Nessiedrakosmom
Member
Hello all,
To jump right in, it's been on ongoing battle with my lil man Drako. (Who is to my guess about 8-9 months old now) He has a calcium deficiency but doesn't have full blown MBD based on xrays from my vet. His symptoms started with not eating or moving from his basking spot, to gradual loss of use of both his back legs. Since then he is now on a calcium gluconate supplement twice daily, along with my dusting of crix every other day when he gets bugs. I dust calcium with D3 3x and without D3 once in a week. I have not gotten my hands on a multivitamin that I trust yet, still hunting the perfect one. My crix are gutloaded with Mazuri brand high calcium diet.
Since I'm sure someone will ask.
40g tank
100w basking bulb dull yellow color he gets 6"-8" away
10.0 T5 reptisun UVB 22" long
Basking temps between 95-105
Cool side 75-85
Reptile ecocarpet for substrate
Variety of greens daily (bolk choy, collard greens, kale, bell peps, carrots) rarely fruits if he'll eat it.
Crix gutloaded mostly as a staple, superworms and hornworms for treats
Already told you my dusting with supplements
Baths vary, depends on the cues I get if hes feeling up to swimming around or is wanting water. He has a bowl that i keep fresh water in, have tried to teach him to drink out of it. He just prefers to drink when i give him a bath.
Weekly cleaning schedule of taking everything out and scrubbing it all down with Flukers brand reptile safe soap.
Monthly I bake my rocks/logs within his cage.
My question is that during this battle with getting him back to health Ive seen significant improvement as hes back to eating drinking and pooping normal. I do see improvement in motion in his back legs. He no longer drags them but attempts to move and walk like he did before his defiency. I have noticed his back knees are definitely swollen as I can see the skin between the scales very clearly. I asked my vet last time i was there, he said it would just be fluid buildup and should go away on its own once hes feeling better.
I have a feeling that if I can get the swelling to go down, he would be much more inclined to try to use full motion of his back legs. At this point it seems the swelling is holding him back. Are there home remedies that can help reduce the swelling? Is it as simple as applying cold? I dont want to try that without legitimate reason to, because I can imagine that doesn't feel too good for a beardie. He already isn't a fan of me because twice a day I have to administer meds orally.
I've also looked into gout as a possibility but I don't believe it fits. I could be wrong, but would like to avoid an unnecessary vet trip if I can.
To jump right in, it's been on ongoing battle with my lil man Drako. (Who is to my guess about 8-9 months old now) He has a calcium deficiency but doesn't have full blown MBD based on xrays from my vet. His symptoms started with not eating or moving from his basking spot, to gradual loss of use of both his back legs. Since then he is now on a calcium gluconate supplement twice daily, along with my dusting of crix every other day when he gets bugs. I dust calcium with D3 3x and without D3 once in a week. I have not gotten my hands on a multivitamin that I trust yet, still hunting the perfect one. My crix are gutloaded with Mazuri brand high calcium diet.
Since I'm sure someone will ask.
40g tank
100w basking bulb dull yellow color he gets 6"-8" away
10.0 T5 reptisun UVB 22" long
Basking temps between 95-105
Cool side 75-85
Reptile ecocarpet for substrate
Variety of greens daily (bolk choy, collard greens, kale, bell peps, carrots) rarely fruits if he'll eat it.
Crix gutloaded mostly as a staple, superworms and hornworms for treats
Already told you my dusting with supplements
Baths vary, depends on the cues I get if hes feeling up to swimming around or is wanting water. He has a bowl that i keep fresh water in, have tried to teach him to drink out of it. He just prefers to drink when i give him a bath.
Weekly cleaning schedule of taking everything out and scrubbing it all down with Flukers brand reptile safe soap.
Monthly I bake my rocks/logs within his cage.
My question is that during this battle with getting him back to health Ive seen significant improvement as hes back to eating drinking and pooping normal. I do see improvement in motion in his back legs. He no longer drags them but attempts to move and walk like he did before his defiency. I have noticed his back knees are definitely swollen as I can see the skin between the scales very clearly. I asked my vet last time i was there, he said it would just be fluid buildup and should go away on its own once hes feeling better.
I have a feeling that if I can get the swelling to go down, he would be much more inclined to try to use full motion of his back legs. At this point it seems the swelling is holding him back. Are there home remedies that can help reduce the swelling? Is it as simple as applying cold? I dont want to try that without legitimate reason to, because I can imagine that doesn't feel too good for a beardie. He already isn't a fan of me because twice a day I have to administer meds orally.
I've also looked into gout as a possibility but I don't believe it fits. I could be wrong, but would like to avoid an unnecessary vet trip if I can.