Bearded dragon Swollen toe/walking weird

[albeardie]

Hello! My bearded dragon has had a swollen toe for about a month now she has been seen by the vet and is currently on daily pain killers and antibiotics. At the vet they ruled out MBD and said her bones are perfect except for the one swollen toe. She is walking funny kind of dragging herself and twitching. She hardly will move or try to walk but she has a great appetite and eats all her bugs and some salad. Any ideas? It seems to have gotten worse since she started taking medication. She has another vet appointment in early November.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hello! My bearded dragon has had a swollen toe for about a month now she has been seen by the vet and is currently on daily pain killers and antibiotics. At the vet they ruled out MBD and said her bones are perfect except for the one swollen toe. She is walking funny kind of dragging herself and twitching. She hardly will move or try to walk but she has a great appetite and eats all her bugs and some salad. Any ideas? It seems to have gotten worse since she started taking medication. She has another vet appointment in early November.

Please post a pic of the toe---------- it could be shedding but the funny walking and dragging herself is not good --- what kind of UVB are you using? Coil or a long tube fixture-- we need to rule this out for cause

 

[albeardie]

Please post a pic of the toe---------- it could be shedding but the funny walking and dragging herself is not good --- what kind of UVB are you using? Coil or a long tube fixture-- we need to rule this out for cause

I’m using a long tube uvb light and it’s a T5. it’s on top of her tank. The vet did X-rays and ruled out MBD. She has a 100 watt heat bulb also on top of her tank and the basking spot stays around 95 degrees. She has water and salad available 24/7 and has not lost any weight since her toe was swelling. I will try to attatch a picture of her toe. Thank you for responding!

 

[KarrieRee]

I’m using a long tube uvb light and it’s a T5. it’s on top of her tank. The vet did X-rays and ruled out MBD. She has a 100 watt heat bulb also on top of her tank and the basking spot stays around 95 degrees. She has water and salad available 24/7 and has not lost any weight since her toe was swelling. I will try to attatch a picture of her toe. Thank you for responding!

Brand is a Zoo Med?

 

[albeardie]

Toe picture attached

 

[albeardie]

Brand is a Zoo Med?

Her uvb light is Arcadia and her heat is exo terra

 

[KarrieRee]

Toe picture attached

Does she have a hammock in the tank if so is it a green mesh one?

 

[albeardie]

Does she have a hammock in the tank if so is it a green mesh

 

[albeardie]

The only hammocks she had/has is handmade ones from Etsy that are fabric

 

[KarrieRee]

The only hammocks she had/has is handmade ones from Etsy that are fabric

What size is the UVB fixture
Her uvb light is Arcadia
And you said its on top of the screen? What kind of screen are you using? Fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type

 

[KarrieRee]

So we ruled out the hammock for cause of the toe swelling--- now for the placement of the UVB -- what about insects ? How big are the insects your feeding- they can cause impaction causing the back legs not to work--- you dont want the insects bigger than the space between the eyes-------- has she been pooping?

 

[Jessss]

Hi! Probably isn’t the cause but wanted to just say incase
Is it possible her toe was bitten by an insect or bug? A couple of years ago my old boy Bruce started having issues with his toe swelling, eventually it got to the extent that he had to have it removed.He couldn’t walk on his foot anymore as it was so swollen and painful,he’d been on antibiotics and painkillers and I was bathing his toe but nothing helped.We worried it was a growth /tumour but turned out to be the mouth/pincers of a super worm that was stuck inside his toe! My Nan had been feeding Bruce while I was away for the weekend and I came home to a few stragglers in his tank but removed them and thought nothing more of it until my vet dissected his amputated toe and found the little pincers from a worm that had bitten his toe and got stuck inside his toe
Hope your girl is doing ok and it starts to get better soon,again it’s probably not the cause but worth mentioning!
Before this my vet did try to get a tissue sample from his toe to test for cancer or any thing else but wasnt able to get a good sample.Maybe ask your vet about this?

 

[albeardie]

What size is the UVB fixture
Her uvb light is Arcadia
And you said its on top of the screen? What kind of screen are you using? Fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type

Her uvb light is a 22 inch it covers about half her tank. Yes it is above her tank and it’s a medium to wide mesh top.

 

[albeardie]

So we ruled out the hammock for cause of the toe swelling--- now for the placement of the UVB -- what about insects ? How big are the insects your feeding- they can cause impaction causing the back legs not to work--- you dont want the insects bigger than the space between the eyes-------- has she been pooping?

She eats dubias and vet ruled out impaction she poops regularly (about once/twice weekly) she also eats very occasional wax worms and super worms.

 

[KarrieRee]

Her uvb light is a 22 inch it covers about half her tank. Yes it is above her tank and it’s a medium to wide mesh top.

Ok make sure you have a piece of basking decor directly under it 8-10 inches -- so your feeding what for insects? Has she pooped? Never mind ---- so w/ the good UVB and shes pooping that rules out cause for the legs not working-- are you using reptile carpet in the tank?