TOE BETTER (thanks everyone!) But male is now acting weird

[Oniko]

EDIT: Kizzy's toe is now looking almost healed and all of the infection looks to be gone. Thank you all for your advice and encouragement!

HOWEVER... ugh. My male is showing all the signs of wanting to brumate, but he's less than a year old and it seems like a strange time of the year to be brumating. I've read they can do it at any time, but winter seems to be the most common. I'm going to post a bunch of details on him tomorrow, but for now the main changes are:

1. Used to be a very good eater with both crickets and his salads. Now will not blink at crickets, let alone eat them, and is eating half of his normal intake of salad. Today ate NOTHING, despite being shown food a million times in a million different and tantalizing ways.

2. Sleeping until I manually get him out of bed, and periodically trying to go back to bed throughout the day. I haven't had a fecal done on him (vet rant incoming tomorrow) so I can't let him brumate... yet.

3. Used to poop every day, sometimes twice. Now poops every 2-3 days. Wasn't worrying me because the poops looked fine (though quite large!) but now, combined with other changes, I'm worrying over that as well.

4. Looking like he's losing weight although I can't verify it as I don't have a proper scale to weigh him yet. But to pick him up he feels lighter to me, and he looks skinnier (especially after a monster poop he had today) His poops are hydrated looking as I give him a bath about twice a week and he gets hydrated through salad (when he eats it).

5. Still aware, still basking for the most part, still likes his jaunts outside of his tank and runs around like a crazy dragon. Still has personality. But his skin is looking darker in general and he hasn't shed in well over 1.5 months.

FREAKS ME OUT D: Anyways I'll update a bit more tomorrow after I can confirm or deny that he's going on day 2 with zero food intake. I hope I can deny that and that he will eat like a horse tomorrow.

*crosses fingers*

________________________________________________

I posted yesterday in the health section as my beardie wasn't seeming as bad as today. However, I now see what the problem is (kind of). Her back toe is red in the toe nail, and the tip of her toe is swelling and red under the skin. I -think- it's a break from all the information I could find, but I'm not sure and I'm not sure what to do if it is.

I'm really not able to afford a vet visit right now but if it means her life or my bills, her life wins. So please, if you know what this is and have home grown suggestions I would love that (and so would she!) but if you think this is life threatening, or toe threatening (I don't want her to lose it D: ) let me know and I will try and find a vet here that will do something for her. That's another problem though is in my town the vets are very... simple.

Anyways I took some pictures, and I will link you to my other post where I list all her information.

(She is still eating fine, had a big healthy poop today and all that. However, she isn't wanting to run around much because obviously it's sore)

This actually looks worse than it does to my naked eye, but it's probably a good thing so that you can see how sore it must be.

Another angle

And another. Probably the closest to the naked eye visual.

Please help her, I'm so very worried!!

Also, here is the link to my post in the health section in case you wish to reference it.
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=191330

 

[Oniko]

And is it just me or is her whole foot kind of red? It doesn't look it to my naked eye but the picture shows it red... I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.

EDIT: Just went and peeked at it while she slept and it doesn't look that red to me on the rest of the foot. I guess the camera is just making it look crazy.

scurrred.

 

[AHBD]

I see it's a little red + infected. It should be O.K., you can try soaking it in a watered down betadine solution a couple times a day. If you have an empty pill bottle or yogurt cup put the mixture in there and then you can hold her and just stick that foot in it. If she doesn't cooperate, then a shallow soak in a plastic tub, but don't let her drink it. If she's used to drinking during her soaks, then give her a short one with clear water as she's used to to let her have a drink before you do a " betadine bath." Than do the betadine soak, afterwards pat her dry + apply the antibiotic ointment. Hopefully that will help her little sore toe.

 

[Oniko]

I see it's a little red + infected. It should be O.K., you can try soaking it in a watered down betadine solution a couple times a day. If you have an empty pill bottle or yogurt cup put the mixture in there and then you can hold her and just stick that foot in it. If she doesn't cooperate, then a shallow soak in a plastic tub, but don't let her drink it. If she's used to drinking during her soaks, then give her a short one with clear water as she's used to to let her have a drink before you do a " betadine bath." Than do the betadine soak, afterwards pat her dry + apply the antibiotic ointment. Hopefully that will help her little sore toe.

I was so scared to read this reply when it came to my email... lol. I'm so worried.

Can I get all that at a drug store? If so I'll grab it first thing tomorrow and do everything you said. You don't think it's a break huh? I wonder what happened to her poor little toe I keep reading horror stories of toes falling off and stuff and it's freakin me out.

Poor baby D:

 

[AHBD]

It may be broken, but that wouldn't affect her long term. I've had beardies with a crooked toe or two, it doesn't usually cause a serious problem at all.

 

[StreetMoggy]

sometimes when a beardie get sick, an infection will flare up in compromised areas (ie, broken toes, broken tail)
I would really suggest you take your dragon to the vet, as swelling in these areas can be an indication of a bigger problem. Please talk to a vet!

 

[AHBD]

Actually any small wound has the possibility of getting worse, whether it be on a person or on an animal. Since the money situation is extremely tight and the wound is not life threatening Oniko has asked for some suggestions on what treatment could be tried, so it's fine to treat it for a few days to see if it helps. So that's a reasonable course to take, with the knowledge that if it suddenly becomes worse she can seek out a vet. It may have gotten snagged or caught on something in the tank resulting in a sore toe. Hopefully it will heal quickly, and it's good that she's eating well which is a good sign in itself.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh that is too bad about her toe. It does look broken though. Does it seem to be bothering her at all?
What type of substrate is in her tank? I would put some soft towels down to keep dust & dirt off of her toe.
As suggested, the betadine baths along with the antibiotic ointment daily to help. Maybe you could also get some bee pollen to help with her immune system to help ward off any further infection. Keep her tank around 80 overnight too, just to help her out.

