Is this a reason for concern?

[MelissaGray]

Good news, Sydney seems to be hanging in there. We have been going for walks outside. He lays on my chest or on my lap in the sun. He seems to enjoy licking the grass though. I guess his legs may hurt him some, because he doesn't run or really walk while he is outside. He just sits there. But he seems to perk up after his walks. I should be getting the reptisun light in a few days. It should be in the mail right now. I just wanted to update ya'll on how he was doing. Hopefully, he will be much better after he gets his new light. Thanks for all your well wishes and concern.

 

[vickson420]

Glad to hear theres improvement .Yes natural sunlight is great for them.

 

[Zemanski]

the reptisun and daylight won't cure the problem, hopefully they'll just stop it getting any worse

he really does need to see a vet

 

[LJean]

Good to hear he is feeling a bit better.

 

[SunshineLollipop]

It is great to hear he's going better!!! I'd also still take him along to see the vet so his calcium levels can be checked, and also check out the nutrition site they have a link to here so u can feed him the things with the best calcium/phosphorous ratio - the combination of these also apparently has to do with calcium absorption so I've learned. All the best - Kathy

 

[MelissaGray]

Ok, light came in last night. It is now installed and I am using the basking light for heat. Haven't seem much improvement since yesterday but she was moving a little better last night when she ate. On the 15th I am going to order her some phoenix worms to help add a little calcium to her diet. I noticed another member has a similar problem with the lump and it was a fractured spine. It's possible she could have dilocated/fractured her spine. Husband reminded me she fell off her log one evening. After research I discovered MBD could contribute to dislocations and she has started twitching in her toes lately. Luckily, she still has use of her legs so I am still hopeful. I moved everything she could have trouble climbing or fall off of. Since my husband was working on her cage, he discovered he liked her and is now volunteering to build her an outside cage and a new cage for the house. Plus, he is thinking about getting one himself Good to see him warming up to critters, I'm tired of hearing him complain, LOL. Well, I will keep ya'll updated. And yes, I do plan on trying to get her in to the doc for at least a checkup soon.

 

[vickson420]

Ok good I am glad your uvb is in and yes there is a possibility that there is a spinal injury.Thats one of the reasons why I am urging you to get to a vet.Without XRays we really wont know and if there is too much fluid build up this could be a problem without anti inflammatory meds.I am very happy to hear your husband is on board.It doesnt take too long to get attached to these little guys :mrgreen:

 

[MelissaGray]

Ok, just wanted to update ya'll. Sydney is doing good with her new light Seems to be happier too. Apparently, I have been spoiling her, the other day, she wouldn't eat her greens unless I hand fed them to her :lol: Today, I didn't give her the choice so apparently, she will eat them without me. She has a dr's appt Thursday for a checkup. I am hoping we won't need the xrays, but I am sure they will probaly do them anyway. Luckily, hubby is getting attached and felt bad because she is having a little trouble walking. She still can walk, but she can't run. He finally said "somethings's wrong, we better take her to the doc" I was thinking duh! So, now she has the appt and I have moved the extra stuff out of the tank. It is her, her log and food and water bowl. I think I may put her a fleece blankie in there. She hides under her log at night but I noticed she loves being in the washcloth. So I think she would like the blankie. Here's an updated pic for ya'll.

 

[MelissaGray]

Just wanted to let ya'll know how Sydney's visit went. Dr said she has extreme calcium defieceny. Basically, her bones feel like cartlidge right now. There's definately some type of trama to her back. Told me we really didn't need to waste the money for the xrays (it's kinda obvious) Told me this was probally going on before I even got her (the calcium prob). She also said Sydney could have done it just turning the wrong way. Basically, she said to get her in the sun at least 1 hour a day, use the calcium supps like normal and told me we could only wait and see. The lump won't ever go away, but she could recover. I did get some liquid calcium. Told me 1 drop every 15-30 mins when she starts having the muscle spasms from the calcium def. Could I use this more often to get the levels up instead of just for the twitching? By the way, she now weighs 70 grams? She also gave her a Vitamin A and B shot to help her. Poor thing didn't like the shot but I don't blame her. So, she is now in the tank with nothing but her blanket and food. Dr said she didn't need to move alot so I took the log out also. If anyone with ideas on how to basically help boost her calcium levels quickly, please let me know. Dr suggested more protein in her diet. Will that help? Thanks for any advice

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am glad that you have done so much for Sydney & that she is doing better.
The lump most likely wont go away, no, but maybe it could go down some & she will become stronger in time & get around alot better.
I recommend with the liquid calcium, to properly dose it. At her weight, she would need .07ml or cc per day. Do you have a small syringe to measure that out with?
Good that she got a vitamin A & vitamin D shot, that should help. You have a good UVB light, as well, correct?


