Gout?

[EccentricME]

Lincoln is at a beardie sitter right now, she messaged me saying she thinks he may have gout, she also had a breeder friend look at him and they agree. They both say his wrist looks a little swollen. I can't get him to the vet til next week to confirm via blood test. I read upping oral fluids and lowering protien in take is good and cherry extract also could be useful help breaking up uric acid. Would something like these capsules ok to give by opening and put in some in water, until I get a confirmation from a doc http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0013OUN9K/ref=aw_cr_d_hpc

Lincoln is about 10-11mths and 18inches not sure of his weight. I got him about 1.5 mths ago.

Is it true that giving too much protien can cause this? I had been giving him about 10 crickets for breakfast and around the same but usually less for diner. When I offered supers I would do about 5 supers for breakfast and about 7 crickets for diner. Everyday He has a large bowl of greens which he seemed to eat happly. I am worried because she said he hasn't really touch his greens since he has been there. But maybe it could be some relocation stress? Would a month of eating like this at his age cause gout? I hope I didn't do anything to cause this.

I am so greatfull for my sitter she is happly doing way more than she signed up for. I am new to dragons and didn't knotice anything was wrong with him, she saw it right a way. I hate that he is away I feel kind of helpless but I know heis in good hands; without her I might not have noticed till it was worse.

 

[EccentricME]

:wave:

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am sorry that he may have gout. Do you have any pictures at all?
I have a dragon with gout & he has been on meds for 3 years now. He is doing well, but getting older too, probably close to 10. We got him from a petstore so I can't be positive.
Dragons can develop gout from a multitude of reasons. Inbreeding can cause them to develop gout, nutritional problems, improper temperatures & oversupplementation can all contribute to it.
I would definitely get a blood test to confirm.
The dark cherry supplementation is fine, very safe & effective. I use that also, along with allopurinol too. The dark cherry wont cure it alone but will help. It looks like 750mg capsules I believe. I normally dose supplements/herbal substances at 15mg/kg.
You can mix it with water, that is fine. It is pretty effective at breaking up uric acid but if it is gout, I highly recommend using the allopurinol to help decrease uric acid production as well as purine production.
Keep the protein to a minimum & the fluids a little higher if possible. The amount of food you are feeding does not sound like overkill or enough to cause gout though. That is good he eats green daily, too.
Which UVB light are you using? What type of supplementation do you use?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[EccentricME]

I have pictures of him but they are more than a week or two old, I think the girl sitting for me is on bd.org too maybe I will see if she can post or just send me a picture.

I am using the reptisun10.0 UVB light I am not sure what his past owners used it was a tube but it wasn't the 10.0 and I can probably bet it was never changed since they got him as a baby. (i should have asked i didnt think about it) :|
Vitamins we use the rep-cal herptivite (blue container) and rep-cal Ca w/d3 (pink container) CA 4x/wk Multivit 1x/week one feeding each day. I put the bugs in a bag sprinkle a little vitamin give it a shake an pour the bugs in the salad bowl. I read somewhere that the liquid vitamins are easier on the kidneys if gout it is should I buy that?
His past owners said they only feed live food once a week or less. They used the dry food with the dried up meal worms as a staple and the dish they used for greens was very small (I use it for the crickets now) and they told me to feed him lettus. :roll:

I am going to work on getting a picture up. If not I can when I take him to the vet next week.
Thanks for your help. Keep you posted for sure!!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That sounds great, I will look forward to seeing the pictures.
That type of diet with the dried mealworms & pellets only could have contributed to gout by not getting enough moisture in his diet. If UVB was not being provided he was not absorbing his vitamins & calcium properly, either.
The liquid vitamins & liquid calcium would probably be easier for absorption in this rate, yes. Your supplementation is fine however, per the schedule.
I would start fluid therapy though as soon as possible in the case it is gout or pseudo gout, either one.
Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[EccentricME]

Here are some resent pictures of Lincoln.

What do you think? I have an appointment for the vet Monday.
-Amber

 

[Drache613]

Hello Amber,

Great you have a vet appointment on monday, they can do a blood test on him. He looks great & has very nice coloring, too.
His hands look slightly swollen, but not bad. If it is gout, then it should be a very easy fix when caught early. It doesn't look like a shed coming up, either.

How is he doing today, has he been eating well?

Let us know how the appointment goes!
Tracie