Suspected Gout - Lemmy - ADVICE REQUIRED!

Hi all,

This is Lemmy.

I've read a lot of posts by other owners here and it's seems likely my beardie has developed gout.

I cannot know for certain until I get him tested and I have an appointment tomorrow to get him looked at. It's with one of the best Herp vets in London so I should be able to get a solid opinion.

There seem to be many people here with solid advice too so thought I'd share my story.

I've just started my beardie parenthood and my dragon arrived this week.

He's a 4.5 month juvenile.

We're chuffed with him, he's beautiful and full of character.

I'm very worried about his right back foot. As you can see in the photo it looks swollen and when I feel it, it feels rock solid, like bone.

He's showed no symptoms that lead me to think he is stressed.

He's been eating like a beast and pooing regularly, at least once a day.

He also has been eager to be sociable despite his new surroundings.

Please can you share your knowledge and experiences please. I do plan to take him to the vet tomorrow.

The breeder raised him well with all the right healthy veggies and insects and Nutrobal every day. I would have thought that would prevent gout or even MBD but it's possible my boy is having kidney problems.

He's not limping and uses the leg as though nothing's wrong with it.



Unfortunately one inexperienced vet did prescribe Baytril, and it has had zero effect of the area.

Tom

Greetings Lemmy!

From the photo I definitely see some swelling.

Now I personally have not had an experience with gout, but I have seen several topics on the issue pop up.

From my understanding, gout can occur in dragons with too much protein in their diet.
From what I read, giving them cherry juice to drink is one of the easiest/most often suggested reliefs for gout.

Again, I have no personal experience but it won't be long when one of the more veteran users will find this topic and give you some more specifics! I just wanted to make sure you got a reply

Thank you.

It's lovely to see that there are so many beardie owners willing to offer some advice here.

I have read about the black cherry juice on other posts.

Interested to hear anyone else's experiences with this.

Thanks again,
Tom

Hi. Does he have a hammock? If so and it's one of those green ones you buy at the pet store can cause injury as their nails get caught. Also if you suspect gout you really need a blood test to determine if that's what it is. By the way very pretty dragon

I would be interested to know what is going on there as well. I don't think gout would make it feel like it's hard as a rock. He doesn't seem to be affected by it either and gout would make him feel pain. I would probably get an x-ray done first before a blood test to make sure it's not extra calcium deposits.

Thanks again for your help. I'll update you all once I'm back from the vet tomorrow.

Hello,

How did the vet visit go, did he do an x-ray or take blood work to see what his uric acid levels were?
He is a beautiful dragon, indeed. I hope it isn't gout, but it is a high possibility. We are seeing a lot of cases cropping up now, from all of the inbreeding going on.
Have you seen any other swellings on any of his other extremities?
Gout manifests slowly & it does cause the area to become hard.
It could be an infection perhaps, too but, if the Baytril didn't have any effect on it, then probably not. antibiotics usually make gout worse due to the nephrotic affects from the drugs on the kidneys.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

No he doesn't have a hammock. His enclosure is kept minimal so far apart from his basking area.

Herp vet appointment is in a few hours - I will let you all know.

Thanks for your support.

Tom

I'm just back from the vet.

Joanna Hedley inspected him today, she's an exotic specialist at the Royal Veterinary College in Camden.

Apart from the back right leg she saw nothing abnormal with him.

In fact, she said he felt perfectly healthy.

She checked his glands inside his mouth and the colouring, felt each limb and his fatpads(?) and everything was normal.

She noticed he felt discomfort when she felt his right back leg in comparison to when she felt the left, so he is feeling some pain.

She has provided us with Loxicom, an anti-inflammatory to help with the pain and swelling for now.

At his age, she said it is very likely to be either an infection that has entered into the soft tissue of his leg and consequently causing the swelling, or a fracture/trauma causing the swelling. It is unlikely to be gout as it should be focused more on the joints and she couldn't see anything wrong with his joints.

The only way to confirm what is wrong is by having an x-ray of the leg.

If the x-ray confirms the infection, then he will require an antibiotic injection directly into the leg.

She said that sometimes it might not work and in that unfortunate event surgery to amputate would be the best treatment for the dragon (she said it is not uncommon for young dragon to lose a leg).

I will be organising his x-ray asap and let know the prognosis right afterwards.

Thanks for your support,
Tom

When will you be getting the x-ray? Keep us posted.

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay. I did end up getting Lemmy an X-ray on Wednesday evening.

the x-ray revealed an unusual cyst/tumor in his leg preventing one of his tibia from forming appropriately. The likely prognosis for him is amputation, he is in pain - he might not show it.

I'm waiting for another opinion on this as it is not final yet, however from the x-ray it does look like one of his tibia bones is not extending to the joint due to the mass of abnormal bone and this might cause a pathological fracture at some point due to the lack of support in the joint

I'm devastated to say the least - I've only just bonded with him. I'll let you know what the final prognosis is.

Thanks
Tom

Hmm...sounds like it it could be a birth defect. If the tibia isn't located properly it could irritate the surrounding tissue from the bone shifting around.
Dragons usually do pretty good even with a limb amputation. It's usually mainly cosmetic and not too disabling.

Hello,

OH poor thing! That does sound like a birth defect. Did the swelling come on suddenly? I wonder if it was an initial injury of some sorts, or a jump that he did in his tank that caused the swelling?
Would they just amputate at the knee, leaving him part of his leg, correct? That would make the most sense, then he still have part of the limb.
How is he doing today?
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie