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So today we're going
 to be looking at health 

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checking larger lizards and large
 monitor lizards as well.

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So before we do start to do our health
 check, it is important

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that we must wash our hands. 

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We must also have a look at the animal
 and observe its behaviors

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and also have a look
 at the animal's enclosure

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just to make sure that it's safe to go in
 and retrieve the animal.

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Once we've washed our hands
 and we've made sure that the behavior

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of the animal and the enclosure is safe,
 we can then take the animal out.

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So here we have a black and
white Argentinean tegu.

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So this is Mr. Bags. He's about 
16 years old. He's extremely tame. 

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So handling is a little bit
 easier with him.

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However, if the animal
 that you're going to be health checking

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is a little bit aggressive,
 sometimes two people are needed

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and also pieces of equipment like gloves
 and guantlets, that type of thing.

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So Mr. Bags, being a black and white
 Argentinean tegu

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you can tell he's a male because of his
 jowls on the side of his face.

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So the males only have really big jowls.

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The males with the biggest jowls are more
 appealing and more attractive to females.

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So starting with the health
check, it's important

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that we always start from the head first
 and then work away down towards the tail.

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This is just to prevent
 if the animal does have any wounds on it,

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anything like that, that 

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we're not transferring in any fecal matter
 from the cloaca throughout the animal.

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So first off, we're going
 to check the eyes.

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So we're going to be looking and making
 sure they're nice and bright,

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making sure as well
 that it's not clouded over or there's

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any discharge or anything like that. 

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If the eyes were clouded over, it could be
 a sign of lack of vitamin A deficiency.

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So just check in. 

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No, they're absolutely
 fine. Nice and clear.

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So next, we're going to be
 checking the ears. 

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So with the tegu,
 it may be a little bit difficult to spot,

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but just behind the folds are the ears there.

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And again, we're just going to be looking
 and making sure there's no discharge,

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making sure that there are no mites
 or ticks or anything like that.

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Nope, that's absolutely fine

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once we've checked the ears, we check the nostrils, 
again, we're looking for any discharge,

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any bubbling
 that could be a sign of a URI

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which is a upper respiratory infection 

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. No, all clear as well as you're going
 through the health check.

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Just make sure that there are
 no bad smells or anything like that

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coming from any of the orifices.

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So we've checked the nose 

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next is to check the mouth,
 so sometimes with aggressive animals.

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This may be a little bit difficult,
 however, with Mr. Bags

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it will be a little bit easier. 

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So what we tend to do is secure the head

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with a thumb and index finger, 

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pop some pressure on the top jaw like so,

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and then gently open the mouth that way.

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So what we're looking for. 

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A nice pink gums.

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No crusting, making sure
the airways are not blocked. 

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If the animal does have any puss

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around the gums or on the teeth,
 it could be a sign of mouth rot,

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also known as stomatitis, making sure as well
 the animal does have all of its teeth.

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I'm sorry, Mr. Bag, just open
that up for me again.

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Good boy. Awesome as well.

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Same with snakes. 

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If there is an excess buildup of saliva
 in the mouth, it could again be

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a sign of a upper respiratory infection.

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So once we've checked the mouth, 
we're going to go down. 

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So be easy to move him around here
 so he doesn't like this,

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but so check in making sure
 that there are no lumps or bumps.

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Really getting those fingers
 and working and not sure

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if you guys can see that, 
and working them in the abdomen.

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Make sure there are no blockages
 or anything like that.

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No, everything seems to be fine. Once we've done
that we will observe the animals movement.

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So each animal is going to be a little bit
 different in how it moves.

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So it's important that we understand
 the animal's natural history

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and the way they move
 and their locomotion as well.

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We'll check the actual limbs themselves.

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That's absolutely fine. 

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Check the nails,
 making sure that they're not too long.

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Well, absolutely fine. 

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Checking the back legs. 

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and really pushing as well,
 so especially with Tegus that

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do you like to have a little bit of a dig

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It's really important
 that we do get that pressure

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so we can feel the animal pushing
 against our hands

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just to make sure that the back legs
 are working properly.

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That's fine on that one. 

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There we go. Yeah, perfect.

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Then we're going to check down
 the actual tail itself,

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so Tegus, like most large
 lizards, are extremely muscular.

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So a lot of their power
 comes from this section of the tail.

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So it comes from around here. 

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So it's really muscley
 and you really want to be feeling

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that muscle as well, 

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going all the way down, making sure there
 are no breakages as well within the tail.

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It's absolutely fine. 

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And then the next
 we're going to have a look at the cloaca.

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So this is where the excretory system
 and the reproductive system is found.

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So I'm just going to have a
 look at him right here.

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So ever so gently, 

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if you can't see the opening in the cloaca,
 just pull some of the skin down, making

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sure that there are no excess faeces,
 no bad smells, that type of thing.

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Also with males making sure 

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that there are no stuck sperm plugs
 or anything like that.

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That's absolutely fine. 

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Once your health check has completed, 

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is that important
 to note down on your health check forms

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If there are any issues that you have
 found, the age of the animal, the sex,

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that type of thing.

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And that's how we health check

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large lizards and monitors
 such as Mr. Bags here.