Is it gout or mbd?

[Dragibun]

Hello, my croc has swallen lefr hind knee and possibly ankle.
I went to vet for xrays hoping it might be just a broken part or chipped as he is very clumsy, but they said I need blood tests.
Im not able to book in atm during christmas or new year for vet. I increased his calcium intake just incase of mbd but it wouldnt be that as his situation is getting worse. I was thinking it could be gout as he is just in pain of moving it but he is othrwise very happy looking and bright. He used to have hard time moving it then I tried increasing basking spot to 41C and put aloe vera on his knee over night. It seems to have helped but now he started dragging it around .
Im very worried till I can book a vet. What should I do?

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, can you post pics of him from above as well s close up of both back legs to show the contrast ? Also a good pic of his set up ? Does he ever free roam through the house ? Just to try to consider different possibilities.

 

[JessPets]

Here's how to post a pic: https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to attach pics to your post.

 

[Rankins]

How old is the dragon and what is his/her diet?
Any chance it is injury related?
Age and diet will help in narrowing down possibilities.

 

[Dragibun]

He is 8 months and couple weeks old. When I got him he was force fed due to lack of appetite. Since then I got him to eat once in awhile on his own so I thought he must be just lazy and picky. I fed him crickets occasional mealworms variety of greens and fruits as treats couple times a week. All dusted witbh calcium without d3 6 times a week and 1 time with d3.
His uvb was arcadia before and change it few weeka ago to reptile one 10.0. He loves his log so thats his climbing on the go. Since he has stopped eating on his own I switched to repashy grub pie and made it for him fresh everyday + dusted. I try force feed him greens and fruits sometimes which he does occasionally take in and not spit out ;D.
He had poo fussy problem- if i didnt put him in bath he would hold it untill he was in it. -.- bit of pain in the ass but was ok till a week ago. He started having his leg lethargic and wouldnt poop in bath everyday. So I increased his temps to 41C, increased his calcium intake by a bit and put an aloe vera on his knee when he went to sleep. Next day it was all ok but right day after he started dragging it again.. but this time it felt like it wasnt holding on his body. Then I went to vet to get xrays and luckily seems like nothing was broken. Which i thought it might be due to him being overly active and hyperactive when he sees my other beardie (female) and is quite clumsy. Anyways photos are attached including xray and vets meds atm are painkillers, castor oil for laxatives and liquid calcium.

 

[Rankins]

Hmm....since he is still young he can handle more protein than an adult. So doesn't sound like its diet related. I'm also not seeing any tophi in the xray of the joints. But that doesn't mean much...the crystals may not show up on an xray. Nor do I see anything wrong with the bones. They look like they have good density...so that may rule out mbd.
Did the vet do any blood work? Mainly interested in blood uric acid, and calcium levels?
This could be soft tissue injury because that wouldn't show up on an xray. If that's the case it should resolve with minimal care. Just limit all climbing by removing enclosure decorations and anything that requires climbing. Antinflamitories as ordered by the vet should be helpful. You can do hydrotherapy and allow him to exercise a bit in warm water a couple times a day.
Obviously if things worsen or there are concerns you should consult with your vet.

Edit: just reread your post about labs not being done yet. That would really help...but maybe the dragon will improve before you can get them done.

 

[Rankins]

Doing some more thinking about this...
It may be two unrelated problems. Alot of it sounds neurological that could cause the clumsiness, inability to defecate normally, and not eating. The not eating could be inability to do it on his own. And the clumsiness may have been the cause of the leg injury.
Any chance your vet has done any testing for a virus?

 

[Dragibun]

My vet did a full examination of his legs and streching. It seems to be no problem of broken parts or pulled muscles.
We also recently came off 3 different parasites one after another-coccidia, then something and last one were water worms.. which showed quite a lot. So maybe that could have spread more. He also suggested blood tests asap to continue on what it might be. I think that can definetly tell us if its gout or not, but im not able to book in till new years. So sad honestly.
Im really willing to try the black berry juice. Any tips on where to get it or what to get exactly? Im in NZ atm. I know he may have 1ml to 5ml a day in intervals depending on how bad it is.
Im not sure about removing his enclosure things as it doesnt require heavy climbing and if he was that much in pain he wouldnt do it. He lays down most of the days now.
Im although willing to give him bath swimming exercises as he should do some moving and water sure makes it easier.