Handicapped Beardie

[Vamboothe]

Hello. So my Beardie's name is Luap. He is about 3.5 Years old. About a month ago I had noticed that he was dragging his back leg some. I had also noticed the day before that he was sleeping with it hanging off the side of his hammock. So initially I had thought it had fallen asleep on him..After thus did not get better by the next mornin I took him in to our Exotic Vet. They ran blood tests and frcal tests. Came back that he had some pinworms as well as a fatty liver..I should say he is considered obese.
He has never been one for his greens. He loves his hornworms though..
Anyways they thought perhaps he had a pinched nerve. They put him on some meds for his liver, his pinworns also. And gave him some liquid pain meds. With the instructions to put him on a diet as well..
I just did a follow-up end of last week. Turns out he has a few blown disks in his lower back as well as a dislocated tail..We don't know how this happened. Noone to my knowledge has ever picked him up by his tail. I am very strict with the handling of my animals. The vet says that surgery is not an option right now. I am guessing because of the fat content in his liver..
Meanwhile, I am watching him like a hawk try to maneuver himself around in his tank and it is breaking my heart.
I am wanting to know if anyone knows of any type of apparatus I can get for him that would help him move his little legs any better? It breaks my heart to see him struggle like this. I have a bamboo like hammock in his Viv and for the most part he lays up top basking but when he tries to come down off it he is struggling..I can tell his upperbody is getting stronger with him trying to get around. But I am also worried that what if he were to fall off the hammock at any point and I wasn't there to help him..I don't know if I should remove the hammock as that is where he basks and sleeps and honestly spends most of his day..although since this has been happening I just have him out with me alot. Carrying him around, loving on him..He means everything to me and this really breaks my heart seeing him this way..I really need some guidance here as to how I can help him be more comfortable as the vet said..
His words to me were just make him as comfortable as possible..I am not knowing how to do this..he needs a way to bask, but, I need him to be safe from any type of fall. His struggling like this is breaking my heart. He goes back in 7 weeks with the hopes that he will ha e lost some weight which I don't see a problem there as he won't eat his greens and I am having to feed him herbivore care as well as carnivore care...
He does not have MBD yet the vet is reluctant to say that he may have been born this way with the spine and tail problem..I am one worried sick mama and would appreciate any advice as to how I can make him more comfortable..
Thanks for taking the time to read this..

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is a very interesting name, Luap! Feel free to post pictures for us also, as well as the tank setup just so we
can see his phycial condition & his living environment.
That is a rough injury with involving his back & tail area. Which meds did the vet give him for pain, metacam or
something else?
What medication did the vet give for his liver?
I would try to lower his basking & UVB Lights to an acceptable distance so you can get his basking area lowered
to make it more comfortable & safe for him.
Let's review your UVB lighting, supplementation, feeding, etc just so we can be sure it is all correct & if there is
anything else we can add or change around for him.
The Herbivore & Carnivore both are commonly used so you can continue to get that into him for nutritional support.
They do tend to become picky with eating, especially their greens. What ones have you tried?

Looking forward to seeing pictures!

Tracie

 

[Vamboothe]

Good mornin, so our Vet put Luap on Meloxicam for the first 4 weeks. I gave it every day for 3 days then we went to every other day. This visit last week he told me to atop with the pain meds as he felt that was to harsh on his liver. He also gave some Lactulose Solution for his liver. It is my understanding this is also a type of laxative to help him go as he seems to have difficulty going with all of his back and tail problems. I give him the Lactulose once a day in the morning. The pictures if him laying on his substrate are from yesterday. Prior to this last vet visit you would never see him laying down hiding like that.

 

[Vamboothe]

This photo is this mornin. Normally he would sleep full body on top of the hammock. But as you can see his bottom half hanging off like this. I assume he is laying this way because of the pain he feels..
They had me discontinue the pain meds for fear of more damage to his liver. So we have substituted Natural Science Joint Support. I crush it up in his herbivore/carnivore care mash and give it to him in a dropper on his nose..
His salad is made up of collard, turnip or mustard greens as well as arugula on occasion. I finely chop a butternut squash along with red bell peppers. Topped with a few slices of raspberry/blueberry for his fruit..

 

[Vamboothe]

I did not have the time this mornin to list but his Viv has a T5 Reptisun 10.0 UVB. We also have a 150watt Zoo-Med basking bulb and a 65watt CHE for the colder nights. His Temps range from about 79 cool side to 104 in his basking area.

Now, as far as his greens I listed earlier what I had fixed for him today. I try switching things put every week or so..some days we have collards with butternut squash, raspberries, blueberries and a dash of calcium.
Other times we will have turnip or mustard greens,green beans, carrots and a pear or apple..
On a very rare occasion he will get a bite or two of a banana or a white grape cut up fine..
I had read an article speaking of giving them alfalfa chopped very fine or perhaps the powder. I have not tried this. As I stated he doesn't like his greens period. He would rather run through them, wear them or lay in them..

