Post by SurvivorSteph on Nov 24, 2004 22:43:26 GMT -8
I've taken Gil to two different vets in my areas... both were supposed specialists... NEITHER even suggested doing blood work 
. So I called two more; one 30 minutes away, and the other 75 minutes away (in Lodi, doesn't CCR have a song about being stuck in Lodi again??) The tech I spoke to said "the doctor likes to do lab work at least once a year because you really can't tell how an iguana's health is just by looking at him."
Sign me up!!! ;D ;D ;D
I took Gil to see him on November 13... the doc was impressed
. The vet routinely consults with an ig-expert from Florida, too... I'll try to get her name. We drew labs and did a fecal. I got the results the next day: the fecal was clear, no blood parasites were seen, and everything looked great except for a few things.
His WBC is high at 9.0 (range is 3.0-8.0) and his Azurophilic Monocytes are high at 12 (range is 0-4; these are a subset of the white cells). I've never heard of Azurophilic Monocytes, so I'm at a loss. The vet and his consultant think this may be stress related, but my personal experience makes me worry about some sort of infection. He said that Echinacea has been shown to be a huge immune booster in igs, and he told me how to administer it, so I'll start on Friday.
His Hematocrit was at 30 (range is 22-35) but the vet's consultant felt that was borderline low, so I took him today for an iron shot.
I got a copy of the lab results today, and there are a few other things that I'm not comfortable with... his total protien is high at 6.0 (range is 3.3-5.5) yet he NEVER eats animal protien. Sodium is high at 165 (range: 130-150); Bun is low at 4 (range: 6-15; CPK is 4428 (range: 50-400) I have NO idea what CPK is or what it even refers to.
He looks great, and is acting fine... a bit more loving and cuddly, but that's it. We go back in a month to recheck his CBC, but in the meantime anyone have any ideas about what's going on?
. So I called two more; one 30 minutes away, and the other 75 minutes away (in Lodi, doesn't CCR have a song about being stuck in Lodi again??) The tech I spoke to said "the doctor likes to do lab work at least once a year because you really can't tell how an iguana's health is just by looking at him."
Sign me up!!! ;D ;D ;DI took Gil to see him on November 13... the doc was impressed
. The vet routinely consults with an ig-expert from Florida, too... I'll try to get her name. We drew labs and did a fecal. I got the results the next day: the fecal was clear, no blood parasites were seen, and everything looked great except for a few things.His WBC is high at 9.0 (range is 3.0-8.0) and his Azurophilic Monocytes are high at 12 (range is 0-4; these are a subset of the white cells). I've never heard of Azurophilic Monocytes, so I'm at a loss. The vet and his consultant think this may be stress related, but my personal experience makes me worry about some sort of infection. He said that Echinacea has been shown to be a huge immune booster in igs, and he told me how to administer it, so I'll start on Friday.
His Hematocrit was at 30 (range is 22-35) but the vet's consultant felt that was borderline low, so I took him today for an iron shot.
I got a copy of the lab results today, and there are a few other things that I'm not comfortable with... his total protien is high at 6.0 (range is 3.3-5.5) yet he NEVER eats animal protien. Sodium is high at 165 (range: 130-150); Bun is low at 4 (range: 6-15; CPK is 4428 (range: 50-400) I have NO idea what CPK is or what it even refers to.
He looks great, and is acting fine... a bit more loving and cuddly, but that's it. We go back in a month to recheck his CBC, but in the meantime anyone have any ideas about what's going on?
I'm thinking they might want to run more tests to see whats "normal" for an ig. I know the vets very good but that was a hardy list of things that should be diff. I hope theres nothing too wrong. Luck with........... every thing! 
