I will definitely make arrangements to get the light inside. She has not been limping but even before her legs swelled, she would have a twitchy back leg(s). I first noticed it about a 10 months to a year ago. During the summer I also had 3-4 weeks total vacation which she was not fed calcium because she was being babysat. Other than that she has received calcium. Her name is Kaiju btw. Thanks
If you do that and get her onto better feeders ie silkworms or BSFL , these are both naturally very rich in nutrients including having a near perfect Ca ratio.
I am not convinced the issue is low calcium (Ca) , I suspect something else is going on with her metabolism / health ==> swollen legs.
If you tell us what state you are in ( and perhaps your town ) , there are lists of RECOMMENDED / EXPERIENCED REPTILE VETS available and we very likely be able to point you at a vet who actually knows his stuff and can do a proper diagnosis of your dragon's health so you can develop a treatment plan to cure her.
Swollen legs and leg twitches are both signs of calcium deficiency so I do think the vet was right about that. Here is a little more about it, a short article written by a vet.
Update: bad news, her legs are even more swollen and the swelling is slowly spreading to her other legs. I can’t even bend her back leg all the way out like her other back leg. I have been giving her 10 mealworms with calcium (no d3) and 10 with calcium with d3 every other day, and on the other days I give her 10 with d3 calcium and 10 with vitamin powder. This week I have offered her kale and the last couple of weeks I have offered her a mix of turnip, collard, and mustard greens. Obviously something is still wrong. Another thing to add, she is not very active.
So since no blood work was done they did not test for gout-- I am wondering if its not gout- if it is gout then she could be put on Allopurinol--- but blood work would need to be done to establish that
Karrie
He really does need a blood test done to try & diagnose what's going on. Gout has a certain
look to it & this looks more like gout than metabolic bone disease to me.
The swelling shouldn't be getting worse though but if it's gout, it wont get better unless you get
him started on gout medication.
Are you giving black or tart cherry extract right now?
How many insects do you give him, daily?
Totally forgot to add this picture of her poop! I have noticed it has had the orange-ish end on the urate the past couple of weeks. I can stop at a store later and get some cherry extract but how much should I give her? Oh and I give her about 15-20 regular meal worms daily.
How is your little one doing?
That stool looks normal to me. They can get discolored urates from time to time. It can be
caused by foods eaten, supplementation, etc.
Since she is doing pretty well right now, you can give .5ml daily or every other day of the
cherry extract.
Keep us posted on her!
Update:
I took Kaiju to the vet about a week ago, and this vet definitely seemed more experienced. She gave credentials, and explained everything. She believes it’s a calcium deficiency too. She said that powder calcium might not be giving her enough calcium, and she also said she was dehydrated. I got some liquid calcium and the vet showed me how to use give it to Kaiju. She also said to bring her back for a check up in a month. I have been giving Kaiju a bath daily, and she has been taking calcium well. However, there has not been much change in swelling and other negative side effects, again, it’s only been a week.
You will want to make sure your UVB is sufficient though with all that calcium, otherwise it won't be getting utilized well.
Did you end up getting your UVB bulb mounted under the mesh? I couldn't recall if you had the t5 or the t8 version? That would determine what distance you want it at.
Kaiju continued to worsen, even with treatment. When I took her back to the vet l, the vet said it had turned into gout and treatment was daily needles, and even that might not work. The vet also said she was in pain, and I made the ultimate decision to end her suffering. She was way more swollen then the pictures I added awhile ago, her mobility was basically gone. RIP Kaiju.
This was her during her last week. It was spreading to her less swollen legs, and it was gaining acceleration. I helped make sure the rest of her life was amazing. :’(
I am so sorry that you lost your girl, it is horrible to lose one. I know how difficult it is to
lose a beloved dragon.
I have to ask, was she given antibiotics? Just wondering because if so, that is what caused her
to decline so quickly. She had gout when you first posted was what I had thought. I'm sorry they
didn't treat for that, initially she may have made some recovery.