Swollen Digit(Finger) on beardie, Need advice. Asap

[LittleRob]

So i noticed that the front pinkie finger is swollen anybody have this happen to them advice please. Here is a pic. :?

 

[LittleRob]

Anybody, come on ladies and gentlemen. I even have a picture of the little lady.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Could she have had something injure it? Is that the only finger or area on her that is swollen?
What type of diet does she have? Does she eat a high protein diet, any vegetation? How much fluids does she drink?

Tracie

 

[beardie parents]

I suggest you answer Tracie's questions to the best of your ability as she's the one to get help from in situations such as this.

 

[LittleRob]

Well she eats crickets daily like a crazy she poops daily, she eats veggies here and there but has them all the time available, She gets baths about everyother day drinks in there occasionally. It is just that finger in the picture. She has a megaray, temps at basking area are perfect, humidity is good. And there is that grape wood that you can see, that has umm, like dry wood cracks running down them like most do. One of her nails got pulled once before but on the other hand but it didn't get swollen and has grown back since. When she chases down the crikets she seems fine. But its swollen. Nail looks good and can touck it and she doesn't move away or anything. Would warm salt water help?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How old is she?
Are you measuring the temps with a digital probe or a temp gun then? What are the temps? What is the humidity reading at?
I don't want to make a hasty decision though, without a determination from a bloodtest. It reminds me of what the beginnings of gout would look like, but I would need bloodtest results to see what the uric acid levels are.
If you catch it early it is very easy to treat, but, if you wait it gets worse. Can you get a bloodtest on her?
The other thing could be that she injured it which could be possible. Maybe she caught it in a crack in the wood?
Try to give her extra oral fluids right now, until you can get her to the vets. Start with 4-6ml's daily, ok?
Warm saltwater baths wouldn't really be effective for that, no.

Tracie

 

[LittleRob]

Bout three months i believe. She is my friends Sandfire. Yeah I used a temp gun basking area is 109, the humidity i believe is at 45. Gout wow. Didn't expect that. She does jump off the logs she has and well that might be why her little nail got taken off on the other side. But that grew back just fine no swelling nothing.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, I hope I am wrong. I would suggest a bloodtest though so we can look over it.
I am just trying to cover everything. Are you sure it is not swollen from shedding? Probably not just thought I would ask. There are only a few things it could be really. An injury, shedding & or retained shed, or gout.
Your husbandry is fine. IF it is gout, then it is genetic, & it is nothing that you have done. At 3 months, if it is something like that you can reverse it quickly & it can be controlled.
Let me know what you decide to do. Keep me posted on her.

Tracie

 

[LittleRob]

Okay were back, well my friend took Lizzy toi the vet today well couple minutes ago. He was going to take blood from her but i guess she was a bit cold or something so he was going to hydrate her abit keep her over night and try it again. I guess he poked or something at her little finger and some fuild cam out that was creamy and something. Can't remember exactly what my friend said. So basically she's spending the night getting hydrated and getting blood drawn 2mrw or in a couple ahours than after the blood test we will know more oh and i guess she was 130 grams. :wink:

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great, keep me posted on how the bloodtests come out. Maybe I could take a look at them when you get them if that is possible?
I hope that they rehydrate her well & keep her warm too.
I really hope she will be ok. Let me know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[LittleRob]

Okay so results are in and are fine, below normal is what he said. I guess no gout my friend said. But vet thinks its an infection of some sort. What would cause the finger to swell. One was swollen and my friend says the rest or more are starting to swell. Not sure if on other hands or feet or same hand. Will have a copy of the blood test tomorrow and will post them. This is turning out to be crazy. What causes swollen fingers. Some one help a fellow friend out pleaze.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I sent you a PM to your response. Please send me a copy of the bloodtest so I can look over it, please. Thanks.
There is not much else that causes swelling of the fingers & extremities like that.
I am interested to see how low the numbers are. It could still be a pregout syndrome, as an infection would be detected via bloodwork too.
How much protein does he give her? Is she well hydrated?
I will look forward to getting those results.
What type of supplementation does she get? What brand?


Tracie

 

[LittleRob]

Avian/Exotic CBC
WBC Estimate.....5.0 1000 /ul
RBC Morphology...Normal
Blood Parasites....None Seen
Heterophils..............30%
Heterophil Absolute....1500
Bands............................0%
Absolutes........................0
Lymphocytes...................54%
Absolutes........................2700
Monocytes.......................9%
Absolutes........................450
Eosinophils......................0%
Absolutes.........................0
Basophils.........................1%
Absolutes........................50
Azurophilic Monocytes......6%
Absolute..........................300
Toxic changes
NONE OBSERVED
Thrombocyte Estimate......Adequate
HCT.................................38
Comp. Reptilian Chemistries
SGOT (AST)...............7
IU/LTotal Protein...............5.2 g/dL
Albumin......................2.4 g/dL
BUN..........................7 mg/dL
Phosphorus................6.3 mg/dL
Calcium.....................12.1 mg/dL
Glucose.....................235 mg/dL
Sodium......................153 mEq/L
Potassium.................4.0 mEq/L
Chloride....................116 mEq/L
CPK.........................1005 IU/L
Uric Acid...................6.1 mg/dL
Globulin....................2.8 g/dL

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I sent an email regarding your bloodwork. I will post here, for learning purposes.
I am concerned about the uric acid counts as they are 6.1mg/dl & should not really exceed 4mg/dl. As the levels near 10mg/dl, there can be uric acid crystallization formation on or around the joints & the soft tissue areas.
I am also concerned with the BUN or blood urea nitrogen which is 7mg/dl & they should really only be around 3mg/dl. What that means is that the bloodstream has too high of concentration of urea in it, meaning the kidneys may not be filtering the uric acid out of her system properly & it is building up.
Both the uric acid & the bun are markers of renal function.
The white blood count looks fine, so there is no evidence of infection according to the blood test.
Everything else looked to be acceptable, as well.
I highly suggest that you speak to the vet again, to have him look at those counts. This is an early warning sign & symptom of pre-gout. If it is not diagnosed or treated early on, she does not have a chance at recovery. You only have a certain amount of time for the window of opportunity of treatment for reptiles. It is very treatable early on, but if left untreated, it will elevate quickly & do extensive damage to the kidneys. However, keep in mind that once they get gout, whether it is early or late stage, he will need to remain on medication, for life. I feel that he is in either 1st or 2nd stage of gout right now, where it is asymptomatic but beginning to show some swelling & other problems. He already has asymptomatic hyperuricemia which just means his uric acid is starting to become elevated which is an early warning sign. The second stage is acute gouty arthritis which is precipitated by swelling which is caused by the blood not being able to keep the uric acid in a dissolved form because the levels are getting too high & they start becoming crystallized.
This early on, it is most likely just gout & not visceral gout which would be where the uric acid becomes deposited in the organs.
I cannot emphasize enough how important this is to get him treatment, immediately. Please don't wait. The medication is not that expensive & it lasts for quite awhile.
The 2 most commonly used drugs are Allopurinol, which works to help inhibit the production of uric acid as well as expediting the excretion of uric acid from the body. Colchicine is used to help alleviate the swelling & pain associated with the swelling. The two work very well together & are highly effective.
This is very crucial to get it taken care of immediately.


Tracie

 

[LittleRob]

Tracie just wanted to say thank you for your help and input. We appreciate it alot. And will keep everyone update on Lizzy's status.