Suddenly Limping Dragon :(

Knute

5-6 months old

Problem: Floppy front right leg, low appetite, alert but lethargic

Set up: Knute currently has a 40-gallon glass tank but will be getting him a larger tank this month. Substrate is a smooth shelf liner type thing recommended by the breeder I got him from. He did have a mesh hammock in his cage, which I have since removed. I have also removed his hide and “tree” since he climbs on them. Knute has an under tank heating pad. He also has a 100W Ceramic Heat lamp, which remains on all the time. His lighting is a ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 linear fluorescent bulb situated on top of wire cover. It remains on from approx. 8 am to 7 PM.

Basking temp is around 97 degrees, cool end of enclosure around 77 degrees

Feeding: He has always had a healthy appetite and will eat both greens and feeders.

He is offered greens dusted with calcium daily (collard, beet, chard, endive, dandelion) sometimes cucumber or squash (he doesn’t seem to like fruit). I put some Fluker’s moist bearded dragon diet in with his greens too. Usually he will go through 40+ crickets per day. Was offering 3x a day. Have moved to 2x a day in the last month or so. I add variety with dubia roaches. I tried BFL but he doesn’t seem to like them. As treats, Knute gets wax worms and the very occasional superworm. Feeders and treats are dusted with calcium w/D3 . Knute gets Fresh water and misting, daily. He receives a bath almost daily. All of his water is conditioned.

Knute had an almost full body shed and was kind of moody/not as hungry as usual but still eating (not unusual behavior for him). On Saturday 8/18 Knute had completed his shed and was acting normally (very friendly, active, and alert).

On Sunday 8/19 I noticed Knute was limping. I believe there is an issue with his front right leg. He hasn’t fallen or had any kind of trauma that I’m aware of. It doesn't appear to be swollen. When he does move, he seems to drag his right hand. Knute is alert and responsive but won’t move unless he must, and prefers to lay flat against his heating pad and he kind of just lets his arm flop behind him at his side. He has eaten approx. 5 crickets per day since Sunday and seems generally unenthused. I have been offering him more wax worms than usual to get him to eat (dusted in calcium and Fluker’s liquid reptile vitamins). He happily eats them.

At the moment, he seems to perk up a bit in the bath where he avoids putting weight on his right front leg.

Knute has had normal bowl movements (usually once a day or every other day) the last being today... in the bath of course.

I'm really worried about my little guy. I'm going to try to get him in to see a vet this week; calling for an appointment tomorrow. Any advice would be appreciated!

Is he always favouring the right hand when walking and sitting, or only occasionally.

If occasionally, he's just a typical lazy beardie and this is not an issue.

If all the time, it's possible he has had a fall when you wasn't watching and hurt his right arm , would be a good idea to take him to reptile vet to have the injured arm checked.

It's always and only his right arm. This is unusual for him. Although he will laze about he's usually pretty active. We are definitely going to see a vet this week. In the meantime, I'm concerned about him losing his appetite. Is it typical that they lose their appetite when they are hurt?

Hello,

Poor guy, it sounds like he hurt it somehow. What type of hammock did you have in your
tank, one of those green mesh types? He could have gotten his claw caught in it & yanked
his hand out & hurt it.
The Reptisun 10 tube bulb should be mounted on the underneath of the mesh top so that he
receives a stronger UVB exposure. The screen filters out a decent amount of the UVB.
His diet sounds fine to me, plenty of variety included. Do you supplement the calcium once
per day or so?
Do you have any pictures of him along with your setup?
It sounds like it might be bothering him a little bit if his appetite has gone down some.
I would try to arrange it to where he doesn't have to climb very much in his tank so he doesn't
hurt his hand further.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

HI!

I just wanted to let everyone know that Knute is doing fine! I brought him to the vet and confirmed that he had a bad sprain. He has some pain meds and is doing much, much better.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond!

Hello,

Oh poor thing, he sprained his wrist then? I would leave the mesh hammock out for now, at least
until he is better.
It is normal most of the time, for them to lose some of their appetite if they aren't feeling well or
have some pain from an injury.
Which pain medication did they prescribe?
I'm glad to hear he is doing better now. Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie