Possible gout but bloodwork shows normal

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Their is a couple schools of thought on d3. Some say it makes a positive impact, some say not so much, if you have good uvb i think it isn't insanely critical. As far as the ZooMed it was the fixtures themselves that failed not the bulb. I recommend borrowing your friends solar meter again and checking output. Also look at the light through the camera on your phone, thats how i figured out mine was bad. (Except the 1st on it died 20 seconds after turning it on).
As far as the 34 inch length thats fine, just make sure to give your beardie some place shaded so it can get out of it, if want to
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Only Arcadia bulb I could find was this one that would fit the fixture I currently have.,it’s a 34” fixture for a 48” long cage. Hopefully it’ll work. Going to try and see if it helps. Ever since my beardie first starting having the issues I switched from a coil bulb to the zoomed. So hopefully it’ll make a difference if i try a new one.


It did say it’s a d3+. Do they do one not d3? Should I still offer calcium with d3? What about in summer when I take her outside if she feels better? I just want to be safe and make sure she doesn’t get to much. Sorry for all the questions.

Also is there a good site to get silkworms from? Local pet store is out and not sure when they will have any in or how much since they never order in bulk.

Thank you
The Arcadia as far as I know are all d 3 bulbs - the zoo med is fine if your not having issues w/ it- here is a website for the silk worms - www.reptilianarts.com
 

Brad85

Member
Original Poster
Their is a couple schools of thought on d3. Some say it makes a positive impact, some say not so much, if you have good uvb i think it isn't insanely critical. As far as the ZooMed it was the fixtures themselves that failed not the bulb. I recommend borrowing your friends solar meter again and checking output. Also look at the light through the camera on your phone, thats how i figured out mine was bad. (Except the 1st on it died 20 seconds after turning it on).
As far as the 34 inch length thats fine, just make sure to give your beardie some place shaded so it can get out of it, if want to
I ordered a different bulb from Arcadia to try. As for the fixture it seems to work fine. Got my friend to bring over his solar meter and he said it’s showing around 3-4 range where she is currently laying. She’s got a couple different hides to use. But right now she seems so weak in her front arms that she doesn’t try to move. Makes me wonder if it is calcium related. Hopefully we’ll find out something tomorrow.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I ordered a different bulb from Arcadia to try. As for the fixture it seems to work fine. Got my friend to bring over his solar meter and he said it’s showing around 3-4 range where she is currently laying. She’s got a couple different hides to use. But right now she seems so weak in her front arms that she doesn’t try to move. Makes me wonder if it is calcium related. Hopefully we’ll find out something tomorrow.
Are you giving calcium? How old is the dragon?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I have to apologize....I had forgotten to check this thread.
I sent an email tonight with a few ideas for you to bring up to the vets. You are going on
Friday (today), correct?
Do get an ionized calcium test to see what the 25Hydroxy levels are which are the D3 or
calcedriol stores in the bones. It is possible it could be calcium related. Let me know if you
have any questions, after reading my email.
It is still possible that gout is developing but could be calcium issues too. Sometimes with other
health problems that can cause secondary issues too which might be what you are seeing.
Has she been able to move much at all lately, or is she still limping?

Tracie
 

Nikki.D

Hatchling Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Garnie
Hi,

First of all sorry for the long read, trying to be as thorough as possible. In hopes someone can help.

My beardie has been getting swollen paws a lot. Been to multiple vets and no one seems to know the cause. She currently is having it going on again. She starts by letting her leg hang when I pick her up and if i try to touch she acts like it’s uncomfortable and pulls it away. She can’t really walk with out a limp and when trying she sometimes has trouble raising that arm if she has to climb higher. I should also add the swelling is very minimal right now and always in paws never the joints. The vet says gout would affect the joints not the paws so I don’t know if that’s what it is or not.

The reason I think it’s gout is it seems to happen when she eats a decent amount of insects. This week she had some extra since she hasn’t been getting much over last few months because of the last time this happened it seemed to be when she ate a bunch, Also she’s been brumating on and off. This past week I gave her 5 med dubia on Fri or sat with some repashy plus, then tues I gave her 5 more with a non d3 calcium. She also had some hornworms that day and some salad (which normally she won’t eat, had a good bit of bee pollen on it so she did eat some). Then every day or 2 I give her around 15 soldier fly larva. Now she has the issue again.

I got a vet appointment set up at her usual vet for thurs but trying to find one sooner somewhere. One place won’t call me back to see if they can get her in sooner until Mon. The other place was closed and I’m going to call in the morning but I’m hesitant there, had a lot of bad experiences with them when younger and hear all kinds of bad stories I prefer not to go unless I have to.

Her normal diet consist of:
Collard greens, Mustard greens, Turnip greens daily (mixed or one at a time)
Kale (occasionally if I can’t find any other decent looking greens)
Around 15 soldier fly larva every day or 2
A few dubia Dubia or super worms Once or twice a week (cut down last time this happened incase it was gout.)
Carrots maybe once a week if that
A few blueberries daily some days she gets extra
Occasional watermelon or banana or similar fruit
Bee pollen on salad 1-2 times a week
A little bit of black cherry juice mixed in water every 3 or 4 days
Water offered daily
Repashy plus once or a calcium without d3 usually once a week each covering her worms or dubia

She is using a reptisun t5 tube bulb for uvb that runs 90% of her cage. Just changed bulb about a month ago. I borrowed a meter (forget the name) from a friend to measure output and where she likes to sit most the time it’s in the 4-5 range, her other place she lays is around 2-4. Her basking bulb is a 75wat and I have it on a dimmer so I keep it around 93-95 directly underneath. She lays usually in that or just out to where it’s 90 or under.

The only other thing I can think to mention is one vet says her calcium in the blood is always high levels (almost dangerous) but she does get trembles evne with those reading to where the vet puts her on a liquid calcium for about 2 weeks and it seems to get rid of trembles. So they don’t know why the blood shows high but she acts weak.

Thank you for any advice or ideas on what I should do/try. This is my first dragon so I don’t have much experience and try to learn as I go,
Brad
Maybe you should take her to the unusual pet vets or the bird & exotic animal clinic if you haven’t yet.
P.s Hope she gets better
 

Subion

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Zilla
I hope all went well for you. I had a vet today also and finally got some answers. I do see a specialist that’s in a bird and exotic department and they have helped me more than a regular vet had. Since our cases sound similar maybe they will help you if your vet is still having trouble discovering a cause. I found out that mine has a high calcium level still. They also found some fluid around her organs. They said they couldn’t really tell but it looks like the liver may be a little discolored but the big hitter was that my girls gallbladder looks to be full of sludge like it’s not draining well. They said that could be caused by to much protein and why I kept thinking she was having gout. It’s possible the flare ups I saw and thought was gout was actually the gallbladder all this time. Not sure if it’s what your beardie is dealing with but you may want to have that checked to be safe.
 

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