My beardie had a fall, he hurt his back. w/Pic

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BeardieSmaug

Hatchling Member
So long story short, my beardie tried to jump from my hands to my shoulders but I was not wearing a shirt so he kinda slipped off and fell to the floor, to carpet. I noticed a little lump on his back, but wasn;t sure if he had always had that, or if the fall caused it. But he didnt seem to be in pain, maybe a little bit. His beard turned a bit black and the tip of his tail black just for a little bit, then returned to normal.
So I took him to the vet, they firstly said that he is stable, and doesnt look or act in pain. She noticed the little lump but wasn't sure if if was from the fall, she said she doesnt think so. She said that he looks fine, he walks just fine (he is, he was walking around my room like nothing ever happened), he is eating just fine as well, but that if i wanted to make really sure that I should apy for some x-rays, which I dont have the money for at the moment sadly.
So she said that its most likely nothing to worry about, its from the shock and he migght still be in a bit of pain but should get better in a few days, no medication prescribed.
Now its been a day since I took him to the vet, he looks normal. A little slouched and 'down', but he got up in the morning and up his basking rock. He ate just fine about 10 dusted dubias.
But when I gentle press on his upper back (i know I probably shouldnt), he kind of shakes a little bit. His side shakes a little bit and/or he tenses up on the upper right part of his body. But only does it sometimes, sometimes I gentle press again (very gently), and nothing happens, like he isnt in pain. He just pooped so he doesnt have a problem with that.
setup:
Zilla 08616 Desert T8 Light Fixture, 24-Inch with reptisun 10.0 tube
Zoo Med Repti Basking Reptile Spot Lamp 100w
20 g tank
CHE used sometimes at night

temps: (measured with temp gun)
basking rock: 105-110
hot area: 92-100
cool area 70-80

So what do you guys think?
93594-5417886130.jpg
notice on his back theres a little lump, his beard with a bit of stress lines

93594-633491269.jpg
he seems active, his eyes alert

93594-5506258556.jpg
bit of black in his beard

93594-7155662672.jpg
after a warm bath and a poop

93594-1984523908.jpg
pic of enclosure. taken a bout a month ago but its the same
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Poor guy, I think you are right though, he probably did hurt himself a little bit. They have
long, vulnerable spines & don't have discs in between their vertebrae's so they can be very
susceptible to the vertebrae's subluxing. Maybe he just bruised the bone & there is a little bit
of swelling & it will heal up quickly.
There really isn't much you can do other than make his basking spot lower to where he doesn't
have to climb much & hurt himself more.
The Reptisun 10 tube bulb is a good bulb. I see it's mounted on top of the screen top too. Do
you know the distance it is from your dragon? If possible, you could try to mount the tube bulb/
fixture underneath of the screen top directly overhead so he gets a stronger UVB exposure. You
can use 3M Command hooks or wire to secure it underneath of the screen.
Also, being sure to give calcium consistently right now, to help ensure his bones are strong & to
help him heal.
l hope he gets better soon. Keep us posted on him.

Tracie
 

BeardieSmaug

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
It's weird because its day number two now since he fell, and he is still eating his veggies/bugs like a champ, poops are just fine, and even moves around all just fine. But when I gently pet or gently rub his upper back, his upper right part of his back he shivers a bit, only once or twice, then it stops and nothing happens when i pet his upper back.
glad he is ok though, for now im going to save up for an x ray if things are still weird. just to make sure ill x ray him.
There is not mesh lid on top, the fixture is mounted on top of the cage and secured. Until I upgrade his tank very soon since he is 5 months or so now.
Thank you so much for your help. really appreciate it.

cheers!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, it sounds like he's probably going to be O.K., but don't push on the tender area or you could make it worse. Let it heal, keep him him from high spots + jumping around too much and let it heal without irritating it.

Glad that he's doing well though. :)
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Oh I do see that now, the way the Reptisun 10 is mounted. Ok, good, so he does get good
UVB exposure then.
How is he doing today? It sounds like he isn't in pain unless that area is touched. Hopefully
he is just bruised & nothing is broken. If he's eating well & able to go to the bathroom, those
are great signs.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

BeardieSmaug

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
hey everyone, thank you so much for the help.
Today is ate very good. As did he yesterday. Today I didnt feed him veggies but he ate around 9 dusted dubias. yesterday he ate a good amount of squash so didnt feed him veggies today.
So far this last few days in terms of poop, he has only pooped in the bath. which i bathe him daily. usually takes a while but eventually he does. But he usually pooped in the mornings, pooping now in baths only since his fall. so idk if that makes any difference. its good that he is pooping in the bath though.
He still shakes/shivers a bit when i push on his back. but that was the last time. ill lay off the pushing.
He climbs on his basking rock, not much of a climb, and he does it completely fine. so you think i should still remove it and make it more flat to have him stay of high ground?
And is it bad that i let him out to walk around my room in the evening? When i hold him and lay him on the ground nothing happens, he doesnt seem in pain. And he even sprints! he does one or two sprints then goes walk around my computer and eventually lay down.
I think i should avoid that completely and let him heal?
It does look a little bit crooked i think and swollen, like in the pics. Ill try to get a better picture today.

93594-7023354508.jpg
93594-1354257842.jpg
you guys can see it right? or am i going crazy?
is it really necessary to take him do an x ray? and whatever else that probably will cost more?
as previously said i already took him to the vet and the vet said he was fine, that he will heal up soon in a few weeks. but that if i really wnated to make sure that I could x ray him. I just for the time being cant afford it, but i will soon, so if possible avoid the x ray.

Thank you <3

EDIT: i just noticed right now, i came in to the bathroom where he was taking the bath ( i left him for 30 seconds), and closed his eyes from the warm water, he woke up and started shaking part of his upper body for a bit from the breathing after waking up. then returned to normal.

its strange because times like that looks like he is in pain for a few seconds, but other than that he never looks in pain. no black beard, defensive behavior or lethargic (hopefully), or black tail tip, no eye one closed, etc. he is alert, hungry, and acting normal most of the time. What i think its gonna happen soon is maybe poop will start to be a problem and hopefully it doenst get worse and becomes lethargic

Few hours later, he still shakes once in a while, like when i come near him (he moves a tiny bit every time i come near his tank, maybe excitement?), or everyonce in a while i will approach him, pet his head and his upper back shivers a bit
 

BeardieSmaug

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I feel like its getting worse. so i made an appointment for tomorrow for some x rays. sometimes its worse, now he has a black beard and black tail tip. my poor boy :(
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
An x-ray would help reveal any damage although as mentioned there may not be much to do for treatment aside from making everything easily accessible and giving him some rest/time to heal. Vets can often use dental x-rays on dragons due to their size. These cost less and are often under $100 which offers some relief.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Poor guy, I hope he feels better. Is his beard black all of the time, or just sometimes?
He just needs time to heal up. An x-ray will just determine exactly where the injury is &
how severe it is.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

BeardieSmaug

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hey everyone,

so took him to the vet to make him x rays, and the vet said that there was no need really. she said yea most likely a small fractured, and you guys were right, x rays would just confirms it. She also said no medication, something about the fracture being small, not having the medication for this type of situation, to just let it heal itself. might take some time a few months.

Im just a bit sad :( i love my guy. but honestly he doesnt look in pain at all 95% of the time. he can move around, roam around my room, even sprint!, so his movement was not affected at all. He eats like a champ as well, so hopefully that stays constant, its been like 4 days after his fall. pooping though, today i didnt bathe him, and still has not pooped yet even after eating and its almost 4 pm. the last 4 days he has pooped in the bath. at least thats good, but inside his cage he is not pooping, idk if this is a concern. is it common that at this age (5 months and a half) they may start pooping once every two days? I changed his basking rock that he climbed to bask, into flat basking spot with ceramic tile. maybe this can cause some stress as well?
And Traice, yes, now his beard is black, not completely black, but semi black, with stress lines, been like that all day today. just in general, staying at one spot for a lot longer than usual before moving, looking rather "bored"

Hopefully he heals soon, i get attached to my beardies :(

thank you everyone for your responses and your help. this community is really the greatest help ever for any bearded dragon owner.
 

BeardieSmaug

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
he has stress marks more often now. sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes no marks, but for the most part. im really hoping he heals up sooner. is there really nothing the vet can do to speed up the process? like some medication? straighten his back or something?
he pooped and ate just fine today too, so thats good.

today when i approached his cage he started to shake kinda bad for a few seconds. So im not sure if its getting worse. he moved fine today, ate and pooped
but not i took him out of his cage and his stress marks on beard gone
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

At least there are no broken bones though. He will heal, but, they do heal slowly. You
can try serrapeptase for help with inflammation & pain relief. It is silkworm enzyme &
is very safe to use daily.
Just be sure he doesn't have to climb too high to bask, so he can rest his back. Since he
doesn't seem to mind baths, you can soak him daily which might feel good for him.
So, he is going to the bathroom in his bath water? That is very common. They will often
prefer that instead of making a mess in their tanks, which is what might be going on.
He is eating well also? That is a good sign.
Handle him with care, but you can handle him daily. I hope he is feeling better soon.

Tracie
 

BeardieSmaug

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Drache613":34zjlhht said:
Hello,

At least there are no broken bones though. He will heal, but, they do heal slowly. You
can try serrapeptase for help with inflammation & pain relief. It is silkworm enzyme &
is very safe to use daily.
Just be sure he doesn't have to climb too high to bask, so he can rest his back. Since he
doesn't seem to mind baths, you can soak him daily which might feel good for him.
So, he is going to the bathroom in his bath water? That is very common. They will often
prefer that instead of making a mess in their tanks, which is what might be going on.
He is eating well also? That is a good sign.
Handle him with care, but you can handle him daily. I hope he is feeling better soon.

Tracie

I sent you a pm. not very familiar with serrapeptase
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Sure, I sent a PM back. You can use capsules with powder & just give a small pinch daily to
see if that helps out.
Does he seem to be feeling better today? It will take a little time, but luckily it doesn't sound
like he's injured too badly.

Keep us posted on him.
Tracie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
BeardieSmaug":uasi8hjo said:
Drache613":uasi8hjo said:
Hello,

At least there are no broken bones though. He will heal, but, they do heal slowly. You
can try serrapeptase for help with inflammation & pain relief. It is silkworm enzyme &
is very safe to use daily.
Just be sure he doesn't have to climb too high to bask, so he can rest his back. Since he
doesn't seem to mind baths, you can soak him daily which might feel good for him.
So, he is going to the bathroom in his bath water? That is very common. They will often
prefer that instead of making a mess in their tanks, which is what might be going on.
He is eating well also? That is a good sign.
Handle him with care, but you can handle him daily. I hope he is feeling better soon.

Tracie

I sent you a pm. not very familiar with serrapeptase

https://www.prohealth.com/library/help-for-soreness-and-swelling-what-do-silkworms-have-to-do-with-it-29306

Wont hurt to treat your injured beardie to some live silkworms each day as well ….
 
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