It's taken awhile to for me to post this because I'm still upset with myself for what I did but I want to share something that happened to Dexter.
She's been a little picky lately and not eating. Wasn't sure if it was her mouth or she wants to brumate. So the Friday before last, I came home from work and gave her a ball of small silk worms that just came in. She gobbled them up but then started doing something funny with her belly, like she was trying to throw them up or something. I put her in a tub of warm water thinking that would relax her a little and it did, she started acting normal again.
It's been awhile since she's eaten so she hasn't had that added liquid calcium because I usually put it in her worms. She's been real good about opening her mouth when I clean it with a q-tip, when I start in the back crease and work it towards the front of her mouth so I thought that would work with a syringe. Well I squirted it in and about .3ml went in of .5. I looked at her mouth and I saw moisture and thought she was being a brat and just didn't swallow. All the sudden her beard turned pitch black and her tail turned black and she started blowing bubbles out her nose and water was coming out of her eye. I realized then that she had aspirated the calcium supplement. Quickly I put her on my arm with her head in my hand and tail towards my armpit and I put her on a downward angle patting her back. She wasn't cooperating, so I wrapped her in a towel and she finally relaxed. I patted her back and I rocked her for about 45min-1hr.
I was home alone with her so it wasn't real easy for me to put her down and call the vet but I got a moment where there was no more water coming out so I called and rushed her over. By the time we got there she was absolutely fine! They took her in back and checked her lungs and looked down her throat, everything was fine! Even the tissue in her mouth looked great! She still has a little swelling but it's not as bad as it was.
I feel that my immediate action with her saved her life. Tipping her down like that helped all the fluid run out of her lungs and prevented her from choking or getting a URI. I have pictures of her black beard on my phone that I can post, I have never seen it so dark!
She's been a little picky lately and not eating. Wasn't sure if it was her mouth or she wants to brumate. So the Friday before last, I came home from work and gave her a ball of small silk worms that just came in. She gobbled them up but then started doing something funny with her belly, like she was trying to throw them up or something. I put her in a tub of warm water thinking that would relax her a little and it did, she started acting normal again.
It's been awhile since she's eaten so she hasn't had that added liquid calcium because I usually put it in her worms. She's been real good about opening her mouth when I clean it with a q-tip, when I start in the back crease and work it towards the front of her mouth so I thought that would work with a syringe. Well I squirted it in and about .3ml went in of .5. I looked at her mouth and I saw moisture and thought she was being a brat and just didn't swallow. All the sudden her beard turned pitch black and her tail turned black and she started blowing bubbles out her nose and water was coming out of her eye. I realized then that she had aspirated the calcium supplement. Quickly I put her on my arm with her head in my hand and tail towards my armpit and I put her on a downward angle patting her back. She wasn't cooperating, so I wrapped her in a towel and she finally relaxed. I patted her back and I rocked her for about 45min-1hr.
I was home alone with her so it wasn't real easy for me to put her down and call the vet but I got a moment where there was no more water coming out so I called and rushed her over. By the time we got there she was absolutely fine! They took her in back and checked her lungs and looked down her throat, everything was fine! Even the tissue in her mouth looked great! She still has a little swelling but it's not as bad as it was.
I feel that my immediate action with her saved her life. Tipping her down like that helped all the fluid run out of her lungs and prevented her from choking or getting a URI. I have pictures of her black beard on my phone that I can post, I have never seen it so dark!
We were both so cold.
