Illness/Sickness: Sick Axies

[Machiavelli]

So, I thought I'd done enough research and that I'd be able to take care of these little ladies.

Usually, it's me and my son who look after the axies (with Dad doing the majority of the work in cleaning out the tank).

I took my eye off the ball for a few days and then overheard Dad asking "how many days is it now since she's eaten"?

It turned out that Yang hadn't eaten for three days.

As a precaution I fridged her.

She didn't eat on the following night either, and after putting her in new water we returned her to the fridge.

The next morning (Saturday) we checked on her and I wasn't happy with the way she looked. She's an albino and on that morning she had mottled red skin that looked very angry/tender.

I rang a vet (Clayton Knight, listed on the sticky for herp vets in Australia), and was told to take her along for him to check her over.

We decided that if we were going anyway, that we should take both Ying and Yang to be checked over.

Clayton was wonderful. He told us that once an axie had got to Yang's condition that the prognosis was poor.

However, he gave her an antibiotic jab, and advised us to set up hospital tanks for both Ying and Yang, and to give them 30 minute salt baths, 15 minute Cordy's Crystals (pertassium permanganate) baths for 15 minutes, 'rinse' them in dechlorinated water, and return them to 100% new dechlorinated water in their separate 'hospital tanks' every 24 hours.

He spent nearly an hour with us, and it cost just over AU$80! Much less than we'd expected, and worth every cent.

He thinks that Ying was probably ill when we got her and that she had passed on her illness to Yang. We realised soon after we got Ying and Yang that Ying had a visible substance on her coat that we put down to it being caused by stress. It turns out that we should have taken that more seriously, and I wish that I'd had the sense to have both axies checked over by Clayton when we first got them. Lesson learned!

That was two weeks ago.

We've spent lots of time this past two weeks doing all the baths and water changes, but it's been worth it.

When we first took them to Clayton we thought that we might lose Yang, and that hasn't happened.

Both Ying and Yang are happy to be 'bathed' in their three baths per night. Ying can be a little madam, and one night early on escaped from my son's hand and ran across the kitchen counter. That was scary! However, they've both become accustomed to their nightly bathing routine and I thank god that we took them to the vet early enough for him to give us advice and treatment.

So, I try to always leave people with a smile :)

We're going on holiday in less than two weeks. We'd already arranged with neighbours who were happy enough to feed Ying and Yang while we were away. That can't happen now.

I wouldn't consider leaving my sick child with a neighbour, so why would I leave our sick Ying and Yang?

So, Ying and Yang are coming away on holiday with us on 23 June. Along with all the parephanalia needed for their care and treatment.

We're going to have to transfer them by car for an hour, followed by a forty minute car ferry to an island, and a forty minute car journey to our holiday apartment.

When we bought them they were in tied plastic bags, (we don't know how long for), prior to us collecting them for the 15 minute journey home.

When we took them to the vet, 15 Minute journey, we put them in tupperware and I held Yang on my lap while my son held Ying on his lap.

I'd truly appreciate any advice on how best we can transport them by car, ferry, car, that will be as stressfree as possible for them.

Last night one of my friends told me that I should get myself a less 'needy' pet like a dog or a cat, but I can't tell you how much I've loved having these two lovely axies.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post

Mach

[Jennewt]

Nice to hear an upbeat story. I'd suggest transport in a cooler, both so you can keep them cool and also to keep them in the dark. Set them up to minimize sloshing.

[Machiavelli]

Thanks Jennewt :)

I've got containers to transport them in and will carry them in a cooler bag with ice blocks wrapped in a towel beneath the containers. We're going to have to take them out of the car while we're on the ferry because we think the temperature in the car will rise during our ferry transfer to the island.

They're still doing well, and I'm so glad that we took them to be checked over by the vet. In retrospect, I should have done that as soon as we got them, and kept them apart until we knew how healthy they were (or not, as it's turned out). Lesson learned :)

Fingers crossed that they enjoy their holiday and aren't stressed out by being moved.

Off now to do some research on 'sanitising' their hospital tanks and their home tank the day prior to us leaving.

Mach