Gout - diet changes & any other changes needed?

[afaye418]

My dragon Fireball just had to have surgery to remove a toe & the biopsy results came back that it was gout. Please help & let me know what I can do from now on in regard to his diet or any other changes needed? He is almost 4 years old.

The vet put him on 30 days of liquid allopurinol, said to limit the insect proteins & to make sure he gets plenty of water. He typically eats dubia roaches. What should I be feeding him now.

What concerns if any should I have in regard to his enclosure?

 

[KarrieRee]

My dragon Fireball just had to have surgery to remove a toe & the biopsy results came back that it was gout. Please help & let me know what I can do from now on in regard to his diet or any other changes needed? He is almost 4 years old.

The vet put him on 30 days of liquid allopurinol, said to limit the insect proteins & to make sure he gets plenty of water. He typically eats dubia roaches. What should I be feeding him now.

What concerns if any should I have in regard to his enclosure?

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I would get him on silkworms-if you need websites for those please ask -- its too bad they had to amputate the toe- allopurinol is good to keep swelling and uric acid levels down - make sure you using good UVB - please no coils this will not help w/ health issues - if you need more help w/ that please ask -- good surface basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer - and I would feed him all the salads he will eat -

 

[bayoupig5]

Seriously increase the greens and veggies. You say he typically eats dubia. Dubia is not necessarily a bad protein source, but gout is usually due to an imbalance of protein to greens. Silkworms are great, really great. Again, too much silkworms will also be too much protein, and you would still have gout issues.

If you have trouble feeding greens on the regular I suggest puree veggies. I had to do this for years for a particularly resistant veggie eater (I have plenty of tips if needed). This dragon did no develop gout despite her refusal to eat salad.

Bugs or proteins should be fed no more than 3 days per week. Rest of the time the dragon should be eating salad to keep balance in check.

Also ensure the dragon is plenty hydrated to move those uric crystals out of the body and decrease the work load on the kidneys.