Bearded dragon 1 rear leg/foot edema (swelling

[Glamamama]

My 7 yo bearded dragon has developed edema in one rear leg and foot that is not resolving. Ivan feel the thigh is swollen. Toes are normal. Both the exotic vet and I are mystified. He has a large 4 x 2 x 2 tank. Basking temperatures are 99 to 104° with an Arcadia 12% linear strip UVB properly distanced, overlapping heat and checked regularly with a solar meter. He gets a proper diet, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, arugula, escarole chicory, a little bit of butternut squash, green squash etc. Plain calcium on schedule twice a week with no D and twice a month a multivitamin from Repashy. He gets about three large dubia a week. Recent fecal is fine exotic that did complete blood work, including WBC and neutrophils and azurophils all normal. No signs of gout. She did a x-ray, no sign of fractures. Bones look good and strong. I can see this bothers him. He’s not running around as much in fact very little. Poop has been regular. We were on an anti-inflammatory for a week. It did nothing. I am really mystified and I am so frustrated. It’s the summertime so occasionally I bring him outside. I’m wondering did he get bitten by a bug and it caused a reaction? But labs are all normal. Any ideas?

 

[xp29]

My 7 yo bearded dragon has developed edema in one rear leg and foot that is not resolving. Ivan feel the thigh is swollen. Toes are normal. Both the exotic vet and I are mystified. He has a large 4 x 2 x 2 tank. Basking temperatures are 99 to 104° with an Arcadia 12% linear strip UVB properly distanced, overlapping heat and checked regularly with a solar meter. He gets a proper diet, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, arugula, escarole chicory, a little bit of butternut squash, green squash etc. Plain calcium on schedule twice a week with no D and twice a month a multivitamin from Repashy. He gets about three large dubia a week. Recent fecal is fine exotic that did complete blood work, including WBC and neutrophils and azurophils all normal. No signs of gout. She did a x-ray, no sign of fractures. Bones look good and strong. I can see this bothers him. He’s not running around as much in fact very little. Poop has been regular. We were on an anti-inflammatory for a week. It did nothing. I am really mystified and I am so frustrated. It’s the summertime so occasionally I bring him outside. I’m wondering did he get bitten by a bug and it caused a reaction? But labs are all normal. Any ideas?

@Drache613 is probably the best to ask about it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry your dragon is having trouble. Do you happen to have a copy of the blood tests possibly?
It is a possibility there is a bite somewhere that has caused some type of infection.
Your UVB should be fine, the Arcadia UVB lights are great. What is the distance of the UVB from
your dragon?
Are any other hands/feet, etc showing any type of swelling or puffiness that you can tell?

Tracie

 

[Glamamama]

Hello,

Sorry your dragon is having trouble. Do you happen to have a copy of the blood tests possibly? WBC, neutrophils and azuros totally normal so I feel like bite not as likely. Labs attached
It is a possibility there is a bite somewhere that has caused some type of infection.
Your UVB should be fine, the Arcadia UVB lights are great. What is the distance of the UVB from
your dragon?
Are any other hands/feet, etc showing any type of swelling or puffiness that you can tell? Other limbs are normal.

Tracie

Distance is 14” according to guidelines no mesh

Uric acid is normal but I know gout still cannot be totally ruled out from my research. So frustrating this guy gets like 3 large dubia a week but I feel like I need to switch to bsfl
Exotic vet wants to send him for CT scan now v FNA

• Arcadia T5 HO Desert 12% / Zoo Med T5 HO Reptisun 10.0
  • mesh: 9-11″ /23-27cm
  • no mesh: 14-17″ / 35-42cm
• Arcadia T5 HO Dragon 14%
  • mesh: 10-12″ /25-30cm
  • no mesh: 14-18″ / 35-45cm

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Everything in your tank setup looks good. The Arcadia T5 tube bulbs are great.
The uric acid reading or levels are in the normal ranges. Gout can be elusive & not show high readings
for awhile but it seems like there may be something else going on.
A few dubia per week shouldn't contribute to any issues at all. You can certainly change to phoenix worms,
or crickets or another type of worm, instead if you would like.
It is possible that there is just some type of inflammation going on to cause the swelling. Septic arthritis can
sometimes develop for unknown reasons. I have seen it be treated with AZT with success, if it is in fact
a form of septic arthritis.
You could try some black or tart cherry juice extract to help flush out any toxins.
His white blood cell counts look good & he doesn't appear to have any major infection going on.

How is he doing today?