I hope she will be alright & keep us posted on her too.

Tracie

 

[Oniko]

Hello,

Oh that is too bad about her toe. It does look broken though. Does it seem to be bothering her at all?
What type of substrate is in her tank? I would put some soft towels down to keep dust & dirt off of her toe.
As suggested, the betadine baths along with the antibiotic ointment daily to help. Maybe you could also get some bee pollen to help with her immune system to help ward off any further infection. Keep her tank around 80 overnight too, just to help her out.

I hope she will be alright & keep us posted on her too.

Tracie

It seemed to be really bothering her yesterday, but today she seems a lot more comfortable as I've given her soaks with betadine/water mix, and then I go to an epsom salt warm soak, then I let it air dry and put polysporin on it. I'm using the 3 antibiotic + pain relief one and it seems to be helping. She ate 30 cricks today (her normal amount) and had a nice big poop (on me while I was doing a foot soak... lol). She's basking right now and doing a sexy leg with the leg that has the sore toe.

It doesn't look any worse, and that's a good sign. Same color, same swelling (maybe a bit less on one side but maybe that's just me wishful thinking). No black color at all, just still pink and a bit red.

I haven't thought about the bee pollen but that's a good idea!

And I've got her sleeping where she basks since it's a large flat surface and when it's time for bed, I cover her with her soft fuzzy blankets and then cover most of the tank with my throw blanket so it's really dark in there. She had a really good sleep last night and every time I checked on her she felt warm to the touch.

I've got hand towels down for her, and chose ones that are not hard for her to get around on. Her nails don't seem to get caught in it, plus at least she's not wanting to walk around much. They are pretty good at taking care of themselves which is nice... if my dog has an injury he tries to lick the medicine off and run around on it. lmao.

I'm hoping this trend continues and the toe gets better

Thank you all so much for your help. I'll definitely keep you all posted on her progress. I love having a place to come when I am panicking about my babies. Very relieving!

<3

 

[Oniko]

sometimes when a beardie get sick, an infection will flare up in compromised areas (ie, broken toes, broken tail)
I would really suggest you take your dragon to the vet, as swelling in these areas can be an indication of a bigger problem. Please talk to a vet!

Oh don't worry, I will take her in a heartbeat if she needs to go. I have a friend who is a herpetologist and I was able to get in touch with him. I told him everything I was doing for her (thanks to all of you!) and the only thing he added was the epsom salt soaks after the antiseptic soak.

He told me what to watch for, the specific changes that are a bad sign, and when to go to the vet. He is digging through his boxes since he just moved, to find his notebook and to tell me specific antibiotics and whatnot to ask for from the vet in case they don't know much about these little guys.

I'm very tight on money, but I've held off paying one of my bills and the money is just sitting there for now in case I need it for her.

 

[Oniko]

Actually any small wound has the possibility of getting worse, whether it be on a person or on an animal. Since the money situation is extremely tight and the wound is not life threatening Oniko has asked for some suggestions on what treatment could be tried, so it's fine to treat it for a few days to see if it helps. So that's a reasonable course to take, with the knowledge that if it suddenly becomes worse she can seek out a vet. It may have gotten snagged or caught on something in the tank resulting in a sore toe. Hopefully it will heal quickly, and it's good that she's eating well which is a good sign in itself.

Thank you for your support! She ate very well today again and seems alert and like her usual self still... just with a very sore looking toe. Poooooor things

 

[Oniko]

Just wanted to update on Kizzy's toe!

She's doing MUCH better! The swelling is less than half now, and the red is slowing gloing away. It's starting to regain normal color, and for that I thank you guys! Your suggestions were very helpful and she can thank not having lost a toe to this forum I'm sure!

She's getting two different types of toe soaks 3-5 times a day (so 6-10 soaks! lol) and antibiotic cream after each one.

I'm very happy and she's very happy. She finally took a walk around her viv yesterday and today which was SO nice to see.

So thanks guys!

 

[vtintraining]

I have read somewhere on here that for the triple antibiotic ointment you don't want to use the one with pain relief. I believe that is what I read....I am not sure what the effects of using it are though....I am glad her toe is looking better

 

[AHBD]

That's great , I know you are so relieved ! I'm really glad to hear the good report, and I sure hope that she continues to make progress.

 

[Oniko]

That's great , I know you are so relieved ! I'm really glad to hear the good report, and I sure hope that she continues to make progress.

SO relieved!! Her toe is almost back to looking perfect and she's super happy with her own progress haha.

My male is acting strange now though and freaking me out. I swear it's a never ending panic attack to be a beardie mom, but I love them so much that I would never want it any other way!

My male has always eaten VERY well and been very healthy. But lately he is showing signs of wanting to brumate but he's not even a year old... He had a huge poop today (is pooping every 2-3 days now) and now he's all skinny looking compared to his normal size. He didn't eat anything today, and has taken to shunning crickets. He's basking and running around his cage when he's not looking for a place to sleep, and seems normal in those ways... just such a lack of interest in food, and really just wants to plant his face somewhere dark and catch some sleep.

I haven't had a fecal done on him because our vets are useless in this town, so I can't let him brumate. I keep digging him out of his hide and making his salad dance in hopes one of the 'moves' makes the salad look delicious enough to eat. Tried giving him crickets several times today, no luck.

Maybe tomorrow he'll be super hungry *crosses fingers*

At least they take turns... two beardies with issues all at once would scare me to death!