walnut shell substrate..graphic for those with weak tummies

[Tonja]

This is Rocky and he was kept on a walnut shell substrate. He apparently prolapsed through his vent and the owner did not see it or was neglectful of it. The walnut shells created a lot of damage to the vent area along with the prolapse. He was impacted on the shells and this is the result. Walnut shells no matter how finely ground still have sharp edges and can tear and cut tissue including intestinal tissue.

After Rocky was sedated and cleaned up you can see the damage to his vent area. There is a massive amount of tissue damage along with the prolapse. You can see the infection on the edges of the wound. You can also see pus on the top of the vent where he prolapsed along with some pus inside the wound.

After further inspection, it was found Rocky had gangrene and more tissue was cut away. You can see the greenish tint to the upper left edge of the wound along with necrotic tissue in the wound. Necrotic is dead tissue or the blackened areas within the wound.

Rocky survived his ordeal with a lot of antibiotics, laser treatments to help the gaping wound heal. He will always be vulnerable to prolapse so the prolapse was stitched into place to help keep it inside the body. He will always have a massive scar. This is not my beardie but thought I would show you what can happen with walnut shell and loose substrates. This is a very severe scenario but why risk this with your dragons. I am not saying anyone neglects their beardies, but this is a very real possibility with impaction and straining to get it out causing a prolapse, then it not being taken care of right away. I just wanted to show what can happen, is loose substrate worth this, I don't think so.

 

[Claudiusx]

Thank you for sharing this.

Hopefully it will persuade someone against it.

-Brandon

 

[Tonja]

yw and that is exactly why I shared it

 

[Taterbug]

Thank you for sharing the follow up images, the first one circulates around the internet quite a bit but I hadn't seen the others. The damage is so extensive, that poor dragon. I'm surprised he was given treatment considering he was allowed to get so sick, do you know if he was rescued or surrendered?

Walnut shell and loose sand are pretty terrible substrates, there is no getting around that. It's a good example to show the damage that it can inflict, just like the X-rays and necropsy images that float around.

Still, I can't help but see that this case wasn't the substrates fault so much as neglect. The substrate just made it so much worse.

 

[Tonja]

I have no idea who owned this dragon, if it was a rescue or what its circumstances are. I got the images from Kingsley Animal Hospital. I was searching for what can happen with loose substrates when I found these images. I agree it was more in probability neglect for it to get to this point. The images are graphic and I feel for the beardie, the pain he must have been in. After treatment I have no clue what happened with him, just that he survived it. There was no detail of before and after the care he received.

 

[Taterbug]

I'm glad to hear at least that he survived, the poor guy.