Crooked back toes? Cause & concern?

[RioReptiles]

One of the babies I rescued last month has one toe on each back foot that is totally crooked. When I got her she was very undernourished and flat as a pancake but is now gaining 10+ grams per week and is very solid. Is it from possible deficiency or could it be hereditary? Sorry if I can't spell. I am giving her regular amounts of supplements but should she get more? Anything else I can be doing if this is the case?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How crooked are we talking? Can you post a picture of them? If there are no other deviations, then it is possible that she was born with the crooked toes. That can happen if the mother was low in calcium at the time that she laid eggs.
There is really nothing that you can do if she was born with them that way.
If she has good UVB lighting & is getting adequate calcium supplementation, then she should not have any other calcium problems.

Tracie

 

[RioReptiles]

Now that I think about it, they are exactly the same on both sides so hopefully its developemental. I have been sprinkling calcium on her veggies and giving one or two drops of liquid per day and she is under a 160w Solar Glo at 18". Her urates are soft so I hope I'm not over doing it.

Heres another pic the middle one is the crooked one but the longer one looks weird here. She was relaxed with it hanging.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, you are certainly doing everything that you can. The Solar Glo is a pretty good light. The liquid calcium, you can dose it according to her weight, if you want. Let me know if you want to dose it to her weight let me know, & I will help you with it.
How often do you give the liquid calcium, daily? The powdered calcium, do you give daily on that too?
It is possible that it could straighten up a little bit, but I don't know if it will completely go back to normal.
It doesn't look as though it is affecting her though, so no worries. You can keep it from getting worse though & you are doing that now.


Tracie

 

[RioReptiles]

That would be great! I would really like to dose her better or at least accurately. I try to give her a drop or two of the liquid at least 3 or 4 days a week and she gets a small amount sprinkled on her veggies and I dust the crickets and roaches once a day. I'm more worried about giving too much so it would be nice to figure out where I am on the amounts. I could be way under, I don't know. I'm using the Zoo Med calcium carbonate, phosphorus free without D3, I like it better than the Rep Cal but I do have both and BoneAid liquid. She will eat the powder right off the tile if I sprinkle it in her vivarium too. If you could let me know how I should be dosing for her weight, at least I'll know I'm giving the correct amounts. I noticed her toes when she sits flat and is relaxed, her weight is more on the heels and the toes point upward a bit. She has good feeling in them so if its a deficiency I'm hoping it won't progress any more. Thanks so much!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

All I need is her weight, & I will let you know how much of it she needs daily to help her out. Do you plan on keeping her on it, or just for awhile then switch back to the powder?
How is she doing today?
Right now, once we get the dosage for the liquid calcium figured, that is all she needs daily. So, I wouldn't use the liquid & the powder at the same time. That would give her too much calcium.
The liquid is stronger & is absorbed more efficiently most of the time than the powder is.

Tracie

 

[RioReptiles]

Sorry it took me so long to get back, I got a new high speed router for my son's gaming addiction and was offline trying to get it set up. Grrr! Darn hi tech complicated crap.

She is doing great and seems very healthy, I can hardly keep up with her weight. On 12/1 she weighed 66 gms and last night she weighed 74.5 gms. She has gained 40 gms in 28 days. I could tell when I got her that her growth had been stunted. Her eyes poked out of her head and her head looked too big on her body. She had zero fat stores and the bones were sticking out at the base of her tail and her belly flattened out so much it was unbvelievable. The toes really don't seem to affect her and are not getting any worse and she has good feeling in them. I just worry that she should be on a better calcium regimen due to her previous lack of care and if we give her the liquid for the next few months she'll have a better start. When she gets to sub-adulthood I'll switch her back to the powder.

If you could help me with a recommended dosage I will feel better about not under or over dosing. Thanks so much! Cheryl