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It's
something that you'd never think would go hand in hand - seizures
(from some kind of abnormal neurological function) and poo! But
apparently - so my hand raised Common Wombat Keti showed me -
there is a connection. This is a not a scientifically documented
occurrence, in fact there doesn't seem to be much known about
the connection at all, but from the ordeal that Keti went through
it certainly does seem to be an issue and one that we should keep
in mind.
I
received Keti as a furless joey, aged approximately 4.5 months
and weighing 542 grams. Her mum had been hit by a car, but luckily
for her, she was rescued not long after the accident and brought
into care. Keti had a pretty hard start. She was my first tiny
wombat, but when I saw her I was concerned with her appearance
- she looked gaunt. I set Keti up in a warm, humid environment
and started a feeding regime using Wombaroo formula. She was taking
her milk and seemed settled, but a few days later she still looked
"wrong".
I
took some photos, including the one above, and emailed them to
an experienced wombat carer. I received an urgent email back saying
that the hollows in her temples indicated an immensely distressed,
malnourished or dehydrated joey. I had been told by her rescuers
that she had only been in care for a few hours and that they had
kept her bundled up and warm until I arrived to collect her, so
I am at a loss as to why Keti was in such a bad way when she received
into care. Maybe her wombat mum had been struggling during the
drought and Keti had been compromised before coming into care.
Who knows? That part of Keti's life will remain a mystery.
I
was advised that although she didn't look dehydrated in the photo,
sub-cutaneous fluids may be beneficial. And I was told that if
I couldn't pull her out of the condition she was in she would
probably die within days. PANIC!! The next day I took her to the
vets and she was given subcutaneous fluids. I also decided to
increase our contact with her and started carrying her in her
pouch tucked down my jumper - she improved remarkably. Those hollows
disappeared within day and she gained weight - a week and a half
later she weighed 670 grams.
The
next month went by without incident. I had noticed, however, that
Keti wasn't poo-ing regularly but I was advised that it wasn't
uncommon for a wombat joey to go without passing faeces for days
at a time. I noted in my diary that 3 days had gone without a
poo and although I was concerned I was told not to worry and she
would pass faeces when ready. A week went passed and she only
did a couple of very small poo's. During this whole time she was
offered water as well as her normal milk intake. I mixed olive
oil into her milk to make the bowel lining slippery so poo could
pass easier. Keti was constantly checked for hydration and appeared
fine.
Then,
at 10pm at night, Keti had a seizure. It was one of the most frightening
things I have ever experienced as a wildlife carer. Her tiny little
body, now weighing around the 1 kilogram mark, convulsed and contorted
and her breathing was very sporadic. When the seizure stopped
her body became rigid and the look in her eyes showed she was
terrified. The worst thing - she stopped breathing - my husband
Todd immediately performed mouth to nose (!) resuscitation. What
seemed like forever but was probably only about a minute or so
her body relaxed and she started breathing normally. She was exhausted
and fell into a deep sleep until the morning.
Keti
was taken to the vets the next day and we could find no reason
for her not to passing normal faeces. My vet, Kim Rolls, was also
concerned that she hadn't passed, and didn't agree with the advice
I was given about "not pooing" being normal. Kim gave Keti an
enema and recommended I take her home and insert oil mixed with
warm water into her anus. Although the oil in the bottle is good,
it doesn't work as well as the oil being inserted straight into
the anus. The oil forms a slippery coating around the faeces and
the warm water absorbs into the faeces making it softer and easier
to pass. Keti passed several small faeces over the next week,
but not as much as I'd hoped.
Six
days later I was on my way into town with Keti and her buddy Alu
so that Todd could look after them as I was meeting up with a
friend for lunch. 500 metres down the road Keti had her second
seizure. It was similar to the first - her little body (1.2kg)
was rocked with spasms. When the seizure was over her body, again,
was a stiff as a board and her breathing stopped. This time it
was me who gave mouth to nose resuscitation! When she appeared
over the worst of it I drove to Todd's work and rang Benn Bryant,
Senior Vet at the Western Plains Zoo to see if he could shed some
light. I advised him what had happened and he told me to come
directly to the clinic for intensive tests. Dubbo is an hour and
a half's drive but I left straight away - all thoughts of my much
anticipated lunch were forgotten (sorry Margie!).
Benn
took blood and also gave her an ultrasound (or x-ray, can't remember
which one it was now!?!?!) to find there was a fair bit of faeces
built up. Keti was given more sub-cut fluids and after finding
nothing else wrong I was allowed to take her home. Later, blood
test came back showing a very healthy little wombat. The mystery
continued.
Two
days later Keti did the biggest poo in the whole wide world! I
could find no substance in the poo that may have blocked her up
(yes, we wildlife carers have to look through poo!) although some
of the poo was very hard. Since that day Keti poo'd regularly
and didn't have another seizure.
During
my visit with Benn he told me about a baby rhinoceros at the zoo
that suddenly showed signs of neurological problems. He seemed
fine one day, but then suddenly couldn't stand and kept falling
onto his bum. After a few days of tests - and head scratching
- Benn and his team gave the rhinoceros an enema. Hey presto!
No more falling on bottom!
So,
there's got to be link there somewhere between no poo and seizures.
Maybe the discomfort and bloat from being constipated pressed
on the spinal column which then effected the brain? I really don't
know for sure what happened and my vets don't either - but my
advice from all of this is to never ignore a joey that hasn't
poo'd for a while - it's just not right! Always act on it, whether
it's via sub-cut fluids, enemas or whatever - always act sooner
rather than later!
By
the way, Keti was (soft) released some months later - a strapping
17 kilogram bundle of wombat and she still lives in the area today.
The
Final Chapter
Two
years and seven months after Keti was released....
she
is dead.
Keti
was found on the side of the road a few weeks ago, she'd been
hit by a car.
How
do we know it was Keti? She had an unmistakable swirl of fur on
her forehead which set her apart from all other wombats.
What
a horrible way to find out that the rehabilitation and release
method I have been using over the years is working. Keti must
have been 40kg plus at the time of her death. She was massive!
She had no signs of mange or wounds from territorial fighting.
She was still big, healthy and beautiful!
So
it is a sad ending, but a good one at the same time. Keti lived
a full and happy life. It puts to rest - at least in my mind -
the claims that (correctly) rehabilitated marsupials do not live
long in the wild after release.
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