advices needed please

[Kiki6]

Hey guys,
Im new to this board.
Im kinda worried about my 3 years old female beardie. I would need some advices from knowledged people :roll:
Im actually aware that I must do something wrong and I wish to fix it cause I love animals and I feel terrible for not caring properly for my beardie.

To set context, I bought my beardie when she was only 4months old, soon after the death of my first beardie. From the first day I adopted the first one, she showed signs of illness; as losing claws. She had litteraly snatched off many of them.
Which brings me to Vortexe(my current beardie). Since I bought her, anytime something seems wrong I bring her to the vet. However, she also keep loosing claws. When the first claw fell, I brought her to the vet and told him about my first beardie but the vet said not to worry.
From then to the next annual visit she had lost every single claw on her right paw (arm) and they had grown back weird, curly, kinda veiled and crusted. So I ask the vet to look at them and he said to give more calcium (thats what I did).
Then, last winter I brought her again for the annual visit. This time, it wasn't the same vet and this one said to stop the calcium cause she was to old to get this much in her diet (thats what I did). She also offered to X-Ray her entire body even though "this may not help at all to understand whats happening to the claws". Back then she said that it might not be urgent though and since Im broken the vet said to wait until the next visit.
So few days ago I noticed that my beardie had completly lost 2 of her weird claws. She also lost one on her other right paw (leg).

Also, she got weird shedding problems on that side of her body. I guess she might have problems getting the dead skin off? Though yesterday she kinda ripped off the skin on her neck when it wasnt ready... so I can see her flesh :? I used some kind of healing product my vet sold me. Im just scared it might get infected... There is no blood and she does not seem to be in pain... She eats and acts normally.

So does anyone *please* has any idea what I do wrong or what she might be suffering from :dontknow:
I WILL get her scanned next week anyway, but I wondered if anyone ever saw anything like it? Im worried about the way it seems to get worst.
Thanks anyway for the time spent reading this huge post :roll:

 

[ziggy23]

That looks really bad. I'm no expert but those toes look necrotic.

The only thing I can do is offer you a bump, and recommend you PM one of the moderators and ask for them to look at your thread.

 

[GeckoGarden]

That does look really bad, Maybe Tracie will be able to help you out. (Drache613)

 

[diamc]

Moved here from Health forum so it would get more attention.

I have to admit that the toes do look necrotic, like there is a lack of circulation. I think getting some bloodwork done would be a good idea, something is definitely going on. How long has the problem with her nails and toes continued? What cream did the vet give you for her neck?

How has her appetite been and what has she been eating? How often is she getting bathed?

Can you fill us in on her tank temps, what type of thermometer you're using and what brand & type of UVB?

 

[Kiki6]

Moved here from Health forum so it would get more attention.

I have to admit that the toes do look necrotic, like there is a lack of circulation. I think getting some bloodwork done would be a good idea, something is definitely going on. How long has the problem with her nails and toes continued? What cream did the vet give you for her neck?

How has her appetite been and what has she been eating? How often is she getting bathed?

Can you fill us in on her tank temps, what type of thermometer you're using and what brand & type of UVB?

Hey thanks for the replies!

- The problem started when she was like 6months old (she is 3 years old now). She never seemed to be bothered by it except that she do not let me handle her paw for too long... She gets annoyed and get it back.

- The cream the vet gave me is called Heal-X. Here is a link to the product:
http://www.exoticdvm.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=healx.collection&productGroup_id=124&parentGroup_id=82&

- She always seemed to eat normally. I give her veggies everyday and insects once a week or two. She only eats green leaves, she dislike anything else. She also loooooves Exo-terra pellets, but I remove them from the cage so she keeps eating her veggies.

- I did not bathe her often the past year. I must admit. I didn't have much free time. So I guess I bathed her every 3-4months. I started doing it more often now that my semester ended. Lately I bathe her every week.

- Her 45gallon tank temps are around 35celsius (day) 23(night) on the hot side and around 25(day and night) on the cold side. I do have difficulty getting the humidity degree up (usually 20%).

