So as of recent we have been moving around my dragon for a bit now and we finally settled into our app ( he has maintained his heat and food). Since we have moved into our app I have happened to notice that my dragon likes to hide his left leg now while he is on his hammock etc (keeps it by his stomach). Now when I picked him up his right arm seemed fine, being stiff and allowing little resistance. His left leg however allows no resistance and lets me move it aroind freely as it feels a little bit floppy (bad word choice I don't really know how to describe that). When he goes for his food and walks around outside on our carpet he seems to have a slight limp but does not show signs of distress. Any help or advice please let me know.
what kind of hammock ?
…. mesh type hammocks cause lots of beardie toe/finger, arm/leg, hip/shoulder injuries because they get a nail or two snagged in the mesh and find it very hard to unsnag it and panic.
I suggest you take him to reptile vet to have the "injured leg" examined , xrayed.
May be only a soft tissue injury , or may be more serious , ie a dislocation or a break.
If dislocated this will require either reduction and setting in an immobilizing cast,
or
if there are broken bones these require resetting/ inserting a pin and immobilizing in a cast ,
both requiring a GA + a course of antibiotics+antiinflamatories+pain relief injections + oral dosing with some vet grade liquid calcium.
it's a survival thing for an injured dragon to hide the fact it's injured … in the wild the injured dragon who is showing this will not last long as predatory snakes and goannas, and large raptors , and feral cats and dogs till target it.
Hi there, a slight limp may be just a sprain but I agree that the hammock may be the culprit. It's not uncommon for beardies to snag a nail and then injure the leg when trying to free themselves or even jumping quickly from the hammock while the nail is caught. But if he's limping it's most likely a slight sprain if there's no bad swelling. A hairline fracture would heal on it's own but you'd have to get rid of any climbing objects that are too high and also the hammock. What type of lighting [ especially uvb ] do you use and calcium powder ? Very important for bone health.
Can you post a video of him walking ? [ Post on youtube or vimeo + then link it here if need be ] Also some pics of the dragon and his tank would be helpful. Heres's how to post pics :
Hi there, a slight limp may be just a sprain but I agree that the hammock may be the culprit. It's not uncommon for beardies to snag a nail and then injure the leg when trying to free themselves or even jumping quickly from the hammock while the nail is caught. But if he's limping it's most likely a slight sprain if there's no bad swelling. A hairline fracture would heal on it's own but you'd have to get rid of any climbing objects that are too high and also the hammock. What type of lighting [ especially uvb ] do you use and calcium powder ? Very important for bone health.
Can you post a video of him walking ? [ Post on youtube or vimeo + then link it here if need be ] Also some pics of the dragon and his tank would be helpful. Heres's how to post pics :
what kind of hammock ?
…. mesh type hammocks cause lots of beardie toe/finger, arm/leg, hip/shoulder injuries because they get a nail or two snagged in the mesh and find it very hard to unsnag it and panic.
I suggest you take him to reptile vet to have the "injured leg" examined , xrayed.
May be only a soft tissue injury , or may be more serious , ie a dislocation or a break.
If dislocated this will require either reduction and setting in an immobilizing cast,
or
if there are broken bones these require resetting/ inserting a pin and immobilizing in a cast ,
both requiring a GA + a course of antibiotics+antiinflamatories+pain relief injections + oral dosing with some vet grade liquid calcium.
it's a survival thing for an injured dragon to hide the fact it's injured … in the wild the injured dragon who is showing this will not last long as predatory snakes and goannas, and large raptors , and feral cats and dogs till target it.
what kind of hammock ?
…. mesh type hammocks cause lots of beardie toe/finger, arm/leg, hip/shoulder injuries because they get a nail or two snagged in the mesh and find it very hard to unsnag it and panic.
I suggest you take him to reptile vet to have the "injured leg" examined , xrayed.
May be only a soft tissue injury , or may be more serious , ie a dislocation or a break.
If dislocated this will require either reduction and setting in an immobilizing cast,
or
if there are broken bones these require resetting/ inserting a pin and immobilizing in a cast ,
both requiring a GA + a course of antibiotics+antiinflamatories+pain relief injections + oral dosing with some vet grade liquid calcium.
it's a survival thing for an injured dragon to hide the fact it's injured … in the wild the injured dragon who is showing this will not last long as predatory snakes and goannas, and large raptors , and feral cats and dogs till target it.
A consult is not expensive, I'm not sure how much they will charge per Xray (not very pricey as it's all done digitally now) , if there is break that needs to be reset , or a dislocation that needs to be reduced (a dislocation will also produce quite a lot of swelling) , you are looking at a general, the surgery, recovery , the vet will give you a full quote before proceding.
As to costs for all that …. all depends on what is found in the xrays and materials used and time used in surgery and recovery.
Hi there, a slight limp may be just a sprain but I agree that the hammock may be the culprit. It's not uncommon for beardies to snag a nail and then injure the leg when trying to free themselves or even jumping quickly from the hammock while the nail is caught. But if he's limping it's most likely a slight sprain if there's no bad swelling. A hairline fracture would heal on it's own but you'd have to get rid of any climbing objects that are too high and also the hammock. What type of lighting [ especially uvb ] do you use and calcium powder ? Very important for bone health.
Can you post a video of him walking ? [ Post on youtube or vimeo + then link it here if need be ] Also some pics of the dragon and his tank would be helpful. Heres's how to post pics :
The mesh hammock needs to either covered with linion or removed.
Did you remember to remove ALL the staples from the Hubbahut , if they are even slightly raised , they are a serious hazard to a dragon.
Hi there, a slight limp may be just a sprain but I agree that the hammock may be the culprit. It's not uncommon for beardies to snag a nail and then injure the leg when trying to free themselves or even jumping quickly from the hammock while the nail is caught. But if he's limping it's most likely a slight sprain if there's no bad swelling. A hairline fracture would heal on it's own but you'd have to get rid of any climbing objects that are too high and also the hammock. What type of lighting [ especially uvb ] do you use and calcium powder ? Very important for bone health.
Can you post a video of him walking ? [ Post on youtube or vimeo + then link it here if need be ] Also some pics of the dragon and his tank would be helpful. Heres's how to post pics :
The mesh hammock needs to either covered with linion or removed.
Did you remember to remove ALL the staples from the Hubbahut , if they are even slightly raised , they are a serious hazard to a dragon.
Considering I don't have money for procedures for him. What should I do to help him feel better and naturally heal? Also should I move this to beaddie er? ( If so, how so?)
Since he's using it it's unlikely to be a break, just take the hammock out and put in a thicker but shorter basking log, or you can put in a large rolled up towel for him to climb on . If you use a towel, get one that won't snag his nails. Keep him from jumping too much and it will probably heal just fine.