Broken Toes.

[reillyrebekahann]

I accidentally closed Lance's toes in his cage door . I feel so awful that I have actually cried about it.
He has always had bent toes, but now his middle finger has an extra dip in it.
He won't let you touch them or he'll try to bite. I can pick him up without him getting upset with me, but when I tried to take a picture of his toes he tried to bite me again. So I can't get any pictures.
He is obviously in some pain. Is there anything I can do?
I read that they will turn black and fall off and that this is apparently "no big deal" :?:
..how are his toes falling off not a big deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :!: :!:

 

[reillyrebekahann]

He seems to be okay with letting you mess with him but if he sees you even looking at his toes he will try to bite you-seriously.
I have noticed that there the new dip is the scales look a little funny. One of them is a little darker then the rest.

 

[randommonks]

I think what people may mean when they say "no big deal" is that your bearded dragon probably won't even notice that it's gone, except that he's in less pain. I have no experience in this, fortunately and unfortunately, but hopefully a bump will bring this to someone's attention who can advise further!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Usually, when this happens, the area just becomes necrotic & will dry up & literally just fall off. It doesn't hurt them most of the time. Do the toes look like they are infected, or just a little darker in color? You are positive they are broken, correct?
Is he eating pretty well right now?


Tracie

 

[reillyrebekahann]

He finally broke out of his "I'm a big boy I'm going to bite everything" shell because I socialized him more (previous owner didn't have time for him) and now that the toe thing happened he fell right back into this behavior. I feel like all of my work was ruined by my own hand }:

He eats well, he is a little less active and he adopted his old behavior.
I am not positive that it is broken, it just has an extra bend in it from where the door caught it. It has a very slight different color but nothing I am worrying about because I think it might just be bruised. The bend is more alarming to me then the coloring. It is hard to tell because he has always had bent toes. They don't look infected, they look like regular cute little crooked toes. If they were going to fall off wouldn't there have been anything drastically noticeable by now since it happened about two days ago?
And if they aren't going to fall off, how do they repair?

 

[pogvitt]

I've heard that silkworms have some anti-inflammatory (pain-killing) properties - maybe you could try offering some?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The toes may heal back, but will be crooked if they do not become necrotic. How is the color looking so far?
How is he doing overall?
Sometimes it takes a little while for the toes to start turning dark & then becoming necrotic.

Tracie

 

[reillyrebekahann]

Two bends in two of his toes, so they look pretty wavy. No discoloration.
He is still eating well.
But he stopped glass dancing though...and that's what he was doing when they got caught in the door. And that sucks, because he was a fun one to watch, he'd jump all over the place. So I guess that means his activity went down.
Does that mean he is in pain or that he thinks glass dancing causes pain?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, I hope that his toes are not hurting him either but if he has stopped glass dancing, they may be a little sore. If they are not discolored now, then, perhaps they will be alright & are not broken. Is he putting any weight on them at all right now?
If he is still eating well, then, he should be fine. I would just watch for signs of pain or distress such as a loss of appetite, darker colors & a darker beard or tail tip.

Tracie

 

[reillyrebekahann]

The tip of the tail being dark is a sign of stress? The tip of both my girl and boy's tails are always darker then the rest of their body? Like my girl will be very light, but with a grey colored tip. I thought it was normal?

Hm. As for the weight on his toes, I have not been able to see this because he has been basking a lot more lately.

 

[reillyrebekahann]

Hmmm, well I just saw him make a suicide jump off of the basking rocks into the glass which is pretty normal for him.
So he must be feeling a bit better. Still is touchy about my touching his toes though.

 

[reillyrebekahann]

OH yeah! My boy's back.

He even let me touch the toesies today.

 

[randommonks]

OH yeah! My boy's back.
He even let me touch the toesies today.

Yay!!! They're so strong and resilient! Congrats!

 

[reillyrebekahann]

Thank you!!!
But you can see how horribly bent they are even in that picture!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great he is feeling better now. I do see his fingers, how long have they been like that?
Was he born that way? That is usually a calcium deficiency that they are born with.
Did he eat today, as well?

Tracie