- The thermometers I use is a digital Exo-terra. I got 2; one on each side.

- The UVB I use are Exo-terra Repti glo 10.0 13W. She also got a basking spot where she lays all day long.

 

[gzambran]

35 celcius ( 95 degrees F) is a little cold if that's her backing spot... if thats the temp for the hot side thats fine but the basking spot should be about 100 - 105 degrees F. I have never seen anything like her toes before! My best guesses are Metabolic bone disease and / or some bad retained sheds. Toes and the tip of the tail are common areas for retained shed (because of narrow diameter), and can cause the underlying tissue to lose blood flow and become necrotic. Frequent baths (3x a week for 15-20 min at a time) will prevent this. Also you can gently brush your dragon with a soft-bristle toothbrush to stimulate blood flow and gently rub away dead skin. Do you feed a multivitamin? I wonder if it could be some other vitamin deficiency. How old is your UVB lamp? Remember that they must be replaced every 6 months in order to remain effective! Is this beardie related to the one you had before? If so it could be some odd congenital defect... but I haven't heard of anything like this. Unfortunately, since it also happened to your previous beardie my gut instinct is that this problem is something to do with your setup or feeding. I'm sorry to say this but the vet who said to STOP the calcium was wrong! Adult dragons should still have food dusted with calcium 3x a week. This is less than the requirement for juveniles (5x week) but they still for sure need a Ca+ supplement! The only reason to stop Ca+ would be if they had renal (kidney) disease, were WAY over-supplemented with Ca+ in the past and had hypercalcemia/ inappropriate cartilage calcification or if they suffered from recurring impaction. You did the right thing by bringing her to the vet!.... but in this situation you need to find one that specializes in exotics, preferably even specializes in reptiles.Sorry I couldn't point you in a more definite direction... I would love to know what the diagnosis is once you get one! Hopefully this issue will be resolved soon! I hope your girl starts feeling better ASAP!!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is a definite necrosis of the fingers.
Did the vet do a blood test at all to determine calcium levels?
How long have you been using the Exoterra Reptiglo 10 for? Is it a tube bulb or a compact/coil light? This particular light is not a good quality light for UVB. It does not emit very good quality of UVB thus it hinders the D3 synthesis production making them vulnerable to getting metabolic bone disease & other nutritional problems.
What type of calcium were you using, & do you use vitamins very often? What feeders do you use?
The pellets are fine, but they should not be a sole staple. The greens are great, as well & she also needs the balance of some insects even as an adult.
Are there any other areas on her hands or feet that are displaying the same type of problems, or is it just that one hand?
What type of substrate do you use?

Tracie

 

[Kiki6]

Hello,

That is a definite necrosis of the fingers.
Did the vet do a blood test at all to determine calcium levels?
How long have you been using the Exoterra Reptiglo 10 for? Is it a tube bulb or a compact/coil light? This particular light is not a good quality light for UVB. It does not emit very good quality of UVB thus it hinders the D3 synthesis production making them vulnerable to getting metabolic bone disease & other nutritional problems.
What type of calcium were you using, & do you use vitamins very often? What feeders do you use?
The pellets are fine, but they should not be a sole staple. The greens are great, as well & she also needs the balance of some insects even as an adult.
Are there any other areas on her hands or feet that are displaying the same type of problems, or is it just that one hand?
What type of substrate do you use?

Tracie

No the vet never did a blood test. Should I ask for one? I actually got an appointment tuesday night for a X-Ray of her entire body.

Ive always used Exoterra reptiglo 10.0 compact. Not that I especially like the brand, but thats about all they sell around here. Do you have any good brand suggestion?

The calcium and vitamins I use are from Rep-cal. There again I dont especially like the brand but the petshops don't sell any other.
http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm
http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm#Ultrafine Calcium
I used to powder her veggies everyday with both products until the vet told me to stop. Now I use them up to twice a week.