You had mentioned Tracie that perhaps I could lower his bulbs as well as his hammock..I'm not sure how I would do that as I have the UVB mounted inside the lid on the VIV. I may be able to lower the basking lamp but that would require me removing his lid which I am not fond of since I have a few cats running around here as well.
I had thought maybe I could get him one of those Hamster hammock things and put that beneath his Hammock that way if he were to slide off the at least that would be there to catch him..Anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing today?
His die sounds fine, no problem. Alfalfa or barley would be a nice addition, he might like either one of those.
Yes, you could make or build a little flat type of platform for him, directly beneath his little hammock. That would
help him out. If you have soft fleece blankies, etc you can place a few around to make things softer for him.
I hope he is feeling better soon. Let us know how things are going with him.

Tracie

 

[Vamboothe]

Hey there. So after almost a week and daily bathing I was able to get him to go potty.. it seems with his hindleg and spinal issues potting has become difficult for him..
He was scheduled for an enema tomorrow and thank goodness he pottied today..Such relief here..of course that doesn't take care of his spinal issues at all... but I was becoming worried he may be getting toxic..

Now I have a new question..lol
So the newer hamster hammock which is much softer I got for him. Well, I tried putting it into his viv..oh he got so mad. Puffed up, black under the beard and tried to hide..
How am I gonna get that in there without him being overly stressed about it? He doesn't like change of any kind. But I do feel this would be a safer thing underneath his existing hammock. That way if he were to somehow roll off his hammock it would be there to catch him..please advise..

The vet was telling me that because of his Hundley and spinal issues his quality of life will diminish. And that if we continue to have potty issues I may have to consider euthanize.. I just can't. Not yet..When I jave him out with me which is most days half a day or more, he seems so alert and even though my singing is horrible..well, he seems to like a nice slow song. I love my boy. I don't want to lose him. But, I don't want him in alot of pain either..I'm so heartbroken over all of this..

 

[Vamboothe]

Correction not Hundley was supposed to say Hindleg

 

[KarrieRee]

Correction not Hundley was supposed to say Hindleg

Please go over your uvb no coils please basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? No stick ons please you need a digital probe thermometer-

 

[AHBD]

Aw, he looks like a sweet but there. No need to euthanize him, let him live as long as he's not in a lot of pain. If his beard stayed black, if he laid around with mouth gaping and had no interest in anything then you might consider it . For now keep up the baths and don't give him an enema. Let him swim around a bit for exercise and make the water a bit deeper. Add more warm water if he doesn't poo, but be patient, they can go 3-4 weeks w/out a b.m. and still be O.K. You can use a rolled up towel as a basking spot rather than the hammock, it would be easier for him to climb up on. You can also get some baby food squash and sweet potatoes as natural laxatives and he may enjoy the taste. Add a few drops of unpasteurized honey as well.

 

[Vamboothe]

Please go over your uvb no coils please basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? No stick ons please you need a digital probe thermometer-

His temps range from about 78-79 cool side to 104 basking. It's a 10.0 UVB long bulb. Using s digital temp gun to measure temps.

 

[Vamboothe]

Aw, he looks like a sweet but there. No need to euthanize him, let him live as long as he's not in a lot of pain. If his beard stayed black, if he laid around with mouth gaping and had no interest in anything then you might consider it . For now keep up the baths and don't give him an enema. Let him swim around a bit for exercise and make the water a bit deeper. Add more warm water if he doesn't poo, but be patient, they can go 3-4 weeks w/out a b.m. and still be O.K. You can use a rolled up towel as a basking spot rather than the hammock, it would be easier for him to climb up on. You can also get some baby food squash and sweet potatoes as natural laxatives and he may enjoy the taste. Add a few drops of unpasteurized honey as well.

Unpasteurized honey. I had not thought of that. Yes I was so thrilled he poo'd I cried. He seems pretty alert when he is out with me. I know he hurts. I'm hoping that Meloxicam can help him..I won't let them euthanize him. I may be selfish but he seems too alert for me to say thats it.. he is requiring alot more time than usual but that's ok. That's what I'm here for ❤❤

 

[KarrieRee]

Please go over your uvb no coils please basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? No stick ons please you need a digital probe thermometer-

Your UVB is a T 5 or a T 8 these two bulb have different placement and distance -- is it in the tank or top of screen -- please get a digital probe thermometer -- IR guns are good but not as accurate as the probes

 

[Vamboothe]

Morning, so his UVB Is a Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 UVB 22" that we have mounted beneath his lid screen. I will post a picture in a sec. So I need a digital probe as well as the digital gun? Omg.. you would never guess my boy as 3.5 years old with the lack of knowledge I have.

Also while you are here let me ask if there is any info on lidocaine cream being using on his dislocated tail and hind legs? I have crippling arthritis and use it daily on myself but have been afraid to rub any on him for fear he would either absorb it or lick it off and I can't have anything else going wrong with him If I can help it.
Thank you for taking time to respond.

 

[Vamboothe]

Here is best underlid pict. I could get of his UVB