#possible swollen vent area??

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

empty hearth
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Honestly guys idk if there’s anything wrong here, but I wanted to be safe. Noticed my guy licking his vent area a few minutes ago (i’ve heard that’s normal as long as it isnt happening often, and this is only the second time I’ve seen him do it in the 6 years I’ve had him)

Anyway, gave him a little once-over and noticed that he may be a little swollen? I’m not positive, and he hasn’t seemed sick or uncomfortable or anything, he’s still eating perfectly and pooping and all that good stuff, but I wanted to see what other people thought? Not the best pics, I’m gonna see if I can get a better one.

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weak maple
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i think i can see something not quite right. is it possible you can put him in a clear container and take a picture from below?

empty hearth
weak maple
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oh yeah he's definitely got something going on down there. he will need to see a !vet

woeful parrotBOT
empty hearth
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Gahhh alright, thank you 🩷 any ideas what it might be? Is there anything I can do in the meantime?

weak maple
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these types of swellings can be caused by a few different problems so I can't say for sure what it could be. Whatever it is, the issue doesn't resolve on its own and can lead to really serious infections.

in the meantime i would set up a sterile setup with paper towel instead of substrate

empty hearth
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Alright, thank you so much 🩷

weak maple
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Of course! Hope he feels better soon

empty hearth
empty hearth
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This is what it’s looking like today. Now his pores are red? I’m stressing 😭

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It looked like there was something in his pores yesterday though, and I gave him a betadine soak last night, just for context

weak maple
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Aww poor guy. A soak helps with the clogged pores. You can also try using a q tip to coax the excess out once everything’s softened up

empty hearth
violet forum
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What multivitamin are you using?

empty hearth
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Could this have something to do with supplementation?

violet forum
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Vitamin A can sometimes impact the gecko's sperm plugs and ability to eliminate them

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tldr, vitamin A is vital for the healthy cell replacement of the epithelium, if an animal is deficient it can cause the skin to have poorer defenses against infection (which can cause inflammation around a sperm plug and prevent it from being eliminated easily) and it can also impact the epithelium's ability to overturn dead cells, so the plug may possibly build up faster

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to eliminate a sperm plug, the gecko has to evert its hemipene

weak maple
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Oh thank you for that info. I didn’t know that

empty hearth
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Gotcha. He definitely shouldn’t be deficient, I’ve been dusting w multivitamin following the example schedule on the guide :P

violet forum
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Fluker's reptile vitamin (iirc) only contains beta carotene, which we know humans process into vitamin A with a range of efficacy (15%-85%), so you might try starting a multivitamin with a second vitamin A supplement

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yeaaaah unfortunately there currently isn't much reliable research on what insectivores process as ideal vitamin A supplements

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i'd recommend repashy calcium plus personally

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at the frequency recommended in the guide

violet forum
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To add, it seems apparent that beta carotene exclusive multivites do fine for most leos, but I always recommend a little more when potential hypovitaminosis is involved

violet forum
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I was just informed fluker's has more than just beta carotene!

empty hearth
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Well this has been a rollercoaster LOL

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I’m glad it has more than just beta carotene because I was like “it’s listed on the good multivites list??” 😭

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“I could’ve sworn it had vitamin A??” LMAO