1 1/2 year old Beardie with Gout

[Kayrenee23]

So my bearded dragons name is Felix. I got him when he was a baby about a year and a half ago. But recently my town flooded and so I was out of my house for a while, this caused me to stop being able to provide enough greens for him for about 3-4 months. When we moved back into our house I began to notice he was limping and not putting weight on his left leg and I noticed it was swollen. So I took him to the vet. They never ran blood work but they told me he had gout probably due to his high protein diet for that 3-4 month period I was out of my house. So now that we've moved back in i started feeding him correctly again after the vet had told me that lots of greens could help the gout go away. I guess it just delayed it because now (about 3-4 months since the vet visit) his right leg was also swollen and he will not put weight on either of his front legs. He won't eat the food we put in his cage anymore. He eats if I hand feed him but he can't hold himself up to even eat by himself. Is there anything I can do to make this easier on him or even make it go away? I'm just worried he's not going to make it much longer as it is very rare that he moves from one spot even after multiple days. I don't know much about this so I'm just hoping that someone can tell me what to do. My mom wants to put him down so he won't have to suffer anymore, but he's so young I feel horrible, I don't know if I could. Please help!!!

 

[CooperDragon]

Gout is painful but can be treated. I suggest offering him plenty of water by dripping it on his nose. I would also offer him dark cherry extract to help flush the uric acid from his system. Aside from that, I would check back in with the vet to see if Allopurinol is appropriate in this case. It can be used to keep gout in check but is an ongoing medication.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

So sorry your dragon is so young & has gout! That is too bad.
How many insects are you giving to him, weekly? Can you post pictures of him, if possible, so we can see his condition?
Please review your entire tank setup with us also, such as the UVB, supplementation, temperatures, etc so we can be sure it's all correct.
Since they were able to do a blood test, to determine gout, they should agree to place him on allopurinol because that is really the only drug that will stop it from progressing much further.
As suggested, black cherry extract or powder will help, as well as alfalfa meal, too.
I would try to keep his insect intake relatively low, to focus on greens/vegetation to help his kidneys. Alfalfa meal is a good non purine protein source, or critical care or carnivore care, too for help with his nutrition.

Tracie