Life-Changing Treatments from Season 6 | The Vet Life | Animal Planet

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Yeah, I mean, it looks like he hardly get any air through there. I don't know how he's even breathing with his mouth closed right now cuz nostrils are touching the inner portion of his nose there. Well, he does a lot of snorting and snoring. But as he gets older, if we don't do anything about it, >> [snorts] >> it's going to get worse and his breathing is going to get more and more labored. That's when they start to have, you know, other issues as a result of struggling to breathe all the time.

[00:00:32]Well, how's it [music] going? How are you doing? Nice to meet you, Ross.

[00:00:34]>> Nice to meet you.

[00:00:35]>> Hi.

[00:00:35]>> Hi. Nice to meet you.

[00:00:37]>> Man, a tegu? It's one of my favorite reptiles. A tegu is a lizard that can get up to 5-ft long and 20-lb heavy.

[00:00:46]It's like a mini alligator.

[00:00:48]>> He's a beautiful, [music] beautiful animal.

[00:00:49]>> We've had a Shredder for 8 months.

[00:00:51]>> Where did you come up with the name Shredder?

[00:00:53]>> We adopted him from someone else and his name was already Shredder. He just looks like a Shredder.

[00:00:59]With his claws.

[00:01:00]>> With his claws.

[00:01:02]We usually cuddle on the couch and then he sits right here and perch. He's just a spoiled baby.

[00:01:07]Dogs absolutely love him. My boys love him. My granddaughter loves him. But something's absolutely wrong with him.

[00:01:14]>> What's going on?

[00:01:15]>> Well, he hasn't defecated in 4 days and he's straining excessively hard trying to pass it. [music] >> Is he eating or is he he's turned his head?

[00:01:25]That is a concern to me. Tegus are usually aggressive [music] eaters. What are you feeding him?

[00:01:30]>> Raw turkey, raw hamburger, uh chicken livers and gizzards, and then I mix in greens. What kind of bedding do you use? I have him on some cedar mulch.

[00:01:40]>> Okay. And when he's not sick, is he normally pretty active?

[00:01:44]>> Yes, we let him out in the yard.

[00:01:46]Usually, he's all over the place. He's inside the house playing with the dogs.

[00:01:50]>> Okay.

[00:01:50]>> But right now, he's just very lethargic.

[00:01:53]>> He's pretty distended too in his abdomen.

[00:01:55]You know, how old is he?

[00:01:57]>> Uh seven.

[00:01:57]>> He could have a mass.

[00:01:59]>> Oh.

[00:01:59]>> I know that's not what we want to hear, but as we get older, things grow. If it's okay with you, I'd like to take Shredder to the back, take some quick x-rays of his abdominal cavity, and go from there.

[00:02:09]>> Yes, sir. [music] He's just like our little boy. So, I'm hoping whatever we can do can be fixed pretty easy without surgery.

[00:02:20]>> Hi everyone, I'm going to follow me to see the x-rays.

[00:02:23]They're coming this way.

[00:02:25]>> So, this is our problem right here.

[00:02:28]This is a slow my cavity where all of the organs are located. You can see the distension here of the intestines and all this white, >> [music] >> what we call radio dense material here, that's the problem. We don't know if it's the cedar mulch, we don't know if it's fecal material, but what we do know is a ton of it. What we could try to do, we could add a laxative to Shredder's diet, get something that vibrates, >> like a back massager, >> and put on his belly. Anything that's going to help stimulate his intestines to kind of move on through and move everything down the digestive tract.

[00:03:04]>> And try both of those things for 7 days.

[00:03:07]If that doesn't work, >> [music] >> we may have to go to surgery.

[00:03:12]Putting Shredder under anesthesia as a first step >> [music] >> is not ideal because you have more probability of something going wrong when you have a patient under anesthesia. If we could medically manage Shredder's condition with laxatives and vibration, that's ideal.

[00:03:28]>> So, [music] is it high risk?

[00:03:30]>> They're cold-blooded. It takes their body longer to metabolize different drugs.

[00:03:36]>> Good thing is it's not a mass.

[00:03:38]>> Right.

[00:03:39]>> Poop, I'm not worried about it, can fix it. [music] Tumors could be a little bit more invasive.

[00:03:44]>> Okay.

[00:03:45]>> Yeah, yeah, I'm going to get you some medicine, Phil.

[00:03:47]>> Perfect.

[00:03:47]>> All right.

[00:03:48]>> Absolutely. Thank you so much. I really do appreciate it.

[00:03:52]>> Dr. Ross, Shredder said there hasn't been that much improvement. He's still kind of constipated.

[00:03:57]>> Okay.

[00:03:58]>> Mhm.

[00:03:58]>> I got to see what he look like. Shredder is a 7-year-old tegu lizard [music] that stopped eating and now he's having trouble defecating. I was hoping that laxatives [music] and belly vibrations will help clear him up, but a week after his last visit, he's back.

[00:04:15]How's my buddy doing?

[00:04:16]>> Not doing great, no. No, [music] there's no change at all. No eating, no drinking, still trying to defecate.

[00:04:24]>> vibration did >> Vibration, massage, we have done everything possible [music] and absolutely nothing.

[00:04:31]>> Gosh, that's not what I wanted to hear.

[00:04:32]That fecal material [music] has been in his digestive tract now for going on 2 weeks. That's not good. We have that bacteria just growing in his digestive tract [music] that could cause him to become severely ill. I think it's time to go into surgery [music] if that's okay with you.

[00:04:48]>> No, absolutely, please.

[00:04:50]>> Okay. That's normal.

[00:04:51]>> get this out and get him back to normal.

[00:04:53]>> Okay, we'll move forward with surgery.

[00:04:55]>> Great, thank you so much. I really appreciate it, Dr. [music] Ross.

[00:04:57]>> Yes, sir.

[00:04:59]Today I will be performing exploratory surgery on a 7-year-old tegu. Shredder's owner states that he's posturing to defecate, but nothing's coming out. So, we have to remove the obstruction. I don't know what's blocking it, but we're [music] going to find out. It's going to be a dirty surgery, meaning the colon has a lot of bacteria. It's not going to be as sterile as if I was cutting into the other parts of the body. So, I'm not going to gown up. So, I'm ready to go.

[00:05:27]>> Is this the biggest reptile you've done?

[00:05:29]>> Uh-huh.

[00:05:33]>> Do you know what's blocking it?

[00:05:35]>> We're going to find out. Like a rock.

[00:05:44]Let me go picture this.

[00:05:45]>> What is that?

[00:05:46]>> He's full of poop.

[00:05:48]>> So, he was just like backed up?

[00:05:50]>> Mhm.

[00:05:51]We have another problem.

[00:05:52]Thought I had to blow out his anus.

[00:05:57]Call me. I've never seen this before. I wanted you to check it out, too.

[00:06:02]His ribs.

[00:06:04]Ooh.

[00:06:05]Yeah.

[00:06:06]>> So, what happened?

[00:06:08]>> The fecal material >> [music] >> has started ripping the inner lining of the intestines.

[00:06:12]We caught this just in time.

[00:06:14]>> [music] >> If all the bacteria that spilled into the slow in the cavity, this could have been deadly.

[00:06:19]I'm going to make this incision right over the rip and get this poop out.

[00:06:27]Catch this poop and put it in there.

[00:06:31]Cover it with the mulch and preventing them from actually digesting it properly.

[00:06:36]>> Poor thing.

[00:06:37]>> Behind her heart sound?

[00:06:38]>> It's at 60.

[00:06:39]>> Perfect. You're my hero.

[00:06:41]It don't take only skill, it just take guts.

[00:06:44]You can make it out.

[00:06:47]His guts moving, so that's a good sign.

[00:06:50]We got it all out.

[00:06:52]>> Good.

[00:06:53]>> Yeah.

[00:07:00]Yeah, yeah. I'm ready for suction.

[00:07:05]Anytime you cut open the intestine, especially the colon, you want to make sure you flush them out to prevent any spillage of bacteria because it can lead to an infection.

[00:07:15]Finish suctioning him up, he'll be ready to go.

[00:07:18]The risk for anesthesia for a reptile >> [music] >> is always a concern because they're cold-blooded.

[00:07:23]But, Shredder did great >> [music] >> under anesthesia. He had a large amount of fecal material as well as mulch in the fecal material, and I believe what happened was it couldn't pass through.

[00:07:34]It started [music] ripping the inner lining of the intestines. So, we're going to probably have to switch up the mulch, but everything should be fine.

[00:07:41]Hello. How's it going?

[00:07:43]>> Good to see you.

[00:07:43]>> good. How are you?

[00:07:44]>> Ah, there he is.

[00:07:45]>> There's your baby.

[00:07:46]>> I've been worried sick for him.

[00:07:48]>> He did really good. And he went [music] through a lot. It was a pretty severe surgery. He was obstipated. What that [music] means is everything just kind of stuck in one spot, like a really bad traffic jam.

[00:07:58]>> Okay.

[00:07:59]>> The intestines actually ripped. You can see here, this is the colon, and you can see how it was ripping straight through, and that fecal ball could have actually caused a really bad infection in the stomach cavity. [music] And what I took out, it was about five balls of fecal material mixed up with [music] mulch, and that could have played a part of him becoming obstipated. [music] But it's all sewed up, and it will heal fine.

[00:08:26]>> I'm going to monitor when he eats, cuz sometimes [music] he'll hide it and then eat it later.

[00:08:30]>> And it's probably soaked in the all the mulch.

[00:08:33]>> Make sure you change his habitat to [music] maybe cypress wood or something that's finer. Mulch is not bad for tegus. However, that mulch is going to get on the prey, and they're going to ingest it. If it's a large mulch, they can't digest it. So you want to give them something that's fine [music] that they could digest easily. This is the most active he's been since the surgery.

[00:08:55]So that lets me know he is feeling a lot better.

[00:08:57]>> I'm glad he's feeling better, cuz I know he was miserable.

[00:08:59]>> Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Y'all have gone above and beyond anything that I've expected. [music] >> All right.

[00:09:05]>> I've ever been a part of. So I really appreciate it.

[00:09:07]>> Thank you. That's good to hear.

[00:09:16]>> [music] >> Hello. Hey, oh, wow.

[00:09:22]You're beautiful. [music] This is Bailey?

[00:09:25]>> Yes.

[00:09:26]>> I think I've only seen this coloring online. I haven't actually met one in person.

[00:09:31]>> I've had three.

[00:09:32]>> Really?

[00:09:32]>> Yes.

[00:09:33]>> Oh, wow. So Dobermans don't typically come in this color. This is actually the first time I've ever seen what they call a white Doberman. It's not really white, but it's almost a golden color.

[00:09:42]>> I've heard them referred to as albinos.

[00:09:44]I don't think they're true albinos.

[00:09:46]>> They're not.

[00:09:46]>> Yeah. They're cuz they still have a pigmentation to the coloring.

[00:09:50]>> [music] >> You've had her since a puppy?

[00:09:51]>> I've had her since a puppy. I still have her mom.

[00:09:53]>> Oh, wow.

[00:09:54]>> I have her red mom. Yeah.

[00:09:55]>> is the second generation. So, uh what's going on with Bailey today? What brings you in?

[00:10:00]>> We've noticed that she's just laying around on the couch and drinking all this water.

[00:10:06]>> eating?

[00:10:06]>> She's not eating.

[00:10:08]She won't eat people food.

[00:10:10]>> That should be a big indicator that something's wrong when they pass on on table food. [music] >> And we noticed the other day that she's bleeding or has discharge in her bed and in the bathroom.

[00:10:22]>> Now, does it look like straight blood or is it just like a bloody >> It It looks like a mixture of blood and like [music] it's brownish at the same time.

[00:10:31]>> Can you tell where it's coming from? Is it coming from the vulva?

[00:10:33]>> It appears to be coming from that part of her body. Yes.

[00:10:36]>> Okay. When was her last heat cycle?

