Swollen toes & feet

Wondering if anyone has had this happen to their dragons & if they know what could possibly be wrong....
My beardie, Shelby, has very painful & swollen front feet & slightly swollen back feet but with 2 very swollen, & crooked toes. Without his pain meds he wouldnt use his front legs & stops eating. This 1st started in July 2016. Hes been on antibiotics from Aug-Nov, then switched to an antifungal med until recently. There has been no change in his health so drs decided it wasnt an infection & told me to stop those meds. His blood work shows something is off but doesnt point to anything in particular. Hes had xrays that look good so Gout has been ruled out. They suggest getting a full body catscan to check his heart & kidneys, but as this is expensive & closest machine is over 2 hrs away I thought I'd see if anyone here has experienced this & may have suggestions. Any help is greatly appreciated!

images of back foot swollen toes & swollen front feet.

Hi. She could have gout. I'd start her on black cherry juice extract.

Hello,

Sorry your dragon has been having so much trouble with swelling. The pictures really do appear to be gout. They did x-rays, but they don't always reveal gout. Do you have a copy of the blood test I could see? Many times, things are missed. I would be happy to look over it for you.
For now, go ahead & get some black cherry juice or black cherry powder to help aid in uric acid production. Try powdered alfalfa meal, also, it has been shown to be helpful in gout as well.
Can you review your tank set up for us, such as the type & brand of UVB, the supplementation & frequency, the temperatures & the food intake.
What is the name of the pain medication he is on?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Tank set up is as follows: 40 gal breeder tank; 18" 15W -T8 Desert 50 Zilla fluorescent bulb; 100W Exo Terra Intense Basking Spot bulb; 75W night heat bulb. Temps are around 95 degrees at basking spot, 80+ thru-out warm side, & 75+ on cool side. I had a 150W basking bulb but temps got to 115-120 so switched to 100W. Shelby sits on log about 12" from lights.
He is on Critical Care & Carnivore Care food, approx. 1ml (syringeful) a day, as he stopped eating both veges & worms/crickets. Once in a while he will eat a few wax worms that have been sprayed with a Zilla Vitamin Supplement & Calcium spray.
He gets a 15 minute soak at least 3 times a week (more if he hasnt pooped) & misted on other days. He is pretty normal with going to bathroom tho.
He is on pain meds- Buprenorphine injections, .0175ml twice daily. W/O this he stops eating completely & hurts too bad to move at all.
I have results of blood work but am trying to figure out how to download pic from my tablet. :/ Thanks!!!

Hello,

I would personally recommend changing the tube UVB light out from the Zilla 50 series to either the
Reptisun 10 tube or the Arcadia D3 12% tube. The UVB quality is so much better than with the Zilla. How far away is it from him?
It could be pseudogout which is from supplementation/diet issues due to improper absorption & intake of calcium. If the UVB source isn't emitting enough, they aren't able to absorb calcium very well & develop imbalances.
Are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure the temps?
Continue to give him the critical care & carnivore care so he can get his nutrition.
How long has he been on the pain meds?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

I will look into getting the different UVB bulb. Was planning on changing to a 24" light anyway to reach both ends of tank. His basking log sits 12" from all his lights, where he spends most his time. From tank floor its about 14". I have a digital temp in tank all the time But also use a temp gun. Read about the same. He has been on pain meds since July 2016, when this all started. Tried Metacam & Tramadol, now Buprenorphine, which is working so far.
I got some Black Cherry juice; can you tell me how much I should give him? He weighs about 345 grams & is 3 yrs old. Thanks!

12'' is too far for the T8 Desert 50. The output drops off significantly beyond about 8'' with ideal being around 6''. If you have 12'' overhead I recommend using a T5 tube. They are much higher output, longer lasting, and have an optimal output at around 12''. http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

Thanks for the info. So much for going by what the box says or even employees at store. :?

Ouch!! Looks arthritic to me...possibly gouty artheritis.
What substrate are you using? I have seen foot deformations from being kept on hard surfaces .

Used reptile carpet for about 2 yrs then switched to sand for about a yr. Started using newspaper soon after he got this way for ease of cleaning since we didnt know what we were dealing with. He gets let out of tank daily to run around on bed & carpeted floor. Well since this happened he just sits by window for a while now.

Almost looks like it could be genetic...maybe something similar to elephantitis or neurofibromatosis. Do you have a picture of the x-ray?

Hello,

I sent a PM for you.
I feel the uric acid is entirely too high & that is what's causing the swelling.
As suggested, the lighting does need to be upgraded some, because he may not be able to absorb his calcium properly, either.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

I dont have pics of the xrays but I can call vet & see if they could email me them or something. Not sure how Id go about getting copies of xrays. Hes been more active past few days, running around in his tank & on floor, when he sees the female. They head-bob at each other. Not sure if its mating season or what. Its a huge change from him just sitting on his log or in cave all day for past few mths. Hope its nothing genetic; that sounds really bad! I have no idea of the level of experience the past 2 reptile vets I've been to have, but this last one has been consulting with a specialist on this too. As for the lights, I'll order new ones asap.
Thanks for all the input!

If he's interested in females, that's a good sign. It probably means he's feeling better :wink: