3268. INTERN. The 12-year-old emaciated red-eared slider is "constipated", the owner said.

Title. A constipated and emaciated red-eared slider. What to do?

INTRODUCTION

All healthy red-eared sliders love to eat and swim. They poo inside the water daily. 

This slider eats but no stools for over 7 days. The owner was worried. "Whenever she is submerged in the water, she would swim to the surface for air," the owner told the vet.

Day 3 of in-patient.
Complaint of constipation for "one week".
Surface quickly when he submerged her in the tank.




DIAGNOSIS - X-RAYS

TREATMENT
Syringe feed critical care
Antibiotic
Laxative oil for the past 3 days. Still no stools.

OBSERVATIONS  DAY 3
Not moving towards pellets --- lethargy
Ate around 70 pellets when pellets were close enough
NO STOOLS
1 ml of laxative oil was given.

OBSERVATIONS  DAY 4
Moving
Ate 10 pellets  
Medication given yesterday

OBSERVATIONS ON DAY 7

Day 7.

Constipated slider still had not passed stools on her own for the past 5 days.  We gave oil laxative daily for the past 5 days. 

What a relief to see loose oily stools were seen in the swollen anal area on Day 5. (video).

These were removed by forceps. Gastric impaction should be cleared by today.

Swims lop-sided to the left after stool clearance from inside the cloaca

OUTCOME
After 7 days of in-patient treatment with antibiotics, critical care and pellet syringe feeding and laxative oil, the slider pooped and was sent home.  No more complaints from the owner on follow-up 7 days later.


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Original unedited images. Do not use for video production