Lt.WorfReportingForDuty
Established Member
I’ve been noticing for the past week or so, sometimes my 2yo male Panther, Worf, will “hang” one of his feet off of the branch when he’s basking and not use it until he moves. I took him out of his cage for an exam, and his grip strength is good on all feet, but he “favors” some when he’s resting in his cage. Attached are pictures of him “favoring” his front Right foot, and pictures of all four feet when I took him out.
Also, I did walk into my office once this week and see that he had his eyes closed and he quickly opened them and gave me the evil eye, which is another reason I’m worried.
The first thing I thought of is gout or MBD, but since he’s an adult with no history of MBD/calcium deficiency, I think MBD is much less likely. Supplements schedule below.
He has been to the vet once before (about a year ago) when I suspected a respiratory infection. He was fine, but the blood work showed increased lipids (2+) and she advised me to reduce “fun” bugs and stick to Dubia, crickets, and BSFL which I did. She also said he was a normal weight but a little bit more on the “chubby” side, but only using staple feeders would help with that.
Feeding schedule:
-3-4 1-1.5” Dubia roaches every 2-3 days
- 2 “treat” bugs (hornworms), about once a month
-Dubia are gutloaded with rotating carrot, squash, watercress, apple, tangerine, and commercial gutload
-supplement schedule: Reptivite every other week, Rep-Cal Calcium with D3 every other week, ZooMed Calcium once a month (since he is an adult, when he was juvenile it was every feeding), bee pollen every feeding
Habitat:
-12h grow light + UV light (ZooMed Reptisun 5.0% UVB 8” from basking spot), UVB replaced every 6 months, 12h darkness (although I do not have a UV meter)
-basking spot reads 82F, bottom of cage is 72F, bare bottom enclosure (pic of enclosure below)
-live plants in enclosure
-Daytime humidity 40-50%, MistKing 3 minute misting 30 mins after lights-out at night and before lights-on in morning
-poops every 3-4 days with sperm plugs, urate light cream, I have observed sometimes he is dehydrated with darker urate and I will offer dripper water or a hornworm if i have them
-Room temp is 72, night temp drops several degrees ~68F
-his cage is located in my office which is low-traffic and quiet.
-he has a “free range” area in my office he likes to explore several times a week. In summer I take him outside to bask several times a week.
Medical history
-previous labs attached from 1 year ago, Lipids were high which has been addressed through feeding
-occasionally gets dehydrated, will add dripper and offer hornworm
-no previous infections, no history of MBD
-he has ripped out some of his nails but thankfully they all grew back.
- Routine stool testing for parasites 6 months ago, negative for parasites
-he is eating normally, no other abnormal behaviors
-do his back ankles look chunky to you? Is it just me?
Please let me know what you all think, or if I’m overthinking this and it’s normal behavior. Thanks!
Also, I did walk into my office once this week and see that he had his eyes closed and he quickly opened them and gave me the evil eye, which is another reason I’m worried.
The first thing I thought of is gout or MBD, but since he’s an adult with no history of MBD/calcium deficiency, I think MBD is much less likely. Supplements schedule below.
He has been to the vet once before (about a year ago) when I suspected a respiratory infection. He was fine, but the blood work showed increased lipids (2+) and she advised me to reduce “fun” bugs and stick to Dubia, crickets, and BSFL which I did. She also said he was a normal weight but a little bit more on the “chubby” side, but only using staple feeders would help with that.
Feeding schedule:
-3-4 1-1.5” Dubia roaches every 2-3 days
- 2 “treat” bugs (hornworms), about once a month
-Dubia are gutloaded with rotating carrot, squash, watercress, apple, tangerine, and commercial gutload
-supplement schedule: Reptivite every other week, Rep-Cal Calcium with D3 every other week, ZooMed Calcium once a month (since he is an adult, when he was juvenile it was every feeding), bee pollen every feeding
Habitat:
-12h grow light + UV light (ZooMed Reptisun 5.0% UVB 8” from basking spot), UVB replaced every 6 months, 12h darkness (although I do not have a UV meter)
-basking spot reads 82F, bottom of cage is 72F, bare bottom enclosure (pic of enclosure below)
-live plants in enclosure
-Daytime humidity 40-50%, MistKing 3 minute misting 30 mins after lights-out at night and before lights-on in morning
-poops every 3-4 days with sperm plugs, urate light cream, I have observed sometimes he is dehydrated with darker urate and I will offer dripper water or a hornworm if i have them
-Room temp is 72, night temp drops several degrees ~68F
-his cage is located in my office which is low-traffic and quiet.
-he has a “free range” area in my office he likes to explore several times a week. In summer I take him outside to bask several times a week.
Medical history
-previous labs attached from 1 year ago, Lipids were high which has been addressed through feeding
-occasionally gets dehydrated, will add dripper and offer hornworm
-no previous infections, no history of MBD
-he has ripped out some of his nails but thankfully they all grew back.
- Routine stool testing for parasites 6 months ago, negative for parasites
-he is eating normally, no other abnormal behaviors
-do his back ankles look chunky to you? Is it just me?
Please let me know what you all think, or if I’m overthinking this and it’s normal behavior. Thanks!
Attachments
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