Bearded dragon lethargic, limping, not eating

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Meeps408

Member
Hi this is my first post and I have tried searching through the bearded ER, section without much luck on finding specific information to my situation. I am in between class and work so I will be editing this post until all information is included.

I have no idea what caused this issue so all opinions will be considered. She is also my first reptile so still learning alot.


My bearded dragon Pebbles is not feeling to good. A week ago, Pebbles suddenly started limping on her front right leg, and was also swollen at the wrist and into her forearm. I took her to the vet the day I noticed to get xrays. The vet prescribed .5mg metacam for swelling and pain. No x-ray were done because vet didn't think anything was broken. And if it was broken nothing he could do to splint it (he believes if there is a break it is in her wrist)

After a week being on the metacam her condition has improved a bit. Her wrist is not as swollen as it initially was when i took her in ( I am not sure if I have pictures of the initial swelling.)
I got an additional week of metacam because first 3 dosages ended up more on her beard than in her mouth >.<

Other symptoms-
Currently she does not move from where she is placed. This includes if she wakes up in a spot to goes go sleep in a spot. She was not a very active dragon to begin with. Her appetite went from eating any insect that entered the cage with crazy speed to a slow deliberate movement and only if I bring the insect to her mouth. I am assuming the decrease in appetite could be because of the metacam. As well as I assume her lack of food intake is the reason her daily poops have decreased to every other day.



Pebble specs.
She is 6months old 203g and I think about 15 inch long.
92660-1218224154.jpg

Not sure of relevance but when I got pebbles, the pet store the had her, received her and her sister during a snow storm. Her sister is even now still a special needs beardy. Her sister was paralyzed in the back legs and one of the pet store employee cares for that one personally. Pebbles at the time had no concerning symptoms that I noticed when I purchased her.

Tank specs.
0. I took her basking stick out because she was having difficulties climbing with arm.
1. 40 gallon tank
2. Reptisun 10.0 t5 with reflector (currently 12in away from her basking spot but normally 7inch from basking spot.)
3. 2 Halogen 75w bulbs. 1 bulb is a spot bulb other is a flood light. Provides 102-113F temps recorded with heat gun.
4. Cold side is about 85-89 degrees.
5. Bottom of tank is tiled
6. Lights are on a dimmer.
92660-8149194405.jpg
https://plus.google.com/104664925854150543761/posts/KA9TQwxRmAo
Not sure how to post pictures just yet

Feeding
Pebbles gets a salad every day tho it's been a struggle to get her to eat it. Normally have to hide her roaches in her salad to get her to eat any. Currently this isn't an option with her current condition. Salad is usually mustard/collard greens.
I provide a Dubai roaches every day that I calcium with d3 dust every day. Usually about 13 roaches first feeding dusted and she normally only eats 7 the second feeding undusted.


To summarize.. What exactly am I doing wrong in the care of my Pebbles that is causing her to not want to eat or move and how long should I expect her to be uncomfortable. I am not sure if I'm being paranoid but also noticed a beginning lack of motion in back legs she tried to jump on top of something near her.

Thx for reading, Devin

If more info is needed please let me know.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Your setup sounds quite good. Did you notice if she fell or caught her arm to cause the pain/swelling? It's likely that if it's causing her pain then she isn't going to move around or put much weight on it as it heals. It's good that you've lowered the basking area and made it easier for her to get around. If it's a sprain or something like that then time and immobility will be your best bet for healing it. Can you post some photos of her and her injured arm?
 

Meeps408

Member
Original Poster
No i did not notice her getting her arm caught or her falling. Although while at the vet.. when the vet was poking her she did leap off the 4ft counter onto the ground. My fiance and I were kinda mad at the fact.
Could You tell me how to post pictures on the forum?
 

Meeps408

Member
Original Poster
92660-7459395989.jpg
92660-2082505781.jpg
92660-2294208566.jpg
These are current. Can't really tell it was swollen any more from the week of metacam.

Her left arm for comparison
92660-3854973060.jpg
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi Devin, too bad the vet seems to have done more damage than good, allowing her to fall to a hard concrete floor. Any future visits should be absolutely free of charge, and the vet should have been made you that offer after your dragon was injured at HIS business !


I just want to quickly mention that your temps. are too high. No need for anything over 105 on the hot side, and the cool side should get down to 80.

How are you hydrating her / Meds. are very dehydrating so be sure to offer water via syringe or dropper on her snout. Not all beardies realize it's a drink at first, so be patient and drip, stop, repeat. I use a spray bottle for mine....most will drink daily as babies, every 3-4 days as larger juveniles and about every 7-10 days as adults.
 

Meeps408

Member
Original Poster
I would like to add that she will not move if she is cold or move if she is too hot since her leg had been hurt.

