Death by chocolate..well, candy.
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 10:12 am
It is with a very heavy heart I write this message.
As many of you know, I have a 17" Fahaka that lives in a 210-gallon. He has been with me since he was 3". He has always been in perfect conditions; he started in a 125, and I recently moved him to a 210 a few months ago. He was loving it. He hasn't had tankmates since he was brand new (I learned quickly that he was fierce!)
Never sick a day in his life, until recently.
I didn't post on the forum, but I have been discussing the situation with Jager. It started out as him being more reclusive, and slightly less active, which was odd, as he usually constantly cruised the entire densely decorated tank. I didn't think too much of it; thought it would pass.
This went on for a week or so, and started getting worse. I tried everything from water changes to testing for every testable problem, to changing diet and lighting - nothing improved. Everything in his tank up to this point was the same as it had been his entire life, same filter types, ground probe, everything. I was stumped.
Around this time, his fecal matter started becoming very red, and his anus looked swollen. I thought perhaps he was blocked up. I did an Epsom salt bath. It did nothing, and while in the bath he puked up what looked like bloody tissue.
I called my vet and she (like Jager did) suggested that he may have internal bleeding in his stomach (from a shell or the like), or a congenital defect.
A few days later, he started spasming and going from very lethargic, to hyper active within moments, and being very floaty and having trouble swimming. I again called the vet, and she said it sounded a lot like some other animals she had seen with diabetes. She said there was little I could do but give him perfect conditions, which he's had his whole life.
This puffer that had been the most fierce and aggressive animal I've ever known, began to stare at me hopelessly, coming to the surface and letting me hold him. I felt helpless. It broke my heart every time I sat by his tank, watching him look at me painfully, almost looking as if to wonder why the person who had always cared for him was not saving him. I did my best to comfort him, offer him his favorite foods (squid and mussels) and spend as much time with him as I could.
He died the night before last.
Yesterday morning I woke up, and walked over to his tank like I always do, and cried. I know it sounds a bit nuts, but I really feel like I lost a friend. As I was standing there, the kids of the woman that helps my mom around the house (I moved back home for a few months) came downstairs to see him. They were eating a candy called "Swedish Berries". They are a red, gummy, sugar-filled candy. Immediately I thought, "Oh god, they have been feeding him". I didn't jump to conclusions, and just asked them. They said they had never fed him.
I took my deceased puffer to the vet yesterday morning, to have his stomach and bowel contents analyzed, and to have him sexed.
What the vet told me made my skin crawl. His stomach and digestive tract were a red, gummy mess. They had been feeding him. They killed him.
It makes sense now - the red puke and excrement, the diagnosis of diabetes.
Please never allow anyone near your tanks you do not completely trust. I never though allowing children to enjoy my amazing pet would be the death of him.
He in fact was a he, which didn't surprise me.
I don't think I will be replacing him, and if I decide to sell his tank I will post it here.
Thanks for reading.
Lisa
As many of you know, I have a 17" Fahaka that lives in a 210-gallon. He has been with me since he was 3". He has always been in perfect conditions; he started in a 125, and I recently moved him to a 210 a few months ago. He was loving it. He hasn't had tankmates since he was brand new (I learned quickly that he was fierce!)
Never sick a day in his life, until recently.
I didn't post on the forum, but I have been discussing the situation with Jager. It started out as him being more reclusive, and slightly less active, which was odd, as he usually constantly cruised the entire densely decorated tank. I didn't think too much of it; thought it would pass.
This went on for a week or so, and started getting worse. I tried everything from water changes to testing for every testable problem, to changing diet and lighting - nothing improved. Everything in his tank up to this point was the same as it had been his entire life, same filter types, ground probe, everything. I was stumped.
Around this time, his fecal matter started becoming very red, and his anus looked swollen. I thought perhaps he was blocked up. I did an Epsom salt bath. It did nothing, and while in the bath he puked up what looked like bloody tissue.
I called my vet and she (like Jager did) suggested that he may have internal bleeding in his stomach (from a shell or the like), or a congenital defect.
A few days later, he started spasming and going from very lethargic, to hyper active within moments, and being very floaty and having trouble swimming. I again called the vet, and she said it sounded a lot like some other animals she had seen with diabetes. She said there was little I could do but give him perfect conditions, which he's had his whole life.
This puffer that had been the most fierce and aggressive animal I've ever known, began to stare at me hopelessly, coming to the surface and letting me hold him. I felt helpless. It broke my heart every time I sat by his tank, watching him look at me painfully, almost looking as if to wonder why the person who had always cared for him was not saving him. I did my best to comfort him, offer him his favorite foods (squid and mussels) and spend as much time with him as I could.
He died the night before last.
Yesterday morning I woke up, and walked over to his tank like I always do, and cried. I know it sounds a bit nuts, but I really feel like I lost a friend. As I was standing there, the kids of the woman that helps my mom around the house (I moved back home for a few months) came downstairs to see him. They were eating a candy called "Swedish Berries". They are a red, gummy, sugar-filled candy. Immediately I thought, "Oh god, they have been feeding him". I didn't jump to conclusions, and just asked them. They said they had never fed him.
I took my deceased puffer to the vet yesterday morning, to have his stomach and bowel contents analyzed, and to have him sexed.
What the vet told me made my skin crawl. His stomach and digestive tract were a red, gummy mess. They had been feeding him. They killed him.
It makes sense now - the red puke and excrement, the diagnosis of diabetes.
Please never allow anyone near your tanks you do not completely trust. I never though allowing children to enjoy my amazing pet would be the death of him.
He in fact was a he, which didn't surprise me.
I don't think I will be replacing him, and if I decide to sell his tank I will post it here.
Thanks for reading.
Lisa
...... That must have been terrible to find out that the kids had killed him. I can only imagine how you must be feeling, to lose a beloved pet and friend.
Still, that's a tragic story. Sorry it had to be such a bad loss.