Ok for starters, if the bluey is in an enclosure that has glass, UV will not penetrate. the only thing that will happen is the glass will magnify the heat.
Now we'll get onto the issue at hand. Like previously stated, if they've fed the little guy snails - there is a possibility they could be tainted by snail bait - however if this was the case - he'd probably be dead by now - so I doubt that's the issue.
Is he coming up for a shed? Blueys can often go off their food when coming up for a shed.
How do the eyes look? are they sunken? If this is the case he could be dehydrated which brings me back to the glass magnifying the heat. I'm currently rehabing a Kimberley Northern that was severely dehydrated and had gone off his food. he was basically skin and bones, and after a month of rehab, he's now gaining weight like a freak and looks 100 times better.
Dehydration can play a massive role in blueys going off their food. They need water to digest food. If the eyes are sunken - there's a good chance this is the case and there's a couple of things they can do to fix this rather quickly.
I think i've heard about these blueys before, so here's a tip that i did and had great success with.
First of all, get the guy out of the sun. In cairns you do not need him to bake in the heat. Where can he retreat to? he's outside, in an enclosed area - he needs a cool spot.
OK - Before following anything I'm about to say - you should do 1 thing first. Take him to a vet to make sure it's nothing serious like impaction. If he has a blockage, anything I'm about to suggest could only make things worse. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THIS!!!
Now if he is dehydrated and there's water available - he more than likely won't go for it. i don't know why this is - but it just happens. So to combat this you'll need a 1ml syringe (no needle) some gatorade, and some water.
You'll need to dilute the gatorade with water, so fill the syringe with gatorade, and squirt it into a small glass (I used a cough medicine type cup). Do the same thing with the water and squirt it into the gatorade. You should now have 2ml of water/gatorade solution.
This is where it gets tricky. You'll need to force the end of the syringe into the mouth (not too far - just the tip so he can bite down on the thin end where the water will come out). Slowly syringe the water/gatorade solution into the mouth. I'm talking
.1ml every second or so until the full 1ml has been taken. you don't wanna go too fast as you could force the liquid into his lungs. Do this 2 or 3 times a day.
Don't give him more than 6 - 8ml of this solution a day. after 3 days of doing this, lower the amount of gatorade solution to about 3-4ml and suppliment the remaining 3-4ml with water. you can spread it out as the gatorade will taste better. i used Lemon Lime for my guy and it was fine. (Gatorade is high in electrolytes which could be what he's lacking - the whole thing that the body processes gatorade faster than water is true due to the electrolytes).
I've double checked this with vets and they have told me that as long as it's diluted, there will be no problem.
Now after 2 days, offer some food (scrambled egg is great). If he doesn't take the food, you may want to force feed. Vets sell a dog food call Hills A/D. I used this for my guy as Vets use it for emaciated reptiles quite frequently. use a 30ml syringe (no needle) and put 4ml of the Hills A/D dog food in. Once again follow the above instructions remembering not to FORCE it down the throat. You want him to swallow it on his own. do this once or twice a day for a couple of weeks or until the can runs out and then try feeding normally. he should start taking food on his own.
PLEASE remember to not pump the food in too fast - you don't want him choking - I'd suggest .5ml of food every 2secs or until you see him swallow the food completely. It'll take some time - but it's worth it.
The amount you should feed depends on the size of the bluey - how Big is this guy???
Also - please post some pics of this guys current condition. It'd be helpful to see exactly what he looks like.
Remember -
VET FIRST!!! if there's no blockage - then try my suggestion. It could be as basic as worms. or it could be as fatal as dehydration - the vet should be able to tell you this.
Also - get the vet to Ultrasound him. This way he should be able to see any blockages that may be there.
I hope this helps, and i hope it all works out - please keep me up to date on the process. if you would like to email me and discuss this further - I'm reachable at
[email protected].
I can show you pics of my guys throughout the process and you'll see the dramatic difference over just a couple of weeks.
Luke
