little use of hind legs - s shape

Hey everybody, meet Phoenix.

Hes been doing well for about 9 months, but recently I moved him to my new place and one day when the current caretaker came home, she found him on his back in pain and a terrible colour. I found out he hadnt pooped in a couple days, and it seemed his lower back was the source of some pain. We put Phoenix in a bath and after about 15 minutes as shes a vet tech for dogs and cats, since it was a sunday and the vet wouldnt be available till Monday, she applied an enema that induced a monster rockhard dropping. since then he seems to be more mobile, we had xrays done and the vet prescribed some basic pain meds and syringe food to feed him in the interim. basically there was no indication of impaction currently or fractures. He seems to be a better colour but in lots of pain, but now he is arching his back in a strange way S -pattern like way, seen here and will not lie flat:

\http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4473169&l=9e734&id=602180620

My main question is has anybody else experienced this and what was their recovery experience?

I have a basic care sheet and follow those principles please dont post one

NOTE i should mention through this all he will not use his hind legs, they twitch and he seems to want to try and use them sometimes but they arent cooperating at the moment

Jasper had a very pronounced S-curve to his spine when he was alive. It was the combined result of nerve damage that occurred when his tail was amputated, and a bad case of MBD. This is just a guess, but I wonder if the impacted poop may have put some pressure on the nerves back there. Also, I know you say you follow the principles from a basic care sheet, but depending on what care sheet you have and how old it is, there could be some bad information there. Would it be possible for you to tell us what kind of UV light he has, how old it is, and whether or not you dust his feeders with calcium and/or vitamins? Thanks!

Thanks for the response, hes about 10 months apparently (born around Christmas according to the store) he has a Repti-Glo 10.0, I dust the crickets/super worms every couple of days, according to xray the bone density was good, no sign of MBD. The vet seemed to agree with us and your assertion that the impaction he was carrying for a couple days basically caused some pressure on his spine/nerves and theres some inflamation. We have been syringe feeding him, with some basic painkillers (perscribed) which seem to help him mellow out a bit.

So it seems he'll make a recovery eventually, I was more just wondering about peoples experiences with recovery, like in your case, did Jasper appear in pain from the S shape? could he lie flat anymore?

Did anybody else have a similar experience of recovery from impaction and how long it took for them to start using their back legs again?

Thanks again everyone for the great posts!

The Repti-Glo 10.0 is known to cause eye problems and other health problems in dragons. I would get rid of it and replace it with a Repti-SUN 10.0 - the long, fluorescent type bulb, not a compact.

Jasper never appeared to be in pain - in fact, he got around quite well, despite his curvy spine. He couldn't really lie flat, but his problem was much more advanced as well as being permanent. Hopefully the inflammation will go down and your little one will go back to normal. What painkiller did they prescribe? Metacam? You might also want to try feeding him a few silkworms. They contain an enzyme called serrapeptase that helps with inflammation and pain.

Thanks for the tips! I bucked up and shelled out the monsterous $50 for the repti-sun 10.0 as suggested, hopefully it'll help. The pain meds are metacam, hard to tell if its helping or not since hes pretty sediatary either way.

The hump on his back has gotten a bit bigger since this whole ordeal started and lately he refuses to eat, even crickets! and doesn't poop by himself without an enema in the bathtub every 2-3 days (we've let him try for about 5 minutes in the tub each day, but he really needs that extra help)

Im hoping this is a case of its darkest before dawn and not going further downhill.

Can you suggest any easier ways of forcefeeding him? we've tried all his favourites and some new tricks, but he simply will not cooperate whatsoever so its been stressful for both sides to get some beardie soup (Carni-care perscribed by the vet) into him.

Hello,

Oh, did you not order the Reptisun 10 from http://www.petmountain.com?? Or, did you get it from a petstore? The $50 is expensive.
How is he doing today?
Will he not take food if you drip it on the end of his nose? That is usually the easiest way so you don't stress him out too much.
I hope that the light helps, because that hump is most likely from lack of UVB exposure & inability to absorb calcium. Please keep us posted on him.

Tracie

oh wow, definitely need to use that site in the future, it was $44 canadian + taxes... so yeah, way too expensive considering. If it makes even a minor difference it'll make life easier for us both!

anyway, yeah Ive tried the nose drip, he doesn't like it and almost never has taken to it besides in the past very few times for some water and thats trying some different blends of food in there. hopefully we can get through this week and he'll start eating on his own, its stressful on both of us when I have to force feed just so he'll have anything his belly to help keep his strength up.

I have a dragon who went through exactly what yours is going through. After $600 and 3 different vets, we never found a solution. She is still paralyzed and has a very difficult time pooping. Also, she only goes once every two weeks or so. She can feel her back legs, but cannot use them. She has to stay on a diet of veggies and soft worms.
My horse's chiropractor has offered to do an adjustment on her, but I haven't gone through with it yet.
My girl was on meds and hand feeding for weeks upon weeks. And we spent a lot of time at the vets office. There is really nothing that worked for her or could be done. She no longer can have things to climb on (because she falls off and lands on her back) and she must be soaked and massaged regularly. She is a very special needs animal now.

Im sorry to hear that, how long has that being going on for? Mine has been like this for a couple weeks so I havent quite given up hope yet, but it would certainly be nice to start seeing some turnaround. He will still use his legs a bit in the tub, or seems to try anyway for a couple minutes.

Either way, it sounds like you've been an extrordinary owner though. Keep it up, Ive read in many forums where the aid you provide eventually will work and they'll be better when you least expect it

Good luck!

Hello,

Unfortunately, alot of times when they lose the ability to move their back legs for whatever reason, they don't always regain the use, or try to use them again for whatever reason. They may have feeling, etc, but they are pretty big babies when it comes to slight injuries of that magnitude.
I am hoping for the full recovery of your dragon throughout all of this. Please keep us posted.
Too bad he wont eat from a syringe then, dripping it on his nose.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

phoenix21":acc40 said:

Im sorry to hear that, how long has that being going on for? Mine has been like this for a couple weeks so I havent quite given up hope yet, but it would certainly be nice to start seeing some turnaround. He will still use his legs a bit in the tub, or seems to try anyway for a couple minutes.

Either way, it sounds like you've been an extrordinary owner though. Keep it up, Ive read in many forums where the aid you provide eventually will work and they'll be better when you least expect it

Good luck!

Click to expand...

My girl has been this way for months. And the only vet who thinks there might be a slight chance of her ever using her back legs again is my horse's chiropractor. No other vet thinks that she will ever recover. The damage done when a spinal cord is pinched is often not fixable. Its sad that she will always be this way. But as long as she is still eating and maintaining weight, I will continue to keep her happy.

As for helping your little one, do a lot of hydrotherapy. Fill up the bathtub with warm water, deep enough so that your dragon could stand if all legs were working normally. Hold your dragon's front end and try to encourage the back legs to stand and "walk" in the water (similar to what is done with injured dogs, horses, ect).

I hope you get a better result than we did. Good luck with everything.

Hey everybody, just a little update:

his hump swelling has come down some, but he still doesnt use his hind legs. We've been giving him daily baths which seems to encourage him to flick his tail around a bit and sit on his legs. his appetite has gone up, its not a daily struggle anymore which is nice.

So overall it seems there has been some improvement

Hello,

Well, that is encouraging news. Keep up with the water therapy it can be very helpful in cases such as this. You never know, over time, he may regain the use of his back legs. You just never know. All cases are different. It depends on the severity of the injury or infliction of that particular area that is or was affected.
Keep us posted.
Oh there is a product called Serrapeptase, which is basically dried silkworm enzyme. It is known for it's medicinal purposes such as reduction of swelling & pain management. It is safe for reptiles, as well. It could benefit him. If you want to look into it & try it you can get it from here:
http://www.serrapeptase.org
Start with 25 mg's daily, broken up into 2 doses, one in the morning & one in the evening. Just mix it with water or applejuice, or you can even sprinkle the powder onto the greens & veggies if he is good about eating them. It is virutally tasteless so I doubt he would really notice any flavor difference if you put it in with his greens & or veggies.

Tracie

I have a little guy who had a blockage and the curve in the back. We gave him kiwi-strawberry Gatorade with a small amount of mineral oil in it. The oil is a natural laxative and he liked the sweet drink. Also pumpkin pie filling is a great laxative and he loved it. We put a little on is nose and he licked it like a dog with peanut butter. Any way, after about a month, he started eating normally and using his back legs again. Two months or so until the curve went down.

Hey everybody, just wanted to pass along a quick update in his progress.

His bump has gone down significantly but he still doesnt use his hind legs and and has a weird skeletal form at his back end, I'll try and get some pictures up. But at in all, it seems to be an improvement

The good news is he eats everything in sight again and doesnt require any special help to eat anymore.

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions!