Broken back leg?

[nikipop]

How old is your dragon? 3 1/2 mo (best guess)
How long have you had your dragon? 6 weeks
How long is your dragon? 10in (appx)
What is the sex of your dragon? female??
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 40L
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Shelf liner
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? Reptisun 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? 6 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 6"
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb? Yes 100w exoterra
What are the basking temps? 107-109
What is the cool side temp? 80
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Acurite with probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? Hottest spot on branch
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Crickets, mustard, collard, dandelion, turnip greens, butternut squash.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? 2x a day 16-20 each time. 8:30 - 7:30
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? Yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Yes flukers calcium w/ d3 and reptivite w/ d3 5 days calcium 1 day vitamin
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Yes 1 time a day.
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Yes every 1 to 2 days
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? no
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?no

So this morning I woke up and while sitting next to the terrariam Cross came down from her log to greet me and she got up on her rock which she has been doing recently and she was shift on her rock and slid off the side! I have never seen her do this so I got up and checked her and her back right leg was straight out like 'sexy leg' position when she climbed back up on the rock she didn't use the leg either. So of course I freaked out and ran a bath and put her in it straight away she pooped. it was a 'normal' big poop and i pulled her out changed the water and put her back in. She kept trying to use her back right leg but could only make it twitch a bit. not fully move it. Yesterday I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and this morning when my son was feeding her crickets I didn't notice anything weird and I was sitting right next to the terrarium. So could she have broke it in the viv? she has a winding up log that goes almost to the top... also could my son have broke it getting her in and out of the feeding bin? could it be paralyzed due to impaction even though she went poo this morning an hour after she ate? I gave her mixed baby food turkey and squash with a drop of olive oil just in case and since it's christmas and she doesn't seem to be in pain a vet trip today is just not in the cards...any advice til we can get to a vet?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It is possible that she just strained or bruised her leg. How far of a fall was it for her?
I wouldn't think that she would have broken her leg from the fall in her tank. If your son is handling her properly, her leg should not have been broken in that manner, either.
Do you have any pictures of this, of her leg? Does it look swollen or appear crooked?

Tracie

 

[nikipop]

Thank you for the quick reply. I do have a pick and to me it doesn't look swollen seems to be trying to use it but it doesnt work right. Like it drags and twitches instead of pulling forward when she is trying to walk. It doesn't seem to be hurting her though. It is her right rear leg.

 

[nikipop]

As I reread all of this I wanted to clarify, when she slid off the Slid off the side of her rock it was because her leg wasn't working right. I never saw her fall or get injured. I am completely baffled as to what might have happened and worried like crazy.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is very odd. Are there any crevices in the tank that she could have gotten her leg caught in & yanked her leg out trying to free herself?
Are all of her toes in tact, nails, etc?
The other leg is working fine?
If this continues, you may want to try & get an x-ray done on the leg to make sure it is not broken or fractured somehow.

Tracie

 

[nikipop]

I don't think there was anything in there that she could have gotten stuck in but I removed everything I thought might be harmful to her current leg situation so I can't look over it now in detail all her nails and goes look fine. She has just a little more movement today in her leg when she walks. It looks like her walk on her back legs is a severe stutter if that makes any sense. Left leg, left leg, right leg moves a little, left leg again... I called around to vets and the ones that see exotics are not in or closed today. I fed baby food turkey again mixed with squash and some mustard greens and she had a runny poo this morning. When can I be 100% sure it is not due to impaction? (overly paranoid I know)
Forgot to add the pic of the viv

 

[Esther19]

If she makes another nice pooper for you today, I think you can safely rule out impaction.

 

[nikipop]

Another question I didn't think to ask. If it is broken or fractured is there anything that can be done for her? What is the protocol?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is she doing tonight?
They can set her leg or make up a little cast out of gauze, etc for her if it is broken.
Does it appear to be swelling any yet & is she still not using it now?

Tracie

 

[nikipop]

Hey Tracie,
No change, no swelling so far and we are in the vets office waiting right now... Will keep you posted.

 

[nikipop]

So te vet took xrays and said it is dislocated she said to remove everything from the tank for the next 2- 4 weeks to allow to heal. She said that there is nothing more she can do than that she also recommended a extra vitamin d for the next 10 days. We are going to get a fecal done as well she aren't us home with a little sample collector.
So far she looks miserable in her cage with nothing to climb on does all of this info sound right to u?

 

[Esther19]

I do know that it is correct to remove the climbing things. Someone else that knows about the Vit D will hopefully comment. Glad to hear there was no break.

 

[nikipop]

So I went ahead and removed everything from the viv and boy does she look lost in there. My concern is that without the basking rock in there her basking area is only getting up to 100 degrees. Is this going to be ok? Also since I wasn't very specific before about the vitamin d I will explain what she said. She told me I could get som vitamin d capsules (like cod liver oil or something) and give her a drop or 2 a day on her nose for 10 days but only 10 days. She said she could sell me something but I said I would get it on my own. So my question is do you have any input on the best method for this? Do you recommend this as well? And also it is a dislocation at the hip. The there are no breaks it is just a seperation. She said it was caused by trauma of some kind but had no more specif than thatI forgot to ask for pics of the xrays but I think I might when I take her fecal back in. The doctor also said she is a little young for sexing but is leaning towards a girl, after that the vet tech who did the xray said she was leaning towards a boy. So we still don't know but my son decided since more are leaning towards a girl he is changing her name to Zelda. Also she weighs 34 oz. And is 10 1/4 in long.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The vitamin D can become toxic if given in excess. What concentration did you find?
You can use it, but be very careful not to overdo it. A 10 day regime though, should be fine right now, along with calcium also.
It sounds like she could use a boost with the separation at the hip. So the leg is not broken then?
Be sure the UVB light is 6-8 inches from her to ensure she gets good exposure.
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie