ShortStuff
New member
Hey there, here is the story:
About four days ago the under tank heater for my Leo broke. It broke at night and I didn't notice it, so for one night, the temperature in his cage got down to about 62 degrees. The local pet store was closed for the weekend, and I was unable to trek it all the way to the next town for the petsmart (I was sick). I raised the temperature in my room and put some old chemical hand warmers under the tank, but the temperature in his cage was 75 on the warm side and 70 on the cool side for two and a half more days (so three days of cool temperatures). He continued to eat well even though it was cold.
On Monday I got and installed a new heater, and brought the temperature gradient up to 80 and 75, then moved it up in increments until it was at 92-85 (so I didn't shock his system with quick temp changes, but I wanted it a bit extra warm so he could recover). He was still eating at that point showing no ill effects.
On Wednesday, he developed a "sneeze" where he would sneeze every few minutes if taken out of his tank, less if he was in it, but he continued to eat fine.
On Friday he stopped eating, and still hasn't eaten (Sunday). The sneeze has NOT gotten worse, the inside of his mouth is a little pale, but not mucus-y, he seems to just have a mild cold, but the not eating (it has been 3 days now) is making me nervous. He is not under weight or anything, he is acting a little lethargic but still gets out and about at night.
My question is, am I doing the right things (slightly high temperature, and waiting), or should I be doing more? At what point should I take him to the vet? Obviously I don't want to go if they are just going to tell me that I am doing everything right and then charge me $100 dollars...
Thanks in advance
About four days ago the under tank heater for my Leo broke. It broke at night and I didn't notice it, so for one night, the temperature in his cage got down to about 62 degrees. The local pet store was closed for the weekend, and I was unable to trek it all the way to the next town for the petsmart (I was sick). I raised the temperature in my room and put some old chemical hand warmers under the tank, but the temperature in his cage was 75 on the warm side and 70 on the cool side for two and a half more days (so three days of cool temperatures). He continued to eat well even though it was cold.
On Monday I got and installed a new heater, and brought the temperature gradient up to 80 and 75, then moved it up in increments until it was at 92-85 (so I didn't shock his system with quick temp changes, but I wanted it a bit extra warm so he could recover). He was still eating at that point showing no ill effects.
On Wednesday, he developed a "sneeze" where he would sneeze every few minutes if taken out of his tank, less if he was in it, but he continued to eat fine.
On Friday he stopped eating, and still hasn't eaten (Sunday). The sneeze has NOT gotten worse, the inside of his mouth is a little pale, but not mucus-y, he seems to just have a mild cold, but the not eating (it has been 3 days now) is making me nervous. He is not under weight or anything, he is acting a little lethargic but still gets out and about at night.
My question is, am I doing the right things (slightly high temperature, and waiting), or should I be doing more? At what point should I take him to the vet? Obviously I don't want to go if they are just going to tell me that I am doing everything right and then charge me $100 dollars...
Thanks in advance