Limping Beardie Please Advise

[beardie888]

Hello! I have a beardie that is limping on his front leg and I think it is bit swollen. Is there something you can recommend while I am finding him a vet? He always moves around and I am afraid he can worsen it. Is it best to tape it somehow? Please kindly advise.
Also, are there any free clinics or vet exams or students that practice under supervision that anyone might know of?

 

[BuddyBeardedDragon]

Hmmm... Well, it might be metabolic bone disease. Do you give him calcium? It might be just that he got it caught somewhere and it is swollen. Could you send some photos? You could give him some pure cherry extract and hydrate him a lot. Tape his leg to a splint until you visit the vet?

 

[KarrieRee]

Hello! I have a beardie that is limping on his front leg and I think it is bit swollen. Is there something you can recommend while I am finding him a vet? He always moves around and I am afraid he can worsen it. Is it best to tape it somehow? Please kindly advise.
Also, are there any free clinics or vet exams or students that practice under supervision that anyone might know of?

Does the dragon have a hammock in the tank? What are you using for a uvb? Is the leg sore to touch? In case you need to find a vet here's a website www.arav.org type in a bigger cities zip code closest to you if your in a small town- we need to rule out some simple causes first

 

[beardie888]

Hmmm... Well, it might be metabolic bone disease. Do you give him calcium? It might be just that he got it caught somewhere and it is swollen. Could you send some photos? You could give him some pure cherry extract and hydrate him a lot. Tape his leg to a splint until you visit the vet?

Thank you for your reply!! This is not my beardie, I am pet sitting for a friend. They give him calcium on a regular basis and didn't instruct me to do it. It's been 2 weeks since they gone. Yes, I was thinking of taping his leg to a splint. Is it ok to do so? What are the signs of metabolic bone disease? Sending mages of him. It's his front left leg.

 

[beardie888]

Does the dragon have a hammock in the tank? What are you using for a uvb? Is the leg sore to touch? In case you need to find a vet here's a website www.arav.org type in a bigger cities zip code closest to you if your in a small town- we need to rule out some simple causes first

Thank you for your response Karrie! Yes he has a hammock which he loves and has been resting today and didn't move a lot. I don't know if this is a good sign he resting or it is worsening. Yesterday he was trying to crawl a lot while limping today he is just laying doing and moving just briefly. Although very response ate well. I am not his owner, pet sitting for a friend for a month. I am not really well versed with UVB but she gave me a lamp to use also previously (before this thing happened) I placed him on a sunlit space for a couple of hours every day.
I don't know it if is sore to touch, I don't know how to understand it. He is very sweet this guy always very responsive to touch and voice. It is swollen however. I sent video above and a pics if you could kindly reference I would be very grateful. I scheduled the appt on Monday and on a waitlist for Saturday appt. Do you think I need to go for emergency?

 

[beardie888]

Here is the video of him from today.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He looks very sweet. He does seem to be favoring that arm & it does look a little swollen but not
too bad. It is most likely either from the hammock, by catching his arm in it & yanking it out. This is
pretty common of an injury from hammocks.
Or, if he doesn't have proper UVB lighting & or supplementation, then he could be having issues with
metabolic bone disease. If you are getting him a couple of hours of sunlight daily, that should help him
out quite a bit. I understand you are house sitting for him, but hopefully he will start to improve under
your care.

Tracie

 

[KarrieRee]

Here is the video of him from today.

Ok so I am guessing the hammock has caused the injury like Tracie said--- I would pull the hammock so he doesnt injure himself again and the smooth tile isnt helping matters either - I realize the dragon is not yours but in order to prevent more injuries I would recommend you cover the tile w/ paper towels or something w/ texture so hes not slipping all over hes already got a hurt leg -- next the UVB is crucial in healing -- what is the bulb being used? Is it a coil in a dome or a long tube fixture?

 

[beardie888]

Ok so I am guessing the hammock has caused the injury like Tracie said--- I would pull the hammock so he doesnt injure himself again and the smooth tile isnt helping matters either - I realize the dragon is not yours but in order to prevent more injuries I would recommend you cover the tile w/ paper towels or something w/ texture so hes not slipping all over hes already got a hurt leg -- next the UVB is crucial in healing -- what is the bulb being used? Is it a coil in a dome or a long tube fixture?

Thank you for brining this up. I did cover the hammock as soon I noticed the limping and the leg getting stuck in those holes which could potentially worsen it so now it has a smooth texture. He is mostly resting this morning, ate some greens and crickets but didn't poop yet. It's one of those coil in a dome since I am pet sitting for a bit that's what they gave me for the time being. I do believe they use tube fixture on the regular basis.

 

[beardie888]

Hello,

He looks very sweet. He does seem to be favoring that arm & it does look a little swollen but not
too bad. It is most likely either from the hammock, by catching his arm in it & yanking it out. This is
pretty common of an injury from hammocks.
Or, if he doesn't have proper UVB lighting & or supplementation, then he could be having issues with
metabolic bone disease. If you are getting him a couple of hours of sunlight daily, that should help him
out quite a bit. I understand you are house sitting for him, but hopefully he will start to improve under
your care.

Tracie

Thank you Tracie! I very much hope for it too!

 

[KarrieRee]

Thank you for brining this up. I did cover the hammock as soon I noticed the limping and the leg getting stuck in those holes which could potentially worsen it so now it has a smooth texture. He is mostly resting this morning, ate some greens and crickets but didn't poop yet. It's one of those coil in a dome since I am pet sitting for a bit that's what they gave me for the time being. I do believe they use tube fixture on the regular basis.

Ok the coil is no good- it's not doing him any good only harm to be truthful - how long do you have him for?

 

[beardie888]

Ok the coil is no good- it's not doing him any good only harm to be truthful - how long do you have him for?

wow really... is it not powerful enough watts? for another 2 weeks.

 

[KarrieRee]

wow really... is it not powerful enough watts? for another 2 weeks.

Yes I am sorry to say coils are really bad -- you can take the dragon outside for 15 minutes of direct sunlight per day and that will suffice the UVB till the owners come back -- just make sure its not really hot so that you cant stand it out -- you can have him sit on you sunning and he will get good UVB from the sun

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing today?
Yes, unfortunately the compact/coils are not very strong at all. Taking him outdoors in good weather can
really help out for him. Hopefully you can the owners to purchase a new UVB light for him. Otherwise he
will continue to have some issues.

Tracie