[00:10:39]>> Probably a month a month and a month and a half ago.

[00:10:44]>> Pretty recently.

[00:10:45]>> Yeah.

[00:10:46]>> It does sound like we may be dealing [music] with a pyometra. And what a pyometra is is when we have an infection in the uterus. It's not an uncommon condition that we see in females that are intact. [music] Usually it's not too long after a heat cycle and they develop an infection and then now we just get this abundance of, you know, >> [music] >> purulent discharge or pus. Sometimes you'll see it, you know, coming from the vulva. It's It's a lot. Other times you may not and they're just they're sick.

[00:11:16]Sometimes their stomach even looks distended because it just has nowhere to go and we run the risk of either rupturing the uterus or just that pus and stuff trapped inside the uterus for so long starts to get absorbed in their system and and [music] they can become septic. Either way, I recommend going ahead and spaying them. If left untreated, it can be a fatal condition.

[00:11:38][music] I've seen some where you put them on antibiotics, maybe they kind of bounce back and they recover, but chances are the next time [music] they have a cycle, we're going to be back into the same position again and they can form another pyo. Let me start with just uh taking a look at on the ultrasound and you know, just confirming that that is what we're dealing with and then we can come up with a plan from there. Okay?

[00:12:01]>> Thank you.

[00:12:02]>> Sure. Let me take Bailey. You can come with me.

[00:12:05]You're going to be okay. Hey Kayla. Uh this is Bailey. I think she's got a pyo.

[00:12:10]So, I want to do an ultrasound.

[00:12:12]>> Okay.

[00:12:19]>> All right, let's see what we got. Also, uterus filled with pus. Once I looked at her on the ultrasound, I could see a fluid-filled uterus, that pretty much confirmed my diagnosis.

[00:12:30]Looks like we're going to surgery.

[00:12:35]I've got Bailey who's a 3 and 1/2 year old Doberman Pinscher. We did an ultrasound on the abdomen and she definitely has pyometra, which is an infection in the uterus. So, we're getting her into surgery right away. We're going to remove the uterus and ovaries. Basically, it's like a spay, but it's just a little bit more complicated. Biggest complication we have to worry about is if that uterus ruptures, because then all that infection just leaks out into the abdomen and then is a big mess. You know, this is definitely one of the big reasons why we recommend spaying and neutering in all animals.

[00:13:11]>> Let me know when you're ready.

[00:13:13]>> I'm ready.

[00:13:15]Normally, this would be [music] probably no bigger than the diameter of your finger at most, even in a large breed like this.

[00:13:23]>> How long does it take for [music] pyo to get this way?

[00:13:27]>> Usually, we're going to see this develop a month or two after they have a cycle.

[00:13:33]They're more susceptible [music] for an infection to develop.

[00:13:37]And once it starts, I mean, it can happen within uh a couple days. Like that [music] pus, you know, can can develop real quick. It can happen to any any species with a uterus. It [music] actually happens in people as well.

[00:13:51]And you can see the uterus is soft and is full of fluid. I've seen some two and three times this size. I mean, [music] the biggest pyo I think I've ever seen, you know, was probably about this big [music] around. It took up the whole table when we removed it.

[00:14:08]So, for this size dog, it it could be worse.

[00:14:12]All right. So, we got both uh ovaries and and the horns out.

[00:14:16][music] Now, we have to tie off the body of the uterus.

[00:14:20]And then, we'll be closing [music] up.

[00:14:22]We got that out pretty clean. There wasn't any leakage or anything like that. Um >> [music] >> you know, if you get any leakage, you want to flush that abdomen out cuz if it if if it leaks or if that were to rupture, and you get all that purulent [music] discharge uh in the abdomen, that's going to really cause a real bad sepsis. [music] All right. There we go. Looks good. So, let's go ahead and wake her up.

[00:14:45]Uh I'm going to call the owners, let them know we're done.

[00:14:48]And I'm going to take this uterus out so we can get a little culture from it. We took a culture from the contents from the uterus for Bailey to send out. [music] In the meantime, we're going to have Bailey on IV fluids and antibiotics until we get those results. The results will let us know if we're on the correct antibiotic or if it needs to be changed.

