Thanks guys for your well wishes in that other post. I was gonna reply there but figured I might as well start a new thread with lots of details. On saturday I worked really hard improving his pond. I put in a canister filter that due to it being gravity fed but higher than his pond I attached it to a small pond pump and so far it is working great. But it must have freaked tai out as he hasnt been acting normal since I changed it but I figured I would leave him alone and let him get used to it. Then this morning (sunday) I noticed him hanging on his branch and his foot looked funny but I dismissed it as my beign paranoid. Well when he was still there at 230 and hadnt moved at all I thought it was really odd so I took a closer look and I notice the foot was swollen and there was no resistance when I moved it, it just dangled. So I gently palpated it and notice a hard bump near his hip that would be consistant with a break or fracture. So I called the vet and set up an emergency visit for 6pm. So two and a half hours and 6 xrays later...The break was not pathelogical (wasnt caused by weak bones from lack of calcium and uv) it was a break from something he did. So Tai had his mid shaft femural break stabalized and splinted. He has a checkup once a week and then in a month if all his checkups go well he will have another full exam with xrays again to see how well he healed. Once he wakes from his anesthisia he isnt gonna be happy. His bandage is a lovely lavendar with purple polka dots... Due to the design of his cage there is no way I can cordon part of it off to make it so he cant climb. Since if I just blocked of his branches and put him on the bottom of the cage he wont have access to the lights and then of course there is the fact that 99% of the bottom of his cage is nothing but pond and swimming would almost be worse than climbing. And I cant just block him into the top of his enclosure where the lights are as thats where all the branches are. Also cant remove the branches as they are screwed, silivconed, and sealed into the cage walls... So Tai is currently in a 36x18x18 Exoterra tank which is going to make temps and humidity lots of fun to control...sigh...I covered most of the top with plastic and aluminum foil. he has a humidifier, small water bowl, rock cave, and lots of leafy bushes (taken from his old cage so atleast they are familiar). Now any advice on what else I can do to make him comfortable for the next month or two? just until he gets the ok to go back into his old enclosure. Also what can I add to his old enclosure to make it safer for him? I am thinking shelves, rope bridges, and taking out some of the thinner branches completely?
Ah! Sorry to hear about his foot. I think what you are doing covers it, make sure his ropes and branches are stable and climbing shelves will be great. Good luck!
How you you be giving it to him? I think if he's eating and drinking on his own his normal diet would suffice.
I was thinking in a bowl and he might lick it up? I am just not sure how well he is going to do with having to drink out of a tiny bowl and his humidity is going to be lower than normal for a bit until I can fix the cage up more and get all the quirks worked out. Also until he is more mobile he will only be getting squishy worms to eat. I am going to get silkworms but until then he gets only earthworms dipped in miner-all.
That's a lovely cast! Poor Tai. I agree with how you're going to modify his enclosure, and think it will definitely help mitigate the risk of injury in the future. I don't know that I'd go the Reptaid route yet, unless he's not eating or drinking enough. I have yet to find a reptile that actually will eat it willingly, so I think it'd go to waste if you just left it in a bowl. You could try increasing the amount of fruits you offer. They're great for hydration if he'll eat them.
Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. It's my worst nightmare, I get so nervous that my guy will do something like this with all the jumping around he does! I have no doubt he'll recover fully and be extremely well taken care of... That bandage is pretty cute...
A thought about diet...when I brought my Zen home he was so underfed and weak that he didn't want to eat at all. I finally figured out that by pulling the back legs off his crickets (I know it sounds cruel, and I felt like a jerk for doing it) that it made them easy enough for him to catch, and they still moved enough to get his prey drive up. Maybe that would work for Tai while he recovers?
Unfortunately he refuses to eat small prey. Even adult crickets he snubs. He will only eat full size superworms and roaches. Earth worms he isn't so picky about though. And he does ok with new food items for a bit before he realizes they are small.
I am sorry thala- hope your lil guy recovers quick. You are a horrible owner if you do not buy him ice cream.
Ps. Tai's has eaten 8 superworms and is climbing as much as he can so be isn't feeling too bad. He has a check up tomorrow so we shall see what they think.
Well Tai has had his one week splint check. It is staying on fairly well and he doesn't appear to have moved or knocked his leg out of alignment yet so that made the doctor happy but the dirt and water on the splint didn't...so now his splint is wrapped in Saran Wrap. The only problem I am having is controlling his temps. I got the humidity at a near steady 70% but the lowest I have gotten the rest is 101 basking and 95 cool side...so his heat lights are in 3hrs a day the uv is on 15hrs.
Maybe try using a 75watt basking bulb to heat the whole thing. That's what I'm using in Zen's temporary home, which is a 50 gallon. The cool side stays right around 72 as long as the bulb stays in one corner.
I am currently using a 50watt halogen so I think I will switch that. Out for a lower watt yet again. I have tried 4 different bulbs so far and all are too hot.
