Urgent Gout help!!

Hope your felling a bit better today.
I have bred and hatched out a lot of reptiles and I know that not all of them will live. It's natural selection...and losing animals is the worse part about breeding them.
It's even harder with a pet that you have taken care of for awhile. You did good with taking care of Toothless, so you improved his life up until the end.
Most of my reptiles will out live me. If they stay healthy they can live over 50 years. I wonder if they will miss me and who will take care of them. But I got a few decades left to figure that out.
But I do hope you and your children recover from the loss quick.

I have spent 2 nights now with this guy....he doesn't want to give up and it's breaking my heart more. I don't want to totally give up on him and take him to be put down but I know he is suffering. His tail is very stiff and won't uncurl, he is dragging himself because of his legs one is limp and the other stiff. He drank water as I've been putting him in warm baths to try and relieve some of his pain. I have tried getting him to eat but that was a no go and I don't want to literally stress him to death by force feeding him. I have even offered bugs to him thinking maybe it would perk him up, he managed one super and continued not to move. In the last bath I did shortly before bed he pooped, no urate at all. Which I would think is further evidence his kidneys are shot and shutting it down. My dad offered some help, so I am going to try finding a vet since yesterday was a holiday most were close or it was the emergency vets that are $100+ just to walk in the door. I feel in my heart euthanizing him will be best unless by some crazy huge miracle could happen. I of course am willing to put as much work as needed into him if a vet believes he could have a good quality life with medication. I truly was hoping he would go on his own surrounded by love instead of me having to decide. I am utterly shocked that he didn't pass given the way I found him just laying in a pile of diarrhea with no effort to get away, the insanely deeply sunken eyes, the lethargy, the shallow breaths. How on earth is he still fighting? ? I think he is trying to hold on for me because he watched us cry very intently. I hope I am able to find a vet that can help. I hate this so very much!
I was in a car accident when I was 17 and damn near died so this is extra hard for me. As we can only guess, although it is an educated guess, when the time to let go is. I've been forced to think very long and hard on the "when to pull the plug" part of life and it is incredibly confusing because of all the variables. I have suffered from chronic pain, now having fibromyalgia along with blood clots and all sorts of things that don't make sense how I didn't die. And it is crazy to have met my twin in a sweet little lizard. If he makes it until I am able to see a vet this will definitely be the hardest decision to make. Thank you again for all of the help and kind words. It is so hard to lose your companion especially when you have to decide for them when the suffering should end. Too bad animals can't be immortal and live with us forever!! Would definitely make life easier for us responsible pet owners.

Hello,

Wow, he is still hanging on really? That is absolutely amazing. He is likely holding on for you.
Does he appear to be in pain, is his beard black?
I'm so sorry that this has been such a sad experience for you both. Please let us know how things are going with you & your boy. They are immortal & his spirit will forever be with you.
We are all thinking about you.

Tracie

I am literally STUNNED! He is still with us!!!! My dad is helping me so I could take him to a vet to see if there is any realistic way he could make it, and live a decent life. It's also hard because we don't know his age. But the vet who was there was the assistant vet when I took him back in June and he remembered us. He of course knew that toothless had gotten better and was doing great, now all of a sudden he has just gone majorly downhill. Severely dehydrated, very dark, weak, still not using back legs. So we decided to do a shot of antibiotics, a shot of vitamin b12(stimulate appetite), and pain medication while we wait for 1 the fecal to come back(he pooped while we were there! Although it was mostly urate) and 2 for the main exotics vet to be back tomorrow am(she was supposed to be there today when I took him and she wasn't go figure). He was really awesome, we picked each other's brains and he completely understood that i can't afford to do hundreds of dollars worth of stuff. I mean even this was a lot more than I was comfortable with given our current financial situation. However I have a carecredit card that I used and my dad is going to send some money to help. So I'm taking him back in the morning and the vet was like I'm not going to charge you for 2 office visits because there's only so much I am comfortable doing without the same knowledge that Dr. Klein has. And he said he wasn't seeing all of the gout signs that he typically sees. But I just know that it is. He also didn't want to call the shots on whether or not he could make it with a decent life, he didn't want to say he needed to be euthanized but it's obviously a very real possibility. This lizard is seriously the toughest little thing ever! It has been a very emotional week. I don't know how he pulled thru...he was not doing okay Sunday, at all. But the vitamin b12 injection really perked him up and he ate 4 worms. That's the most he has eaten in 2 weeks! He got some meloxicam for the pain and then about half an hour later I offered because he was moving so much easier even tho he was very loopy lol. So tomorrow I'll have more info. They said fecal results should be in tomorrow, it usually doesn't take long. But he is at least feeling a little better with the pain meds and having that b12 stimulate his appetite really helped!

Wow, what a roller coaster ride...I don't have any advice but my heart really goes out to you !

It truly has been...I am terrified of taking him to the vet this morning and being told that my best efforts have failed him and that there is no hope. I really don't want to lose this guy. He has had a very rough life just like I have. The night I thought he was dying, he seriously looked awful, I laid with him on my chest damn near the entire night. He was barely breathing! Very small shallow breaths. I am hoping that we are able to do something, he was feeling a ton better with the injections and pain meds. He ate more than just 1 super for the first time in 2 weeks on his own. So I am slightly hopeful and at the same time don't want to be TOO hopeful. He is so incredibly tough! Who knew lizards could be tougher than humans? He's got me beat lol.

Hello,

Wow, what an emotional time for you, I am so sorry. I am amazed he has hung on for so long. The vet has been extremely helpful.
It does sound like the B12 injection did help him out & the extra fluids too.
You & your boy are in our thoughts. Please let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

It really has been so crazy! The vet agrees that it most likely is gout and of course we need blood work to really confirm that. She is obviously mainly concerned about kidney failure, liver issues, etc. he shockingly does not have any parasites at all! So that was a huge sigh of relief but would've been easier to treat and cheaper lol. This clinic has been amazing. Blood work is usually $112(and the other vet wanted $140) but when I told her how badly we are struggling financially she immediately took $32 off so that I only ended up paying $80. And unfortunately she was heading out of town when she was done with work but she is going to call me asap Monday when she gets back! I'm so worried and scared. But absolutely HUGE difference in behaviors, he has eaten without me forcing it, he's moving around, he still hasn't quite been able to use the back left leg but him actually moving? A miracle!! This boy was absolutely on his death bed Sunday. I laid with him on my chest for the entire night and I'm not sure if maybe that is what kept him alive or maybe he's just not so willing to give up even tho if it was me I'd be all "Peace out Girl Scout ✌?" he is a tough little thing and I am so grateful that my dad was about to help me by paying half the cost. My hubby has some job leads finally so hopefully in a month-ish we will be okay again and I can do any further tests that may be done. But I was very honestly surprised by how much this vet cares and is willing to work with me any way she can. They combined a couple things and she took the blood work down to $80 so basically $180 over all but we accomplished all of the things we needed to help him with a smaller amount of money. So keep your fingers and toes crossed for us!!! I will update as soon as I know results! For now he's actually eating and walking about his cage like nothing happened. This is the most lively and alert I have seen him since like 2 weeks!!

Hello,

Oh my, that is so amazing! His back legs are working now?
So the B12, fluids & other vitamins, etc helped that much? I am very happy for him, it sounds like he is feeling better.
Do you have the blood test results now? If so, I would love to see a copy of them if that's ok.
If he has gout, then have they started him on Allopurinol yet?
He sure is a tough little one, isn't he? I think that your love & care has kept his desire to stay around, strong. He has a reason to stay around.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

His back legs are still swollen but he is using them again! I gave him some pain meds today(instructed every other day) to see if he would be more willing to eat veggies with less pain. Instead he's running around his cage like a crazy!! Lol!
I don't have the results yet but the vet is calling me first thing Monday morning. He is now hydrated some vs his severe dehydration last weekend/this week. He is only slightly wrinkly. She didn't want to start him on gout meds yet because of the dehydration and being worried that it would be entirely too much for his kidneys. And I agree completely. I am a chronic pain patient and my kidneys and liver are checked very often due to the meds.
I had him on my chest Sunday night all the way til morning. I really don't know if that was what saved him or what but he has amazed me! I had no idea that these guys were so so strong and resilient. He was seriously in bad bad shape so for him to come back is incredible. Thank you so much for your help and when I get the results Monday I will send them to you because I think having 2 sets of eyes will definitely be good! I hope that this continues and we can get him more pain free so he is able to live a full life. He is such a sweet, calm, relaxed boy. My other guy is the exact opposite! So he doesn't let me love on him the way Toothless does lol.

I have been absent for the last several days because I have lizards hatching. So I haven't been following the progress with your dragon. But I'm really glad he is doing better. That night you thought he was dying I felt really bad you were going through that. There have been several ups and down for you, but at least things are looking much better than that night. Your dragon is lucky to have such a wonderful owner. I hope he continues to improve and has a long healthy life with you

It has been a rollercoaster for sure! He is literally running around like absolutely nothing ever happened. I am so stunned. But he is my baby and I love him so very much. Thank you for helping and for all the support!
Baby dragons?! ?

Not bearded dragon eggs, they are from my mexican beaded lizards. I have been sitting on them for 6 months...so it's been a long wait.
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Oh wow! How neat!!! He's really cool looking and that is definitely a long time damn! Lol how many hatched?

Just him so far, two others have pipped and 8 still need to break the egg for a total of 11. It can take a couple weeks for all of them.