Possible broken back? What to expect

[Weenielord]

I wanna preface by saying our vet appointment is in 3.5 hours.

I've been working 2 full time jobs since March so I haven't really had time to interact with my little dude (Almost 2 years old). He's been eating consistently and pooping fine. I noticed a few days ago he looked like he wasn't stretching his back out all the way. I made a mental note and hoped it was just because he had been sleeping in a C shape inside one of his huts.
Yesterday I noticed he still looked odd and he was struggling to use his back legs.
His spine is slightly curved with a lump, possibly swelling, at the apex of the curve. I'm really worried he broke his back somehow.
He's a crazy climber so I'm guessing he pulled some sort of stunt. I've removed pretty much everything out of his tank besides his large basking platform and 2 ramps.

SO, if he did break his back what can I expect? If it's a non-major fracture will it just be pain meds and self-healing? Besides the lump and the obvious discomfort he's still trying to do all his normal activities.

Quick rundown on husbandry:
4x2x2, t5 tube uvb, 110 basking->~80
Gets collards, kale, squash in main salads everyday; dubia, calcigrubs, hornworms, occasionally supers on protein days.
I calcium dust, and use a multivitamin.

 

[Weenielord]

 

[ChileanTaco]

Broken back sounds unlikely - first, they are quite sturdy (I would think of a broken back only in other situations, like a very deep fall, or hit by something heavy), and second, if, likely he won't be able to poop (this is usually when there is a spinal cord injury). But that's something the vet has to check for.
Husbandry looks fine, I won't suspect MBD from that.
But maybe another deformity that causes pain (like humans, also reptiles can have e.g. scoliosis).

How long do you have him? (I'm asking this as the care by a possible previous owner might not have been optimal.)

Please let us know after the appointment

 

[Weenielord]

Broken back sounds unlikely - first, they are quite sturdy (I would think of a broken back only in other situations, like a very deep fall, or hit by something heavy), and second, if, likely he won't be able to poop (this is usually when there is a spinal cord injury). But that's something the vet has to check for.
Husbandry looks fine, I won't suspect MBD from that.
But maybe another deformity that causes pain (like humans, also reptiles can have e.g. scoliosis).

How long do you have him? (I'm asking this as the care by a possible previous owner might not have been optimal.)

Please let us know after the appointment

He's pooping fine, in fact he just laid a massive one all over the floor when I was checking him out lol. I've had him his whole life, but he was a PetSmart baby and he had a lot of problems for the first months we had him.
I'm honestly also wondering if he just has a big abscess forming on his back maybe putting pressure on his spine. I'm just not sure what would cause that. It's painful having to just wait, twiddle my thumbs, and Google all the worse case scenarios until his appointment lol

 

[xp29]

He's pooping fine, in fact he just laid a massive one all over the floor when I was checking him out lol. I've had him his whole life, but he was a PetSmart baby and he had a lot of problems for the first months we had him.
I'm honestly also wondering if he just has a big abscess forming on his back maybe putting pressure on his spine. I'm just not sure what would cause that. It's painful having to just wait, twiddle my thumbs, and Google all the worse case scenarios until his appointment lol

In the last picture it looks like he has a bump or swelling on his right side. It could be an abscess or maybe he cracked some ribs (I'm just guessing, I'm not a vet for sure) but I would get him checked out for sure. Keep us posted on him please.

 

[Weenielord]

Alright, well good news. There are no fractures or injuries.
When I first brought him home as a baby, he was a super ill. The vet and I weren't hopeful he'd even make it because he was so riddled with parasites and was extremely malnourished. The doctor thinks that he developed slight mbd in the early days and that caused his spine to curve a bit. His tests and his X-ray looked absolutely fine and no signs of mbd now.

Now for the discomfort and the reason why the curve is extra pronounced, drumroll please...he's literally just full of crap. Even though he's been pooping, he's still just completely packed with poop.
I was in AWE when I saw the X-ray because he literally just exploded earlier today.

 

[xp29]

Alright, well good news. There are no fractures or injuries.
When I first brought him home as a baby, he was a super ill. The vet and I weren't hopeful he'd even make it because he was so riddled with parasites and was extremely malnourished. The doctor thinks that he developed slight mbd in the early days and that caused his spine to curve a bit. His tests and his X-ray looked absolutely fine and no signs of mbd now.

Now for the discomfort and the reason why the curve is extra pronounced, drumroll please...he's literally just full of crap. Even though he's been pooping, he's still just completely packed with poop.
I was in AWE when I saw the X-ray because he literally just exploded earlier today.

I'm glad he hasn't got anything bad going on. Thank you for the update!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, that is really good news actually. Has he been impacted
for some reason? You could back off on protein/insects for a bit since he is 2 years old. Does he eat vegetation regularly? If he had parasites when you first got him, that could have caused
some internal GI damage that can affect him too.
Which brand of the T5 tube bulb are you using?

Tracie

 

[Weenielord]

Hello,

Well, that is really good news actually. Has he been impacted
for some reason? You could back off on protein/insects for a bit since he is 2 years old. Does he eat vegetation regularly? If he had parasites when you first got him, that could have caused
some internal GI damage that can affect him too.
Which brand of the T5 tube bulb are you using?

Tracie

I use reptisun.

To be honest he's always been pretty good with pooping. He eats proteins about twice a week but I had gotten him a tub of supers because he hasn't had them in probably a year. I think they were the cause. He has a salad everyday but I forgot he was a little freak for supers and he didn't want to eat anything other than them this past week and I may have indulged him too much. But that's why he doesn't get them lol

I also know that when I don't interact everyday with him, he gets bored and depressed and won't bask. So I think that combo was the cause.

 

[xp29]

I use reptisun.

To be honest he's always been pretty good with pooping. He eats proteins about twice a week but I had gotten him a tub of supers because he hasn't had them in probably a year. I think they were the cause. He has a salad everyday but I forgot he was a little freak for supers and he didn't want to eat anything other than them this past week and I may have indulged him too much. But that's why he doesn't get them lol

I also know that when I don't interact everyday with him, he gets bored and depressed and won't bask. So I think that combo was the cause.

My guys all crash on me at bed time, if for some reason they miss an evening they are cranky the next day.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok great, the Reptisun 10 tube bulb is a nice bulb. It is the T5 high output tube?
They love attention & do tend to pout if they don't get enough attention or love, but, you can't really blame them.
Supers are perfectly fine but they do need some vegetation also!

Tracie

 

[Weenielord]

Hello,

Ok great, the Reptisun 10 tube bulb is a nice bulb. It is the T5 high output tube?
They love attention & do tend to pout if they don't get enough attention or love, but, you can't really blame them.
Supers are perfectly fine but they do need some vegetation also!

Tracie

Yeah it's the 10.0 UVB T5 high output. He's def milking all the extra attention he's getting lol

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That's terrific, the T5 is a great bulb, with nice UVB output. They do love attention don't they?

Tracie