Lost our boy
I cannot believe I’m writing this today. We lost our baby boy Nelson after yo-yo-ing back and forth to recovery. He was a juvenile purchased from a pet store (I know, shame on me) who had eye issues after about 4 weeks at home - he was treated for that and a respiratory infection with regular vet visits since. He just had a visit yesterday and has been on antibiotic ejections for the last week. Was doing much better, had been eating regularly, gained weight, and was active. Even started eating soldier flies that turned from larvae. Until this morning….he started showing very stressed breathing, nose up, almost convulsing every 5-10 minutes, eventually hanging almost upside down. Sent videos to the vet and was waiting for a response when he fell from a branch to the bottom of the enclosure. I took him into the vet and they actually found a heartbeat, but I was given the decision and chose to put him down. I was advised there wasn’t a high probability of recovery even if we tried.
We had been through syringe feeding for over a week time frame, eye drops, ointment, and small husbandry tweaks recommended by our vet while he was sick. Never had a real diagnosis, though. Stool sample revealed no parasites. He may not have had a chance from the start. Although completely devastated, even though we’d only had him 4 months, I think we did everything we possibly could to give him a fighting chance.
PSA: don’t be like me. Don’t buy from a pet store. Rescue. Adopt. Do your research. These are beautiful, but fragile animals.
RIP Nelson ❤️
(Picture is from Wednesday)
I cannot believe I’m writing this today. We lost our baby boy Nelson after yo-yo-ing back and forth to recovery. He was a juvenile purchased from a pet store (I know, shame on me) who had eye issues after about 4 weeks at home - he was treated for that and a respiratory infection with regular vet visits since. He just had a visit yesterday and has been on antibiotic ejections for the last week. Was doing much better, had been eating regularly, gained weight, and was active. Even started eating soldier flies that turned from larvae. Until this morning….he started showing very stressed breathing, nose up, almost convulsing every 5-10 minutes, eventually hanging almost upside down. Sent videos to the vet and was waiting for a response when he fell from a branch to the bottom of the enclosure. I took him into the vet and they actually found a heartbeat, but I was given the decision and chose to put him down. I was advised there wasn’t a high probability of recovery even if we tried.
We had been through syringe feeding for over a week time frame, eye drops, ointment, and small husbandry tweaks recommended by our vet while he was sick. Never had a real diagnosis, though. Stool sample revealed no parasites. He may not have had a chance from the start. Although completely devastated, even though we’d only had him 4 months, I think we did everything we possibly could to give him a fighting chance.
PSA: don’t be like me. Don’t buy from a pet store. Rescue. Adopt. Do your research. These are beautiful, but fragile animals.
RIP Nelson ❤️
(Picture is from Wednesday)