Aicara
Member
Hello!
Currently handling nursing my beardie back to health after his leg broke last night due to an unlucky accident. He went to a vet last night but to a reptile specialist this morning to get X-rays where his forearm was confirmed to have a break in it.
My Beardie's name is Haku, he turned 2 years old just under a month ago.
Overall the vet was extremely happy with his health and everything else she saw in the X-rays and from what I told her. She was only concerned about the broken arm. It's been bandaged up and put into a splint against his side so that he can't move it around, which I'm taking him in to have re-bandaged weekly.
I guess I have some concerns and would like to try and get some helpful pointers for things I can to help the healing process? At the moment I"m doing as the vet instructed, increased temps so that they're on the warmer side (without being too high, of course), rearranged his tank layout so there's minimal climbing and making sure he had a comfortable basking spot. I also have some medication for any pain relief as well, he usually has this with a bit of food a few hours before I turn his lights out.
In himself, he is very happy, perhaps a bit mopy but I would be too if one of my arms was strapped to my side. He's learned to do a one-arm push-up and can walk along a little bit with that one arm. I'm trying to prevent him from moving much at all but I'm relieved that he can move enough to rearrange himself if need be. My biggest concerns that I need some tips for are:
- UVB
I am taking him outside for some natural sunlight as much as I can, but I do work 4/5 days of the week so I'm worried about him not getting quite enough UVB. In his tank, he has a Repitsun .10 tube but his tank is quite tall and with him not being able to climb, I worry he's not going to get close enough to get the UVB he needs as it's on the highest part of the tank wall. If I'm taking him outside for some natural sun a couple of times a day, would this help balance that out?
- Tank Size
As mentioned, his tank is quite tall and is 65 gallons in size. As he's still quite spritely in himself, I'm worried about how much he's going to move around. Should blocking off part of his tank be something that I should consider doing? I'm still trying to work out the best set up to accommodate him during this time.
- Healing
As I'm sure all of you can understand, I'm worried sick about the healing process. The vet sounded extremely confident, but she did mention the chance of pinched nerves or ruptured blood vessels leading to possible amputation (as a worst-case scenario). Thus far there has been no sign of blood loss to his foot, the toes that are visible from the bandage remain flexible and normal in their colour. She said that if there was a problem in this area, it would be something that we notice over time as it heals. I was just wondering if anyone has had prior successes with broken limbs in their beardies healing and can offer some kind of reassurance?
Thank you for any help/advice anyone can offer!
Currently handling nursing my beardie back to health after his leg broke last night due to an unlucky accident. He went to a vet last night but to a reptile specialist this morning to get X-rays where his forearm was confirmed to have a break in it.
My Beardie's name is Haku, he turned 2 years old just under a month ago.
Overall the vet was extremely happy with his health and everything else she saw in the X-rays and from what I told her. She was only concerned about the broken arm. It's been bandaged up and put into a splint against his side so that he can't move it around, which I'm taking him in to have re-bandaged weekly.
I guess I have some concerns and would like to try and get some helpful pointers for things I can to help the healing process? At the moment I"m doing as the vet instructed, increased temps so that they're on the warmer side (without being too high, of course), rearranged his tank layout so there's minimal climbing and making sure he had a comfortable basking spot. I also have some medication for any pain relief as well, he usually has this with a bit of food a few hours before I turn his lights out.
In himself, he is very happy, perhaps a bit mopy but I would be too if one of my arms was strapped to my side. He's learned to do a one-arm push-up and can walk along a little bit with that one arm. I'm trying to prevent him from moving much at all but I'm relieved that he can move enough to rearrange himself if need be. My biggest concerns that I need some tips for are:
- UVB
I am taking him outside for some natural sunlight as much as I can, but I do work 4/5 days of the week so I'm worried about him not getting quite enough UVB. In his tank, he has a Repitsun .10 tube but his tank is quite tall and with him not being able to climb, I worry he's not going to get close enough to get the UVB he needs as it's on the highest part of the tank wall. If I'm taking him outside for some natural sun a couple of times a day, would this help balance that out?
- Tank Size
As mentioned, his tank is quite tall and is 65 gallons in size. As he's still quite spritely in himself, I'm worried about how much he's going to move around. Should blocking off part of his tank be something that I should consider doing? I'm still trying to work out the best set up to accommodate him during this time.
- Healing
As I'm sure all of you can understand, I'm worried sick about the healing process. The vet sounded extremely confident, but she did mention the chance of pinched nerves or ruptured blood vessels leading to possible amputation (as a worst-case scenario). Thus far there has been no sign of blood loss to his foot, the toes that are visible from the bandage remain flexible and normal in their colour. She said that if there was a problem in this area, it would be something that we notice over time as it heals. I was just wondering if anyone has had prior successes with broken limbs in their beardies healing and can offer some kind of reassurance?
Thank you for any help/advice anyone can offer!