As for the insects, I mostly feed her mealworms but also butterworms, silkworms or goliath worms. Usually the petshops around here keep only mealworms and crickets in stock. I dont feed her much crickets though. Mostly cause her tank gets filthy, but also cause she is too lazy to run for them so they die under rocks.

Its always been that one hand that concerned me until a few days ago. The other claws were fine but lately I noticed that most of the veins under the claws of her right foot were blood colored. Then a few days ago she lost one of them.

The substrate I use has always been paper towel. The main reason is that when I bought her at the petshop she was covered with parasites (some kind of fleas). The paper towel made it easier to keep the tank "sanitized" until I got rid of them all (she actually had shots of anti-parasites at the vet). Then after that problem was resolved she started losing fingers. I've always used paper towel to avoid infections.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, I would request a blood test to see what her calcium levels are. An x-ray is a great idea.
The Reptiglo 10 compact/coil light puts out virtually no UVB. I think that may be some of the problem, poor absorption of calcium & vitamins, etc.
Are you in the US? If so, you can order the Reptisun 10 tube bulb here:

http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/11442-504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10-0-uvb-bulb.html

What happens when they take calcium supplementation & it is not absorbed properly, calcium deposits will form in different areas of the body, or cause bone problems, brittle bones & will affect the calcium to phosphorus ratio as well.
The paper towels are perfectly fine, it makes it easy to keep the tank clean.

How is she doing this evening?

Tracie

 

[Kiki6]

Hello,

Yes, I would request a blood test to see what her calcium levels are. An x-ray is a great idea.
The Reptiglo 10 compact/coil light puts out virtually no UVB. I think that may be some of the problem, poor absorption of calcium & vitamins, etc.
Are you in the US? If so, you can order the Reptisun 10 tube bulb here:

http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/11442-504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10-0-uvb-bulb.html

What happens when they take calcium supplementation & it is not absorbed properly, calcium deposits will form in different areas of the body, or cause bone problems, brittle bones & will affect the calcium to phosphorus ratio as well.
The paper towels are perfectly fine, it makes it easy to keep the tank clean.

How is she doing this evening?

Tracie

Hey!

Thanks. I don't live in the US but Im pretty sure I've seen this brand somewhere in town. I'll look for it.

She's doing perfectly fine. I think I am flipping out more about this than she cares herself . I can't wait to get her to the vet.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It is a very popular brand so you shouldn't have any trouble finding the light. When do you anticipate taking her to the vet again?
I hope she is doing well today.

Tracie

 

[Kiki6]

hey,
She got her appointment on Tuesday night. The vet seemed to say that I would get the results the same night. Hopefully we'll be able to fix her condition ASAP. :roll:

 

[Kiki6]

hey!
So we went to the reptile vet last night. The results seemed more optimistic than I thought. It is necrosis of the claws, but the other part of the fingers is still alive. The vet said that the rest of her skeleton looks well and healthy and that there is also no signs of necrosis anywhere else. It is only located in that one hand. Luckily its not Metabolic Bone disease, which is a huge relief.
Finally, the wound on her neck was not from bad shedding; it actually was an abscess. I honestly don't know how it got there. I searched the tank looking for something that might have bit her or infected her. I know mealworms tend to attack living things, but the tank was all clean...

I have to clean her wound and disinfect her fingers with Baxedin, heal-x and derma-gel twice a day. The vet said she would eventually loose the last claw on her hand (since the two others fell when we were there).

The vet seemed a bit unsure about how it got that bad though. He said that her general condition was great; she looks healthy and well. He even said that she was pretty energetic for a beardie. He, himself, being a beardie owner.

Christine

 

[gzambran]

I'm glad that she does not have Metabolic Bone Disease! Good luck with treatment for the abscess and necrosis, sounds like she will be doing better soon!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am happy to hear that she is doing pretty well & does not have metabolic bone disease right now.
What did he suggest doing for the necrotic nails, any type of treatment, or soaking in water daily, etc? What about putting any creams, ointments, etc on the area?
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie