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6A Daily News – Saturday, February 18, 2012 healthPets & By Marc Morrone Newsday (MCT) Q: My cat has a thy- roid problem. My vet has told me that I should keep track of her weight daily to see if she is gaining or losing. He suggested that I weigh her with a baby scale. I got one — but there is no way, no how she will stay on it long enough for us to determine what the reading is. I read that a good method to weigh a pet is to stand on a scale yourself and then do it again holding the pet. Then you sub- tract the lesser weight from the other — but this does not seem very accurate either as she only weighs about 8 pounds and we need to keep track of some of the fractions. Can you suggest a more practical method? A: Keepers who work in zoos and have lots of time to train animals can use positive rein- forcement techniques to persuade just about any kind of creature to stand on a scale to be weighed. I have even seen tiny finches fly down from a high perch in an aviary to land on a scale to be weighed by a keeper in return for a mealworm treat. For pet keepers with limited time, a simpler method would be to secure a cat carrier to the baby scale with some duct tape and then use this as the base weight. When you need to weigh the cat, just put her in the carrier and record that number. Subtract the base num- ber and you will have a very accurate measure- ment to put in the record for your vet. ___ Q: This may seem like a silly question, but we need to keep track of every penny these days. We have a 125-gallon aquarium in our home with many types of community fish that we have had for many years. We keep it at 80 degrees with two heaters in the tank. In winter, we keep the room temperature at 65 degrees. I feel it takes quite a bit of electricity to raise the temperature of 125 gallons of water 15 degrees warmer then the ambient air temp for 24 hours a day. What temperature is the low- est that we can keep these fish at under the circumstances? A: You did not say what fish actually live in your tank. Some fish, such as discus, cannot tolerate temperatures less than 80 degrees very well, but others are more hardy. If you had only goldfish in the tank, for instance, you would not need any heaters at all. MCT photo I would let the fish be the judge here. Try gradually reducing the temperature of the tank by a few degrees every couple of days and see how they do. If they are swimming around and rushing to the surface for food, and you see no white dots on the fish that may signify that the fish have been attacked by parasites, then that temperature is OK for them. I would not let it go below 72 degrees. If you are going to add new fish to the tank, be sure that you accli- mate them to the tem- perature in your tank over a long period of time to reduce any shock they may encounter. ___ Q: We have a 7-year- old red-footed tortoise that has slowed down in eating and now has a runny nose and keeps his eyes closed most of the time. I asked the vet who takes care of our horses if there was any- thing we could do for him, and he told me that he really did not know anything about reptiles and was not sure who did. Are there any things we can do to help our guy here? We've had By Jeff Kahler, D.V.M. McClatchy Newspapers WE HAVE MOVED TO 825 South Main Street in the Raley's Shopping Center FREE Hardware Diagnosis & Optimize Services with select services. Home Audio & Video Set-up Website Services PC & Apple Computer Repair Virus & Spyware Removal, Repair & Up grades Data Back up & Recovery Solutions Wired & Wireless Networking & Security Professional, Friendly, Trained Technicians We will match or beat any competitor's price We honor our Veterans & Seniors with a 10% Discount 528-1688 www.xtremepcsolutions.com 555 Luther Road. Red Bluff 530-527-6232 Behavioral changes in pets can be health- related, as is the case with Claude. The 6-year-old green iguana recently has become extremely aggressive, according to Dana. Claude charges and smacks into the acrylic panels of his floor-to-ceiling enclo- sure when Dana enters the room. When Dana attempts to handle Claude, his posture changes into what Dana terms "attack mode." He stands side- ways toward Dana, rais- es his body up — espe- cially on his front legs — cocks his head toward Dana and snaps his tail like a whip in Dana's direction. He has reached his target on several occa- sions, and Dana is not appreciative. Dana also reports that Claude's him since he was the size of a silver dollar and now he is a foot across. We do not want to lose him. A: Reptiles can get sick just like any other creature and respond to the same antibiotics and other treatments that we give our other pets. Res- piratory infections in tortoises are easily cured with injections of the proper antibiotics, and I know of many vets who can do this. I would advise you to contact a pet store in your area that has lots of reptiles and ask them what vet they use to treat their aggression is especially prominent when Dana wears anything made of denim. Claude will then not only try to whip Dana, but will also charge him and bite at his denim jeans. Dana is at a loss. I can understand Dana's frustration. His lizard has turned into a Tyrannosaurus rex, but I have an explanation and a remedy. I suspect Claude's problem is testosterone- related. Claude is at an age when a male iguana is reaching sexual maturi- ty and his testosterone blood levels are elevat- ing. This increased testosterone can lead to increased aggression. Male iguanas reaching sexual maturity begin to look for females with which to breed. In these searches, they encounter other male iguanas and aggressive fighting can Red Bluff Healthcare Center would like to thank the following businesses & organizations for their generosity to our residents during the Holiday Season. SALVATION ARMY WALGREENS WALMART Our residents truly appreciate your kindness & generosity activities Animal Island: Try weighing cat in carrier sick animals, then take your tortoise to that vet as soon as possible. ___ TOOTHPASTE FOR YOUR ANIMALS A few readers asked if there is a toothpaste to use on our pets' teeth other then the store- bought ones. When you have several pets, they noted, store-bought paste can get expensive. I stressed last week how important it is to properly care for our pets' teeth by brushing them ourselves and tak- ing them to a vet regu- larly for dental workups. In a pinch you can brush your pets' teeth with a paste made up of just baking soda and water. I add a few drops of chicken stock and a couple of drops of pep- permint oil. My dogs love the taste and it keeps their breath very clean. (You never know where a dog's mouth has been!) Commercial tooth- pastes for dogs have some beneficial ingredi- ents that are not easily procured in everyday shopping, so I still use the commercial tooth- paste on my dogs once a week. The rest of the time I use the home- made version. ___ Contact Marc Morrone: petxperts2@aol.com. Iguana's maturation likely caused his aggression often result. Claude is simply manifesting what is instinctive for an iguana his age. Unfortu- nately, Dana has to bear the brunt of this testos- terone-fueled rage. Iguanas require very specific thermal regula- tion and very special diets in order to thrive in captivity. Often, these requirements are not met and the iguana dies. Dana has provided an outstanding habitat and diet for Claude, hence he has reached sexual maturity. There is a solution here. Dana should have Claude neutered. It is a somewhat delicate and precise surgery and should be done only by a veterinarian with con- siderable experience. The surgery involves removal of both of Claude's testicles. I should point out that Claude's testos- terone level will likely drop when breeding sea- son ends. His aggression could drop as well. This, how- ever, will not be a per- manent drop, as I sus- pect the aggression will return with the next breeding season. As for the increase in aggression when Dana wears denim, I am not sure about that one. It is likely a heightening of his sexual aggression, but why the denim increases that behavior is a mystery. I have seen this before in iguanas, where certain objects and colors can set off aggressive behavior. Maybe Claude prefers khakis. ___ Jeff Kahler is a veterinarian in Modesto, Calif. Questions can be submitted to Your Pet in care of LifeStyles, The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto CA 95352.