Is this the beginning of gout?

[Xjrosie]

Well, the nearest appointment I could get is March 9. Thor has two legs that are bothering him. The one doesn't look swollen though. But he can barely move now. His front right and left rear are hurting.

 

[Hazel_Basil10]

Poor thing!
Again, the swollen leg could be a sprain because of the hammock. just keep an eye on him and try to comfort him. What does his setup look like now?

 

[Xjrosie]

Well now I've removed his tall basking hide and the hammock was gone earlier in the week. There's nothing for him to climb on that's steep. He has a half-log hide on his cool side.

 

[Xjrosie]

I was able to get him an appointment for tomorrow. I'm gonna do bloodwork for sure. I don't know if I'll do an xray. I can't really afford both

 

[Xjrosie]

This is where he opted to sleep. You can see how swollen his front leg is. I want to see if he wants to swim, but I'm worried that he won't be able to keep his head above water even if it's really shallow.

 

[Xjrosie]

Waiting to go to the vet. It's an hour away, so I had to combine a bunch if stuff and do an errand day. Thankfully it's sunny, so he stays warm.

Today, we did laundry, went to the veggie market, returned his broken basking spot/hide, got him some hornworms, and had lunch. I may have misjudged how much time it would take me to get everything done, because we still have 2.5 hours before the appointment.

 

[AHBD]

Hope everything goes well ! Since his leg is sore it's best for him to have the cork bark on the ground to keep him from jumping. I wanted to mention that water via syringe is fine a couple times a week as long as he willingly drinks it. Use calcium without D3 2-3X a week and WITH D3 just once a week. Be super careful of riding with him like that, slipping or falling off could in a flash even if you just had to brake quickly.

 

[Xjrosie]

Hope everything goes well ! Since his leg is sore it's best for him to have the cork bark on the ground to keep him from jumping. I wanted to mention that water via syringe is fine a couple times a week as long as he willingly drinks it. Use calcium without D3 2-3X a week and WITH D3 just once a week. Be super careful of riding with him like that, slipping or falling off could in a flash even if you just had to brake quickly.

Yeah, he was just there while I was eating lunch. Otherwise he was sitting on the passenger seat, which is heated.

I only ever gave him calcium with d3, I hope it didn't cause this. Today I went and got liquid calcium, no d3. Vet said d3 only once a month.

I never force feed him, whether it's food or water. If he doesn't take it willingly, I don't give it to him. I do have to sometimes push on his lip to get an initial drop of water in his mouth, but if he doesn't want it, he either clamps right up or turns his head away. I let it go if he does.

The cork is permanently attached, unfortunately. I'm trying to figure out a workaround. I honestly didn't think he would try to jump up there with his legs hurting.

 

[Xjrosie]

So, I'm picking up a copy of the bloodwork tomorrow along with antibiotics. She said the wbc was high, but it's not gout. Thankfully.

The swelling on his back leg is going down. The front leg is still pretty round. But now when he tries to move, he has body tremors. Might be because he was anxious, I don't know. I'll post the bloodwork as soon as I have it.

She wants to do radiography, but it's $333, and I just used part of my rent today, $276, to get the bloodwork and exam.

Also, he's at 591 grams. He was 660ish right out of brumation. 610 I think on January 3. She gave him a score of 2.75 out of 3.

 

[Xjrosie]

Also, I think I'm gonna use that towel to make a hammock. It doesn't have any loops so it won't catch her nails. It's easy to wash. It's one of my towels I use to dry my car. Do you guys think that would work? He really prefers hammocks over rocks and wood.

 

[AHBD]

Glad to hear it's probably not gout ! As for a hammock, I'd do without since it's slightly more likely for him to hurt his leg getting off + on. A nice basking log I think is the best but it's really up to you.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That's great the vet didn't feel it was gout. Definitely post the bloodwork as soon as you can, I would love
to take a look over it. Has the swelling in his front arm, any better?
I would like to see all limbs go down in swelling though. Did you manage to get a hammock made then,
out of a towel? I'm sure he would really like that!

Keep us posted on him.
Tracie

 

[Xjrosie]

Hello,

That's great the vet didn't feel it was gout. Definitely post the bloodwork as soon as you can, I would love
to take a look over it. Has the swelling in his front arm, any better?
I would like to see all limbs go down in swelling though. Did you manage to get a hammock made then,
out of a towel? I'm sure he would really like that!

Keep us posted on him.
Tracie

I haven't made the hammock yet, as his legs are weak, and I didn't want him to try to jump yet. He's using his legs, but not lifting himself up. The swelling is mostly gone in his back leg. The right leg is still a bit swollen but not as bad.

I picked up his antibiotics today. I also have his bloodwork. I will post it when I get home around 9. His protein is elevated, and he's a bit dehydrated, so I'm gonna go a bit heavier (as opposed to crickets) on the hornworms for a while so he can bulk back up.

 

[Xjrosie]

She put him on .06mL Fortaz/Ceftaz. One injection every 72 hours, for 20 injections. Thank god because i cant stand the thought of hurting him every day.

He doesnt flinch when I touch his rear leg anymore. I'm doing the first injection tomorrow morning.

Also, I've been reading other posts about the blood results, and I need to rethink the hornworms, since his BA is elevated, right? Hornworms are kinda fatty I think.

And she said his mouth and teeth are healthy as well.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Thanks for posting the blood tests! That's great the swelling is starting to go down. Based on the blood tests, the Uric acid levels look good so at the moment it shouldn't be gout. I am not sure exactly what could have caused an infection.
Sometimes the Uric acid levels can be low in early stages of kidney issues, or it could be something as simple as a vitamin or mineral deficiency.
The calcium levels look good.
Yuck, 20 injections for him, he wont like that! Are you ok doing the shots?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie