Lost claws

Inanna had been shedding around her feet, and when I checked on her a few minutes ago, two of her claws were completely gone! It wasn't a clean break either, the tips of her toes look very bad, almost shredded. I cleaned off her toes, and they aren't bleeding. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, but I'm worried about it becoming infected. Is there anything else I can do? Why did the claws come off?

AAH! Just now, Inanna grabbed her entire injured foot in her mouth and started tugging on it violently!! I thought she was going to tear it off! I don't know what to do, I don't want her to hurt herself more! What should I do!??

Oh my goodness. Poor thing.
I dont really have any idea what to do (other than a vet), but figured I would at least bump up your post.
Hope she is ok.

I don't know what could cause that. There are a couple of people on here who could help you answer that. There is something I remember reading about this a while back. I think that someone said that when beardies chew on their feet that could mean some nutrients are missing in their diet.

I would pm Tracie (drache613).

Yes! We need Tracie!!!! :!:

Thank you, I will PM her! Inanna hasn't attacked her foot again....I'm just so worried! I don't want her to lose any more claws...or toes...

Maybe she has retained shed around her toes and is trying to get it off? Are you soaking her to loosen the shed?
Just a thought till Tracie gets here.
You can put neosoprin on it but don't use peroxide.

Hello,

I got your PM.
Is she retaining her shed on those areas? If so, that could be what is bothering her because it might be constricting the area & she is biting at it trying to get the skin off. So, look closely to see if there is any skin retaining around it. Have you given a bath to soak her for awhile to see if that will help, in case she does have retained shed?
Also, what type & brand of UVB light are you using, is it a flourescent tube light, a compact or a coil light? How far away from her is it?
Do you supplement calcium, & if so, how often do you use it? Do you give vitamins as well, a couple of times per week?
How old is your girl?
What is your humidity in the tank? If it is too low, that will make it harder for her to shed as well. We normally recommend roughly 40% or so, with the humidity in order to aid with shedding. Do you have a hygrometer to measure humidity?
What do you feed her?

Tracie

When I was at school today, Inanna badly injured two more toes. They're not bleeding now, but they're bloody in general. I'm glad its not worse. Now she's very lethargic, but at least she's not biting.

It might be a retained shed that's bothering her, but I'm not sure... There's not very much skin to be shed around there. I did give her a bath, I give them on a regular basis and give extras whenever she's shedding.

I'm using a Fluker's UVB light that's about 6 or so inches away.

I give her a calcium supplement 2 to 3 times a week, but she doesn't have any other vitamins.

She is 4 years old.

I don't know the humidity in Inanna's tank. The humidity must be very low in there, with the heat.

Inanna gets about 3 dozen crickets a week. I feed her as much grated summer squash and collard greens as she wants daily. I treat her with waxworms and usually give her fresh fruit like apples.

What should I do for the time being? I heard Neosporin, is there anything else I can do?

Why aren't there beardie cones so they can't bite themselves!?!?!

Hi Meagan,
Travis just came in from school & told me about Innanas foot trouble.what did the vet say?hope shes well.
Cindy

I haven't called a vet yet. Do you know which one it is? I tried a searching for it online, but a lot of vet clinics came up, so I had no clue which one it was.

Inanna seems a bit better today than yesterday, which is good. Her toes still look terrible, but she hasn't inflicted any new wounds since I got home. She willingly runs on the bad foot, which kills me, seeing as it must cause her some degree of terrible pain.

Do you know anything I can do for the time being, to help her foot heal faster? I'm also worried about an infection, so I'd really like to know if there is anything I can do right now to make that injury better.

Did you check the ones that were on the herpvetconnection page?
Here is a link for New Hampshire
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/newhamp.shtml

Hello,

You mentioned that you had a Fluker's light? I hate to say your UVB light is not a good one, & especially if it is very old. Is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light? How old is it?
She is most likely hypocalcemic due to poor UVB exposure. That is probably what is going on & when they are low in calcium, they sometimes start biting & chewing at toes, etc, to try to find calcium sources or other vitamins that they are deficient in. That light is not strong enough to allow her body to synthesize D3 or keep her bones strong & absorb calcium.
Definitely you need to get her in to see a vet for a blood test to see what her calcium levels are, as well as an x-ray too so you can determine what her bones look like.
Please try to keep her feet clean with antibiotic ointment & use some diluted betadine to use as an antiseptic daily. Do you have her on loose or solid substrate? Keep her on solid substrate so dirt & debris wont get on those areas & infect them more easily.

Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

My uvb is a coil bulb. I didn't know Fluker's was bad...that was the kind Inanna's old owner had been using since Inanna was a baby. Inanna's limbs were in perfect condition when I got her, she had all her toes and no signs of MBD. I'll switch out to a different brand though.

Inanna was on playsand, but when I noticed the first claws missing I switched it out for newspaper. I'll probably put in something more permanent like shelf liner, though.

I definitely will use antiseptic and I'll see if I can get her a vet appointment. Should I give her more calcium?

Inanna seems a bit better at the moment. She is still running around and ate well today. I think she's less bothered at the moment. I'll keep her foot clean; an infection now would be devastating. I'll keep you updated.
Thank you guys for your help!

Hello,

Good you changed the sand out right now. No she definitely doesn't need an infection now! It sounds like you are keeping it clean, too.
Ah sorry, that is too bad. Unfortunately Fluker's just doesn't make good UVB lights. The coils happen to be the worst of them all.
So if she has been under bad lighting for awhile, it is possible she is suffering from hypocalcemia now, which could escalate to MBD.
How much calcium are you giving her & how often? Right now, I would focus on getting a new UVB light. Keep the calcium the same until you get your new UVB light. The reason is because she wont really be able to absorb the calcium very well without better UVB exposure. I will be interested to see what her calcium levels are.
Keep us posted on Inanna. That is a unique name, by the way.

Tracie