Broken finger? Help...!

[BuddyRankins]

:x Hi guys,

I recently became the very happy owner of a baby Rankins Dragon. Got him at about 2 months old and now he's just about 3 months old. So I've had him for about 1 month.

It's been touch and go with the adjustment period, relocation stress, feedings, etc, but it seems to be getting a little better now.

I've been reading on this forum A LOT in the past month and I'm starting to wrap my head around everything I need to know to keep this little guy healthy.

I'm writing today because I just noticed this evening that something seems to be up with one of the fingers on my little guy's left paw. There doesn't seem to be any trauma, but his finger sort of just hangs there, slanted to the side and slightly elevated in comparisson to his other 4 fingers. He doesn't seem to have any control over it as he does with his other fingers on that paw. It does'nt seem to articulate like the other ones. It's just there. When I touch it, it has a nail and everything, he does'nt seem to squirm or anything, doesn't seem to be hurting him.

If I look at some past picture, it seems perfectly fine, but today, it's like the finger is not responding to the movements of his hand and it looks really weird and out of place.

I'm super carefull to make sure his claws are'nt stuck on anything when I pick him up. I don't understand how this could have happened.

I'm wondering if you guys think it could be broken or if you've ever seen anything like this before.

Do you think it will come back to normal?

It breaks my heart to see it like that...

Here are 4 pictures of him in his vivarium prior to this injury and 4 pictures of him with a close-up of his left paw. Hopefully, you guys could see what I'm describing properly:

Thank you,
Diego

 

[CooperDragon]

He may have caught it along something in the tank. This happens from time to time. It's hard to say if it's broken without taking an x-ray. A vet may be able to immobilize it to help it heal but not guaranteed. I would make access to things like food and basking areas as easy as possible for a while so he doesn't injure it further trying to get around. You may be able to tape it to the adjacent finger but that's likely to annoy him more than help. Injuries with fingers and toes tend to heal and generally don't cause long term issues. Just be on the lookout for swelling, necrotic tissue, or other signs of infection.

 

[BuddyRankins]

Hi CooperDragon,

Thanks for the reply and the advice. I appreciate it.

So, I tried to check if he still has feeling in the finger or if he has pain in it. I gently nudged it thebsmall round part of a tweezer and although he doesn’t seem to mind it when I touch that particular finger, he does feel it when I touch it. I don’t understand this because he doesn’t seem to have mobility in that finger. He can’t extend or bend it voluntarily.

My only question at this point is wether or not he will regain mobility in that finger. Obviously, no one can tell me for sure, but I’m wondering if anyone had a similar experience or if someone has an opinion on this issue.

Thanks,
Diego