Illness/Sickness: Large rock in belly!

[lea]

hi kuphie
you are amazing i dont think i could have done that.........:angel:
please keep us up dated
lea

 

[Mac Myers]

I love that! Amazing.

 

[blueberlin]

I think you're very brave, too. I probably would have let the poor girl just sit there. How is she doing, any signs of bleeding or swelling? Good thing the rock is so smooth - maybe it just "popped out" without further injury. I wish her a smooth and speedy recovery!

-Eva

 

[Guppidy]

Very impressive job! I think I would have tried something similar, only after fridgeing and slowing her down though, or else I would have been too worried that she might hurt herself fighting me.

Anyways, awesome job. And I don't judge you for not being willing to pay $400 for a $15 pet. As much as I love mine, your dilemma had me think about how I would act, and I sincerely didn't know if I'd spend $400 on an animal that barely has a mind of its own ("Oh, it's of edible size, let's suck it in and not think about what it really is"). I did spend $1,337 on a $191 dog's surgery this year, but that dog is more of a family member than my axies are, tbqfh.

 

[kuphie]

shamrock update: it's been about 24 hours since i removed the rock. i decided to just leave her in the tank since it's on the cooler side already. her activity level has increased dramatically. before she would walk in slow strait lines and her belly would drag a little, making it hard to use her back legs. as for swimming; every once and a while she would make frantic fast movements to get a gulp of air, then sink like a rock (pun intended).

today she is everywhere doing activities i haven't seen from her in 6months, bending her body into a full circle and turning around, digging between the rocks for food, gracefully swimming around, and playing in my amazon swords (plants). i don't see any swelling or bleeding. only time will tell what is going to happen. if she makes it 5-7days I'll feel confident that she's fine. I'm not going to feed her just yet, even tho she's acting starved. i see her snapping at my plants right now.

all i can say is: SHAMROCKS A SAVAGE!!!!

 

[wendyatk]

that is fantastic news. you should be proud of what you have done.

 

[dragonlady]

Thanks for the update! EXCELLENT!!!!! That's such great news! These guys never cease to amaze me!

@kuphie: I have to say you are pretty amazing too, Shamrock is very lucky to have you! I hope you have a long, healthy, indigestion-free life together!

 

[kuphie]

hello all, shamrock is still active. i tried to feed her today. she was overly excited, frantically snapping away then spitting half of the food out. i don't know what to make of it. maybe i should hold off food for a couple more days before i try again.

here's the actual x-ray again, the first picture was taken of the x-ray with my phone (not so good).

 

[Mac Myers]

Amazing. Continued good luck.

 

[Squid]

Woah.....

 

[christen525]

I am so happy for you and Shamrock (i don't think there is a better name on the planet for her)! Best of luck to you both, you really did a great job!

 

[bunny27]

Wow, you are so cool!!! And a hero!! I'm sure your axolotl knows you did it for her . Thanks for sharing this experience, after reading this, I got rid of all my rocks except for the ones that were obviously almost the size of her body.

Again, you are awesome! Good luck to you two!

 

[melfly]

my poor "shamrock" i had a feeling that surgery was the only way, but she did vomit up one rock, so I've been hoping the other one would do the same. i need to start a savings fund well at least you all can see that even if it looks as big as their head....it's just not big enough.

I'm so glad that this is now a happy ending....but the rock wasn't bigger than her head.
And is a warning to all!
I hope others take note from this about th size of rocks but i think you were very lucky to have been able to remove it yourself and i hope others dont try this at home

Best wishes to you and your hungry lil girl!

Mel

 

[kuphie]

UPDATE: it's been a week and she is doing well. BETTER THEN EVER ACTUALLY!!! she's had 2 meals with no problem and grows more active everyday. I'm so happy i finally took the risk!

FYI: i never said the rock was "bigger" then her head. but I'm almost positive that it was close to the same size, as she swallowed it 6+months ago when she was still a baby (about 5 1/2 inch) she is about 7 1/2 inch now so the rock i pulled out looks smaller. everyone please remember they really can eat things the size of their head. in her case, she ate 2 rocks about the same size and vomited one within the week. no matter what i tried she wouldn't vomit the 2nd rock. but she continued to eat, poop, and grow so i waited to find the best solution. the fact that she grew probably plays a big part in my success.

SIDE NOTE: I'm not a professional by any means, but i am a veterinary technician and have some added experience with exotics. plus i did a little research before i made my decision. I wouldn't recommend what i did as a first choice. even though it worked perfectly for me; i was fully prepared to take the consequence of losing my pet. i would have rather lost her in my arms for free then $400+ for a risky surgery. (BTW: the Dr. doesn't take payments, i tried)


HERE SHE IS TODAY! just hanging out with her "sister" ( not related but same age and 8 1/2 inches long), I'm hoping she will finally catch up in size now that this is over.

 

[SheEpYW0lf]

The white one looks like it has flawless skin. Looks so beautiful :] And the dotted one looks plain awesome :b

 

[Mac Myers]

Great news! You propel fanny with your shoe!:happy:

 

[dragonlady]

That is absolutely fantastic news! Shamrock is a beautiful little wild and her "sister" is certainly a lovely leucistic!

Thank you for keeping this thread updated!

"...everyone please remember they really can eat things the size of their head..." Enough said!

 

[lea]

you are amazing........im glad shamrock is doing ok...keep up the great work
lea

 

[kuphie]

just realized i never said: Thank You for all the Support and Kind Words. week one was a strain on my sanity. :wacko: but week two has been GREAT! shamrock is still doing better then ever. my little savage is trying to eat everything!

 

[wendyatk]

fantastic ending congratulations:happy: