Beardie diagnosed with gout

[unknownsoulox]

Hi all!
Last month I had gotten home from work one day and found my beardie was not using his hind leg. For how quickly it came on I immediately thought it was an injury from jumping off his basking spot or something. I had taken him to a reptile vet and had x-rays and blood work done. His blood work had come back with extremely high uric acid levels and he was diagnosed with gout. I immediately ordered his medication but had to wait 5 days for it to be prepped. In that time I had tried giving him tart cherry juice to help break up the urates. He has been on allopurinol for about a month now and has been doing much better. He no longer has swollen limbs and is able to move around like his old self again.
Despite his physical progress I'm getting worried about his eating. His visit to the vet last week proved he has lost a few grams. Before getting sick he would eat at least 1 or 2 bowls of salad everyday and anywhere from 10-20 worms for the week. I've been soaking him in the bath for about 15-20 minutes every day to get him drinking to stay hydrated and have been giving him blended squash in a dropper to get him to take his medicine. I've also been giving him the tart cherry juice on occasion as he's taken quite a liking to it.
I was just curious if anyone else on here had experience with a bearded dragon with gout and if you had any further advice.

 

[CooperDragon]

My first dragon had gout. It sounds like you have a very good handle on it. Keep up with the Allopurinol because that will hopefully keep it in check going forward. If he likes the tart cherry juice keep offering that as well. Plenty of hydration as you mentioned will also help his kidneys out quite a bit. I would keep with a minimal amount of protein in the diet and focus on a variety of veges as it sounds like you've been doing. Unless he's very small a few gram loss isn't a big deal but it's good to keep an eye on that so having a gram kitchen scale is helpful. I use this one and it's very nice https://www.amazon.ca/Jennings-CJ-4000-Compact-Digital-Adapter/dp/B004C3CAB8/ (great for making coffee too) but some of the cheaper kitchen scales will do just as well for monitoring weight.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor guy, gout is brutal! I'm glad you got him treated so quickly though, that is the key
to success with it. Allopurinol is very effective when given so quickly. I agree, definitely
continue the tart cherry juice since he likes it so much.
You could try switching up the types of worms he gets, unless that is all he will eat. Which
ones are you using now for him?
You could try phoenix/calcium worms or silkworms which are both excellent sources of
protein. Alfalfa powder is a good non insect protein source, which is purine free & good for
his kidneys, too. You could also mix in worms with his greens & squash to see if that may
entice him somewhat.
I have had a couple of dragons with gout, also.

Tracie

 

[unknownsoulox]

I've tried giving him his favourites: super worms and horn worms. He doesn't seem to be interested in eating them. I've also been trying to give him his favourite foods and treats that he always used to devour (kale, bell peppers, bananas, apples, etc) just to try to get him to eat something. Other than the blended squash and liquids he hasn't really eaten. Do you think that may be a side effect of the allopurinol? Maybe he's still adjusting to it and hasn't gotten his appetite back?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It may take some time for him to get adjusted to the medication. Are you giving any probiotics
to help out his tummy also?
What is the dose of the allopurinol he is getting & do you know the strength of the solution per
ml?
Try getting a probiotic for him to see if that helps out his appetite a bit.
Keep trying with the greens & vegetation & hopefully he will eventually start eating them soon.

Keep us posted on him. Do you have any pictures of him?

Tracie

 

[unknownsoulox]

[imgThe day after his first vet visit; he wasn't too sure about his medication.

[/img]
[imgShowing off his colors today!

[/img]
[img [/img]

 

[unknownsoulox]

His allopurinol is 50mg/ml and he takes 0.14 every day. He's not currently on any probiotics...didn't know that was a thing for them! Where would I be able to find them and is there anything specific I should look for when looking into it?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, well he sure is bearding, that is a great shot of him! Did he not like his meds though?
It looked like he was pouting. LOL
What is his weight? At 50mg/ml that is pretty good. I just wanted to check to see what
the vet started him at, dose wise 20mg/kg or something higher, etc.
Did he eat anything today?
The probiotics are helpful. You can try non dairy soy yogurt either plain or flavored, or a
non dairy acidophiliz powder that you could find at the health food store, too.

Tracie

 

[unknownsoulox]

That was the day after his vet visit; I think the stress of his adventure and being poked at made him a little unsure of them. He doesn’t mind them now. I’m not sure of his weight; he outgrew the scale we had long ago. I’ve been searching for a cheap kitchen scale to start keeping track of his weight.
He didn’t eat any veggies today. Just went for blended squash (I think I may have to start cutting that down to encourage him to eat on his own).
I will give the yogurt a try. It’s starting to seem like his grocery bill is getting a little extravagant LOL I wonder if he has any special requests for the flavour.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ah ok, the vet visit day! I guess he was probably fed up then. LOL Poor guy.
The dose is probably decent, just seeing his size. It is probably anywhere from 10-20
mg/kg which is acceptable.
Blended squash is a great start then, very healthy for him. He wll just need to learn
to eat his veggies more. It sounds like you will have to start a grocery list just for him!
A kitchen scale will work just fine for weighing him. Let us know how he is doing.


Tracie

 

[unknownsoulox]

It’s been quite the eventful week for us! Last weekend we went back to vet for a check up and to get a new blood test done. We weren’t able to get the test done (he was too squirmy and and a little angry with the needles). I got a scale and his weight was 406 grams on Saturday. He was so energetic and seemed to be back to his old self finally! He had seemed to be doing much better until yesterday. He was a little pouty and looked really dull for the most part. I weighed him yesterday and he was down to about 400 grams.
When I had gotten home from work today, I noticed his arm was pretty swollen and he wasn’t putting any weight on it. He had a pitch black beard but the rest of his body was an amazingly bright yellow. I got him to take his medicine after about an hour of him being stubborn. Since then, he’s been laying on his blanket with his swollen arm tucked at his side.
Looks like we’re going to make the trip to his vet again this weekend to try for the blood test again..

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh dear, what a naughty dragon he was at the vets! I guess he just didn't feel like getting a
needle poked in him, but you can't blame him. Good luck getting a blood draw from him.
Is his arm still swollen? I wonder if it swelled up because he was so active or just his gout
flaring up some?
It is possible that he is having some pain with the swelling too which could explain the black
beard, too. I'm glad you were able to get the meds into him though! I hope he rests well &
sleeps through the night.
Keep us posted on him. I hope he's feeling better soon.

Tracie