Lamp fell on Kevin!

[KevinsMama]

He never really gets a bath, per say, anymore. I don't want that leg floating or him trying to move around. I just sat him in not even enough water to cover the bottom of his little Rubbermaid bathtub while he was shedding. I only applied a little water on the parts that were shedding. And I think it gave him 2 maybe 3 at the most. But your right, by all means NO MORE BATHS! I'm not trying to argue that at all. I should've thought more about him not getting dry enough. I just felt it would be worse on him to shed since he can't really rub on anything like he did before.

I will take a couple more close up pics in a bit, I just put the cream on so it's all white right now. I'll keep checking when it's at least mostly clear & take some then.

 

[KevinsMama]

Here's a couple more pics of the black spot. The closer I got, the blurred it got. My phone sucks at focus.

 

[AHBD]

Are you positive that it wasn't there before and isn't just part of his pattern ? If not then it's probably a little bit of fungus but the pics are a bit blurry + dark. See what the vet says at the next check up. That's sweet that he likes his little towel.

 

[KevinsMama]

Are you positive that it wasn't there before and isn't just part of his pattern ? If not then it's probably a little bit of fungus but the pics are a bit blurry + dark. See what the vet says at the next check up. That's sweet that he likes his little towel.

I'm 100% it wasn't there before. Wasn't even there last time we re did the splint. Which has been a couple days. It's very new. I was so worried this would happen because that shed couldn't come off & was just holding bacteria there. Coupled with my ignorance that bathing would help the shed. I only made it worse.

Do fungal infections affect their internal health. Because that sure would make sense as to why he's been so different & seemingly declining. He was pretty normal up til a few days ago. Maybe a day or two after the last splint change.

I did inform my husband he has to go in for sure next week. I'm gonna call tomorrow and go ahead and get him an appointment set up for after payday.

 

[AHBD]

It's a small patch and probably not serious. Some people would also use chlorhexidine and or betadine on it. See what your vet says. I know this is making you nervous and I don't blame you, it's natural to be worried about these little guys ,but it can all work out. Still, you need to have the vet look at that ASAP.

 

[KevinsMama]

I am seriously worried about him. There's nothing I can do yet. He has just become a bump on a log. I know it seems crazy, but when I look in his eyes, I'd swear he's so miserable. I understand that with everything going on, no living thing would be normal but he's just declining so much. I feel like I'm just making it worse on him. I want to take him to the vet now but it just can't happen until Friday. But I feel like I'm just torturing him. Seems like there's something I'm missing and it's causing him to suffer more than he should. He's never gotten a black beard, is still eating & pooping but now the only times he holds his head up is to eat a cricket & the only time he moves is to poop. He won't even move a half an inch forward to grab a cricket out of his reach. And now the fungal infection too. It's all killing me because I can tell he is suffering. I'm calling the vet now to have an appointment set up for 1st thing Friday to get completely checked out & hopefully they will find nothing more is wrong & I'm just being absurd.

 

[AHBD]

Poor guy, and I know you're suffering too. I would insist that they see him because of this new development. The fungal spot is a concern.

 

[EllenD]

I just read through all of these posts, and I'm sorry he seems to have something else going on, they do worry us to death don't they? My year old girl is going through the full-body-shed from hell right now, and her eyes look so heavy and sad it's killing me. So I understand.

I can't help but wonder if all of the moving around of his leg, with the splints coming off and being changed and such is causing him pain. I know he's not black bearding, but I'm not talking "acute", horrible pain, but just constant, dull, bone pain. Bone pain is awful, it's different than other pain, and he had a horrible displaced fracture of his femur. Femur fractures are the worst, it's the largest bone in the body and all the moving around of the leg may be keeping the bone from healing properly. I don't think the little bit of fungal infection is causing him any issues as of now, it's not Yellow Fungus and not an internal fungal infection, and he's still eating normally so that's not indicative of the fungal infection effecting him. But it could very well be the leg.

If you take him to the vet on Friday I would definitely get an x-ray done to check on the progress of the bone healing, and to make sure that the bones have not shifted. They may need to be set again. It's really not good for a displaced fracture like that one that had to be set/aligned and splinted to move around the way that it has been. I know it's not your fault, the little bugger managed to get the damn thing off somehow, lol, but that's the entire reason the vet splinted it to his tail instead of simply splinting the leg, it's to keep the leg from moving at all (in theory) because of it being so badly displaced, the more it moves the less bone matrix will form, and the more pain he will have...

Poor guy, he's just not understanding what's happening, why he can't use his leg, and why it hurts. He might need some more pain medication too...

 

[KevinsMama]

Ellen, believe it or not, my husband & I were just talking about that a little while ago. It can't be easy on him to keep getting messed with like this. I have set up an appointment for Friday morning so at least we got that going for us. Last time I took him to have their splint redone, I was only able to drop him off & it took 3 hours before they called me to come back. That splint lasted 1 day. The 1st only lasted 3. So he hasn't had one last longer than 4 days. So i know that's rough. I'm definitely going to actually see the vet & demand they figure out some way to keep it on & immobilized. I want xrays & to see that nothing else is going on. Because to me, looking at him every day, he is definitely suffering. I hate that I have to wait til Friday but the vet is crazy expensive. $77 just to be seen plus $20 for the splint, I think it's $20 for the meds & $49-$69 for the xrays. No idea about the fungal treatment. And add on that it's 45miles away so gas & my tires are so bad I have to get one replaced before risking the drive. So it's gonna be $200-$250 & while I like to feel money's no reason to let a pet suffer, we just don't have that kind of funds to throw around off hand. We really won't even have it Friday but I can't stand seeing him like this & completely plan on lying to my husband about the cost. Shame on me. I've been stashing around $20 a day to cover it up a little ? he doesn't mind me taking him but he doesn't realize the full cost it's going to be.

We've really done the best we can with the splints, but no matter how awesome & tight we get it, it never last long enough. He has nothing on his floor but paper towels & the little booger doesn't move but to poop. But when he does move it's a wild, spastic movement. Kinda like he's swimming or using his chest muscles instead of his arms. So that explains how he wiggles it loose.

See, I think the vet made a mistake just doing a dental xray of his leg. I understand why, the leg was what was obviously injured & my bill racked up super quick that visit. But I think we overlooked something in his upper body. The lamp that fell on him is pretty big & he is pretty small. It did so much damage to the leg, it's be a miracle nothing else was damaged. I just don't know why else he won't raise his chest at all now. I know he's in a lot of pain, but the 1st week or so, he was up basking, he would pull himself up on stuff & he got around fairly well. So something else is definitely going on for him to have almost completely went limp. He will raise his head & that's all & rare.

I just really hope it's nothing too drastic & I can fix it for him. I hate to see him like this.

 

[KevinsMama]

Just got back from the vet appointment. It did not go well. Good news is his leg has healed enough to remove the splint. Bad news is it is highly likely he has a spinal cord injury. He was moving too weird so she put him in a warm bath to see if he moved better and he didn't. All of his legs are uncoordinated. She sent me home with more Metacam & some prescription liquid calcium in case it's just a calcium deficiency and will call me at the beginning of the week to see if there's any improvement at all. If not, I need to make a decision by the end of the week to euthanize him or not. If it is spinal cord, she said it could've been just a bruise that has spread & that's why he was ok at first then declined so drastically. It's likely his upper neck based on the lack of front mobility & it could be putting pressure on nerves & hurting him. Hopefully the Metacam will decrease the swelling.

I honestly don't think it's calcium deficiency. I dust every single thing that goes in his mouth, he has a good UVB & I've even been doing the liquid calcium. Now he has the prescription liquid calcium to add to that.

I think it is spinal. Just the way he moves doesn't add up to MBD. It's too spastic & uncoordinated. And it matches up to me thinking we overlooked something in his upper body when I 1st took him because we just focused on the leg.

My husband is already telling me to not even think of putting him down because if it was him, he would rather be alive & shaky than dead. I agree, I would too. But Kevin can't say "hey I'm really hurting right now, give me pain meds." Or "something doesn't feel right, I need to see the doc."

Not to even mention the pain he would be in & his quality of life... and that hes already been suffering through this for 3 weeks now.

I don't know what to do at this point. I'm praying he has even the slightest improvement to give us at least a little hope because the vet doesn't isn't very optimistic either.

She wasn't concerned about the black spots & put in the notes that it is a superficial infection but didn't mention anything about caring for it.

I stopped on the way home & got him another hornworms cup & some wax worms. I'm waiting on some BSFL that was supposed to have arrived yesterday but didnt. I'm just gonna try to make life as good as possible for him right now.

EDIT: I just got done giving him his meds & trying to convince him to eat (he hasn't ate much in 3days now) & he got in this position:

Notice how his "good" back leg is in this crazy position? He just started doing this yesterday. He doesn't have good movement with it either. I snapped the pic real quick to kind of give everyone an example of how wonky his limbs are. His front ones fold back, out & under very strange-like. Strange even for a beardie.

 

[AHBD]

Sorry to hear the bad part. Hopefully now that he does not have the splint on he'll feel inclined to move more and his appetite will increase. Those would be good indicators that he can go on. The fact that he's been eating all through this and that he does not gape, flare or show a black beard points more toward it not being too painful. I think there's hope for your boy, time will tell.

 

[KevinsMama]

Yea, I suppose that is good signs. I spoke with my husband last night & he is absolutely certain he shouldn't be euthanized if he doesn't improve. He says if hes gonna die, it should be on his own time at home with us making him as comfy as we can. I kinda agree with that but i also dont want him suffefing.

He is eating again, but only worms. I tell ya, I am never ordering from this seller on Amazon again. I've got BSFL that's been roaming around between Michigan & Florida for 3 days then they passed me completely & went all way down to Miami! Been there since early yesterday morning. He needs those worms. I've got hornworms, mealworms & wax worms (treat only) for now. I KNOW none of these are good for staples but he just won't do the crickets at all now & all the BSFL I can find are cups full of dead ones. I even looked everywhere between my city & the vets city yesterday. Must've stopped at 20 pet stores.

He doesn't gape or black beard but he does do this weird swallowing thing every so often. I never noticed it before. Kinda like burps. He is about to shed his body & head so that may explain that. ???

He can't move well at all. And it's almost like every time he tries it wears him out. He will rest for a minute then try again. After a few trust, he gives up & just lays his little head down.

I was told by the vet to leave him alone unless absolutely necessary. I can't do that. I see him wanting to get on his towel but can't so I'll put him there. I don't really get him out much as it is, mainly just to clean, do meds or take him outside. I'm not sure what to do on that. I want to give him the best chance at recovering but if he isn't going to, I don't want him to just be alone.

If ANYONE has ANY experience on spinal cord injuries or having go euthanize, please help me out. It's all that's on my mind now and I don't know what to expect.

 

[KevinsMama]

Kevin just blew a bubble out of one nostril then sucked it back in pretty quick. It was clear, no booger-like colors or consistency. Paired with his heavy breathing & today he has stayed bloated up, I assume this is a RI to add to his list. Because of his recent vet visit (yesterday) I'm all out of money to go back. I'm going to call his vet when they open back up on Tuesday & see if they will help me out in any way. They are all pretty attached to him but money talks so who knows.

What to I do for him in the meantime? I'm going to start using his CHE again at night to keep his temps up as well as have him sleep at a slope. Is there any over-the-counter type things I can do to treat him? Home remedies?

His health is just at an all time low. I'm not sure how much more of this he can handle. Or me for that matter. I feel like I'm at a dead end on how to deal with everything. The stress is so much. I'm not even near ready to give up, but I don't know what to do & really need some help here guys. I'll do whatever I can, but what can I do?

Seems no one even bothers to reply on this thread anymore. Aside from AHBD, of course! And I love how quickly & consistently you do reply & trust and appreciate all your advice, don't get me wrong, but it's so much better to have multiple opinions/advice. Now is the time Kevin & i really need it. It just seems interest has dwindled.....

 

[AHBD]

Oh no, I sure hope not. If you nip it in the bud by keeping him warm at night [ 80 but no higher than 82 ] it can help ward it off. Had he eaten or drank anything before this ? And sorry, just wondering again if you could post a pic of his set up showing the lighting . Is is a t5 uvb ?

Some animals and some people DO recover from spinal cord injuries. Even if he's struggling it doesn't mean he's in a lot of pain. Wait to see how he does and hand feed him as much as he wants.

 

[KevinsMama]

He hadn't eat or drink anything. I was actually trying to get him to eat when I noticed it. I've been watching for it due to his breathing & near constant ballooning. I'm really surprised I even caught it at all. Maybe it was just a fluke. I'm being a bit unbearably paranoid & overprotective so sometimes the slightest thing can be off & I start jumping to conclusions.

He's just got tucked in for the night but to will post a pic in the morning. He still has the t8 mounted under in his screen. He's back in the itty bitty tank for this sole purpose. I'm still waiting on the t5 bulb to come in. I think it'll be here tomorrow. It's in my city at least. The hood came Thursday.

I've got my husband with the diy brain working on ideas to raise his flooring in his big tank so that he will be closer to it when it comes. He's gonna work on it tomorrow since it's his only day off this week. Any ideas on how to do this? He doesn't move at all without help now so there's no making it easier for him to get to. Just make sure he's in the right areas.

He actually didn't even move out of his poop today so that's a bit discouraging. He seems to be struggling even more to move today, but I'm trying to just chock that up to being back on the Metacam, throwing his balance off even more. I hope that's what it is.

I hate to see him look so pitifully all the time but I don't think euthanasia is even an option for us. Like you've pointed out, he really doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain & I think I just have to treat him special. I'm ok with that. It's really hard knowing I caused all this for him.

I think I'm gonna go throw a few bucks in the bank tomorrow to order some serrapeptase from Tracies site. I've seen good things about it & it's pretty damn cheap considering.

My 9yr old wants to make him a wheelchair. That's the best way I could explain what was wrong with him to her. She was at the vets office with me (kept her out of school cause she was concerned also) so she cried with me & has went through all of this. I told her it's like when a person gets in a bad wreck & hurts their back. If it's bad enough, they can't move their arms & legs so they have to be in a wheelchair. Bad idea. She pointed out he still moves all his limbs, just doesn't use them. Now I'm listening to beardie style wheelchair ideas all the time, bless her heart ?