If you are a client of All
Creatures, or live in the Cincinnati area, Our
Veterinarians will be glad to answer pet care
questions. Ask the vet ( Be sure to remove
the <nospam> part from the email address ) If your
question is one we feel would be of interest to others, your email
and his response will be posted here. Don't worry about
security. We will not include your email address or real
name.
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Question:
Hello there.
I hope you can help me with my problem as I'm getting so worried.
I have a Red Tail Boa called Sid, I moved seven and a half months
ago and ever since then he has refused to eat. He is the only snake
I have ever had and I really need to know if he is well. He loses
his skin once a month and it is always complete. His eyes are
always clear and healthy and drinks fresh water often. When I try
to excite him with an adult rat he moves away and gets as far away
from it as possible. I left it in his home all night and when I
awoke it was still there and he was laying on it. I have sent a
picture of him and hope you can advise me if there is a problem
with him. Thank you for your attention and hope to hear from you
soon.
Answer:
First of all, snakes can become anorexic for both medical
and behavioral reasons. It is not also too uncommon for large boids
to go on hunger strikes. However, he probably only needs a hide box
and an appetite stimulant, to get him eating again. Make certain a
vet examines him for pneumonia and mouthrot first. If all is OK, he
may try to stimulate his appetite with an oral dose of flagyl and
an injection of B-vitamins. Three days after taking him home from
the vet appetite stimulation, turn lights
off over cage and try feeding him again. In the dark, when he is
the hide box, put a dead mouse in the door way and he should eat it
over night.
Also spike his heat up to 85 degrees
if you have not yet. Temperature increase also stimulates
feeding.
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Question:
My mother's 15 year old, 49 lb Lab is wetting in her
sleep. A vet told her that she is lacking in estrogen.
Is there something over the counter that would equal the medicine
she could get from the vet? She needs an affordable way to
treat the lab.
Answer:
Estrogen is a last resort due to side effects. Other
meds tried and true are nolatrim, ephedrine, and some
antihistamines. The stuff from the vet is really pretty
inexpensive . At my practice it runs about $10 per
month. Call your local vet.
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Question:
My dog likes to eat grass. A friend told me that this is
because something is missing from the her diet. I feed
her premium dog food. Why would she be doing
this?
Answer:
Most likely there is nothing missing in the diet. Dog folks
often hypothesize on the reasons for dogs chewing grass, but other
than pointing out that there is little fresh vegetable matter in
most dogs' diets, and that some dogs simply enjoy it, there's
little we can add.
Whether it's a natural response to
gastric irritation and whether dogs learn that it can act as an
emetic (an agent that causes vomiting) has been speculated, but
this is only an issue if the dog throws up after eating the
grass.
The only real treatment is to
supervise her when outdoors or house the dog in a grassless pen. In
some situations, owners may want to try feeding a higher-bulk diet
and allowing a little grass eating or adding a little bit of greens
to the diet. (Call our office before making any radical changes to
your dog's diet.)
Providing more chew toys and
increasing play and obedience sessions will increase the dog's
mental and physical stimulation, which can help if she is eating
the grass out of boredom.
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Question:
Samson is a patient of yours with hip dysplasia. You
probably remember him, he's the Collie/Cocker Spaniel Mix who barks
and drools a lot whenever he's in boarding with you
guys...:-). I'm giving him the Etogesic pain relievers, which
help pretty good. But I was wondering if I could give him a
supplement to strengthen his joints in addition to the pain
killers. I was reading a lot of good things about
glucosamine/chondroitin supplements. Is there a special brand you
can recommend? How about the dosage? I've seen a supplement at our
local petstore > ,it is called "Dog Joint Remedy" by 21st
Century, what do you think of that product? I've done a
little bit of research about the possibilities in treatments for
dogs with dysplasia. Of course I'm not an expert, so I needed your
help with that. What do you think about the Adequan
treatment....did you have any success with that? Sorry that I
have to bug you like that. The e-mail was just the easiest way for
me to get in contact with you. Thank you for your help. You
guys are doing a great job and I couldn't have
a better vets-office for Samson. Keep up the good
work...:-)
Answer:
The product we recommend and have great results with is called
Connectin. It comes as a powder or tablet and we carry
it. We also carry straight Glucosamine tablets. I
recommend between 500 and 1000mg/day depending on the dogs
weight.
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