Bearded dragon with gout

[Vexor1717]

Hello, I have a couple quick questions for anyone who has dealt with bearded dragon having gout or know the subject well. First of our beardie was fighting Coccidia for months and pretty much stopped growing and shedding. He's around 6 to 7 months old and is around 145G. He was just diagnosed with gout but the vet says it doesn't seem to be visceral and we are gonna try to treat it. I'm wondering how many ML of water should he have a day? He does good taking water so that shouldn't be a problem. Also I started giving him tart cherry juice to try to lower uric acid levels and the vet has Allopurinol ordered as well but I'm not sure how much cherry juice is enough and how much is too much? He seems to like it so that's good. I've heard a lot of bad stories and a few good ones so I have hope any advice welcome. Last night he actually started to do this thing where he'd open his mouth wide and make like a yelp. Vet xrayed him today and doesn't think he has uri but that it's a pain response and gave him pain meds and he's seemed to have stopped. Any tTIS

 

[KarrieRee]

Hello, I have a couple quick questions for anyone who has dealt with bearded dragon having gout or know the subject well. First of our beardie was fighting Coccidia for months and pretty much stopped growing and shedding. He's around 6 to 7 months old and is around 145G. He was just diagnosed with gout but the vet says it doesn't seem to be visceral and we are gonna try to treat it. I'm wondering how many ML of water should he have a day? He does good taking water so that shouldn't be a problem. Also I started giving him tart cherry juice to try to lower uric acid levels and the vet has Allopurinol ordered as well but I'm not sure how much cherry juice is enough and how much is too much? He seems to like it so that's good. I've heard a lot of bad stories and a few good ones so I have hope any advice welcome. Last night he actually started to do this thing where he'd open his mouth wide and make like a yelp. Vet xrayed him today and doesn't think he has uri but that it's a pain response and gave him pain meds and he's seemed to have stopped. Any tTIS

We need Tracie to address this
@Drache613

 

[Claudiusx]

So did you vet run blood tests to test for UA levels, or how did he come to the conclusion that your beardie has gout? Can you post the bloodwork?

Preventing UA levels from rising is the most important part of the treatment. That means no more dubia roaches. Keep protein a bit lower. That is, if your dragon actually has high UA levels which only would be known if your vet did bloodwork.

-Brandon

 

[Vexor1717]

So did you vet run blood tests to test for UA levels, or how did he come to the conclusion that your beardie has gout? Can you post the bloodwork?

Preventing UA levels from rising is the most important part of the treatment. That means no more dubia roaches. Keep protein a bit lower. That is, if your dragon actually has high UA levels which only would be known if your vet did bloodwork.

-Brandon

Yes, bloodwork was done. His Uric acid was 12. I began to introduce silkworms today as I read they are a good staple for beardies with gout. She diagnosed it through I guess was a biopsy from his back leg but did full blood after. Glucose was a little high too but she said likely from stress from pain. Thank you I'm doing my best to give him a chance at life. With his age the vet believes he had a genetic kidney problem or something. The husbandry was never off enough to where he should have gotten this.

 

[Vexor1717]

We need Tracie to address this
@Drache613

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[Claudiusx]

Uric acid was 12

That is high, but it's not horrible. Odd to see that in such a young dragon though, but it's unfortunately becoming more and more common due to recent husbandry trends.

What did his daily diet look like prior to all this starting.

Try to keep protein low for now. And like mentioned, definitely no dubia roaches.

-Brandon

 

[Vexor1717]

That is high, but it's not horrible. Odd to see that in such a young dragon though, but it's unfortunately becoming more and more common due to recent husbandry trends.

What did his daily diet look like prior to all this starting.

Try to keep protein low for now. And like mentioned, definitely no dubia roaches.

-Brandon

 

[Vexor1717]

Well up until that point we had already had issues with parasites(Coccidia and pinworms)so his diet did vary for awhile but since the day I got him he always ate greens along with whatever else but we did switch to dubias and occasional hornworm. He quit taking crickets and would get mad if you put bsfl in front of him lol. Yea right now I am sticking with herbivore Critical Care, silkworms and mustard greens. Do you think I should add additional calcium to what he's taking? Oh and also the vest said from the x-rays it doesn't look like it is visceral gout. Thanks!

 

[shmoomunchkin]

Well up until that point we had already had issues with parasites(Coccidia and pinworms)so his diet did vary for awhile but since the day I got him he always ate greens along with whatever else but we did switch to dubias and occasional hornworm. He quit taking crickets and would get mad if you put bsfl in front of him lol. Yea right now I am sticking with herbivore Critical Care, silkworms and mustard greens. Do you think I should add additional calcium to what he's taking? Oh and also the vest said from the x-rays it doesn't look like it is visceral gout. Thanks!

That is such great news that it isn't visceral gout. Wondering if the harsh coccidia treatment pushed his kidneys a too far?

That your guy has some weight on him, is also quite promising?

 

[Vexor1717]

That is such great news that it isn't visceral gout. Wondering if the harsh coccidia treatment pushed his kidneys a too far?

That your guy has some weight on him, is also quite promising?

Yes that is good news indeed. I was thinking the same with the Coccidia treatment. As far as his weight he's 145g and 6 months or so old. He hasn't gained or shed in a couple months because of all this but he's not losing weight. He's gradually gaining but not enough to even shed.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh poor guy, but, at least you are starting treatment so quickly!
If you have fed dubias or too much protein, that could contribute towards it but many times
genetics play a huge role in developing gout too.
Which medication was used for coccidia treatment?
The black or tart cherry juice is safe. You can give .5ml to 1ml, daily. You can give it to him
straight, or you can dilute it with a little bit of water, either way is fine.
At 12mg/dl for the uric acid readings, that is not terrible & should hopefully be very manageable.
Be sure that any gutload you purchase for any of the insects doesn't have any corn or soybean
products in it. Most of the commercialized products with those ingredients in them are genetically
modified products & that tends to contribute to liver & kidney problems.
When do you expect to receive the Allopurinol for him?

Let us know how he is doing!

Tracie

 

[Vexor1717]

Hello,

Oh poor guy, but, at least you are starting treatment so quickly!
If you have fed dubias or too much protein, that could contribute towards it but many times
genetics play a huge role in developing gout too.
Which medication was used for coccidia treatment?
The black or tart cherry juice is safe. You can give .5ml to 1ml, daily. You can give it to him
straight, or you can dilute it with a little bit of water, either way is fine.
At 12mg/dl for the uric acid readings, that is not terrible & should hopefully be very manageable.
Be sure that any gutload you purchase for any of the insects doesn't have any corn or soybean
products in it. Most of the commercialized products with those ingredients in them are genetically
modified products & that tends to contribute to liver & kidney problems.
When do you expect to receive the Allopurinol for him?

Let us know how he is doing!

Tracie

He started the Allopurinol yesterday. Ponazuril is his current Coccidia medication and it is the 2nd one he's taken. I can't recall the first one. Thanks again I'm starting to get hope back! Do you know if he can gain back any of the size that is stunted at the moment? Oh he started on Medicam as well for pain.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great he has already started the Allopurinol. I hope he does well on the medication, it is
designed for long term use.
Ok, Ponazuril is a good anti-coccidial agent so he wont need too many more doses. How long will
he be on the Metacam?
Hopefully, he can gain some of the weight back, sure, since he is still growing!


Tracie

 

[Vexor1717]

Hello,

That is great he has already started the Allopurinol. I hope he does well on the medication, it is
designed for long term use.
Ok, Ponazuril is a good anti-coccidial agent so he wont need too many more doses. How long will
he be on the Metacam?
Hopefully, he can gain some of the weight back, sure, since he is still growing!


Tracie

 

[Vexor1717]

Not sure how long yet he will be on Metacam but she put him on a 14 day prescription. 1st couple days it seemed to work but now he's not really coming out of his hide. Hopefully he does today but yesterday it was all day. Yea I really hope he puts some weight on he hasn't grown in like 2 months. Thanks again!