Coccidia and Gout

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Khloi

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Sorry I am not too sure where to post this

My six month old bearded dragon has been diagnosed with the above infections
He is on oral medication to deal with both

He is currently in a vivarium with newspaper base to help him get over the infection, nothing to climb as his left hind is severely swollen with the gout and has the appropriate temps.

He was recently diagnosed by the vet on Wednesday as he was misdiagnosed on the previous Saturday by a supposed reptile expert so he is a little behind in treatment. He has been on this medicine for 3 days now. I have noticed slight improvement in his stool and he is beginning to move his left hind. Before he would just drag it now he tries to move it
The vet has said he should be able to regain full function unless it is not gout and turns out to be arthritis which she will know at his next checkup on the 17th, enough time to notice a change with the medication.



My only issue now is that he point blank refuses to eat. He won't touch any greens no matter how appealing I make them to him. He won't touch crickets or locusts and the only food I can get into him is calci worms and wax worms as they are the only food he will willingly eat. But he's gone from eating 20+ locust a day to only touching a few worms.

If anyone could give me any advice on how to encourage him to eat something other than worms Id really appreciate it. I know he needs to be strong and healthy to cope with and overcome these infections but surely he can't without proper nutrition.

Thank you for reading.
 

Khloi

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The legs closest to my hand in both are the swollen ones with suspected gout. He cant bend it well, it just hangs sometimes but he tries very hard to run with it..especially at medicine time.


Other than that, the refusal to eat, and the often refusal to poo, he is happy, healthy and as naughty as ever..just less mobile. Easier to catch when he goes to do something he's not allowed..like creep under the bed :lol:
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there....how did your vet determine it may be gout ? And you say that he is leaving open the possibility that it's arthritis ? That's what I thought when I saw the pic. If you p.m. Tracie [ user name Drache613 ] she may be able to offer some help. I hope your little buddy recovers. :)
 

Khloi

Member
Original Poster
She took a sample of the blood and tissue in his leg and looked at it through a microscope. She said she wasn't sure which one it is she thought it could possibly be bought on by the coccidia
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
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Moderator
Hello,

Poor guy. Do you happen to have a copy of the blood tests I could see, if possible?
How high were the uric acid levels?
Sometimes high levels of parasites can disrupt the excretion or uric acid & disturb renal function. How high was the coccidia?
Which medication is he on?
You can also try the black cherry extract which helps gout too. Arthritis is a possibility. If uric acid crystals were seen on the fluids cultured, then it is likely gout. You can be sure to make a greens slurry to give daily or try critical care powdered food for some nutritional support.
What type & brand of UVB are you using?


Tracie
 

Khloi

Member
Original Poster
Arcadia D3+ Reptile Lamp (25w) 750mm/30inch Is the light rocket currently has mounted along the back wall of his vivarium. I can check the medicine when I get home unfortunately am going to work. It would be ENGLISH medicine however as I am British. I don't have the samples but I can ask for something next Wednesday when he returns to the vet


With the greens thing and the extract. What would I do with them. I am able to order the cordial of the juice online what would I be doing with it. Rocket makes me feel very guilty about any oral administration.
 

Khloi

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Original Poster
Rocket is currently on Septrin, he has had 5 days of it, he has to give it a break for 7 and then resume it for a further 5 I think this one is for his coccidia. 0.05 to be taken orally.

He is also on Baytril which he is to take until 17-12 for his next checkup. 0.04 to be taken orally

Rocket has managed to hunt 7 locust today! (They were missing their jumpy legs so they were very slow but we wont let that secret out) and has eaten 3 wax worms and several Calci-Worms, no luck on the greens side though.

He has attempted use of his left hind when running away as soon as he see's the syringe, I have noticed this will -always- happen now..one day he might outrun it!
He tries to move and lifts his hips with his movement now, hes still very slow and not as fast as he was two weeks ago but he is really trying, it's been 4 full days on the medicine now, I have noticed a lot of improvement and he has over a week to go so my fingers are very much crossed that I will notice a great improvement as time goes on. :blob5:

I have also ordered the extract so that should be here by the end of the week latest so he can be put on that...once I am advised what to do with it of course.

He still has difficulty pooping but if I put him in the bath he will have done one withing 10-15 mins of being in there.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

If he is improving that much already on the Septrin & Baytril, then my guess is that it isn't full blown gout but just a pseudo gout which is a condition caused by other factors such as supplementation, or parasites/worms, etc. It can be fixed or cured much more easily than full blown visceral gout which needs treatment, for life.
If it were full blown gout then antibiotics would make the swelling worse, no better. Septic arthritic is usually caused by a virus or bacteria that is opportunistic when the immune system was depressed.
Most of the time with gout, allopurinol is used to help break up uric acid crystallization.

I am glad to hear he is moving around a bit better right now, that is good news! When you get the extract in, let us know. It was a cherry extract you ordered?
Keep him well hydrated also, that will help a lot.
The Arcadia D3 tube bulb is mounted on the back wall? Can you get it mounted directly over head instead of on the back wall so it will be a more direct overhead exposure?

Let us know how he is doing!

Tracie
 

Khloi

Member
Original Poster
I will ask the vet about the medicine you have suggested on my next visit next Wednesday. Is it the same name for us here in England?

I will ask my dad when he is free to mount it hopefully latest will be the end of next week.

I give him a bath every day in the evening just for ten mins. Only if he hasn't done a poo yet as I find he usually will this way. I offer him water in a syringe every other day. He usually takes a little over 2ml before realising that it's in the syringe then tries again to flee from it.

I am offering a large variety of veg but he still doesn't care. I put off feeding him insects until I get back from work in the hope he eats something but his bowl always looks as full. Any suggestions there?


Thanks for all of the helpful advice so far.
 

Khloi

Member
Original Poster
Hello

I have done a fair bit of research myself online and I have come across sceptic arthritis. He images shown look exactly like rocket. With his limp leg. I think you saw that of a bearded dragon previously a few years ago that also got a shrivelled tail. Maybe the vet just didn't know to come up with this conclusion?


Is it worth getting rocket into the vet sooner or just waiting it out another week? He's still on his medicine until he goes back.


Is there anything I can do at home to help him with this if it is sceptic arthritis? I'm not sure what treatments are here in the UK for it I don't think we have as wide of a range as the rest of the world but if you can think of anything I will get it for him.


I have butterworms on order too they should arrive here soon just to add something else to his diet.

Thanks for reading.
 

Khloi

Member
Original Poster
Rocket was very alert when I woke this morning he was already following me with his head as I got ready. I let him sleep on an old shirt as he decided to go under the pillow and sleep in my bed whilst I was distracted. Is this normal? Today I had him on the bed next to me and the next thing I know he's nuzzling himself into my top going to sleep!!


I tried him with the black cherry juice. After his medicine, he looked like a vampire with it trickling down his face as he wont drink so syringe is the only way forward


He went to the toilet all by himself without a bath today to help him. However he ended up in the bath as he managed to drag his whole underbelly through it. He didn't enjoy being cleaned one bit -.-


I'm gonna head to the shops soon to buy him some soya yoghurt. I've heard its good for septic arthritis so I'm gonna get a head start and start blending some greens too tonight to purée feed him.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

So, he enjoyed the black cherry juice but looked like a vampire? LOL
I am glad he is doing pretty well right now! If in fact he does have septic arthritis, a good medication that a few on the board have used for it is azithromycin. The Allopurinol medication for gout will be called the same thing in the UK too.
That can be normal for them to want to hide under covers, etc to sleep.
He didn't enjoy his bath though?
I hope he likes his non dairy soy yogurt & blended greens! Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

Khloi

Member
Original Poster
He will not drink so everything he has has to be syringes so I got about 3ml into him and it was all down his face like blood haha he was not impressed.

I blended him down so much stuff last night. He has everything on his greens list, carrot parsnip, courgette, Apple, rocket, plus a few allowed herbs and kale. I put some calcium powder in too and some of the black cherry juice and have frozen it so I can get it out and syringe it to him as I know full well he will not eat it willingly ! It's just like having a little baby at the minute !



I hope he enjoys the yoghurt he is so fussy all he wants to do is cuddle and sleep. I hope soon he can have his hammock and log back in his enclosure to climb

It's not long now until the vets. Only a week so I can tell her all I've done for him and put the medicine suggestions down too !
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is really funny he wont drink so you have to use a syringe & his chin was red with juice. He probably looked like a little kid. LOL
How did he like the greens slurry you made him? It sounds very nutritious! It is like having a little baby when you have to feed them like this.
Hopefully he enjoys the yogurt, too. I am sure he would like to have his hammock & log back soon.
Let him get some sleep to recover.

Keep us posted on him. :D

Tracie
 

Khloi

Member
Original Poster
He absolutely hates his slurry that I so lovingly made and has gone back to eating kale as it is..after all that time I took making it for him. He acts so much like a real baby not eating stuff he should :banghead:


Rocket is very happy he spends a lot of time in his cave sulking i think as its quite warm in his viv so he tends not to bask as much, he is eating well and goes to the toilet nearly all the time on his own.


I do have one worry though, his leg has began to go down at the top joint but he has this horrible ball forming on his kneecap or where I imagine it would be. It's very hard, it doesnt bug him if I touch it and hes still moving a lot better than he was and also gripping with the left hind foot more but this lump is kind of worrying. I have taken some photos to show you so any feedback will be great. Rocket is attending the vets on Wednesday so hopefully it's something treatable I don't want him to have to lose his little leg :(
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On the first two images it looks like its tearing at his skin a little he looks like he has little cuts from it..


I'm hoping it's just a huge fluid build up and the vet will drain it but I honestly have no idea..he is still on his meds and juice and the soy yoghurt.

I look forward to a reply
 
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