Fetcher was glad to see us, meeting us on the driveway and rolling around in delight.
Spikey was also glad to see us. It's hard to tell from these pictures which I took right before we left, but he has been sick.
His symptoms are a trembling of his upper body and a lack of appetite. I had done some Internet research before we left and had become convinced he had a calcium deficiency, something that might have been caused because we had the wrong UV light for him. Seems like you are supposed to change the UV light bulb every six months and somehow we had totally missed that piece of information. Yikes! Bad owners! We bought a new bulb, took some other actions, and went off on vacation, leaving Spikey in the capable hands of the house sitter.
When we got home we realized that he hadn't improved so we hunted up a reptile vet and took Spikey off for an examination. He seemed to like the care ride...
...and was a very good patient, even when he had to have his blood drawn. (They stick the needle between the scales on his tail; I knew you'd be wondering!)
The first reading of the blood work was done in the office and it found that he did not have a calcium deficiency! Yeah, we have been good pet owners!
Ah, but Spikey is still shaking, so the problem isn't solved yet.
We're hoping the second part of the blood work, read in a lab, will give us more information. The results will be back next week, after which decisions must be made. In any case, the question of money will come into play. How much do you spend to diagnose an illness for a pet, or to treat an illness once it is diagnosed?
With all the pets we've had, we've basically just paid for routine health care. We've been lucky and not had to face big problems that have big bucks solutions for our animals, and I certainly hope that luck continues.
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