented the regurge problems. BUT, as I said I've had other people with Picasso stripes tell me all of their's had problems, and he has a single adult female of another line with issues as well (which she does not appear to be part of any breeding projects). They never told me where they got their animals from, though, just that they had several animals between them and all had issues.

Technically, Morzan's sister Guin did not have any regurge issues, but whether or not they would have eventually surfaced was never found out as she died from septicemia poisoning only 2 months after I got her. Her first 2 or 3 meals she kept down just fine, and they were average-sized meals.

It's impossible to tell if she just had a weak disposition due to a flaw in the line's genetics, or I somehow royally screwed up just with her. In the span of 18 days or so she went from perfectly healthy to a regurge and then dead.

For now, I'm just going to avoid Picasso stripes in the future, and possibly other similar lines if they seem to show the same problems.

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-22-16, 12:35 AM

More update photos of Morzan...I'm really at a loss of what to do here. I was going to take him to the vet Friday since it was my next day off (my last day was a weekend so I couldn't take him then) but when I went to feed him, he had absolutely no interest in food (the first time ever), and he's looking kinda faded. It's hard to tell if he's in shed or not...he's looking milky-ish but his belly isn't pink and his colors show up mostly normal on camera. Even in shed he usually shows some interest in food.

Do I wait and see if it is a shed cycle? Do I take him to the vet Friday anyways? Do I make the hard choice and end his suffering?

Here you can see the milkiness.

Doesn't show up too well but you can see there's a bit of discoloration but no pinkness.

In this photo I was actually able to capture how much his ribs stick out.

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-23-16, 03:10 PM

Update: he is deep in blue today, so it is a shed cycle. Still, the refusal to eat is abnormal for him and he's still skinny.

Fingers crossed he takes a fuzzy when he sheds.

Being in shed, I'm going to make a different appointment with the vet to bring him in after he's shed and digested his next meal a bit.

SnoopySnake · 12-23-16, 10:28 PM

Glad to hear that it's just a shed. Fingers crossed he has a good shed and eats for you!

bigsnakegirl785 · 12-24-16, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnoopySnake

Glad to hear that it's just a shed. Fingers crossed he has a good shed and eats for you!

Thanks I figured part of it was him going into shed, but I'm still worried that he didn't so much as strike at his food. I suppose it's a good thing he didn't eat, the disinterest is just unusual for him. It was really hard to tell at the time for sure if he was shedding because the past month he's been in a constant state of just turning milky but not really milky, plus missing the last shed cycle threw me off.

I was worried about the state he was in, but with how skinny he is the shed cycle probably just accentuated any wrinkliness and made him seem worse than he was (the flash erased all the wrinkles on his belly). I did not weigh him as I didn't want him to stress any more, but I will do that once I can finally get another meal in him. His belly was awfully wrinkly and at certain parts his skin would fold up, but I suppose that's just from the shed cycle as their skin tends to lose plasticity.

His ribs showing still worries me but he's been like that since he dropped down to 44 grams. I just wish I knew of a way to get more nutrition in him that wouldn't result in a regurge.

bigsnakegirl785 · 01-11-17, 01:05 AM

He continues to hold his meals down...he didn't poop out his last meal but if poops out this one I'll give him another weighing, otherwise I'll weigh him on the 8th day mark since his last meal.

Last time I fed him was the easiest in a long time! Usually I have to aggressively bounce the mouse on his tail and back for minutes and minutes until he finally gets so angry he bites and then coils. One time I sat the mouse down on a loop and he grabbed the mouse, wrapped it, and then bit it. XD But this time he took the mouse almost immediately with hardly any bouncing. He's taken 2 or 3 3 gram fuzzies successfully now don't remember which. I may try him on 4 gram fuzzies again here soon.

SnoopySnake · 01-11-17, 10:52 AM

Awesome news!!! I'm glad he seems to be doing better for you! Has he regurged since you turned his heat up?