Gout? my lizards foot is swollen and his toes are messed up!

[bruh]

ive been looking around and ive found one guy in my city. i called about getting him in, my only problem is money, im a student, so money is tight. the visit is 60$ which is fine, but after that i dont know. i know its morbid and it makes me feel terrible to say it, but my real question is if he will be fine after he goes in a gets fixed. i dont want to pay and then have him die right after so ive been trying to find other places with a possibly cheaper price

 

[vickson420]

Ok well first I hate to say it but 60$ for a visit is fairly reasonable if he is a herp vet.Now the answer to your question if you get him in the vet ASAP and you do what is needed then yes he will survive and be fine but regardless of this you need to remember that he is in AMAZING amounts of pain right now so regardless of his survival rate he needs help,ok?
Also if you dont have the funds then you can surrender him to the vet and they will treat him then adopt him out.He may even work out a payment plan with you.If you wait much longer the infection will become systemic and recovery will be much harder and much more painful for him.

 

[bruh]

yea i know 60 is a good price, and i hate that hes in pain if necessary i will adopt him out, id rather hed be ok then let him be in pain. thanks for the help

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Please don't leave crickets in with him at night as they will bite him & will chew on his feet & toes.
Can you post another picture of his swollen foot & toes?
How is the humidity levels coming along? Did you change substrate to help allow the moisture to increase accordingly?
I really think that if he has gout, he needs to get a blood test to determine if it is gout.
Unfortunately, if he does have gout, he will need to stay on meds for the rest of his life to help his body fight off recurrences of gouty arthritis. The swelling is not going to go down on its own if it's gout or a secondary infection from gout or something else.
Is the foot hard?
Is he eating?
I understand finances, so you will have to make some hard decisions on money I realize. However, he simply wont make it without some vet care right now. Please let us know how he is doing. Try to keep him hydrated until you can get him to the vets.
Perhaps you can ask about a program or a non interest credit card through veterinary services called Care Card. It is basically a payment plan they allow you to have, interest free.
As suggested, maybe you could look around for a reptile rescue that could take him in. Sometimes, herpetological societies will possibly be able to refer you to a rescuer.


Tracie

 

[bruh]

i touched his foot lightly and it didnt feel hard, but i didnt press to hard cause i didnt want to hurt him. i havnt had the chance to change the substrate this week, ive had alot of school stuff going on, but i have been misting a lot more. i will post a few more pics in a moment

 

[bruh]

here is a link to the pics. i only have my camera phone at the moment, so im sorry for the bad quality/size
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34047584@N02/3186101373/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34047584@N02/3186101367/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34047584@N02/3186101363/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34047584@N02/3186101357/

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Good you have been misting him more. Do try to change out the substrate when you can so it will retain the humidity levels more.
That toe & foot is looking pretty bad. So it is not really hard that you can tell?
I hope that you can get him taken care of. Please keep us posted on him.

Tracie

 

[bruh]

what should i use as substrate? one of my friends suggested newspaper, but i dont know about that, doesnt seem like it would healthy. and no, the foot doesnt feel hard

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ecoearth, peatmoss, or a mixture of sand & soil pretty good for retaining moisture. Remember, you don't want it "sopping" wet, but damp to where it will increase the humidity. Newspaper would work also. Just have part of the bottom of the tank with the substrate then the waterdish.
Good luck.

Tracie