I have been trying to give her water with both drips on nose as well as a bath (she absolutely hates bath time unless it's her choice ). Before she would take drinks from a dish if I tapped the water near her. She doesn't currently. She also used to lick water drips off my finger but won't do that either

The temp varies based on the temp inside the house. We have been having weird weather her so it's been difficult to get a super exact temp and position of light. 80 and sunny yesterday 50 and rainy today

If I raise the basking spot to get closer to UVB source the temps go up. Is this an ok trade off?
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
She looks really good, honestly.
However that hammock may be the culprit of her injury. Those things snag claws and she may have fought to free herself, injuring her little wrist in the process.

You can always sew or attach some nice fleece over it to eliminate this risk, or just replace it entirely with a fleece one.
 

Meeps408

Member
Original Poster
It is possible she hurt herself on the hammock she didn't normally go on the hammock until I took her log out.. I think she injured it by jumping off her log to get an insect.. But that is all speculation. I don't think this injury was caused by the hammock but I'll still get a fleece over it to prevent future injuries thank you for the advice
 

Meeps408

Member
Original Poster
Should I continue to give her the Metacam or should I stop?
When should I start being concerned that she's not eating drinking or moving?
What are some good ways to rehabilitate her?
Does cool compress help bearded dragons with sprains?
I don't know how i would get vet to pay for future visits, It was a week ago that i took Pebbles in.

Update: after looking all over the internet, I was wondering if some of these symptoms are similar to Gout symptoms? I am probably imagining it, but it appears her back right leg is also swelling a little bit and being favored a tiny bit. What are symptoms of Gout and do these seem to match up with Pebbles symptoms?
 

Meeps408

Member
Original Poster
92660-6681393459.jpg
Her right back leg looks to me also looks plump compared to normal
I also have adjusted her temps down . Currently where she basking is 100F.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

How is your little Pebbles doing this evening?
I sure hope it isn't the beginnings of gout. Are other arms/legs, etc starting to swell or not?
You can keep her on metacam for awhile, but it isn't designed for long term use though. Is
she doing alright on it?
Cold compresses really wont do any good for a sprain, no. The pain reliever should help out.
You can give her a nice warm soaking daily to help with the injured foot, too. Just be sure
to not leave her unattended while in the bath as they can drown easily sometimes, even as
an adult.
Have you gotten her to eat anything?

Tracie
 

Meeps408

Member
Original Poster
Here is an update:
6/10/17
I am still very worried about her. :(
So there has not been any real change in her behavior.She only ate 1 little roach yesterday and I did get her to eat 4 insects. Tried getting her to eat a veggie puree today with no luck.
I think this is day 2 without bowel movement. Looks bloated or just chubby. Should i be concerned?
I did not give her the metacam today because i did not want to suppress her appetite if that was the reason she did not eat yesterday.

Since getting her she never has been a very mobile dragon, but even then, she would move from sleeping spot to basking spot and then stay there(usually). Now she doesn't move at all unless she absolutely has to.
It is hard to tell if her back leg right leg is giving her trouble or not since she won't move far enough distances.To me it seems like it is limp in comparison to her left one.
The swelling has in her front right arm is almost fully gone. She is using it but still clearly is favoring it.
92660-7348920353.jpg
92660-9814403988.jpg
(taken 5min after her light came on so she still waking up)

I went back to the place i bought her from, and was informed that her sister that was adopted by one of the owners because of being paraplegic in the back legs is not doing well either and is deteriorating rapidly.
I scheduled an appointment to go see the vet again Tuesday (earliest they can get me in), to have blood work and other test done. I have been told that the vet I went to is the best in my area for reptiles, so I will give them another chance.( much more supervision however)
Santa Clara Animal Hospital Eugene Oregon.

I gave her a supervised bath today at ~92F water for 15min or so.

Temps in tank are at 103-106 currently with a dishtowel wrapped around the hammock she has been laying on. Cold side is 82 (tho she doesnt really ever move from warm side)


Update #2 6/11/17

So woke up today with Pebbles off her hammock (she went to sleep on it last night) on the floor next to a very large bowel movement. Gave her a bath again today because she was laying in the liquid part of her urate all spread eagle.she ate 3 crickets and 5 roaches.
Besides the size, it looked like her normal poops except for the urate was white with yellowish tints in parts.
Overall i feel like she is doing better than yesterday, but only slighlty.
Worried still not 100% back to what she was.
 

Meeps408

Member
Original Poster
So in a few hours I will be heading to the vet with Pebbles, to have them do more extensive test on her. What are some questions i should ask the vet so i don't forget when i get there.
Are there any test i should get while I am there?

She doesn't want to move.She wakes up, sleeps and eats in the same spot. At most she will stand up to get a cricket/roach that crawls near her. Haven't seen her have a bowel movement since the 6/11/17 posting.
Her appetite has started to improve tho she refuses to eat any greens. Will a take bite of mango if i bring it near her mouth. Her movement to grab the crickets is slow and deliberate.
She also has been alternating which front arm she holds down by her side
 
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