Limping arm and injured tail

[leezardo]

This is my first post, but I have been reading these forums since I got my bearded dragon, Leezardo, last summer. I haven't had any issues, but when it rains, it pours it seems. I do have an appointment with an exotics vet this week, but wanted to check here first. Sorry for the lengh.

Tail Issue:
When I bought him from a lady, the tip of his tail had some shedding that got stuck and eventually fell off and left a bloody nub. It scabbed over, but it has gotten worse the past 6 months. I soak and try to take off what stuck scales that I can. I have been careful not to take off any that have resistance to them, but I did pull some off a couple of weeks ago that resulted in the bloody spot. I treated with weak solution of betadine. I'm worried because it just doesn't seem like it is getting any better. The scales above keep turning dull, making me think there is an infection that has kept going up his tail for a while.

Limping Arm:
This is new. He started to shed on his left paw 2 weeks ago, but it is weird looking. He shed once before when I first got him, and it was nothing like this. When I went to touch it, he didn't want it messed with. Today, he is now limping and won't put any pressure on it. In fact, he tries to run away and it is pitiful. The shedding has not changed since it started. It only began to shed when I began giving every other day baths trying to help his tail.

Short Background:
When I got him, the previous owner said she "weened" him off of insects and fed only veggies/fruits. She fed him iceberg lettuce, fruits/veggies, and pellets.
Tank - 75 gallon
Liner - Duct brand shelf liner
Lighting - 2 ReptiSun 5.0 across length of tank
Diet - Variety of greens (kale, collard greens, bok choy, mustard greens), fruits (mango, green grapes, apple, strawberries, blueberries), veggies (fine-chopped carrots, cucumber, yellow squash, butternut squash) and insects (mealworms, crickets, superworms)
Dust with calcium powder not as often as I should (once a week)
Tank is in basement - have two heat lamps on one side that only brings thermometer up to 75 degrees. I feel his back and it does feel warm.

 

[FrankTheBeardie223]

It is good that you have a vet appointment because you need one! Bearded Dragons can easily be infected. Someone's Beardie had a scenario just like this and it almost died ( a lot of its tail had to be amputated). Tails, arms, and legs may need help shedding. You should mist them and give them frequent baths while shedding to help them through it. Applying straight up aloe to the tail and toes, and keeping them moistened may help. The bloody nub is most likely from the dragon trying to bite the shedding skin off of the tail.
Good Luck to your beardie!

 

[BeardieLover232]

looks like some tail rot there, and the leg looks a little strange, do you know anything from his past? from the looks of it, the person you got it from didn't give this dragon proper lightning. poor thing. it is such a beautiful dragon, bright colors and happy. i am glad you got him out of that situation.

 

[leezardo]

Right now he is actually really dull He had a compact fluorescent UV bulb and a heat bulb. She also kept an infrared light on at night. I used to have the ZooMed double dome light (he came with one), but I have bought another because one side stops working. I followed the wattage directions....so I give up. Those aren't cheap. The shell that you see in the tank - he used to hide in it with them. Never has with me.

I just took my kids' infrared thermometer down to his tank and his skin is at 96 degrees. I knew those tank thermometers had to be wrong. Also, the UV lights I have are the newer version - the bulbs are real skinny. They are the high output kind.

He is super friendly and I really hate that he is in some sort of pain. Hope the vet has good news for me on Wednesday.

 

[BeardieLover232]

really loving the picture right now <3
looks like he was abandoned by his last owner. yeah, those tank thermometer are inaccurate of telling the temp, but i am glad you got him some new lights help him improve his health. you are a good beardie care taker, and i hope he is okay, on his vet visit
he is a happy boy, he has someone that really loves him
thank you for caring for the dragons, we need more people like you that will help beardies from owners that can't take care of them.

 

[Gormagon]

Is the uvb light a 10.0 t5 or a 5.0 t5?

You can put raw unpasteurized honey on the effected areas, it is a antimicrobial and a natural healing compound. The tale looks like tale rot to me as well. A vet will indeed be needed.

 

[EllenD]

Yes please get to a qualified hero vet soon because he's not well at all. He looks happy and this is definitely do to his prior owner, but his tail is absolutely badly infected and is starting to become necrotic, and will need to be amputated a good ways up. I'm sorry for that, but after A YEAR of not healing properly and a retained shed this is what happens. This is why you absolutely must not wait another minute to get his foot to a certified or qualified herp vet because the same thing will happen. You cannot let it go that long, a year is just too long. Again please get him there ASAP because his tail needs to come off.

Also, please talk to the herp vet about MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease) as I'm pretty sure he is suffering from it based on the pretty bad underbite. This is caused by improper or not enough UVB lighting combined with a poor diet and not enough calcium intake/digestion. PLEASE DUST ALL HIS INSECTS IN CALCIUM WITH D3 AND SPRINKLE IT ON ALL OF HIS VEGGIES EVERY SINGLE DAY FROM NOW ON! He also needs a good reptile multivitamin sprinkled on his veggies and dusted on his insects 3 times a week from now on. His foot may be the MBD as well, it's not good. And you are using a Reptisun 5.0 T8 tube UVB? You should be using a Reptisun 10.0 T8 for a beardie to ensure the proper UVB, and it must be within 6 inches of him. Now if you have a larger tank and he is at least 18 inches away you can use a Reptisun 10.0 T5 HO Tube UVB, that's the 10.0 High Output, but never a 5.0, always a 10.0.

