Last night I had Slick on top of my bed with me as I have many times in the past. Normally, when he gets tired of lying on top of the bed, he would slide down the blankets down the side of the bed and gently land in a pile of blankets on the floor. Last night, he apparently used a different technique to exit the higher-than-average bed, and landed with a louder thump than usual. My first clue of a problem was that he started limping, avoiding the use of his left front leg, or arm as it were. I was in a panic! Oh, no!!! What now!?! Turns out that the fall apparently caused a fracture to his left scapula (shoulder blade), according to Dr. Sue Laskaska, the veterinarian to whom I took Slick for x-rays this morning. Worried as I was about his reluctance to put pressure on his left front leg, Dr. Sue says it will likely heal just fine in a short amount of time with plenty of rest, which is no problem for Slick. No more high places for the ground dweller! From now, he stays off of anything higher than 4 inches. Im not taking any more chances! Dr. Sue also noted that the x-rays revealed that Slick was showing early signs of arthritis, so she asked me what I feed him. I told her that he generally eats raw ground turkey and an occasional cooked egg as recommended by the veterinarian and others in Bend, Oregon. Dr. Sue said that, after a little research, she found that any kind of ground meat is insufficient as it excludes the internal organs and bones of a whole animal that is so important to maintaining a healthy carnivorous reptile. So much for the inexpensive diet of a $2-3 per pound ground turkey that lasts about two months. Now I have to find a cheaper source for frozen pinky rats and fuzzies. The local pet shop charges $2.00 each for pinkies, and Slick could easily eat 2-3 a day once he recovers and regains his appetite. That adds up to $150 a month! Holy viscera, Batman! I cant afford that! Any ideas would be appreciated, and no, I am not going to start raising rats.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:32:44 +0000
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