10 month old bearded dragon possible kidney failure

[lynnmburke83]

Yesterday my 10 month old bearded dragon started becoming lethargic and laying with her front legs bent back. I took her to the vet today and was told her uric acid was at 50. Vet said possible kidney failure and maybe gout. Gave fluids and sent home with special liquid food. She is a hypo pide striped translucent breed. I need advice on what to do as I've never had an issue like this with a dragon before. I tube fed her and let her soak for 20 min this evening. I need recommendations for uva uvb set up. She has a 40 gallon tank. I have a coil bulb and heat lamp but don't feel that is adequate enough after doing some research. Have a follow up appointment in two weeks and if she isn't doing better the vet suggests euthanasia. Please help me. Is this type of thing fixable?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

So sorry to hear your dragon at such a young age.
Do you have any pictures of her, along with her tank setup too we could see?
What type of diet & nutrition do you have for her? Some of
the specialized morphs such as Translucents, etc do tend to have health issues, but not all of the time. It could be genetic or something else.
The compact/coil UVB light is definitely not strong enough but for now, turn that off & use just a nice bright white basking light that you have. We recommend either the Arcadia D3 12% or 14% tube or the Reptisun 10 tube.
What you can do initially, is go find some black or tart cherry juice to help with uric acid levels. If you are or have fed any dubias now or in the past, they are naturally higher in uric acid levels so you might want to consider changing to another insect such as silkworms, hornworms, superworms or crickets.
It can be managed but initially the uric acid levels need to be brought down as soon as possible before her system becomes toxic. It sounds like she is pretty critical now so we can try to get her stabilized.
Is her beard black at all right now? Did the vet mention prescribing any Allopurinol for help with gout?

Tracie

 

[lynnmburke83]

 

[lynnmburke83]

 

[lynnmburke83]

She is fed mealworms and crickets and are alternated during the week. She is also fed kale, or collards daily and I mix in other veggies throughout the week. I have been giving her diluted tart cherry juice starting yesterday and the food the vet gave me to syringe feed her. I am soaking her twice a day for 20 min as she was dehydrated. I did and electrolyte soak today and she pooped and then ate 3 wax worms. After the bath she was more alert. I tried to get different lighting for her tank today but all my local stored didn't have what I needed.

 

[lynnmburke83]

 

[lynnmburke83]

I ordered this and it is coming tomorrow. I have a single 100w basking bulb for her currently.

 

[lynnmburke83]

How much tart cherry juice can I safely give her? I don't want to over do it.

 

[Sadie]

View attachment 34762

Please replace the bulb w/ a reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb -- better quality - please get it inside the tank or unobstructed for best uvb- 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor -

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

As far as the amount of black or tart cherry juice extract, since there is no set dose, you can give .5ml to
1ml, daily. You can dilute it as you are doing, just for a little extra fluids.
As Sadie suggested, the tube bulbs she mentioned are the best. The lighting makes a huge difference &
greatly affects the ability to absorb calcium which can lead to gout or gout symptoms.
He looks to be of good physical condition & the eyes don't appear sunken in right now. l would keep the
protein levels to a moderate level, to help out the kidneys right now.
Did the vet mention getting him on Allopurinol?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[lynnmburke83]

Hello,

As far as the amount of black or tart cherry juice extract, since there is no set dose, you can give .5ml to
1ml, daily. You can dilute it as you are doing, just for a little extra fluids.
As Sadie suggested, the tube bulbs she mentioned are the best. The lighting makes a huge difference &
greatly affects the ability to absorb calcium which can lead to gout or gout symptoms.
He looks to be of good physical condition & the eyes don't appear sunken in right now. l would keep the
protein levels to a moderate level, to help out the kidneys right now.
Did the vet mention getting him on Allopurinol?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

The vet did mention the allopurinol but she was dehydrated so we are working on hydration right now. I have tramadol coming for her in the mail incase she is in any pain. We are going to redo bloodwork in two weeks and go from there. New lights came today and it is too big for her cage. I set it up sideways on the top and ordered another one off-line and went and bought one from a local pet store for now until the right size one comes. The vet told me no tart cherry juice. Will it hurt her?

 

[Sadie]

The vet did mention the allopurinol but she was dehydrated so we are working on hydration right now. I have tramadol coming for her in the mail incase she is in any pain. We are going to redo bloodwork in two weeks and go from there. New lights came today and it is too big for her cage. I set it up sideways on the top and ordered another one off-line and went and bought one from a local pet store for now until the right size one comes. The vet told me no tart cherry juice. Will it hurt her?

What UVB do you have set up now? Tart cherry juice will flush her kidneys -- Tracie can give you more input on that -- make sure you ask Tracie about that Tramadol - the Allopurinol is going to reduce the acids causing the pain and the swelling of her legs / feet etc --

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Let us know how things are going. Definitely decrease the protein to just a low maintenance level, to help
out her kidneys. If her levels don't reduce, I would highly recommend getting her on the medication to help
with uric acid levels to get them under control.
The tramadol has a tendency to upset their stomach so I would get a probiotic to help out. I haven't heard
that black or tart cherry juice in small amounts have no side effects at all.

Tracie

 

[lynnmburke83]

Hello,

Let us know how things are going. Definitely decrease the protein to just a low maintenance level, to help
out her kidneys. If her levels don't reduce, I would highly recommend getting her on the medication to help
with uric acid levels to get them under control.
The tramadol has a tendency to upset their stomach so I would get a probiotic to help out. I haven't heard
that black or tart cherry juice in small amounts have no side effects at all.

Tracie

Can you recommend a probiotic please?

 

[Sadie]

Can you recommend a probiotic please?

Tracie sells them on her website
https://bug-de-lite.com/
It seems the allopurinol would be a better option than the Tramadol but that is my op

 

[lynnmburke83]

Tracie sells them on her website
https://bug-de-lite.com/
It seems the allopurinol would be a better option than the Tramadol but that is my op

The vet said the levels could be high because she was dehydrated. Should I have them order the allopurinol or wait until her recheck on the 16th?

 

[Sadie]

The vet said the levels could be high because she was dehydrated. Should I have them order the allopurinol or wait until her recheck on the 16th?

Is she flinching when you touch her ? Is she using the arm / leg that is swollen? Gout is very painful -- I am on allopurinol as well - I am diabetic and get gout but the allopurinol is keeping those acid levels down --

 

[lynnmburke83]

Is she flinching when you touch her ? Is she using the arm / leg that is swollen? Gout is very painful -- I am on allopurinol as well - I am diabetic and get gout but the allopurinol is keeping those acid levels down --

no flinching. she started crawling again last night and being more aggressive when I was trying to syringe feed her. she was also swimming around in the bath a little. I recieved the new lights for her yesterday. I'm going to give her a bath and put some calcium in her bath. Could I mix the calcium in her syringe feedings or would that hurt her?

 

[Sadie]

no flinching. she started crawling again last night and being more aggressive when I was trying to syringe feed her. she was also swimming around in the bath a little. I recieved the new lights for her yesterday. I'm going to give her a bath and put some calcium in her bath. Could I mix the calcium in her syringe feedings or would that hurt her?

The crawling could be caused by pain or shes developing MBD --- coils are natourius for causing all kinds of health issues -- I recommend you have the UVB unobtructed in the tank or take the screen off something so nothing is blocking the UVB 13 inches directly above the basking decor and if shes not getting up on anything then have it directly above the floor 12-13 inches -- I have a dragon that is eyesight impaired and hes not climbing on anything now so I have mine in the tank directly above the floor -- as far as the calcium I would need Tracie to address that- shes on late at night -- also coils do not allow for the calcium to be absorbed - just a FYI

 

[lynnmburke83]

The vet just called and said she is positive for parasites. They didn't say what kind but said they would explain it to me when I got there because it is an hour away and I have to rush before work to pick up her medicine. Will she recover from this?