Please get him to a vet immediately, you're doing a good job, unfortunately his prior owner did a horrible one and you have to clean up the mess. But proper UVB lighting, proper diet, and proper calcium and multivitamin supplementation is key with these guys. And once again I'm sorry about his tail, but he will be fine without it, if it's not removed ASAP it will kill him.

 

[leezardo]

Wednesday can't come soon enough!!! I am seeing a vet that specializes in exoctics that evening. I feel terrible, as I have literally watched it get worse and all I have done is try to help remove the retained shed. All the pictures I ever found of tail rot never looked like his. I'm not worried about his tail being amputated, as that is cosmetic (my opinion). What I am worried about is his pain level. Is this something he will suffer through if he has MBD? Am I just prolonging his existence when he will be in pain? He went from chasing worms last week in my bathroom to this. Happened so fast. In fact, I had the appointment made for his tail, not the arm, as he wasn't limping at all a few days ago.

I switched to the ReptiSun 5.0 HO around the beginning of fall. At that point, I had him for about 4 months. Very new to this and read as much as I could about what to do. I didn't get the 10.0 because of the description the 5.0 gave which says:

"Stronger UVB and brighter light, being twice as strong as the standard ReptiSun 5.0 lamps. Increased UVB Output is perfect for larger reptile habitats.

Stronger UVB and brighter light than standard ReptiSun 5.0 lamps
Helps prevent or reverse metabolic bone disease commonly seen in captive reptiles
Used and recommended by zoos, veterinarians, and top reptile professionals
Increased UVB Output, perfect for larger reptile habitats

I have no problem switching to the 10.0 bulbs. I was afraid it would have been overkill and would harm him. These bulbs are super skinny (unlike the previous model) and the housing does not have a plastic barrier. It has a silver reflective lining.

 

[AHBD]

Good that you're willing to give Leezardo a decent home and trying to help him out. In the future , don't pull any scales off at all. Even if some of it seemed so come off easily it can be very damaging, like when we have a skin infection or severe sunburn and we pull or scrape the skin off.

A partial tail amputation should not be painful, they don't feel too much pain in their tail and a healthy dragon can tolerate it . Just be sure your vet is experienced with reptiles. And the foot may or may not be related to MBD. It might actually be a sprain from getting his claws snagged in the mesh hammock, it's best to take that out of his tank. Did you by chance try to pull any scales off his foot ? Can you post a video of him walking ?

 

[kyleena29]

I think you said you have 2-5.0? I think it's ok like that or you could have 1-10.0
I would actually put it under the lid so he has full exposure. So far I have found that they will be fine from that distance. I actually have mine within 10" at the closest spot. It looks like you have a 40 gallon breeder tank which are 18" tall plus it looks like you have a screen top? Those filter out about 40% uv. I would also get a digital thermometer with probe sometime in the near future they are pretty cheap.

 

[BeardieLover232]

omg, i didn't realize you named your bearded dragon leezardo. :lol: :lol: :lol:
my bearded dragon's name is Lizarto :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[leezardo]

It's midnight here and he is sleeping, or I would go take a video. I do have one of him chasing worms last week before his arm showed symptoms.

I love my command strips, and they are actually attached to the lights on top of the wire screen. I will move those under tomorrow. Racking my brain now about how I could stablize them should there command strips fail. I doubt they will, though. I use them for everything and never a problem.

The hammock was just put in a few days ago. He was sensitive to me touching his toes on that door before hand, so I don't think he injured himself. I actually have two tanks - one for school (I teach 8th grade science) and one for home. This is a narrow and tall 75 gallon tank. At the time, the fixture in it was pretty close to the top, which is why I didn't put the lights under. He too is a heavy duty metal with a hinged spring in the middle.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Bless him! I am glad you are getting him to a vets. I am sure that they can help him out.
I agree though, that a portion of the tail will likely need to be amputated.
It definitely could be metabolic bone disease related on his arm, or he could have injured it somehow also.
You are using good UVB bulbs though. Mounting them underneath of the screen will greatly increase the UVB. Calcium will need to be given 4-5 times per week right now. Maybe the vet will give some liquid calcium for you.
He does look like a happy boy & has some great colors.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[leezardo]

I added this to the original post I created "Limping arm and injured tail"

Here is the link to the quick video I just took of Leezardo. (See previous post for more details)

https://youtu.be/8k3siRSF0iM

Could this also be a sprain of some kind? I fed him his mealworms on my marble floor, which is very slick, last week. However, he didn't seem injured afterwards.

Thoughts and suggestions? He goes to the reptile vet on Wednesday.

 

[AHBD]

Aw, poor baby. Is it swollen ? It looks like it. It's probably either gout or a bad sprain/possibly break. Be sure to take the hammock out of his tank and keep only a low basking log.
Also it would be good to merge this with your original post so all responses can be in the same thread.