Help w/ Osteomyelitis!

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Drache613

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Hello,

How is Ron today?
I was looking at your lighting & can't tell if the tube bulb is mounted on the back wall or directly overhead?
I wish I knew the strength of the calcium, perhaps he needs a bit more if he is not absorbing it properly.
His tank looks nice though with a great platform area for him to bask on & with soft cuddly decor, too.
How old is he, or do you have an exact age?
Have they checked for any fungal issues which can be a cause of it? Has he had any injuries of the soft tissue that you know of, or before you got him?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

blumhm

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The tube is mounted inside of his cage, so there is nothing obstructing it. I can ask the vet what the concentration is. Do you think I should increase his dose? I don't think he has been tested for any fungal causes. We recently treated him for pin worms and before that coccidia (the coccidia retest was negative at his last vet visit). His poop does seem to be unusually smelly as of late. As far as I know he hasn't had any soft tissue trauma. He sometimes jumps off his basking spot, but had never seen tohave been injured by tthem. He was always done afterwards. I'm not sure about his age, we have had him for about two and a half months.
 

blumhm

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We just got back from the vet. She now thinks Ron does not have an infection, only a fairly severe case of MBD. His calcium and pain meds have both been increased. And no more Baytril. She also said it would be a month of two before he shows any improvement, if he will improve. So we are just hoping he doesn't get any worse in the coming months.
 

blumhm

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Well, Ron has continued to get worse. He now has lumps in his jaw and has not eaten voluntarily for about 2-3 weeks. He seems to be losing weight, we can see his hip bones. He sits with his eyes closed and mouth open for most of the day, hardly ever moving. He has been growing increasingly lethargic. He used to try to move, and could with some success. Now he doesn't even try to move. He already even struggles to be fed via the syringe or medicated. Just closes his eyes. And when I put him down he just lays there. I have increased his pain med dose, but it doesn't seem to be doing much. Since he has continued to deteriorate for months with no signs of improvement, we are wondering if euthanizing him would be more humane. He's so little and seems to be in pain, so don't want to prolong his suffering if he probably won't make it. We don't know what else we can do for him. Any advice/suggestions you guys have would be greatly appreciated.
 

Drache613

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Hello,

I am sorry about little Ron.
The calcium strength is what mg/ml, do you know?
It was increase & to how much? Is it being dosed per his weight, correct?

It sounds like you are doing everything you can though, with the proper lighting, etc.
I can review the calcium dose though if you can get the strength of it for me.

Can he not support himself on all fours anymore?

Tracie
 

blumhm

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We are supposed to give him 0.06 mL, but I give him a little more than that. The bottle says it's diluted with 5 mL water. I assume that means per mg but I'm not sure. No he can't support himself with all 4 legs. He doesn't really move his back legs at all anymore, though I have seen him do it on rare occasion. He pretty much can only move one of his front limbs. The last few nights he doesn't seem to be sleeping good either. Whenever I check on him he either appears to be sleeping with his head up or he is awake gaping/gasping. There has been no change in his environment, so no noise or light around him. I don't know if it's pain keeping him up or what. We have been giving him extra pain meds, including some a few hours before he goes to bed. We replaced his tube bulb with another in case we had a defective one and tried a MVB but he did not tolerate that at all. Does he have a realistic change to get better? I don't want to prolong his suffering if he doesn't, but I don't want to euthanize if he has a change. I just don't understand why he keeps getting worse.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there....poor little Ron, this is so hard on you, you have all my sympathy ! I was looking at the pic where he is plopped against hi stuffed animal, and he looked kind of healthy....was he standing like that on his own ? At one point you say he was jumping around the tank,even after you mentioned the hind leg paresis. Were his back legs actually ever immobile ? It seems that he went way downhill after all the meds....pinworms, coccidia and then a month on antibiotics have done a number on him. That is way too much for his system to take. It's good that he's off the antibiotics but I think it's all weakened him and there's only a chance that he can regain any strength or his health. I'm really sorry this happened to your baby....maybe he can still rally. I would love to see that. Keep offering water + a little food via syringe if he'll take it. I'd get him off any meds,. he hates them and that is added stress.
 

blumhm

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Yes in the picture he got like that by himself. He is no longer able to get like that though. His legs were never immobile, it seems more like he doesn't have the strength or control to use them. We have stopped his coccidia meds, I figured we could treat that later if we pulls through or we don't euthanize. So he is just on a pain med and calcium now. We give him syringe food 3 times a day, he needs food with his pain med. He gets bathed every other day. I just don't know what else we can do for him.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
You're doing all that you can right now. Although he's critical, he might fight his way through this with your loving care.
 

blumhm

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Thank you guys for your help and kind words. He seems a little bit better today. Not much, but he seems more alert. He also never has stress marks, so that's confusing me too. I would think if he was in pain he would have stress marks. Any ideas on what we can do to help him sleep better at night?
 

blumhm

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I think Ron may have a RI. He has been open mouth breathing, but that is his only sign. He doesn't have any drainage from his nose or mouth. I haven't heard any noises coming from him when he does open mouth breathing. I have some baytril at home. Should I treat him with that, or could the breathing be from his MBD? I also thought maybe thats why he isn't sleeping at night, because he has trouble breathing?
 

Taterbug

BD.org Addict
Is he gasping and wheezing or just sitting with his mouth open? Just having his mouth open maybe fine, it's how he regulates his temperature when he gets too warm. It's a little like panting and is the only way they can cool off without moving out of the heat.

I'm so sorry to hear the little guys struggles. I am always so worried when vets lob a bunch of treatments on these guys all at once. It sounds very prudent to treat his problems one at a time in order of risk. I'm rooting for him, but also support your consideration of euthanasia. Hopefully he turns around, but it's a hard decision to make or even consider.

Is he dark a lot, particularly his beard and belly? That was what was given to me as a symptom of "too much pain".
 

blumhm

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He kind of gasps, more like heavy breathing. He's never done it before and it's about 104 on the basking spot now. He also does it at night when his lights are off. And combined with his lethargic-ness it has me worried. He has no stress marks. His belly and beard are usually white. His colors are very bright too. I find that confusing when I look at his condition. I figured he would be very stressed. He seems fairly alert now. It seems like it comes and goes. It's hard to tell what he's feeling. That's why we can't decide what to do. I don't want to euthanize if he still has some fight left, which it seems like he does.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I too am really sorry that this has turned into such a gut wrenching situation. It's hard to say whether he is just open mouth breathing because he's in discomfort or if he has a URI. Are you able to get any nutrition in him ? As for what his colors can tell you, it's true for older dragons that they may display a dark beard + belly when in pain, but babies may just look normal or even bright color.

I really, really wish the best for your little guy .
 

blumhm

Member
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He will usually take a little syringe food, but not nearly as much as he used to. Sometimes he won't take any so I have to force him. He has to have food with his pain medication. He hasn't had solid food in about 2 and a half weeks. Up until then he had a pretty good appetite.
 
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