Gout

[PatsyB]

Do I need to start worrying about gout? I'm not even sure what it is. I was online somewhere and someone said that if an adult beardie eats too many bugs and not enough salad they can get gout. Well Dexter who is just over 2 years does not eat her salad but will eat bugs. Do I need to withhold bugs from her to force her to eat her salad? Does that even work? I've never been a fan of denying them food I think this seems a little cruel.

Are there signs of gout other than discolored limbs?

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

Gout starts with swelling usually. Whoever said deny then bugs is wrong, the reason that insects give them gout is the diet of the bug

 

[PatsyB]

Gout starts with swelling usually. Whoever said deny then bugs is wrong, the reason that insects give them gout is the diet of the bug

Thanks. I feed the bugs greens. I also always dust with calcium or a multi vitamin. I would hate to have to deny Dexter any food just to get her to eat a salad. Today I went to the store and bought her things that she used to like to eat, dandelion and frozen blueberries. I get home and that little bugger is laying under her hide!

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

Red cabbage seems to be my dragons favorite.

 

[PatsyB]

Red cabbage seems to be my dragons favorite.

hmm, i'm going to try that. Fingers crossed that she is just in a mood today and not going into brumation. I've checked on her a few times today and she opens one or both eyes but she's not moving. If I layed down like she is for the whole day, my whole body would be numb!

 

[jarich]

Gout in reptiles is generally caused by long term dehydration, poor diet and sometimes a poor environmental set up. Animal protein takes a great deal of moisture to digest, so a diet of just insects can be a contributing factor for older dragons towards gout. This is especially true for lizards with a high fat diet that are sedentary or underheated. Like in humans, gout is typically a disease of overweight animals with poor diets. Unfortunately, by the time the characteristic swelling occurs the disease has progressed significantly and is often fatal. I dont say this to scare you, merely just for the information and awareness.

Having said that, I dont think you should worry at this point Patsy. Your dragons are both still pretty young arent they? Is that Dexter in the picture under your profile? What and how much do you feed him? Its not such a bad idea sometimes to limit or even curtail food for short periods. Remember these are not animals that are evolved to storing up large amounts of fat constantly. Their systems are designed for a more streamlined physique than we usually provide our spoiled little ones. Dragons are kings of conserving energy too, so it takes very little for them, especially in the winter, to go about their normal day. Might not be an altogether terrible thing to cut back on the insects and see if he doesnt start eating more greens again.

 

[PatsyB]

Thanks Jarich. Yes that's Dexter in my picture, she's just over 2 years old. You can see by that jowl that she's not starving or dehydrated, LOL! At the moment we have crickets, supers and hornworms. Lately she doesn't eat much probably because of the winter. She will eat a large super worm and then not want anything for 2 days. Salads are always mustard greens, collards, dandelion and something with color, this week is butternut squash and sometimes a few blueberries. She always looks at the salad, sometimes will even go to the bowl and makes the gulping motion like she's getting ready to eat and then she walks away. When she was smaller she would eat the whole bowl. I do feed the supers and her crickets the same things that are in her salad so I hope she sorta gets the nutrition that way.

I'm going to try a few things with her. I think not offering her the bugs every day is a good idea. I'm also going to see if I can deconstruct her salad and put it in different parts of her tank. Who knows, she probably doesn't like the color of the bowl that I put the salad in or the spot in the tank I put it!

 

[jarich]

Hahaha you never know, it might be that! They can be particular sometimes. Ya, at two years old I would definitely drop down to feeding her two or three times a week, especially if she isnt particularly active. When she gets to that point where she is really scoping you as you come into the room, she will likely be more happy to snarf down some greens.