! HELP! Jinx is very stiff : (

[CrazyTrain]

Im really worried about my Jinx, she has just finished 30 days of baytril and is still not herself. I took her to the vet the 1st time a month ago. Her front right wrist and lil hand were swollen, and her appitite was dwindling..when soaking her, her arm would just float, also giving her the medicine was very difficult, as my vet said to get her mouth open and shoot it in...**i did find and was kinda upset, my vet didnt tell me to just try to give it to her, turns out that bytril is a lil sweet, and some dragons actually LIKE the taste : | ** i ended up bringing her back the next week because she had completely stopped eating. She showed very little intrest in her greens. Also he hind leg, and knee appeared swollen now also. He assured me to keep soaking and medicating, and said that reptile sickness comes on slow, and leaves slow. His explanation of hind legs being swollen was the infection (original issue he said was respite infection) spreading through her body, and the floating arm was the gases from her infection. He also said if she doesn't eat to force feed her?? Does this sound right guys? I live in South Dakota..kinda limited to great Herps : ( Sooo sorry this is so long, but end of story is i still have a sad lil girl that is very stiff, and lethargic : ( Im so scared, i have been reading about gout, and have a bad feeling this may be case :* (
Details: she lives in a 10 gallon set up. She is about 8 to 9 inches long, I saved her from the local petsmart about 3 months ago. She has a reptisun 10.0 uva, her basking/heat lamp is a reptisun, I'm sorry but don't recall wattage, her hot side stays between 90 and 105, her cool side is around 70. She has reptile carpet, with greens dish, and nat. Geo. Imitation climbing branch type thing, with her lil pillow, and fabric she liked to sleep under at night. Any help would be great. I'm so broke eight now, I won't be able to take her in again for another week. Its breaking my heart to think she is pain...

 

[AHBD]

Hi there...poor little Jinx, hopefully we can help her out. Can you get some pics showing her swollen legs ? I don't think 30 days of Baytril is going to help, unless the vet was suspecting septic arthritis but it's more likely a calcium problem. Did he mention septic arthritis ? Or did he say gout ? Either condition is very serious but all the meds. would cause loss of appetite. Try some baby food squash, chicken, green beans. Drip it on her snout first if she'll lick some up. If she's refusing even that you may have to force feed her, but don't " shoot" the food in, ease it in and watch that she swallows. Try to get the syringe in the side of her mouth. If she doesn't open, use a thin piece of cardboard [ like a piece from a top of a cereal box] and gently slide it in. She should also be on a probiotic, very important to restore the good bacteria since the anti biotics destroy all the bad AND good beacteria which leaves her immune system even weaker.

You might send a p.m. to one of the mods , username Drache613 for her opinion, others may help as well. Hoping Jinx can recover !

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

So sorry to hear about Jinx. Do you have any close up pictures of her joints we could see?
What exactly did he put her on the Baytril for & how much has she been receiving of it?
It could be gout developing,
Which type of Reptisun 10 UVB light are you using, the tube bulb? How close is the bulb to her?
As suggested, try getting some soft baby foods to help her out right now. Extra hydration is a must though with being on the meds. Some probiotics would be great too such as non dairy soy yogurt or non dairy acidophiliz to help replace her gut flora. She is young to have been on meds for that long.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[CrazyTrain]

 

[CrazyTrain]

Omggahh! ! Still having a hard time replying !
Looks like I finally got pictures to post...this is the 4th time trying to reply : (keep getting weird message, advising me to contact admin)
She has a coil bulb, it sits on the middle of her tank on top of metal mesh lid. She was prescribed .02 cc of baytril once a day, for 30 days. I'm really worried the vet I have (claims to be a herp.) Really isn't that knowledgeable with reptiles. When i first took her in, my first question was gout. He said no right away, and i trusted he was that good he just knew? It's breaking my heart to think she is pain. I don't wanna take her back there to be misdiagnosed : (
I will get some baby food tonight, and try that tomorrow!

 

[CrazyTrain]

Better picture

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh no, they thought she initially had gout?? She is too small to do a blood test on correct, under 100 grams?
The worst thing you can do for a reptile that you suspect has gout is give antibiotics.
Personally, I would cease all antibiotics if you have not done so already. Try to get an extra 2-4mls of oral fluids into her daily to help her kidneys in case she is having kidney issues. I do see some of the swelling also. That does look very similar to gout.
Since you do have a compact/coil light, it could also be a possibility of metabolic bone disease. Those lights do not emit very good quality of UVB so she has not been getting adequate UVB exposure which can lead to some swelling too. I would recommend changing to either the Reptisun 10 tube bulb or the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb for a much better UVB output for her, first.
How often do you give calcium?

Tracie

 

[CrazyTrain]

The vet told me no. Right away, he said it was not gout. When i took her back second time he still said no, but all the pictures I see are so similar. And i think I was wrong about the bulb, i know its a reptisun.v..they only have tube, right? On the "normal" before all this she would eat dusted greens, and i dust her crickets if she eats them right from store. Otherwise ones I order online are gut loaded, and when I keep crickets or get large amounts we do flukers powder and the yellow gut load with calcium. The whole reason I took her in initially was her swollen wrist/hand I started worrying when her appitite dropped. She has picked at her dusted greens at very least now, and until a couple days ago, she was eating 3 or 4 crickets twice a day, or she would eat 8 to 10 once a day..she was a great eater. I'm about to go take payday loan out and try to find a diffrent vet in town and make sure I have what I think I have! But make sure I specifically buy a tube! Thank you!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Did he simply look at him to determine it was gout?
Try getting some black cherry juice/extract to start her on daily, along with some extra oral fluids to see if that starts to help out.
You cannot always tell just by looking, a blood test or x-rays need to be done to fully determine whether or not it is gout. Since the Baytril seems to be making it worse, I would have the vet do more tests or find another vet willing to examine him more closely.
The swelling looks a lot like gout. IF it is septic type of arthritis, there are different meds which work better than Baytril but he would need to aspirate some fluid from the swollen areas to culture.
The Reptisun 10 has a long fluorescent tube bulb, or the Arcadia D3 12% is great also. Either one of those bulbs would be perfectly fine. How is she doing today?

Tracie