Tracie

 

[MelissaGray]

Yes, I finally got the reptisun 10.0 in. She has been under it now for about a week and a half. Do you know if the vitamins can make her a little sleepy? She seems a little rundown now. Maybe it was just the visit. I do have a syringe, how often should I give it to her? Keep in mind, this dr doesn't specialize in dragons, but she is the one that everyone goes to for reptiles/exotics. She seemed really nice though but gave her a 50/50 shot of getting better. Told me we might want to do a liver test if things get worse. I hope she feels better soon. Do you think increasing protein will help? Thanks Tracie

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great that she is under her new Reptisun 10 light now, that should help alot. Sometimes, when they have been under stress, & then things are changed up & new supplementation is added to their regime it takes awhile for their bodies to assimilate it all. I would give her a few days to get adjusted to all of this. The vet visit probably did wear her out as well.
Right now, I would give the calcium 7 days per week, & that should be sufficient to get her better. Give her that amount for 1 month, & let's see how she is doing by then.
So the bloodtest that they did, was the liver enzymes not included such as the AST or SGOT? Normally on the complete blood count tests, they should have been included in that.
What is she eating right now? Maybe you could ask the vet if she has a product from Oxbow Hay called Critical care which is given to ill or underweight reptiles, etc. She might really like that. If not, for now, go easy on straight protein for awhile. That can interfere with the calcium absorption. I would give her a low protein diet for at least 2 weeks, & see how she does. Then, you can increase it slightly, but mostly focusing on greens & veggies.
Keep me posted on her.

Tracie

 

[Zemanski]

poor thing, she must have been feeling pretty rough for a while

my vet gave Trevor a very strict diet of high calcium food for mbd - he is only allowed certain veg (although I do garnish it a little to tempt him a bit with things I know he likes)

The best veg for calcium absorbtion are:
collards, mustard greens, pak/bak choi (chinese cabbage), turnip greens, beet greens and broccoli leaves

these should be fed to the feeder insects too (without the garnish)

She also gave me something called calci-paste for the feeders; a fine calcium and bran mix, you add a little water to make small soft balls and give it instead of water. my roaches love it but I don't know if there's a commercial version you can get; my vet makes it herself.

I'm sure with TLC she will improve; Trevor's front feet were very bent and his legs weak when we got him and now he is using one of his feet almost normally and his is much stronger

good luck with her

 

[akingsley9000]

Hi,

I know you said that you took all her furniture out and that you have a repti-sun 10.0. Just make sure that she can still get within 6-8" of it.


~Allison

 

[MelissaGray]

Well, she has a 20 gal long tank and the reptisun is directly sitting on top of the screen, so right now, she is about 8-10 inches from it. I may try to build up a platform for the entire tank since she is not supposed to climb or move alot. Usually, she stayed on he large log to get close enough to it. After getting the light, I noticed she seemed to stay up there and when she was ready for bed, she would climb down and sleep under it. Then I would turn off the light. Since getting the light, it has been on for about 14 hours a day. Usually, around 9 in the am to about 11 pm. Once she gets better, I am going to put it on a timer. We didn't do the liver/kidney tests because her urates seem to be fine so I wasn't worried too much about that. My husband thought the vet was going to suggest putting her down but I don't like hearing that so I didn't give her a chance to say it. I told my husband I would do that IF it came to that but she seems to be a fighter and I think she deserves a chance at life. So, now, I just want to give her the best chance to survive and I don't care if she will be deformed for life. Not everyone can be perfect :wink: I love my "rejects" as much as my other animals. So, maybe I can build a sloping platform so she can get closer or farther from the light as she chooses. Maybe at a 15 or 20 degree slope? Any ideas are appreciated on this. Basically the vet said her bones are mush tight now including her jaw and any movement could break something else if she's not careful. She said superworms would be fine and to keep giving her the calcium. She said it would be a long road ahead of her. Told me to bring her back if I wanted more tests and if I start to feel her jaw hardening up, then she's getting better. So, I need to push more veggies? She already loves those. She gets a mix of 1 bundle collard greens, 1 yellow squash and 1 piece of celery. I use the food processor so it is kinda minced up. Sometimes it has a few bigger pieces in it. I process it all up, mix it together and she gets a 1/4 cup in the morning. Normally, she has been eating most of it. Sometimes, I don't add the celery though, depends on if I have it. Should I start adding something else to it? Or maybe a treat that is high in a particular vitamin she may need? Maybe soy yogurt or something? She didn't diagnose her with MBD but I assume extreme calcium defiecency would be pretty much the same thing. She also has been having a little trouble eating the bigger crix. I noticed a month ago sometimes a lg crix could climb back out her mouth. I would grap it with tweezers and give it back to her. They didn't make it out twice though. So, I think I will start ordering the crix by size from now on. The pet store I go to has "big" and "small". Sorry the post is long, I have been worried more since the dr. visit. Oh, by the way, the liquid calcium they gave me is for canines. It is called Cal-Absorb? It says it is liquid calcium 170mg/tube? I am at work but will check it when I get home. Maybe that is why she said a drop instead of using a syringe. Like I said in my earlier post, she doesn't specialize in reptiles so maybe she doesn't stock the meds for them. I actually suggested the liquid calcium. So this is what I have to work with, because the herp vets are too far away from home. Like a 6 hour drive there. Luckily, she didn't claim to be an expert and admitted she doesn't know everything, so that's why I am checking with ya'll. I think sometimes experience can count more that a degree in something! Thanks for all the responses and help. We both appreciate it!