Vet Q&A-Reptile

Can clorox hurt an iguana

Hello, and thank you for using Boop by Petco. Yes, Clorox is a potent cleaning chemical and, like most cleaners, can be irritating to eyes, skin, and lungs - for both you and your iguana. For this reason, all disinfected surfaces cleaned with bleach (or any other cleaner) should be thoroughly rinsed and allowed to completely dry before coming in contact with Marcela. Hope this helps!

I am having a red ear slider, two years old, he was taken to a vet, to get her nails cut, all the four legs nails the vet have cut using a big nail cutter, but while cutting my turtle became aggressive and he bite the assistant of vet, then later on as I came home along with my turtle, he can't walk from the back two legs plus not eating properly, not even urinating or excreting Properly, after 3 or 4 days he might excrete

It is a natural trait of the males to have long nails. Being aquatic turtles the length of the nails does not cause them any issues with movement and therefore should be left long. Cutting the nails should not be done UNLESS they are growing in an abnormal orientation. There is a vein that runs down into the nail. If you hit this vein while trimming the nails or get very close to it the toe(s) will be very sore for quite a while. So my guess is that this is the reason he is not walking and the reason he bit the vet assistant. I suggest you call the vet and ask them for some pain medication that you can give Mangi. That will make him feel better and then he may start to eat again. In the future DO NOT have the nails trimmed unless there is an actual medical reason to do so. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Our red eared slider Turtle has developed some white patches on his upper shell. He seems fine otherwise but the spots are slowly spreading. He gets natural sunlight outside 5 days a week but we are worried this may not be enough. A few pieces of his underneath shell have also peeled off last week. The tank water is well heated and filtered. Thanks

You can use a UVB bulb indoors to supplement lighting. Be sure it is no more than 14-16 inches away from the surface of the basking spot and not blocked by glass or plexiglass. A multivitamin and a calcium/D3 supplement should also be used. Float a cuttlebone in the tank. Bongo will munch on it when needed. You can use a soft bristled brush and diluted betadine to gently scrub the affected areas. Dry dock (keep out of the water) him for about 1-2 hours after cleaning daily. If the spots do not resolve, have him examined by your veterinarian or a vet experienced in treating turtles. Read more about slider care here: http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html

Hi my baby bearded dragon accidentally got a droplet of acrylic paint on his stomach and toes. Will he survive? What should I do?

This paint is not toxic to them, so no need to worry too much. This type of paint is quite difficult to remove though. The only way to remove it would be to use finger nail polish or simple green cleaner, but you would have to be very careful and need to rinse it off really well. Considering the cleaner could cause more problems than the paint, I wouldn't bother trying to clean it off. I would just wait for it to come off the next time he sheds; which happens rather often in a juvenile. I hope that helps and all is well with Truffles.

Hello , my bearded dragon has been vomiting lately for the past two weeks and I’m not sure why , he drinks a lot more water ... I research this and mouth rot came up

A beardie that is vomiting or regurgitating regularly should be examined by your veterinarian or a vet experienced in treating reptiles. Potential causes may include an obstruction, constipation, tumor, incorrect diet or kidney/liver disease. Check in and around his mouth for redness, swelling, discharge or bleeding. If you see none, it may not be mouth rot. Check tank temps. Low temps can affect digestion in reptiles. Soak him in a warm 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte for 15-20 minutes daily. During the soak, gently massage his abdomen (front to back), to stimulate defecation. This will help if he is constipated. Stop feeding mealworms (too much chitin) for now and offer crickets or dubia roaches. Gut load them for 24 hours prior to offering to maximize nutritional value.

What’s good food for a Salcata Tortoise (No Pellets) I feed him fresh stuff but I would like to know some good things to feed him on a daily bases please

Offer a high fiber, grass based diet. Almost any herbicide/fertilizer free grass will do for Sulcatas. Grasses should make up about 75% of the diet. Avoid large quantities of fruit or protein in the diet. The link below leads to a fairly comprehensive, but by no means inclusive, list of acceptable foods to feed Tobina. https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/sulcata-diet-sheet.52677/

I recently rescued a leopard gecko and I have some concerns (he was my sisters gecko). 1. He is not eating and has lost some weight. 2. His legs are bowing and I'm concerned he has MBD. Is there anything I can do to help him start eating again and treat him? I have set out food dishes with dubia roaches and a calcium dish for him. Nothing seems to be working so far, any ideas?

Hello. Sorry to hear Zorro is not well. Unfortunately when these guys stop eating from MBD it is hard to get them started again. It is recommended that you start force feed him some Oxbow Critical Care. https://www.amazon.com/Oxbow-Carnivore-Care-Supplement-2-5-Ounce/dp/B006H38VZ0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1518202419&sr=8-6&keywords=oxbow+critical+care Here is a link to a video on how to force feed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mIJmeebvss Don't even offer any insects for now. Give it 5-7 days of force feeding before you try again. You should be dusting and gut-loading the insects before feeding. Calcium in a dish is not sufficient. Once you start getting some nutrition into him he should start eating on his own again. Be sure all his other husbandry is 100% correct (ie: lighting, temperature, etc). Here is a good care sheet. https://avianandexotic.com/care-sheets/reptiles/leopard-gecko/ Hope this helps. Best wishes!

How to treat a RI in read ear slider turtles. There are no VET for a turtle near my place. He is not eating food from past 2 weeks. I used to stay in Bangalore and now have shifted to tamilnadu. Intial days he was fine but now he is not much active and not at all eating food. I saw online videos for RI in turtles and he is behaving the same. Opening his mouth and gasping for breath? Please help me..

Unfortunately if your turtle is gasping for air and having difficulty breathing this is what we refer to as breathing agonally. Typically this is an indication that your turtle may be dying. If Ducker hasn't also eaten in two weeks this is also a very poor prognostic indicator. While I understand your dilemma of being far from a veterinarian that will see a turtle, he is definitely in need of immediate veterinary care including oxygen and nutritional supplementation. There is not much you are going to be able to do from home. If you are able to force feed a product such as critical care this might be beneficial. However due to his respiratory distress you could end up causing aspiration pneumonia while trying to feed him. I hope you are able to find him some help.

My gecko (African Fat Tail) is almost 14 years old. He's eating but extremely skinny all of a sudden. how do I help him

I would highly recommend taking Crash to a vet. Unfortunately has birds get older they are at higher risk of developing disease. Birds are really good at hiding illness but Crashs weight loss might be a early sign. I would be concerned about Crash's liver and kidney function. It is important that he has some basic blood work to look at how his organs are functioning. At home I would just recommend feeding him as much as he wants to eat. Also you can give him his favorite treats more often. Hope Crash feels better