New Beardie Mom...Help! PICTURE ATTACHED!

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BabySalto

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My baby (approximately 9-10 weeks) has a swollen ankle/foot. Can someone offer advice on what could be causing it? Pic attached.
95609-6036611460.jpg
 

BabySalto

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Original Poster
No...no hammock. I can't think of any way he could've gotten injured in his habitat (or outside for that matter.)
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Can you post photos of her entire enclosure and lighting, and go over what lights you have and what her tank temps are? And also, what is her daily diet and how often do you dust her live insects/fresh salad in both calcium and multivitamins?

She looks quite thin, her hip bones are showing. She may not be eating enough live insects, up until they are a year old they need at least 2 daily live insect feeding sessions, 3 sessions are better every single day, each session lasting between 10-15 minutes where they are allowed to eat as many live staple insects as they want to during each 10-15 minute session. This usually amounts to babies her age eating between 20-30 live insects during each feeding session. Healthy, live staple insects include crickets, Dubia roaches and other species of roaches, Silkworms, or Phoenix Worms/BSFL/Reptiworms/Calciworms/Nutrigrubs (all the same thing). They should be offered a salad of healthy, fresh greens and veggies every single day, though most babies and juveniles will not eat many greens or veggies, if any at all, until they are over a year old, because they do 90%+ of their growth and development during their first year of life. So they don't need greens/veggies, they need tons and tons of live insects every single day. If they do happen to eat their fresh greens it should just be considered a bonus and not really a part of their daily diet until at least a year old.

It's quite possible that this is the start of Gout, especially if any of her other toes, feet, or legs/arms also start to swell or become painful. It usually starts in one toe or foot or leg and then travels to the others, and it's extremely painful. That's what it looks like to me, swelling from Gout in her ankle joint. It's extremely common in babies due to husbandry issues, usually improper UVB/UVA lighting and temperatures, along with improper diet. The good news is that it can be treated by correcting the husbandry and diet issues and having a vet put her on Allopurinol, which is not expensive medication at all. So if this continues or if you see any of her other toes, feet, or legs do the same thing, you need to find a Certified Reptile Vet and make an appointment. She's far too young/small for them to take blood to do blood work, which is the easiest way to diagnose Gout, but they can do a needle aspiration of the fluid in her leg and test it to see if it contain Uric Acid crystals, and if it does then she has Gout. They can also diagnose other issues that could be causing the issue by doing a needle aspiration, such as an infection.
 
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