Arro's all better!! WHOOO!

[Bamboo]

So, as some of you may already know, I recently took in a young Ornate Horned Frog (and several lizards) from people who were moving and couldn't keep their animals. They were all being kept on cheap aquarium gravel and I am concerned that Arro, the young Ornate, may have become impacted (intestinal blockage either caused by improper feeding or, as in this case, ingested substrate...either way, totally preventable but shockingly common) Impaction can solved as easily as soaking the animal in warm water, which encourages bowel movement, or as complex as surgery. I am doing daily soaks but there has not been a bowel movement yet If there is still nothing after a few days, especially if he continues to refuse food, I will have to try force feeding mineral oil in addition to soaking. If that doesn't work, Arro will have to go to the vet and possibly undergo surgery. (A check-up alone will cost $85 +tax) So, I'd like to raise a little extra cash, just in case the worst case scenario comes to be.

Basically, I'll make a bunch of hammocks in the next few days and if anybody would like to purchase them to help out Arro that would be awesome. I'll put pics up of the hammocks I make, along with some examples of the fabric I have on the off chance that anybody wants a custom order or something. (I'll just warn you that I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so it may take me a while to finish any custom orders. Because if, say, I think a cut looks crooked or something looks out of place, I'll rip it apart and start again lol) I'll also take this opportunity to say that I am not a world class seamstress. My stuff may not always turn out perfect, and sometimes the sizes will be off by an inch or two, but I have never had a problem with my hammocks falling apart or failing in that sense (other then the fact that I apparently make delicious hammocks, so they may get eaten by your rats within a week, but you'll understand if I don't take blame for that lol) I would charge a flat fee of $5 for shipping, but if you're local you can come and pick it up if you want. Or if you're going to Ottawa Shack Fest this Saturday I can bring it with me, but I don't know if I'll have much done by that point lol. Just a heads up: I'd prefer to do everything either through paypal (my email is [email protected]) or with cash (if you're local and picking up)

Oh, and in case anybody's wondering: if it turns out that this was all for naught and Arro isn't impacted after all or passes any blockage on his own (*crosses fingers*) and people have already bought hammocks, don't worry. Any and all money I make from this is going right into my emergency vet savings account. Every cent I make will benefit one of my animals, either Arro or anybody who needs veterinary attention in the future. No "Hammocks for Drug Money" here lol...(well, actually it probably will be used at least partially for drugs...but not that kind...and only for drugs for my animals :wink: lol)

And finally, last but not least: extremely crappy cell phone pics of Arro soaking. Oh the indignity.

 

[Bamboo]

Well this kind of went no where lol! I made a few hammocks but I completely forgot to put them up here lol!

Buuut, it's all good because Arro is no longer impacted!!! WHOOO!! I soaked him for an hour last Friday and put him in the hospital tank for the weekend, like I did before. However, this time I went in and checked and he had pooped!! I was so excited, since we were coming on 3 weeks without any food or bowel movement and I was really concerned that I was going to lose him. I had booked a vet appointment, but I called and told him the good news and he said it would probably be safe to cancel it if I got some food into him by the end of the week (since my herp vet is way on the other side of town and it's kind of hard to get out there) So on Monday I put 3 butterworms in his hospital tank with him and when I got home they were gone!! And today I gave him a bunch of crickets and he was going crazy! I guess he finally realized that 2 and a half weeks is a long time to go without food when you're a baby frog lol! It's probably just my imagination but he seems a lot happier too. Before he kind of just sat in the same place looking uncomfortable. Now he's much more "active" as far as Ornates go. He'll actually go and soak in his bowl or sit in his hide or even dig himself little holes to sit in lol!

Also, I checked the poop (gross, I know but you know how it is with animals...poop is your friend lol) and I believe the cause of impaction was his diet with these previous people. Fortunately, there was no gravel in the poop (and I still don't feel any hard lumps in his stomach) so I'm guessing he was just blocked up with chitin from the mealworms they were feeding him. Frick, if I had a penny for every time I had to clean up somebody's easily avoidable mess...

And the worst part is, I have a feeling they were BS-ing me about "moving" and not being able to take the animals with them...I think they just wanted to get rid of them. I didn't see a single box when I was there and there was no for sale/sold sign or anything. I think they were just giving me some sob story because they screwed up their animals and wanted them gone.

Blah, whatever I don't even care anymore. Arro is all better now and he's never going to see gravel or mealworms ever again. He's going to grow up to be the fattest, laziest Ornate he can be lol and he's going to live a long, happy life...I'll make sure of that.

 

[Alicemcmallis]

Awww that's excellent news!! Yay for poop. lol Arro's a lucky little dude. Please post more pics when you can.

If I ever get any kind of reptile I know who I'll be contacting for care information!