Not putting any weight on front arm

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have a 9 to 10 month old and is normally healthy but in the last week he is not putting weight on his left front arm. I took him to the vet they did xray and didn't see anything, even sent the xray to specialists and they didn't see anything. Hes on pain medicine once a day but he is not moving. This morning both of his front arms seem to be floppy and his beard was totally all black, like jet black. I know hes in pain and now I don't know what to do and the vet don't know what to do.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Poor guy --- the vet didnt think maybe it was gout? I am no vet but there are others on here that can help you w/ him --- I will let them weigh in on what they think
Karrie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
You mention a suspected broken arm , but not showing up in xrays .Has he had a fall ?

I had a similar experience many years ago with my then juvenile 6 month old eastern bluetongue skink.
Took to the nearest reptile vet who examined him and told me he thought there was a sprain in his right arm and the swelling should go down in a few days and he'll be fine. This vet even took xrays but saw nothing of any concern.
The swelling got worse and the skink really didn't want the arm touched or to use it, so I took George to another reptile for a second examination and more (better quality) xrays that showed a spiral fracture in the upper arm bone.
The decision was made put George under a general and reset the bone with a specially made in the surgery stainless steel pin and some special biological glue. The arm then had some special dressings applied and was a encased in a full arm and shoulder cast was made to immobilize the arm and shoulder.
3 weeks of antibiotic - antiinflamatory - pain relief injections (every 2nd day) and back to see the vet in a month and the cast removed after 2 months , and George was good as new.

The observation that he's now not using either arm ==> perhaps a shoulder injury (a dislocation and swelling effecting the upper back or neck.

I'd be seeking out another vet for a second opinion and maybe a better xray to get to the bottom of this.

If it's soft tissue injury in the shoulder or upper back , this may not necessarily show in xrays , but there will be swelling that the vet should be able to see.

If the issue metabolic , ie MBD or gout, a blood test will likely be needed to be sure.
 

rmclendon1

Member
Original Poster
The vet hasn't done blood work yet, only xrays. This is driving me crazy. I have be reading all over and still nothing is easing my mind about what might be wrong. His xray showed no sign of the metabolic bone disorder. he even gained 80 grams from last time he was at the vet, which was only 4 weeks ago. His weight is 408 gram. I've recently changed his bulb and everything seems to be correct. He eats Dubai roached everyday and up til recently he was eating collard greens everyday. His appetite has decreased though. He had a very small part of his tail amputated when he went to the vet 4 weeks ago cause he had exposed bone, was like that when we bought him. he was on antibiotics for a few days and to be honest he hasn't acted right since. Now he's not putting the weight on the left arm and this morning he acted like both front arms can't bear weight.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I would put something under neath on the side of tank where there is nothing for him to climb on to get under the UVB - he doesnt have a hide -- but for now w/ him not using his front feet thats gonna be hard -- so I guess your gonna haft to find out what is going on w/ that at this point -- that was just suggestion for down the road ---
Karrie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
A possibility is he's had a small aneurism and a stroke , or he's had a heart attack.

A vet can use a special scanner to see if this is the case.

If this is the case, you'd be very wise to demand harvesting of some of his blood for storage and use as blood transfusions before any attempt is made to do surgery to repair the damaged vein or artery else there is a very large risk the dragon will not make it through surgery and recovery.

This is something that happened to my big boy Puff a few years ago , ie a misdiagnosed aneurysm on his jugular that was thought to by the vet to be an abscess. He made it through the surgery to repair the artery but didn't survive the night in the vets recovery ward where he was kept under sedation , he suffered a heart attack due to the excessive blood loss during the big surgery.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Poor thing! He appears to be in some type of pain, with that black beard.
I would try to get a blood test done on him, to see what could be going on. I would try to get
those tube bulb mounted directly underneath of the screen top though for a stronger UVB for
him. How often do you give calcium for him?
I would suspect an injury, gout, or possible stroke, etc as suggested, too.
Is he a leatherback morph?
Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 
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