Gout & Allopurinol

[Brittanykluss]

My vet told me my guy has gout. He did no real testing. He just diagnosed from seeing him. He said there was no real cute either. So I got no medications. I would like to feel like I'm doing SOMETHING to help him. How do you guys get your Allopurinol for your beardies and how do you administer it? I have his weight in grams. Any help would be very appreciated please

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Do you have any pictures of him? How old is he?
I think a blood test would be helpful, before starting allopurinol though.
I can help with compounding & dosing, etc for your dragon if you need.
You can order allopurinol online without a prescription, too. It is an oral medication, no injections.

Can you review your tank setup with us, such as the lighting, supplementation, temperatures, etc?
What type of foods do you feed?

Tracie

 

[Brittanykluss]

He has a reptisun 24" 10.0. Regular heat bulb. Cool side 80 degrees hot side 98-100 degrees. He has always been a picky eater with his greens. Normally it was parsnips and some sort of mustard/collard greens. Lately he was only eating super worms. I've cut them out along with the parsnips. His salad as of today and now on consists of dandelion greens, watermelon, basil, acorn squash.

 

[Brittanykluss]

Sorry missed a question. He is almost 2.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb mounted directly overhead or on the back wall?
Where is the swelling, it is a little hard to tell from the picture. Is he eating normally?
How many feeders, weekly does he normally get? Since he is an adult, he can get by with 40-50 feeders per week. What is his weight?

Tracie

 

[Brittanykluss]

It's mounted inside, on back wall very top. He can get like 2 inches away from it. It's his back left limb. His appetite is diminishing. He was getting fed super worms because he would eat those. Ill try to get a better picture of his swollen leg

 

[Brittanykluss]

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It is a bit swollen.
How is he doing tonight?

For the UVB tube, can you try to mount the UVB light overhead so that the light emits directly downward?
When mounting on the back wall, the UVB will refract outwards but not so much onto him. Maybe he isn't getting quite enough UVB to properly absorb his calcium.
They didn't do x-rays did they?
You can try bee pollen to help his appetite a little bit.
Is this the only area he has that is swollen?
How often are you giving calcium?

Tracie

 

[Brittanykluss]

Now that he ears Phoenix worms mostly I haven't been using calcium. He got X-rays. Nothing wrong with his bones. That's the only swollen part. I feel like it happened overnight truly.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing today, any better appetite?
I can send a link for you if you need for allopurinol if you wanted to give it a try.
Are you going to get some black cherry juice also to help in case it is pseudo gout or full blown gout?

He didn't feel that it was an infection of any kind?

Try to get the Reptisun 10 mounted directly over head though to help with UVB exposure more directed onto him.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Brittanykluss]

Appetite much better. I am going to get serrapeptese and black cherry juice. I'm going to wait on the allupirnol. I am going to order a. Reflector for the UVB and mount it differently soon. The vet kinda generalized his swollen leg saying he's seen other beardies with this and the antibiotics never helped so he didn't give me any

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am glad his appetite is doing better!
The allopurinol is not an antibiotic though. It is an agent specifically designed just for gout/breaking up uric acid. It is for long term use. The key is diagnosing early & treating early.
Starting on Black cherry juice & serrapeptase is a great start though.
Very nice, a reflector for your UVB & mounting it differently can have a drastic effect on him.
Perhaps he is having trouble absorbing everything right now.

Let us know if you need more help with the lighting & how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Brittanykluss]

Would I be able to get him this reflector and attach it to the fixture/bulb I have now? I can mount the light differently of course.

This is my fixture.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

A reflector would be great, as long as it is mounted overhead. It will increase the UVB output.
How is your dragon doing today?

Tracie