[00:15:08]>> [music] >> All right, Bailey, you ready?

[00:15:10]All right, let's go. Mama's here.

[00:15:17]>> [music] >> Hey.

[00:15:21]Getting adjusted to the cone.

[00:15:23]>> Stop. Oh, don't jump. Don't jump.

[00:15:24][music] Don't >> She's doing much better.

[00:15:26]>> Good. When I first brought her in, she was up on the front of the log, just laying there. Now, she's so much happier, which is great.

[00:15:32]>> She does [music] need to wear the cone, but she can't get to the incision.

[00:15:35]>> How long does she have to wear the cone?

[00:15:37]>> Ideally, until we take the sutures out, which will be 10 days from when we did the surgery.

[00:15:41]>> Keeping [music] her contained is going to be fun.

[00:15:43]>> That's >> [laughter] >> That's going to be the difficult part.

[00:15:45]And she's got her little She's got her little figure back.

[00:15:48]>> Yes, I know it was.

[00:15:48]>> you know, it was a little distended from that uterus being so full. So.

[00:15:53]>> Yeah, cuz she was getting a little thick there and >> Yeah.

[00:15:56]>> she's never been that kind of thick.

[00:15:58]>> Sure.

[00:15:58]>> Unless it's Thanksgiving.

[00:16:00]>> [laughter] >> But for these next few days, [music] you know, try and have her take it easy as much as you can.

[00:16:05]She seems to be improving on the antibiotics and stuff, [music] so continue her antibiotics and uh they're good her pain meds and stuff for you up front. And other than that, we'll see you back when she's due for her suture removal.

[00:16:18]We ought to be all set. After that, she can get and go back to normal activity.

[00:16:21]>> Perfect. Thank you.

[00:16:22]>> Yeah, we've enjoyed having her. You're definitely the the coolest [music] Doberman I think I've ever met.

[00:16:28]Hey, Walter.

[00:16:31]>> [laughter] >> How's it going?

[00:16:32]>> Good. How are you? Good to see you.

[00:16:33]>> All right. Let's get him up here on the table. Hey, buddy. Walter's 11 months old, right? I remember you had Walter when he was a little puppy and he he ended up having scabies.

[00:16:42]>> Yeah.

[00:16:43]>> You were real worried.

[00:16:44]>> I was cuz he was >> he looked uh he was a mess.

[00:16:48]>> He was. He just He'd look nothing like that.

[00:16:51]Yeah.

[00:16:51]>> Look how beautiful he is now.

[00:16:53]>> Look, he just He's a superstar.

[00:16:56]>> What's going on with Walt today?

[00:16:57]>> Well, he's having some issues with his breathing.

[00:17:00]>> Yes.

[00:17:00]>> And um just he's uncomfortable sleeping sometimes, so >> Yeah.

[00:17:05]Yeah, I remember as a puppy, his his nose was really stenotic, so those nostrils are really narrow. Um you know, I was hoping that would be another thing that he would kind of grow out of. Let's see, Walt.

[00:17:17]Yeah. Cuz I mean, it looks like he get hardly get [snorts] any air through there. I don't know how he's even breathing with his mouth closed right now, cuz his nostrils are touching the inner portion of his nose there.

[00:17:29]>> he does a lot of snorting and um [music] snoring.

[00:17:33]>> as he gets older, if we don't do anything about it, >> [snorts] >> it's going to get worse and his breathing is going to get more and more labored. That's when they start to have, you know, other issues as a result of struggling to breathe all the time.

[00:17:47]>> So, what would you do um about the breathing issue?

[00:17:50]>> The way we correct it is >> [music] >> basically, we would take a little almost like a little pie-shaped wedge out of the side of the nostril there [music] and suture that closed. It it brings that nostril out to open that up.

[00:18:04]>> Okay.

[00:18:04]>> So, it just kind of gives them a little bit more open airway.

[00:18:07]>> And [music] then he's got extra baby teeth, too.

[00:18:10]>> Does he? Okay.

[00:18:11]>> Yes.

[00:18:12]>> Let me see what you got.

[00:18:13]Let me see that grill.

[00:18:16]Oh, yeah.

[00:18:16]>> Yeah, [music] he's got a lot going on, this guy.

[00:18:19]>> Oh, you got a lot.

[00:18:21]We we need to have [music] those extracted.

[00:18:23]>> Okay.

[00:18:24]>> By now, Walter should have lost all his baby teeth. It's not a good thing to have multiple teeth occupying the same space. They just tend to get more tartar and build up. This will be the perfect time to take care [music] of him.

[00:18:33]>> Okay. Absolutely. Yeah, I want to go ahead and have everything done. The nose surgery, everything.

[00:18:40]>> All right, I'll go ahead and take him back.

[00:18:42]>> Okay.

[00:18:43]>> Sorry, Walter. I know you don't know what you're getting into.

[00:18:46]>> I trust you.

[00:18:47]>> [laughter] >> All right. I've got Walter here today.

[00:18:51]>> [music] >> He's got a really stenotic nares, so his nose is really closed up shut. So, he doesn't have a good open airway to breathe through. So, we're going to actually do a little corrective surgery to repair that. He's also got a lot of his baby teeth that never fell out on their own, so we're going to take care of that as well and he'll be ready to go.

[00:19:14]>> [music] >> This is what we would refer to as like a dirty surgery. Doesn't mean it is dirty or anything. This is not going to be [music] a invasive procedure where we're going into the abdomen or chest cavity or anything like that. So, it's not something we normally like put on a full gown and everything for. [music] So, basically just going to take like a little wedge I got it here.

[00:19:34]And then when I suture close it's going to open that up.

[00:19:40]>> So, this is like rhinoplasty for dogs.

[00:19:49]>> All right. One more suture.

[00:19:51]>> [music] >> All right.

[00:19:55]Let's see what we got.

[00:19:57]>> [music] >> The moment of truth. Smell the roses.

[00:20:00]>> Wow.

[00:20:03]>> So, let's put them on the side. We got to get these baby teeth out.

[00:20:08]As you can see, these are actually the adult teeth here. You know, the ones that are little look look bigger. These little smaller teeth here [music] are the baby teeth that should have fallen out when those teeth came in, but because they're a little offset, they didn't [music] fall out. So, we have to pull them out.

[00:20:30]>> [music] >> Where'd everybody go?

[00:20:33]Everybody saw the interesting part.

[00:20:35]All right, we're all done. Let's wake him up, Kira.

[00:20:39]I'm going to keep Walter here tonight so we can manage his pain.

[00:20:42]>> He'll be so happy when he wakes up.

[00:20:44]>> But when Walter wakes up, he's going to feel like a new man. And his beautiful smile should impress all the ladies.

[00:20:53]All right, Walter. Let me see. Let me see that new face. There we go.

[00:20:59]All right.

[00:21:01]How you like your new nose?

[00:21:03]Let's go show Mom.

[00:21:07]Hey.

[00:21:08]>> There is Walter.

[00:21:10]>> Hey, I like that nose job.

[00:21:11]>> Oh, he looks good.

[00:21:14]>> You want to take him?

[00:21:16]All right.

[00:21:17]Got all his Got all [music] his baby teeth extracted.

[00:21:21]>> There was a lot of them.

[00:21:22]>> Yeah.

[00:21:22]>> How many?

[00:21:23]>> There was 13.

[00:21:23]>> Any dietary restrictions because of his teeth or anything?

[00:21:26]>> I'd do a little soft food. His mouth [music] might be a little bit sore.

[00:21:29]>> His nose looks great.

[00:21:31]>> Yeah, it looks good. He's been breathing pretty good. I haven't heard any whistling or snorting or anything.

[00:21:37]>> He's got room to breathe.

[00:21:39]>> All right. Give me a call if you have any questions.

[00:21:40]>> [music] >> Thank you so much.

[00:21:41]>> And we'll see you back in about 10 days.

[00:21:43]>> Okay.

[00:21:43]>> All right. Have a good one.