Hurt Leg?

[SpacelySprocket]

Hello Everyone,

My beardie seems to be trying not to use one of back legs very much. Sort of like he's limping. I'm not really sure what might be wrong, could he have pulled a muscle maybe? He is otherwise eating and pooping and acting normal.

General Info:
he's about 2 years old
I used a megaray for heat and UV, and a regular white bulb for extra light at the other end of the tank
He's on reptile carpet and he's a variety of bugs (silks, crickets, hornworms, superworms) and a variety of veggies (collards, arugula, escarole, carrots, bell pepper, squash). I dust with calcium powder a few time a week and multivitamin once a week.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, your UVB lighting is fine. Have you used enough calcium for him in the past & currently? How old is your Megaray? They should last at least 1 year, possibly longer. I always replace ours at the year mark.
How high is his basking platform? He could have injured himself, yes. Has he fallen off of something that you know of?
Is his leg swollen?

Tracie

 

[SpacelySprocket]

The MegaRay is only a month old, so it should be fine and I've been giving him calcium since I got him a little over a year ago. There's nothing in his tank that's higher off the ground than 4 inches, and he's pretty big now so I don't think that's the problem (20 inches from nose to tip of tail). He does jump up at the megaray sometimes, but he can't actually reach it.

Its not swollen and there are not obvious signs of an injury (no blood or scratches or anything like that). He seems to be able to move it fine and is putting weight on it when he's standing around, just when he runs he seems to be favoring the other leg more (like a limp).

Thanks for the help, I feel like I'm always asking for advice. Its not that I don't want to take him to the vet, its just that the vets around here don't seem to be very knowledgeable about reptiles. I feel like I am getting more sound advice here than from them...

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh the Megaray is brand new so nothing wrong with that light.
Hm, it is possible that he just jumped or landed wrong on his leg & strained it a little bit. If he continues to favor that leg, it would be good to take him to the vet. For now, what you can do is give him warm baths right now, & do some water therapy on him letting him swim around some. That is very helpful for injuries.
You can also get some serrapeptase, which is dried silkworm enzyme. It is helpful with swelling of soft tissue inflammation & injuries.
You can order it form http://www.serrapeptase.org

I hope he gets better!

Tracie