March 16, 2012

Received a call from Dr. Krista Keller this morning.  Coral’s bloodwork looks remarkably improved. Her previous white blood cell counts were 28K and 19 K and now they are 7.4K – and no signs of toxicity in the white blood cell eithers. Some of the parameters show definite dehydration signs, but overall, it is an improvement!

Unfortunately, she is still having trouble swallowing this morning and discussed this with Dr. Keller this too.

March 15, 2012

March 14, 2012

Coral started making an exaggerated gaping, swallowing motion after she would eat.  She has had a poor appetite, and refuses to eat solid food when offered.  Today when she was opening her mouth, I could see some food I had fed her in the back of her throat.  I immediately call UC Davis and Dr. Olivia Petritz called me back to discuss.  I opt to bring her in to have them have a look at it.

March 10, 2012

Unfortunately, Coral likes to move around alot – so I had to build a small enclosure for her so she doesn’t have too many options to be active while her humerus is healing.  Her current enclosure/recovery room includes:

Heating Pad, Humidifier (providing 80-90% humidity), 2 ZooMed 100W Powersun UV Lamps (providing essential UVA, UVB, light & heat all in one), and Natural Sunlight (with a view of a redwood tree).

Reef’s Muscle Loss

Reef has been losing some muscle tone lately due to his kidney failure.

March 8, 2012

Reef, receiving his first acupuncture treatment today at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital by Dr. Marilyn Koski, DVM in The Companion Exotic Animal Wellness Center.  This treatment was absolutely amazing to watch!

Reef receiving a few B12 aquapuncture shots.

and receiving a massage too!

Coral getting another radiograph to check alignment today, then gets re-bandaged and re-weighed.  Dr. Olivia A. Petritz showed me how to administer her medication orally with minimal restraint.  It was very informative and very much appreciated too!  Now…. if I could only get her to eat?!

March 5, 2012

Received a call from Dr. Olivia A. Petritz, DVM to discuss all options (traditional and alternative) for Reef and go over blood work.  Also was told that the UC Davis Veterinary Staff of Companion Avian & Exotic Medicine had a collaborative meeting/discussion this morning about Coral and Reef’s health and has come up with a treatment plan for them for the next 2 weeks.

Coral back from the hospital.  She has a complete fracture of her humerus.  UC Davis VMTH CAPE Service ran blood work and discovered her white blood count count indicating systemic inflammation most likely associated with an infection in her tail.  I elected to keep her in the hospital to run some diagnosis, blood work, x-rays, received fluid support, antibiotics, pain medication, and some nutritional support. She was also placed in a bandage to immobilize her right forelimb in order to minimize pain.

March 6, 2012

Coral and Reef United.  Will they find love again?      Can they get along?

Even though Reef is recovering from his  kidney biopsy and his feeding tube surgery…. he still seems to have one thing still on his mind…… mating with Coral.  Unfortunately, Coral is recovering from a fractured humerus and battling an infection in her tail and just really isn’t that interested in Reef anymore.

March 2, 2012

Talk to Dr. Olivia A. Petritz and Dr. David Sanchez-Migallon Guzman, DVM over the phone to discuss my concern about Reef and still having trouble walking. Made an appointment later that day for Radiograph (to check bone where catherter was first attempted), administer antibiotic shot and perform blood tests.

Made an appointment with Dr. Marilyn Koski, DVM next week for exotic animal acupuncture for Reef.

Reef’s left back limb still swollen and seems to be losing muscle mass, especially in hind legs.

March 3, 2012

Good News! Received a call from Dr. Oliva A. Petritz, DVM that Reef’s blood work looks great and his uric acid level is 11.3 (only slightly elevated-normal is between 6-8) and calcium level is at 13.6 (normal is between 13-14).

March 4, 2012

Continue with Pain Medication (Tramadol), Critical Care Fine Blend, Fluid Therapy, & Antibiotic