Tracie

 

[Glamamama]

Hello,

Everything in your tank setup looks good. The Arcadia T5 tube bulbs are great.
The uric acid reading or levels are in the normal ranges. Gout can be elusive & not show high readings
for awhile but it seems like there may be something else going on.
A few dubia per week shouldn't contribute to any issues at all. You can certainly change to phoenix worms,
or crickets or another type of worm, instead if you would like.
It is possible that there is just some type of inflammation going on to cause the swelling. Septic arthritis can
sometimes develop for unknown reasons. I have seen it be treated with AZT with success, if it is in fact
a form of septic arthritis.
You could try some black or tart cherry juice extract to help flush out any toxins.
His white blood cell counts look good & he doesn't appear to have any major infection going on.

How is he doing today?

Tracie

It’s definitely bugging him. Additional information as I’m trying to figure this out. My elderly mom was hospitalized earlier this summer….she had extraordinary medical issues that continue to be problematic. I’m back-and-forth helping her and live out of state & work full time. I had Rex out on my shoulder and was on the phone with her a few weeks ago. She was having a very bad day and I was trying to help her and normally I am on the ball and sensitive to his movement. She had me so stressed I missed his movement cue and he jumped and went to the floor before I could catch him and he fell on his back. I was so upset but he seemed ok. X-rays showed no fracture thank goodness. Could this be cellulitis from the fall?

Also it’s summer so I try to get him outside maybe once or twice a week. Normally I never bathe him unless he is dirty. But when I bring him in I always give him a quick warm rinse to make sure there are no bugs or anything. I’m wondering did he get bit by some bug when he was outside and this is cellulitis from that? My understanding is cellulitis is localized and thus would not show up on labs.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh so sorry he had fallen like that. I don't think the fall alone would cause cellulitis on his foot but could be a bite.
Is he putting any weight on the foot?
I'm glad that he doesn't have any fractures from his fall. Did he fall onto a hardwood floor, tile or carpet?
I hope that things get better with your mom. I know stress on both ends is hard to deal with.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[Glamamama]

Hello,

Oh so sorry he had fallen like that. I don't think the fall alone would cause cellulitis on his foot but could be a bite.
Is he putting any weight on the foot?
I'm glad that he doesn't have any fractures from his fall. Did he fall onto a hardwood floor, tile or carpet?
I hope that things get better with your mom. I know stress on both ends is hard to deal with.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

Yup I take care of everybody. It was tile on kitchen floor but again the x-rays are normal. Uric acid normal and all labs normal. I know that’s not 100% indication though. He puts some pressure on it, but I can see his balance is not right because he’s not putting full pressure on it. Eating his greens ok if not as enthusiastically as usual. Basking and moving in and out of basking to ambient to cool area. Added a little serrapeptase onto daily greens and waiting on f/u exotic visit Friday. Thinking it might be worthwhile to try a short course of cephalosporin based antibiotics if it is cellulitis

 

[Glamamama]

Hello,

Oh so sorry he had fallen like that. I don't think the fall alone would cause cellulitis on his foot but could be a bite.
Is he putting any weight on the foot?
I'm glad that he doesn't have any fractures from his fall. Did he fall onto a hardwood floor, tile or carpet?
I hope that things get better with your mom. I know stress on both ends is hard to deal with.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

Yes, I take care of everybody. It was the tile kitchen floor, but the x-rays were totally normal. He is putting some pressure on the foot, but not full pressure because his balance is definitely off. But he climbs because that’s how they are very stoic. I added serrapeptase into daily greens and a little bee pollen. I have the follow up exotic visit on Friday.Think I am going to try short course cephalosporin based antibiotic hoping it’s cellulitis v early gout. Yes he has been outside a lot. It’s summer here and it’s good for his soul for me to bring him out and get fresh air and a little sun while I am watching him very carefully. No good deed goes unpunished unfortunately. Hoping bug bite-edema/cellulitis bc I don’t want to worsen gout with antibiotic

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I hope it isn't gout, either. If you start to see more swelling on the foot after starting the antibiotic then
I would definitely take him off of it. Hopefully the Serrapeptase will help with an swelling caused by the
fall.
Let us know how the vet visit goes on Friday.
They are definitely very stoic! If he isn't having much trouble climbing, then hopefully he will recover
nicely. I bet he loves being outside in the sunshine, it's so good for them!

Tracie

 

[Xjrosie]

My guy Thor had the exact same problem. It was in his left rear and right front (or left front and right rear) legs, can't quite remember as it's been a while and now that he's healthy again the location doesn't seem as important as just knowing it was in two legs.

As far as gout, my vet said that the swelling would converge more around the joints in the legs and feet, not just in the muscular area.

I ended up having to give him a shot every three days for two months. I wish I could remember what he was given, but it helped. However, about a monthlater, it came back in one of his front legs. That one cleared up in about 8-9 days on its own, while I was waiting for his vet appointment.

It's now been 4 months since the last incident with no more problems. He's happily brumating now.

Hopefully someone here recognizes the treatment pattern I had and can tell you the name of the med? Because I noticed back then that, on a different post, someone had to threat their beardie with the same stuff, same pattern, so it must be somewhat of a common treatment.

 

[Glamamama]

My guy Thor had the exact same problem. It was in his left rear and right front (or left front and right rear) legs, can't quite remember as it's been a while and now that he's healthy again the location doesn't seem as important as just knowing it was in two legs.

As far as gout, my vet said that the swelling would converge more around the joints in the legs and feet, not just in the muscular area.

I ended up having to give him a shot every three days for two months. I wish I could remember what he was given, but it helped. However, about a monthlater, it came back in one of his front legs. That one cleared up in about 8-9 days on its own, while I was waiting for his vet appointment.

It's now been 4 months since the last incident with no more problems. He's happily brumating now.

Hopefully someone here recognizes the treatment pattern I had and can tell you the name of the med? Because I noticed back then that, on a different post, someone had to threat their beardie with the same stuff, same pattern, so it must be somewhat of a common treatment.

Curious how old is Thor? Wow, this is very helpful though. I was at the exotic vet yesterday. We started him on Ketofen (NSAID-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain medication) IM intramuscular injection every 48 hours along with the antibiotic Ceftiofur every 7 days (a cephalosporin based injectable antibiotic) My vet said the same thing regarding the gout that you would not see the swelling where we see it and it doesn’t appear to be gout. Definitely an uncomfortable cellulitis like lump though in his thigh.

I have also been conversing with a friend that is part of a reptile rescue in Texas and she also has had a Beardy that experienced this and it resolved with antibiotics. it appears to be slightly better this morning, which is unusual because everything with bearded dragons is so slow with progress, but it’s definitely not worse.

She is going to give me an estimate for a CT scan because obviously you can’t see everything on x-ray hoping meanwhile, we see some significant progress in the next week or two and then maybe I can cancel that $$$$ scan assuming that this was a cellulitis or some type of infection.

Thank you so much for your input. This is helpful. At least I am not the only one.

 

[Xjrosie]

Curious how old is Thor? Wow, this is very helpful though. I was at the exotic vet yesterday. We started him on Ketofen (NSAID-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain medication) IM intramuscular injection every 48 hours along with the antibiotic Ceftiofur every 7 days (a cephalosporin based injectable antibiotic) My vet said the same thing regarding the gout that you would not see the swelling where we see it and it doesn’t appear to be gout. Definitely an uncomfortable cellulitis like lump though in his thigh.

I have also been conversing with a friend that is part of a reptile rescue in Texas and she also has had a Beardy that experienced this and it resolved with antibiotics. it appears to be slightly better this morning, which is unusual because everything with bearded dragons is so slow with progress, but it’s definitely not worse.

She is going to give me an estimate for a CT scan because obviously you can’t see everything on x-ray hoping meanwhile, we see some significant progress in the next week or two and then maybe I can cancel that $$$$ scan assuming that this was a cellulitis or some type of infection.

Thank you so much for your input. This is helpful. At least I am not the only one.

I didn't do any imaging tests, I couldn't afford it.

But it took about a week for the swelling to go down, and I think he was back to normal in about two weeks after treatment started. Thor is 4. If I remember correctly, the vet did a pain injection in the office, and sent me home with what I believe was antibiotics.

I hope your guy feels better soon. I'm sure he'll be okay.

 

[Glamamama]

I didn't do any imaging tests, I couldn't afford it.

But it took about a week for the swelling to go down, and I think he was back to normal in about two weeks after treatment started. Thor is 4. If I remember correctly, the vet did a pain injection in the office, and sent me home with what I believe was antibiotics.

I hope your guy feels better soon. I'm sure he'll be okay.

Omg I just got imaging estimate like $2300 praying that I see a response as well. That is so insane. Thank you again for your input.

 

[Xjrosie]

Omg I just got imaging estimate like $2300 praying that I see a response as well. That is so insane. Thank you again for your input.

Good luck, I hope he heals quickly!