need a diagnosis for swollen eyes, beard and behind the leg

[mustang611]

I have a female dragon that is 4 1/2 y.o. She is suffering from swollen eyes (so much so that she can only look up and constantly weeping), a swollen beard (that is quite pendulous), and most recently a swelling of what I can only describe as an air sac behind her front paw (about 3x the normal size and is soft and squishy). she is lethargic, she only moves to clime down from her basking rock and occasionally scratches on the glass. her greatest activity is struggling with me when I give her the anti-biotic (she does not like it at all). she has eaten only a few superworms in the last month, partly due to brumation. now I feed her some green bean baby food with a few drops of her liquid vitamin mixed in. the weepy eyes does dehydrate her and she will sometimes drink water when I bathe her.

I have taken her to my local vet that handles exotics, but she is stumped. she gave me an oral anti-biotic, a triple anti-biotic ointment for the eyes and an oral medication to reduce swelling. after a week, there is no change in her condition. here are a couple of photos. any suggestions?

 

[AchierSnakes]

Poor baby, looks awful! Take her to the vet as soon as you can especially if her condition doesn't get any better and you sense some discomfort. If i were you, I'd take her to the vet tomorrow and explain that the antibiotics haven't had an impact.
Hope she gets better.

 

[CooperDragon]

Which part of IL are you in? There is a teaching hospital in Urbana that can do some pretty advanced diagnostic work. It may be worth a trip if your local vet is stumped.

 

[AchierSnakes]

https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/eyebulging/

 

[CooperDragon]

https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/eyebulging/

This doesn't appear to be the type of eye bulging associated with shedding. It's likely either genetic or an issue with kidney's/heart but that's just a rough guess. A blood test may be a good idea to check out system functions. Like I said though, advanced diagnostics may be beneficial in this case.

 

[mustang611]

I live in the Rockford, IL area. I got the names of a couple of specialists in the Chicago area that were recommended by my current vet. I was hoping there was something I could try now, or maybe just put my mind at ease that it's fixable and not life-threatening. she is a really good pet.

 

[CooperDragon]

OK, that's a few hours north then. I'd still keep it in mind as an option. I've had good experiences there. I'm not sure what else to try for now other than to keep her comfortable and offer plenty of hydration. Drop water on her nose and try to get her to lick it up. The hydration will help her systems out.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh the poor dear, I hate to see those eyes like that!
I highly recommend doing blood work first off, to see what the values are, as well as either an ultrasound or x-rays.
Ca you run over your tank setup with us, supplementation type & frequency, the type & brand of UVB as well as the temperatures, too.
I hope you are able to get some diagnostics done soon. It could be heart or kidney issues which can cause marked swelling & pressure issues.
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie