New 2 month old - leg issue. VERY WORRIED!!

[Pwest77]

Hello,

we just got a 2/3 month old for my son yesterday. The seller suggested a drip hydration device. We, long story short, it flooded my dragons small home and we woke to all of the sand very damp and he was sitting in water. His right front leg doesn’t look right. It is a big swollen, a little off color and it drags a bit. We quickly emptied the home, changed to dry clean sand and got things back to normal.
So, he’s still eating well, chasing crickets and even climbing his tree...but his front leg still drags a bit.
Any ideas what could be wrong with hum

 

[In99flames]

Hmmm....that is very puzzling. The discoloration and arm dragging wasnt there prior to the mini flood? Unless the poor dragon injured itself climbing. What you may have to do it touch the arm(gently!) And see if it causes any pain to the beardie. If it is in pain with discoloration and swelling I woukd assume an injury is to blame. You saod climbing his tree, possibly the dragon fell from it and landed wrong. It may clear up on its own but keep a close eye on it.
As far as your drip hydration....get rid of it.
Im going to tell you about my experience with water and my beardie. Take it or leave it...but mine is currently 18 years and 1 month still going strong so I guess I am doing something correct!
I wouldnt bother with any type of water in the cage. Shiva(my ancient beardie) has not had a water dish or anything in her cage in 10 years. She never drank it, kicked sand in it, and ignored it. They come from a very arid area with little rainfall. Most of their water is obtained from their prey. To give her water I cut up a few blueberries, rinse them, and hand feed it to her with tongs. Its a very healthy hydrating snack for a beardie. If they are young like yours, cut it into very small bits to avoid choking or impaction.

 

[tortadon]

I would lose the sand right off. It can cause deadly bowel compaction and that might cause it to drag. Hot water in the high 90' let it soak. This should cause it to relax it to the point of bowel movement. If so and it was impacted perhaps the leg movement will come back. If bad swelling is in the leg probably A break and A vet that knows lizards is the way to go although this will get high dollars real quick. Sometimes A restart is the best way to go for the animal and the billfold. That is not A popular suggestion but might be less suffering for the little guy in the long run. At the end of the day I use to raise these fellows and I was A Cub Master for the Cub Scouts which gave me quiet pack meetings so the kids could see the babies when the pack meeting party was over. Never did A bearded look as run down as your does at 2 or 3 months. The one I recently purchased is about 4 months old and is 12.75 inches long and weighs about 118 grams which is A little over 4 ounces. I have had it for 2 and A half months and I feed it what is growing outside. Passion plant leaves, fig leaves, hibiscus leaves, Kale ,Mustard greens, and lastly peas. In the meat department crickets and they are half size and young superworms. The superworms are a breed of large meal worms and also carry lots of meat on their body.
Hope this helps now and in the future. If you must go the route of another watch for A reptile show and although it cost an arm and A leg to get in the sites are great for young and old but most important you can see and buy from A breeder who knows his stock and how to care for it.

 

[SpikedLove]

The leg is curious. One thing to keep in mind is the care he had prior to you having him. Just off hand I would treat as though MBD were present. Boost calcium and make sure vitamins and supplements are all good.
Though this may be a break or injury, why is the question. If healthy they should be able to handle any fall within their cage.

The other option, and I think more likely is that the injury is a dislocation. There is wet sand on his foot. If sand hardened while he was resting it may have solidified to the point he had to struggle to free his arm, and injured it. That is Pure theory I am not a vet.

This injury would still likely from MBD

 

[In99flames]

I am not a vet either but what Tortadon is saying is true IF it was happening to a hind leg, not one of the Front legs. Tortadon is correct about the bowel impaction potential though. Ive used calci-sand her whole 18+ years and I didnt have an issue however it is known that it can cause an issue.
As far as the arm goes, im with SpikedLove. The question is how and why. How far is the highest point the beardie can fall? Look up metabolic bone disease(MBD) and check the symptoms with your beardie.

 

[Pwest77]

So I moved him to a new tank entirely and improved his home 10 fold. Got rid of the sand, water bowl and have been giving him calcium with his crickets. So, he eats no problem, even his greens. Drinks a bit of water when i put drops on his nose, and climbs all the way to the top of his basking log which is about 10 inches off the floor of the tank. however, he is not using his front leg often. He drags it a bit when he moves. he will only move it actively here and there. I am at a loss of what to do.

 

[SpikedLove]

OK look at pick #6 look at his shoulder, does it seem long compared to the other side ? I am more and more thinking dislocation, or shoulder damage. Still likely from at least minor MBD.
You describe all other actions as normal and happy, so injury seems most likely.

So what to do ?
Well you are about there. Adjusting his care. So I am not a BD expert by any means, but have kept many other lizards, and have a 1yr old BD now.

So Calcium, make sure if it is with or with out D3. I do not know schedule for BD, but I will assume they can suffer from too much D3. My standard is D3 twice a month, and plain Calcium other feedings.

MBD won't heal, but it will stop from getting worse.

You can try a vet, but I do not know if there is anything they can do. You could call ahead and explain the situation and see. In addition if this is your sons pet, a vet visit with him in tow to learn about care from the vet is a worthwhile trip. Just find a qualified BD vet.

 

[Pwest77]

So the shop we got him indicated the calcium was just crushed calcium sulfide - I give him several crickets a day lightly dusted with it. How should the D3 be administered? His shoulder does seem long and slumped. Any chance you think it will improve? Like you said, its not like a vet could move it back into place...so I'm just trying to set my expectations correctly.

 

[SpikedLove]

As far as improvement, he is likely to regain some movement and be just fine. You may need to keep an eye if it drags too much and gets raw.

Calcium comes either with or with out D3 You may have to look close. Odds are if you got what the petshop said it is with D3. It will still just be a white powder.

So not positive on the schedule and supplements on BD, but this is what I feed based on Australian Zoo.

I feed insects once a week dusted alternating between withD3 and withoutD3.
The suggest a pinky mouse once a week for adults. I do one a month. You can buy them frozen at most pet stores.

I offer veggies every day. Mostly Greens, this means things with green in the name like turnip greens, etc not just in color. I add some squash, carrots. Fruit as a time to time treat. I sprinkle multivitamin on the veggies every other veggie feeding.

So yes that is 3 types of supplements. Don't worrie they are pretty cheap.

Your other thing that will make a huge difference in health is the UVB lighting. You really want to be using T5HO 12% or 10.0 if cage is large enough there are also MecuryVapor bulbs that are great. Look at MegaRay

 

[Pwest77]

As far as improvement, he is likely to regain some movement and be just fine. You may need to keep an eye if it drags too much and gets raw.

Calcium comes either with or with out D3 You may have to look close. Odds are if you got what the petshop said it is with D3. It will still just be a white powder.

So not positive on the schedule and supplements on BD, but this is what I feed based on Australian Zoo.

I feed insects once a week dusted alternating between withD3 and withoutD3.
The suggest a pinky mouse once a week for adults. I do one a month. You can buy them frozen at most pet stores.

I offer veggies every day. Mostly Greens, this means things with green in the name like turnip greens, etc not just in color. I add some squash, carrots. Fruit as a time to time treat. I sprinkle multivitamin on the veggies every other veggie feeding.

So yes that is 3 types of supplements. Don't worrie they are pretty cheap.

Your other thing that will make a huge difference in health is the UVB lighting. You really want to be using T5HO 12% or 10.0 if cage is large enough there are also MecuryVapor bulbs that are great. Look at MegaRay

Yes, I use the 10.0 22” tube UVB.

trying to get him seen by a vet. What worries me is the slight discoloration of his leg. Lack of blood flow?

 

[SpikedLove]

Yes, I use the 10.0 22” tube UVB.

trying to get him seen by a vet. What worries me is the slight discoloration of his leg. Lack of blood flow?

Blood flow makes sense, could be how they bruise? Chameleons get black on an injury is where that comes from. I think a vet is going to be a best. I know it is just not fun that soon after you get a new pet.

 

[FinniansMom]

Hello,

we just got a 2/3 month old for my son yesterday. The seller suggested a drip hydration device. We, long story short, it flooded my dragons small home and we woke to all of the sand very damp and he was sitting in water. His right front leg doesn’t look right. It is a big swollen, a little off color and it drags a bit. We quickly emptied the home, changed to dry clean sand and got things back to normal.
So, he’s still eating well, chasing crickets and even climbing his tree...but his front leg still drags a bit.
Any ideas what could be wrong with hum

Please, please take that baby to a reptile veterinarian. The fact that he’s not interested in weight bearing, and it’s swollen, means it’s likely broken. It could also be a fungal or bacterial infection from being in water overnight. Either way, he needs professional attention. Get rid of the drip system, that should be utilized for chameleons, crested geckos, and other arboreal species. Dragons should have a bath every other day, and continue to spray with a spray bottle of water on the off days.

 

[Pwest77]

Please, please take that baby to a reptile veterinarian. The fact that he’s not interested in weight bearing, and it’s swollen, means it’s likely broken. It could also be a fungal or bacterial infection from being in water overnight. Either way, he needs professional attention. Get rid of the drip system, that should be utilized for chameleons, crested geckos, and other arboreal species. Dragons should have a bath every other day, and continue to spray with a spray bottle of water on the off days.

I did take him to a vet and we have him on meds. The vet didn’t think anything was broken and that after a little time, he should be back to normal. His leg appears to be doing better and he is using it more often. I was not aware of bathing though. Just water only? Does he need scrubbed with anything?

 

[FinniansMom]

I did take him to a vet and we have him on meds. The vet didn’t think anything was broken and that after a little time, he should be back to normal. His leg appears to be doing better and he is using it more often. I was not aware of bathing though. Just water only? Does he need scrubbed with anything?

I’m so glad he’s improving!! . Nope, nothing in the water, just warm water, no deeper than up to his shoulder. If you have heavily chlorinated water, you can get repti-safe, or another additive to remove the chlorine. He will most likely drink his bath water, if he’s not drinking from his dish. Some dragons will drink from a dropper bottle of water, some won’t, but it doesn’t hurt to try it. Kust put s small drop on their mouth or tip of their nose, and if they stick their tongue out to drink it, give another drop. The more familiar yhey become with it, the more they’ll continue to drink it, which gives you a lot more options to hydrate him, if you need to. I have one dragon who is great with this technique, and one that’s tolerant of it, but he’d rather drink in his bath. . Being desert dwellers, they can go a few days without drinking, but they do need to drink water. Renal failure (kidney failure) can kill a dragon, brought on by dehydration. Another way to get some extra hydration in, is to put a few sprinkles of water on his greens each day, and give some “treat feeders “ such as hornworms which are rich in water. Definitely keep using a spray bottle of water too, outside the enclosure if you’re worried about any increase in humidity. As long as their poop is formed, easily passed, and doesn’t have a “powdery” appearance, he’s getting enough hydration.

 

[Pwest77]

I’m so glad he’s improving!! . Nope, nothing in the water, just warm water, no deeper than up to his shoulder. If you have heavily chlorinated water, you can get repti-safe, or another additive to remove the chlorine. He will most likely drink his bath water, if he’s not drinking from his dish. Some dragons will drink from a dropper bottle of water, some won’t, but it doesn’t hurt to try it. Kust put s small drop on their mouth or tip of their nose, and if they stick their tongue out to drink it, give another drop. The more familiar yhey become with it, the more they’ll continue to drink it, which gives you a lot more options to hydrate him, if you need to. I have one dragon who is great with this technique, and one that’s tolerant of it, but he’d rather drink in his bath. . Being desert dwellers, they can go a few days without drinking, but they do need to drink water. Renal failure (kidney failure) can kill a dragon, brought on by dehydration. Another way to get some extra hydration in, is to put a few sprinkles of water on his greens each day, and give some “treat feeders “ such as hornworms which are rich in water. Definitely keep using a spray bottle of water too, outside the enclosure if you’re worried about any increase in humidity. As long as their poop is formed, easily passed, and doesn’t have a “powdery” appearance, he’s getting enough hydration.

Great to know, thank you for the advice. His stools are very well formed in frequent so I know he must be getting plenty of hydration. I have a water dish and I believe he drinks occasionally but not often. He’s still pretty young at about three months old so I’m trying to get him to eat his greens but he’s just not very keen on them at the moment

 

[FinniansMom]

Great to know, thank you for the advice. His stools are very well formed in frequent so I know he must be getting plenty of hydration. I have a water dish and I believe he drinks occasionally but not often. He’s still pretty young at about three months old so I’m trying to get him to eat his greens but he’s just not very keen on them at the moment

You’re most welcome. . It’s normal for him to be more interested in the protein part of his diet, just keep offering them, he will be more interested as he gets older. (Baby dragon diet should be 80% protein, 20% greens, then as an adult, it switches to 80% greens, 20% protein. ). Keep up the good work! You’re doing great!

 

[FinniansMom]

This is my baby beardie who will be 3 months on October 1st, and my adult who will be 6 years old in March! (I know, he needs to watch less tv!)