My Bearded Dragon has Gout!

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DaveKovo

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First off, I'd like to thank all forum contributors for their help over the years. I am a brand new Bearded Dragon owner and these forums have been so helpful for me, especially with my beardie's health problems. I know the customary first post usually contains husbandry information but I'm going to skip that for now as we already know his illness. So here we go:

My Beardie is named Shakespeare. He was recently adopted from a family who are being assigned overseas. He is approximately 3 years old and apparently has been healthy over his entire life (until a month ago). Three days prior to the adoption day, Shakespeare developed a limp in his front right limb. His previous family took him to the vet here in Northern Virginia, and they did x-rays/exam and thought it might be an infection. He was put on antibiotics and anti-inflammation meds. I adopted him and have been giving him his meds as directed. He was lively, had a great appetite of mostly greens with occasional live food dusted in calcium, but he started to decline. His limp got worse and eventually stopped using the foot completely. I called the vet and she said it could take time to clear the infection so to keep monitoring him.

A week goes by and he begins shaking when picked up, and when walking. I started some serious research and thought it might be MBD. After reviewing his enclosure more closely, I realized his bulb was not a UVB bulb. When I asked the previous family, they said they had him on a "basking bulb" for his entire time with them. OH NO! 2 years without UVB! So I immediately got him a new bulb, and increased his calcium uptake. Also I started giving him daily baths to try to alleviate any pain he was suffering from.

A few days go by and now he's refusing to move, with almost no appetite. So I call the vet and make an emergency appointment. The vet saw him yesterday and asked if I would approve paying for a blood test. It was crazy expensive, but I felt I owed it to him (and myself) to get to the bottom of the issue. Turns out his Uric acid level was around 24. It's supposed to be .5-12 or something like that, so the vet confirmed Shakespeare has Gout.

She prescribed him Alluporinol to combat the Uric acid levels and Tramadol for pain (med info below). She also gave me 14 syringes filled with saline solution to be administered subcutaneously to help "flush" his system and get his kidneys fire up.

Allopurinol 50mg/ml. Give 0.1 mL by mouth once daily until otherwise directed.
Tramadol 50mg/ml. Give 0.05 mL by mouth twice daily until otherwise directed.
Saline solution 8mL. Give contents of syringe subcutaneously for 14 days.

I'm writing this for a combination of help from this amazing forum, but also to offer information to any Beardie owners who have to go through this in the future. Also, I figured it would be helpful for me to have an official place to track his progress. I want him to be better today, but I realize it will probably take a month for the Gout issues to improve, and will be a lifelong issue he will have to be medicated for. Again, many thanks for being such a great resource for new and seasoned Bearded Dragon owners. I'll update soon.

-DaveKovo

And here is the special guy....

Having fun outside with the family (three weeks ago)
108775-1078710012.jpg

And him today, definitely not feeling well.
108775-8087126086.jpg
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The UVB light your using is imperative to health-- what are you using? The medication is going to help him a lot-- it should bring the swelling down -- please change the insects your feeding - I dont know what your feeding but I would switch over to silk worms as a staple feeder and all the veggies he can eat - the lower protein he gets the better -- dubia roaches are high in that -
Karrie
 

DaveKovo

New member
Original Poster
Hi Karrie,

Thank you so much for your reply. I did a bunch of research and decided on a Reptisun 10.0. I mounted it on the inside top of his enclosure and it's on about 12-14 hours a day. Does that sound correct?

And I was feeding him crickets, as that was what he was used to with his previous family. But I read that they are high in a protein that is bad for Gout, so I'm going to switch him to something else. I definitely look into getting silkworms for him. For now, I am making spring green slurries for him and feeding him a few mLs twice a day. I stop if he becomes disinterested in swallowing so I don't run the risk of him aspirating on the liquid. Again, does that sound correct?

Thanks again,

Dave K
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yes photo period 12 hrs on and 12 hrs off -- the Reptisun 10 is a T 8 or a T 5? The T 8 needs to be inside the tank w/ a distance of 6-8 inches from basking decor and NO clear plastic cover over bulb if there is one --- - the T 5 can be inside the tank w/ a distance of 12-15 inches - on top of screen 8-10 inches from basking decor -- silk worms are hard to find again -- my go to places are out of stock in the mean time you can get him some BSFL for a staple feeder but they are so tiny you will need to feed a lot of them -- you can go look here www.symtonbsf.com you will not need to dust them as they are high in calcium -- if he stops swallowing my guess is hes full --- so keep an eye on his weight -- you can use a kitchen food scale and weigh in grams -- that way you will know if hes getting enough to eat -- are you adding water to the slurries I am assuming you are -- that way hes getting hydration too - has the medication taken effect yet w/ the swelling? Here are some websites for silk worms I just checked this morning and they are still out but keep checking here www.reptilianarts.com if you order in bulk like 50 make sure you get food they will come small - you will need to feed daily and clean containers out daily
www.coastalsilkworms.com
www.mulberryfarms.com they are high on shipping --
Mealworms might be an option for now --- this is what I found when I googled it
on the purine derivate content of three edible insects found that mealworms and superworms have lower levels of purine and that crickets had higher amounts of purine, making them not the best option for those with gout. Keep your dragon hydrated. Being dehydrated increases the concentration of uric acid in the blood. Tracie can advise on this subject as well
Karrie
 

DaveKovo

New member
Original Poster
UPDATE:
I'm happy to report that Shakespeare is doing much better. While his front right leg still appears to be suffering from a episode of Gout, his other limbs have improved to the point where he is running around again. He's no longer in need of the Tramadol, and will simply continue his medication to reduce the uric acid in his system. He just finished his daily bath and is lounging on his favorite rock right now. I'll log back in later to post an updated picture of him.

Thanks again,

-Dave K
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
That's good to hear! Hopefully it will remain under control and he will be more comfortable going forward. It's a good sign that he is running around again.
 
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