Swollen Leg with Dark Skin

[masongranger]

My children's bearded dragon has developed a swollen hind leg with darkened skin. The leg is fairly firm to the touch as well (compared to the other normal looking hind leg). Aside from the leg, the bearded dragon appears to be fairly lively and has a good appetite (ate a large horn worm today). I'm concerned about the leg though. Our pet is about 5 years old. I'm wondering if the dragon has sustained an injury to the leg somehow. The darkened skin is concerning because I wonder if it is necrotic/dead tissue that will kill the dragon over time. The leg doesn't seem to function well either. Can anyone in this forum offer their opinion of what might be happening here?

[Click image to enlarge]

[AHBD]

Poor guy that looks pretty serious and should be seen by a vet ASAP. Could he have been bitten by another pet ? Does he free roam in the house or outside so that he might have gotten a puncture wound unnoticed that has become infected ?

[masongranger]

Poor guy that looks pretty serious and should be seen by a vet ASAP. Could he have been bitten by another pet ? Does he free roam in the house or outside so that he might have gotten a puncture wound unnoticed that has become infected ?

No other animals in the house and we don't let him roam free.

[AHBD]

Can you post a pic of his tank ?

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

I agree that he needs to be seen by a vet.

He either got bit by something, or he hurt himself. The wound is infected and causing that black coloring. The area is dying.

Without antibiotics the infection will spread, so please do try to get him in as soon as you can.

-Brandon

[masongranger]

Can you post a pic of his tank ?

It's a pretty standard tank set-up. The bulb on the left is UV and the bulb on the right is more of a heat lamp. As I said, his appetite hasn't been impacted by this. He ate quite a bit of kale and blueberries and he had a pretty sizeable horn worm this afternoon. He's been pretty lively and you can see that he's made a little mess of his 'salad'.

[Click image to enlarge]

[masongranger]

Hi there,

I agree that he needs to be seen by a vet.

He either got bit by something, or he hurt himself. The wound is infected and causing that black coloring. The area is dying.

Without antibiotics the infection will spread, so please do try to get him in as soon as you can.

-Brandon

I'm wondering if the black coloration means that he's probably likely to succumb to some type of sepsis? Is this inevitable at this point? Aside from his leg, he's fairly lively and has a good appetite. It's also a holiday long weekend up and our local vet told us that they don't deal with 'exotics'. At this point, I'm wondering if the best plan of action is to euthanize the bearded dragon. He seems not to be in pain from this though.

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh my, that looks quite painful! I agree, it appears infected absolutely, & does need medical
attention. Are you able to get him to see a vet at all? Do try to find a vet who can see him.
Here is a link that may help you find a reptile/exotic vet:

https://arav.org/

Since his appetite is doing well & he seems to be pretty active, he probably isn't septic yet
but it does need attention. So I don't recommend putting him down if he is still doing pretty
well, that would be a shame.
As for your tank setup, it looks like the UVB is a MVB or a compact/coil light? Can you be a
bit more specific on the brand & type of UVB for us?
What are the temperatures in his tank?
Just another thought, could he have been burned?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

[masongranger]

Hello,

Oh my, that looks quite painful! I agree, it appears infected absolutely, & does need medical
attention. Are you able to get him to see a vet at all? Do try to find a vet who can see him.
Here is a link that may help you find a reptile/exotic vet:

https://arav.org/

Since his appetite is doing well & he seems to be pretty active, he probably isn't septic yet
but it does need attention. So I don't recommend putting him down if he is still doing pretty
well, that would be a shame.
As for your tank setup, it looks like the UVB is a MVB or a compact/coil light? Can you be a
bit more specific on the brand & type of UVB for us?
What are the temperatures in his tank?
Just another thought, could he have been burned?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

Hi, I just checked on him and he's climbed his little tree to get close to the heating bulb (see picture). We used to use a filament type heating bulb but found that they were expensive and burned out far too frequently. We switched to something that looks more like its made of ceramic and its lasted a while. He hasn't burned his leg and I'm pretty convinced that would be impossible. He can really only can get a few inches away from the hot surface. Maybe he's had a fall from the fake tree?[Click image to enlarge]

[KarrieRee]

It looks like hes trying to absorb heat -- is that his normal coloring? The UVB your using in the tank is it a coil or tube which would be a long fixture please take a pic of it and post -- basking bulb should be a bright white basking bulb that keeps temps 95-110 -- something like this https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/enviro ... gid=500202
Are you using this for temps
https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/enviro ... gid=500202
You need this for a UVB if your tank is a 40+ gallon tank
https://www.reptilesupplyco.com/wholesa ... o-med.html
And this bulb
https://www.reptilesupplyco.com/t5-uvb- ... o-med.html they are the best on the market at this time
Have you found a vet? He needs to go in ASAP
Karrie

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your boy doing tonight?
Overall, his condition & weight doesn't look bad. I am just concerned about his leg, I hate
for him to get ill from a systemic infection. I hope you can get him into a vet to see what is
going on with that leg.
I agree, it probably isn't a burn but not sure exactly how this would have developed.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

[masongranger]

Hello,

How is your boy doing tonight?
Overall, his condition & weight doesn't look bad. I am just concerned about his leg, I hate
for him to get ill from a systemic infection. I hope you can get him into a vet to see what is
going on with that leg.
I agree, it probably isn't a burn but not sure exactly how this would have developed.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Hi, It's been a while since I've posted. Our bearded dragon is doing quite well. We do have a vet lined up but haven't taken him yet. We continue to monitor his condition really closely. He's very lively and is lightening fast in catching a super worm dropped into his tank. He has a great appetite and eats very well. Kale, blueberries and sliced strawberries have been on the menu this week. My kids and I all agree that he's been the same as always with the exception of the swollen leg and dark discolouration. There's zero indication that he's in any distress or pain over this. Bottom line, he's very lively with a great appetite and no signs of pain or discomfort. We continue to monitor closely!!!

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great your dragon is doing so well right now, I am happy to hear that.
I'm glad you found a vet & have an appointment set also. Since he is eating really well
he must not be feeling too badly. At least it hasn't gotten any worse though, but as you
have been doing, just keep an eye on it to be sure it doesn't progress.

Tracie