Thread: Possilble URI...

Hi guys,

I seem to have a problem with my male brev. This morning he came running down the branches (literally) to get to the crickets and ate plenty, as he always does. Then this afternoon, I noticed he was sitting right under the light with his head pointed up. I thought this was strange, but when I opened the viv he seemed alert and was watching me so I left him be. I have just checked on him again, and he had a load of thick, white mucus around his nose. He also keeps gasping and clicks when he does so. I got him out and cleared it all away and he was alert with a good grip but once I put him back in the viv, he assumed the 'head up' position again.

I am keeping the trio in a 12x12x18 exo which I spray twice a day.....more heavily in the morning. The ground is moist but not wet and the leaf litter/plants are dry by the next spray. They are kept at around 72F (75F under light) during the day which drops to around 65F at night. They are not in a draft and not in a busy area of the house.

As I said, he was perfectly happy this morning and I watched him eat several crickets. I'm hopeful at the moment as he still has a good grip and appears alert if disturbed, however I am fully aware of how quickly they can go down hill and am prepared for the worst.

Basically, I'm looking for a bit of advice with it as the exotics vet around here said they wouldn't know how to treat something so small if they ever did get ill. Do you think he stands a chance at all?

A little update...

The lights went out around an hour ago and I've just checked in on him with a low power torch. He is sleeping tight against a branch as usual and there is no mucus at all. I know that it's still not looking good, but at least he is still with us.

I won't be able to update you again until tomorrow afternoon as I start work before the lights come back on. I'll let you know how he is doing then, but any advice you can offer in the mean time would be brilliant

are you sure that it was mucous? reptiles will expel excess salts from their body through their noses...

it will appear as a white substance gathered around the nostrils.

although, there is a chance that he is getting a URI.

From what i have witnessed, after one eats a heavy meal, it takes a while for the food items to digest. they will hold their heads up and writhe around to make sure that everything has settled.

also, if they have just had a large drink, they will often do this..

if he is continuing to hold his head up and puff in and out at fast intervals, i would reduce the mistings for a week to once per day..

you can offer a shallow saucer with a very tiny layer of water in it for them.. some will use it, others will not, but it will keep the humidity up.

good luck and i hope he pulls through!!

Thanks for the reply Gretchen.

I have just checked in on them and he is wandering around the viv and seems ok. He didn't take the cricket I offered him which is unusual as he is usually a great feeder, but he seems otherwise healthy.

It didn't seem like a salt residue as it was thick, gloopy and covered most of his face......although I've never seen them excrete salt before (wasn't even aware these did) so I may be mistaken.

His breathing appears to be normal now....I didn't want to mess with him as stress will only compound the issue, but from what I saw of him it seemed ok.

I didn't mist them last night as high humidity was my first thought. I will carry on with that for a few days and see how it goes.

Thanks again for the advice, I'll keep you updated

another thought on this...

are there any plants in the viv, like ficus, which could have produced that milky substance?

good luck with him!!

There are 2 Ficus plants, and that was my first thought too. However, it was too thickand gloopy to be ficus sap, and was also not white enough. Ficus sap is like sticky milk where as this was more like wall paper paste.

He is still with us and does move around, but he still isn't interested in food. I guess only time will tell whether he's going to make it or not