Feet & Leg Issues (MBD?)

[skyfire]

We've had this little dragon for 2 months now in 36"x18"x18" terrarium. He has been eating about 15 crickets a day all dusted with Rep-Cal calcium with D3. About 2 weeks ago we noticed his feet beginning to swell. After a few more days his little toes became all but useless (soft, limp) and his right rear ankle really became swollen. His legs will shake (tremors) when he's trying to walk, but not just hanging out. He obviously hasn't been his normal active self, and its clear the poor thing has been suffering since this became apparent.

We have switched his UVB light from a coil bulb to a 24W Reptisun 10.0 T5 (on top of the screen lid) about 6 days ago. Hopefully issues with too little UVB are over. We have a 90W halogen PAR-38 bulb for a basking light. Max temp right under the bulb reads 115 deg. We only have the one Exo-Terra basking rock in with him for now since he was having trouble walking let along climbing anything. Most of the time he's hanging out where it's closer to 100 deg. Nighttime temps are in the mid-70's (no lights - have a CHE).

Any advice or suggestions on how to help the little guy heal up now and what his eventual best case recovery might be? His appetite seems to have improved - up over 20 crickets each of the last two days. Was this likely due solely to not enough or bad UVB or were we giving too much calcium dusting? We have started to only dust the 10-15 crickets he eats in the morning. If this is due to too much calcium would it be wise to forgo the calcium all together for a time?

Thanks.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Oh my his feet are swollen! You might want to take him to the vet and see if it could be gout.

 

[CooperDragon]

I second that. It looks like his joints are swollen. Could be an infection or gout. I would definitely bring him to an experienced reptile vet if you can.

 

[AHBD]

I agree with the other 2 posters. Poor little dragon,and very cute ! How do you hydrate him ? Articular gout can be caused by dehydration, and he does look dehydrated. Give him a shallow 10 minute bath every day, and drip water on his snout for a drink. You can drip water on him in the tank as well [ on his nose ] as long as you don't get too much water in the tank that way. He may not have been able to assimilate his calcium too well at the same time.

 

[skyfire]

Thanks for the help.

I'll look for a good reptile vet and see how soon I can get him in. We've been giving 10-15 min baths every 2-3 days, but I'll definitely change that to every day. He used to drink water off his nose but hasn't been doing so lately. Now he just sits there and lets it run off. I've seen him drink from his bath water and water dish a couple times, but it's been about a month now. I tried feeding some squash baby food a couple days ago to see if he'd take that. I thought it'd help hydrate in addition to the vegetables for his diet. He took two bites and that was it - no more mashed squash. I'll try again tomorrow morning to see if he'll try it again.

Thanks again.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is too bad, it is going to be gout, but hopefully just due to improper absorption of calcium. Using the compact/coil light, he wasn't able to absorb his calcium & calcium deposited & built up in areas. It could also be partially dehydration, but it is likely from supplementation/UVB lighting issues.
This type can usually be remedied more easily.
Maybe get some black cherry juice to start giving daily, along with extra oral fluids.
For now, let his system clear out so cease giving the calcium for a week or two so his system can start flushing out some.
Does he weigh 100 grams yet?

Tracie

 

[skyfire]

Tracie,

Thanks for your reply. I've been reading a lot of your posts tonight as I've been searching through through the forum for information on gout.

This little guy is pretty small: 7-5/8" inches long (nose to tail) and weighs 19 grams.

Thanks again.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He is small! He is too small to have a blood draw though.
How is he doing tonight?
Please let us know how he is coming along. Were you able to find any black cherry juice?

Tracie

 

[skyfire]

I've got some black cherry juice concentrate now. Had a pretty good snow storm come through and all but shut the town down for a day but we're back to normal now. We were able to get him to drink a bit today, which is good. I'm interested to see how the cherry juice works out, even just to get him to drink it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great, I am glad you were able to get some black cherry juice! Did he like it?
That will be interesting to see if it helps out for him. I hope that it can be fixed with supplemental & hydration instead of gout medication.
How is he doing today?
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie