I think my beardie has gout...I need advice please!

[GMH35]

I purchased a bearded dragon from Petsmart on September 1st. She seemed to be very active and healthy. She was eating, pooping and acting fine until about 3 weeks ago I noticed her walking funny (her right front and hind leg was swollen) and she was not eating as well or pooping like normal. She was also lethargic. I changed her UVB light to a reptisun 10.0 (I had a pet store brand light before the reptisun) and she started to act a little better eating more and pooping daily but her right legs were still swollen and now it looks like her left legs are swollen too. I have read so much that I feel like my head could explode and I am now just looking for advice. There are no herp vets where I live. Here are some pictures.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/ghall35/Mobile%20Uploads/472E3EF3-A849-4484-892E-6A1458E9B133_zpsbmepdqnm.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/ghall35/Mobile%20Uploads/D2883B4F-2D09-44C5-9860-F175A04DDA77_zps7isaeiij.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/ghall35/Mobile%20Uploads/EF9BBC38-C07E-4CCA-826D-F09AAD062939_zpsdp2jf1s7.jpg

Please I need advice

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Poor baby. What kind of uvb light do you have now? Is it a coil/compact or tube? How close can she get to it? Do you dust her feeders with calcium and vitamins? Mbd and gout have the same symptoms. You need a blood test to determine if it is gout or not.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is hard to know for sure. She is young to have gout, but it does occur.
Please review your tank setup with us, with regards to the type of the UVB light & your supplementation schedule, etc.
What are the basking temperatures?
Metabolic bone disease is also very common, too.
She may be too light for them to do a blood draw but x-rays could help determine bone density & or gout. They could aspirate fluids around the swollen area to determine if there are uric acid crystals.
Does she eat greens very often?

Tracie

 

[GMH35]

Hello, at first I thought it was MBD...I'm just not sure though and it is so frustrating. As far as cage set up she is on a 10 gallon tank for now with a reptisun 10.0 T8 tube bulb and a 100 watt basking bulb. Temperatures on thecold side stay around low to mid 80's and basking is around 104 to 113. I have moved her basking lamp around trying to figure out the best place to put it. I feed her a salad everY day that consists of collard greens, sweet potatoes, cucumber, and green beans but she only eats about 4 bites that I see. I also feed her crickets daily dusted with rep cal calcium with d3 (I dust with the Calcium 6 times/week). I give her crickets dusted with re cal multivitamin once per week (on Sunday). She eats her crickets well, anywhere between 10 to 20. There are a days that she may only take 3 to 5 but that is rare. I ordered Phoenix worms this past week and I have been giving her those some this week as well but I'm not sure wheather or not to dust them. She seems to like them. I bathe her every day to every other day (depending on my work schedule) and sometimes I can get her to drink and but not often. I did so much research before I hot her and I feel so frustrated because I thought I was doing everything right...o just want a healthy happy beardie There is a vet around here but she does not specialize in exotic animals yet she says she sees them. Other than that there are not vets around and I honestly don't have a lot of money to take her to one...I don't know what to do.
Here is a picture of her set up. I have a red light that I use at night time. I also use a temp gun to check the temps in her tank.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/ghall35/Mobile%20Uploads/6268B314-760D-4B5D-9804-64EA97CB9C15_zpsxhkvacpz.jpg

Thank you for you reply!!

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Thanks for answering. The red light is not necessary. It disturbs their sleep. Beardies need complete darkness and a cool down period. If your house gets below 65 then you need a ceremic heat emitter. Also she needs a bigger tank the 10 gallon is not big enough and its really hard to get the temps you need. 100 watt is a lot for a 10 gallon. Are you taking the temps on the basking surface? Goodcyou have a good uvb. She needs to be fed 2x to 3x a day. As for salads babies don't really eat them just keep offering it everyday.

 

[GMH35]

I have been offering crickets 2 times/day I just dust them once. Today I offered her crickets and phoenix worms and she ate them both. I will get a bigger tank. I take the temperature of the surface when I check. Do you think it is MBD? I have seen her leg twitch a few times but will her legs and joints be swollen with MBD? I will get rid of the red light....I just worry she will get cold. Do you think it is a temperature problem?

Thanks for replying...I need all the help I can get

 

[destiny1998]

Is the uvb on top of the screen? If so the screen is blocking alot of the rays. There should be nothing between her and the uvb. You'll need to mount it in the tank when you get a bigger one. Like I said beardies need a cool down period she'll be fine as long as your house doesn't get below 65. Mine sleep on the couch with their own blankets and have never had issues. We have our house set @ 68.

 

[GMH35]

Oh how sweet! Your beardies sleep on the couch? I bet that is so cute! I hope I can get my girl feeling better. I just want her to be healthy.

 

[Esther19]

I wonder if you could get the vet to x-ray her and then put the x-ray on the internet for other vets' opinions? My vet, who does really specialize in reptiles, has posted to one of those sites when he has been stumped and has gotten really good responses.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The swellings look more like gout but not positive. What you can do if you can't get him to a vet right now is to go ahead & treat the symptoms.
I would recommend getting some black cherry juice to help with any uric acid crystallization in case it is gout developing.
I would recommend getting some liquid calcium instead of powder for awhile in case he isn't absorbing calcium properly.
Increase the oral fluids daily too. You can use a plastic dropper or syringe to get more oral fluids into him. Just keep the protein low to moderate right now with a focus on greens & fluids.
Do you have a video of him walking possibly or is he having any trouble climbing or with balance?
How is he doing today?
I agree, the screen can filter out a good amount of the UVB. Can you get a larger tank for him?


Tracie

 

[GMH35]

Hello, thank you so much for your reply. Is the black cherry juice just normal juice we would drink? How much juice should I give and how often? What kind of liquid calcium should I give and how much? I will work on getting her a bigger tank. What size do you recommend? I the mean time I will mount the light inside. Should I also give that silkworm supplement...what's it called...strepto...something??? I'm sorry for all the questions; I just want her to be healthy.

Thank you

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The black cherry juice can be for human consumption & you can find it at most any local health food stores. You can give .5ml to 1 ml per day. It is very good for the kidneys.

You can try to find a liquid calcium at the local petstore but a lot of them don't have it. The serrapeptase is very good & can help with pain & or swelling overall.
When mounting the UVB light underneath of the screen, be sure that it isn't closer than 6 or so inches to her. So you may need to adjust the basking log height inside. I hope you are able to get a larger tank too. Maybe try to go with a 30-40 gallon for now. As adults they need at least a 75 gallon or larger.

Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[GMH35]

Hello,
I just wanted to thank everyone for their replies and advice! Also, I want to update everyone on biscuit's condition. I haven't had a lot of time over the last few days because I worked 3-12 hour shifts. So I picked up some cherry juice that I thought might be okay until I get something better and wanted to see if this kind was ok...here it is...

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/ghall35/Mobile%20Uploads/FD4C8028-FD7C-4247-98D0-8068D1B89EEF_zpssq7kzfvh.jpg

Do I need to get a different type of juice or will this do? Also, I have been looking for liquid calcium and can't find it except for Fluker's and I have heard bad things about that kind so I am going to order it on line today. She hasn't been eating well the last couple of days but this morning she pooped in her tank and then I bathed her and gave her some cherry juice (she only licked a little bit) and fed her some rep cal juvinile pellets with some greens (she ate a little). I don't know if I should try to open her mouth to give her the cherry juice or what...I don't know how I am going to get her to tke the liquid calcium?? She is bright eyed but still lays around a lot but when I get her out of her tank she will walk around. She gets around pretty good...I wanted to post a video but I don't know how. Her left elbow looks pretty big and is hard and stiff and now her right is starting to swell and enlarge too. Will her enlarged joints go back to normal if I get this under control? Also, I now I need to feed her less protein so how many crickets should I offer? Sorry for all the questions I just want to take care of her. Here are some pics of her today...look at her right and left elbow.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/ghall35/Mobile%20Uploads/FFC3AAAE-8E5A-4BE6-8650-AEBA33A6CD8D_zpse8mrg8u1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e240/ghall35/Mobile%20Uploads/812A029F-2022-47BB-8CA9-5FB419D1F544_zpsimhimc2y.jpg

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. That jucie isn't the juice. The juice your looking for is Black Cherry juice from a health food store. Also I would order some serrapeptase to help with the swelling and joint movement. You can get it from beardeddragon.co and you can get a powder form of the black cherry juice. She probably needs allopurinol for the gout also. You can order that on line and Drache613 can help you with the dosage.

 

[GMH35]

Okay...thank you. I will look and order it now.