Older bearded dragon (F) showing slight weakness in back legs

[MarleeW]

Hello. I’ve noticed this year that my 8 year old bearded dragon (F) seems to not have as much strength in her back legs as she did last year. Lately when she is going after bugs in her enclosure or hopping down from her basking spot, her joint where her tibia/fibula (lower leg) meet the tarsal (foot) will twist upon landing or when moving quickly in such a way that her foot is bent under her leg or her belly. I haven’t noticed that happening until this year. It also seems like she just generally has to use more effort to use her back legs when walking. She sometimes looks like she hobbles on one side sometimes.
She has a great appetite, eats a mix of leafy greens 5 times a week and several dubia roaches 2-3 times a week with a couple of super worms on the days she does not have a salad. I dust her bugs or her greens with calcium w/o D3 2 times a week, dust with calcium w/ D3 once a week, and she also gets her greens dusted with a multivitamin once a week. I sprinkle been pollen on her greens every feeding day as it entices her to eat them. She has a 75W basking bulb with temps around 95 degrees (she is not a fan of intense heat), and a tube T5 10.0 UVB bulb changed every 6 months or so. She’s been to an exotic vet several times in her life and she is healthy besides having a short round of medication to control a moderate case of pinworm eggs in her feces.
She loves to run around and explore the house and cuddle, so she is definitely not lethargic or showing any symptoms of any other illnesses.
Could this awkward foot twist and slight weakness of the back legs just be a sign of aging? Would more exercise help?
Thanks!

 

[Claudiusx]

It could be due to older age, things stop working as well the older you get. It could also be gout, which is common in older dragons, especially older dragons who have been fed dubia's their whole lives.

Are you feeding the full grown adult dubias? It might be best to cut out dubias for now, or switch to the younger dubias. You can try tart cherry extract/juice to help. If it is gout, the tart cherry should help a bit, as well as extra hydration.

Without pictures of the joint to indicate swelling, the only other way to know if it's gout is a blood test.

-Brandon

 

[MarleeW]

It could be due to older age, things stop working as well the older you get. It could also be gout, which is common in older dragons, especially older dragons who have been fed dubia's their whole lives.

Are you feeding the full grown adult dubias? It might be best to cut out dubias for now, or switch to the younger dubias. You can try tart cherry extract/juice to help. If it is gout, the tart cherry should help a bit, as well as extra hydration.

Without pictures of the joint to indicate swelling, the only other way to know if it's gout is a blood test.

-Brandon

Hi Brandon, thanks for the fast reply. I took some pictures of her legs for your reference.
1st pic: back legs
2nd pic: left arm
3rd pic: right arm
4th pic: front arms
5th pic: left back leg (about to shed so it may appear thicker)
6th pic: right back leg
I’ve been feeding her small/medium sized roaches for approx. 3 years—no adults. Before she was eating crickets and super worms. She’s due for a checkup at the vet, so I will take her soon and bring up what I’ve been noticing. Do her joints seem to have any swelling? (Left back leg is about to shed)

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Thanks for the pictures of your girl. She is very sweet!
As Brandon suggested, get her started on black or tart cherry juice extract to help reduce uric acid
production & levels if gout is developing. How many insects weekly do you give?
The Reptisun 10 T5 tube bulb is a good bulb. How close is it to her? Your supplementation schedule
is fine for her right now.
I see swelling at the joints to some extent because there isn't the definition on the wrist & ankles like
there should be. Especially the ankles & feet area are puffy. How long has the swelling been present?
Gout does cause pain due to the uric acid crystals & will affect the strength in the back legs. A blood test
will help determine Uric acid levels, protein levels, calcium, etc.

Let us know how she is doing & if you do get her to the vets.

Tracie

 

[Claudiusx]

Thanks for the pictures,

I agree with Tracie, there does appear to be some swelling to the joints. A blood test would tell how bad it is, and medication to treat gout can be prescribed too. It's typically quite safe. The cherry extract can help in the mean time.

-Brandon

 

[MarleeW]

Hello,

Thanks for the pictures of your girl. She is very sweet!
As Brandon suggested, get her started on black or tart cherry juice extract to help reduce uric acid
production & levels if gout is developing. How many insects weekly do you give?
The Reptisun 10 T5 tube bulb is a good bulb. How close is it to her? Your supplementation schedule
is fine for her right now.
I see swelling at the joints to some extent because there isn't the definition on the wrist & ankles like
there should be. Especially the ankles & feet area are puffy. How long has the swelling been present?
Gout does cause pain due to the uric acid crystals & will affect the strength in the back legs. A blood test
will help determine Uric acid levels, protein levels, calcium, etc.

Let us know how she is doing & if you do get her to the vets.

Tracie

Hi Tracie and Brandon, I appreciate the feedback.

As for insects, I give her 3-4 medium sized dubias 2-3 times a week. So I would say around 8-12 dubias per week. Should I cut back on the dubias and give her maybe 4-5 just once a week and focus more on giving her greens and vegetables?

She has a Reptisun T5 10 tube bulb and it normally is hung on the inside of the tank about 10 inches from her basking spot. However, I’ve had her in a temporary tank the past 2 months as I just completed a DIY 120 gallon tank for her and am waiting to introduce her until I get back from a two week vacation in the UK (needs time to outgas and 120gal is too large for my reptile-sitter to have for the time being). The bulb has been sitting on top of the temporary tank mesh during that time. I wasn’t expecting the DIY enclosure to take as long as it did, so I just moved the UVB bulb back into the inside of her tank above her basking spot as she will be in it until 5/10/25. I will be moving her into the DIY when I am back.
I don’t think I will be able to get her in to see her vet until after my trip, as I leave 4/23 and the exotic vet has limited hours and availability in my area. I would like to get her blood tested like you suggested when I get back, so I will call to make an appointment in advance to my return.
I’ve gently moved her feet around and applied light pressure on her ankles with my fingers and she doesn’t jerk her leg away or show signs of distress, so I don’t think she is in any serious pain at the moment.

Thanks again,
Marlee

 

[Claudiusx]

For now, since there is confirmed visible swelling to the joint, and an obvious discomfort, a safe assumption is that she is suffering from gout. I would cut out dubias completely, as they are one of the few insects that will actually store UA in their systems, which in turn gets consumed by your dragon.

Switch to another feeder for the time being, or cut them out completely until your dragon is eating salads. The bulk of the diet should very much be made up of salad items, in all dragons. But especially in dragons suffering from high levels of UA. The benefit of a majority salad diet is the extra hydration, which helps with UA.

The blood test would be nice to have, but it's not technically a necessity at this point. If you are wanting to go down the prescription route, your vet will likely want bloodwork to confirm and then to track the progress.

-Brandon

 

[Drache613]

Hello Marlee,

I agree with Brandon, cutting out the dubia right now would help decrease
the stress on the kidneys. It's best to be proactice, plus, using the cherry
juice extract will help also. Vegetation is important in keeping fluids in the
system.
It is always nice to have a baseline blood test when trying to confirm a
diagnosis but in this case I'm pretty sure she has gout. Are you located in
the UK?

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie