infection i think. what can i do NOW?

My beardie Jean's toes have been looking bad for the past month or so. At first I kind of thought it was a retained shed or something, but I don't think that's the case. As of now, ALL of his front toes are swollen. A few of his back toes are even worse: they are a darkish red, completely rigid, and immovable except from the base. I think it's an infection, and his back feet also have orangish hard spots forming on them as well.

I'm calling a vet tomorrow and will probably be able to go to one on thursday or friday... but WHAT can i do til then???

I'm very worried and he's been acting lethargic lately as well.

Hi
Well your doing the mostt important thing by calling the vet as he will most likely need meds.Are there any wounds or did they just start swelling on their own?Do you house him with another beardie?What type of substrate are you using?If you can post a pic we might be able to get a better idea of what it may be.

Jean is housed alone with repisun 10 and 100 degree basking spot. I use tile substrate and feed crix and greens daily. They just started swelling out of nowhere. I don't have a camera though, but maybe I can get a picture tomorrow.

outrank17":e616c said:

Jean is housed alone with repisun 10 and 100 degree basking spot. I use tile substrate and feed crix and greens daily. They just started swelling out of nowhere. I don't have a camera though, but maybe I can get a picture tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Ok good that she is on a solid substrate that was the first thing I was going to tell you to do.Is the swelling hard like shed or is it more soft and mushy?

The swollen parts seem kind of mushy, but it's hard to tell since Jean snatches his hand away whenever I feel his toes. His back toes, however, which used to be swollen, are now just completely hard and losing scales.

Do they look necrotic?Blackish?On those toes I would put a clean the area off with some betadine and then put some neosporin on them.Make sure not to use anything with hydrogen peroxide in it as it will eat away at his scales.It definately sounds like he has an infection but its hard to tell without pics.You could also get him a little probiotic in case there is something bacterial going on inside.Basically you can get acidophilliz,benebac,bee pollen or even SOY yogurt.Give him a little of that just to get his gut flora in check because many times swollen feet are symptomatic of an internal infection.

Hello,

Could you post a picture of his toes for me please?
What type of supplementation do you use & how often do you use it? Do you keep him well hydrated?
How much protein do you feed him, & what sources do you feed?
We need to determine the reason for the swelling, whether it be infection or something else. It could also be gout as well. Can you get him to a vet to get a bloodtest possibly? That would help out.
How is he doing this evening?

Tracie

OK! The vet said the problem was pretty bad. He said it was some form of necrosis. Digitary necrosis maybe...? I don't remember exactly. Apparently, Jean may have had it since I've bought him--only it wasn't as bad then, obviously. Jean has always had a cleft palate looking thing, and the vet said it may have originated there.

Anyways, he gave me some iodine to rub on his toes once a day. He also gave me antibiotics to make him swallow through a syringe. At best, Jean will survive and just lose his toes which are completely infected. At worst, Jean may just quit living, lose more weight, and have to be put to sleep. He said chances are 30-40% that Jean will pull out of this... I kind of think the odds are better cuz I'm hopin Jean is a fighter.

Anyways, I have a question: What is the best way to get Jean to open his mouth so that I can get the syringe/antibiotics in there? He squirms like crazy and it's hard to do it. Any questions are fine! BUT, if you are one of those types that feels it necessary to blame and criticize me for the problem, refrain, because I already know I should have taken him earlier and feel guilty.

thanks

Hello,

A cleft palate, you mean a sore mouth? Can you post a picture of that?
I don't think that an infection of the mouth would cause necrosis of the toes, but it could cause mouthrot (stomatitis) or a sytemic infection though.
A trick to attempt to get the mouth open to medicate him is to gently get the syringe to the edge of the outside of the mouth & just slightly nudge the mouth to see if he will open it. Be very careful when you do try to get the mouth open so you don't damage his lips & gums area.
What antibiotic did he prescribe & what was the dosage?
Let's concentrate on getting Jean better. He can survive with no toes & or fingers, but we need to get that infection taken care of. Do you have any probiotics to give him such as acidophiliz, benebac or nutribac? If not, they will reatly help him while he is on meds. Keep him well hydrated also, during the medication round.
Keep us poted on him.

Tracie

I agree with Tracie.I wouldnt think about anything now but getting him better.I too would like to see a pic of his mouth.Dont beat yourself up to badly about not getting him to the vet.Sometimes these things are hard to notice off the cuff and its even harder because beardies hide things so well.Please answer Tracies questions especially in regards to the meds.

Ok. He gave me Baytril and told me to give it to him twice a day in .05ml dosages. The iodine I rub on his toes once a day. When I was at the vet, he used a scalpel on one of Jean's toes to show that inside the bulbous toe is just a bunch of cheese-like puss stuff or something.

My girlfriend and I took pics just a second ago. I'll be able to hopefully post them tomorrow. HOPEFULLY.

The middle toe on Jean's left hand is where the vet took a scalpel to it and cut out the "cheese-like" stuff inside. I'll hafta get my girlfriend to send me pics of his backfeet... which are not bloated, but are devoid of blood circulation.

You can see his mouth problems as well. Over time it usually scabs up. The previous pics were all after the vet had removed the scab. Here is a pic from a month or so ago of his mouth though:

It's always been a problem, but I just figured it was something he was born with.

OK, and here is another pic of one of his front feet...

...and a pic of his two back feet. Notice the orange spots on his actually back feet.

Hello,

Ouch, that is really bad! Did he do bloodwork to determine the infection? That kind of looks like yellow fungus. How long has this been going on for? Baytril twice per day? That seems like too much to me. That is a very harsh drug.
The problem is if it is not an infection, but possibly yellow fungus, the meds will only make it worse. Did he have that when you got him?
I know it is expensive going to the vet, but some skin really needs to be cultured to determine if it is yellow fungus or not. If you aren't able to go to the vet again so soon, would you be willing to try treating him for yellow fungus with our instructions?
If you look closely, there appears to be a little bit of yellowish discoloration starting at the vent, also.
We need to get him better.
If you could get a bloodtest that would be great. That would see if he has gout, or what type of infection he has, etc.

Tracie