Veiled Izzy not doing good
- Thread starter Mesnik
- Start date
Mesnik
New Member
(Thanks Jann! I now feel the same way about have more UVB or better positioned)
Good morning to everyone.
Well, today I made an executive engineering decision
. During his morning shower, while looking at his back legs, I kept thinking what the vet said about imobilizing with a cast or splinter: "we cannot do anything, it will heal by itself, even if it is not straight."
My first concern is not if it will heal straight, but if it will at all. The reason being is because both bones (tibia and radius? or ulna? you know what I mean) are broke and the foot is hanging.
So, with some wire and bandage (from my last set of stiches...that's another story), I made one up for one of his back legs. What do you think
And another picture, after the leg immobilization, you can see him after his food!! He looks like he is one of those movie heros that get shot at but never quits!!! I give him credit. I would be crying for my mommy!!!
Good morning to everyone.
Well, today I made an executive engineering decision
. During his morning shower, while looking at his back legs, I kept thinking what the vet said about imobilizing with a cast or splinter: "we cannot do anything, it will heal by itself, even if it is not straight." My first concern is not if it will heal straight, but if it will at all. The reason being is because both bones (tibia and radius? or ulna? you know what I mean) are broke and the foot is hanging.
So, with some wire and bandage (from my last set of stiches...that's another story), I made one up for one of his back legs. What do you think
And another picture, after the leg immobilization, you can see him after his food!! He looks like he is one of those movie heros that get shot at but never quits
!!! I give him credit. I would be crying for my mommy!!!Attachments
Jumping in late here ... life has been crazy ... BUT Hermie (my veiled) had severe MBD and broke each leg in at least one spot ... and his bone density was so bad that we could not even see his legs on xray ... it was a little similar to yours in that the vet couldn't really find major fault in my husbandry and he had been looking fine and then BAM. One suggestion was that I "grew" him too quickly and even wtih the correct husbandry he was being fed too well and his bones couldn't keep up with his growth rate. Neither here nor there at this point though.
anywho he had to have casts on all four legs. THe key is to immobilize the joint BEFORE AND AFTER each break ... otherwise the break will continue to move when he moves and it wont be able to heal. Dr. Susan Lewis is an excellent reptile orthopedics vet in MI and was lovely at casting and re-casting him. I've seen her put pins into iguanas as well with MBD to help their legs.
Dont worry if they don't heal straight ... hermies didn't. in fact one femur is at a 45ish degree angle. it took him a while to get the hang of it but he does pretty darn well! before I started free-ranging him he was escaping from his cage and ending up in the mOST bizar places.
might want to consider D3 injections and the osteoporosis drug as well ... after hermies legs healed these were KEY to getting his bone density back to normal ... infact other than the funny bone angles his density etc. looks completely normal on xray.
Good luck!
Jamie and Hermie
anywho he had to have casts on all four legs. THe key is to immobilize the joint BEFORE AND AFTER each break ... otherwise the break will continue to move when he moves and it wont be able to heal. Dr. Susan Lewis is an excellent reptile orthopedics vet in MI and was lovely at casting and re-casting him. I've seen her put pins into iguanas as well with MBD to help their legs.
Dont worry if they don't heal straight ... hermies didn't. in fact one femur is at a 45ish degree angle. it took him a while to get the hang of it but he does pretty darn well! before I started free-ranging him he was escaping from his cage and ending up in the mOST bizar places.
might want to consider D3 injections and the osteoporosis drug as well ... after hermies legs healed these were KEY to getting his bone density back to normal ... infact other than the funny bone angles his density etc. looks completely normal on xray.
Good luck!
Jamie and Hermie
For the uber nerds like myself; here is a great veterinary article on the causes of MDB.
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/health-section-b-metabolic-bone.html
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/health-section-b-metabolic-bone.html
Also, I had to keep herm in a cage similar to yours ... I lined the bottom of it with a soft towel but not folded nicely ... that way he could grab and hold onto it. He was VERY OCD about needing something to hold onto and having his paws clasped onto something made him feel MUCH better. I also took pieces of paper and rolled them into tiny rolls and layed them on the bottom so that he could hold onto them.
Jamie
THe soft of towel also prevented him from getting any sores. I think that I had a couple in there. And used rubber gloves filled with water and put them under them to make it soft for him.
Jamie
THe soft of towel also prevented him from getting any sores. I think that I had a couple in there. And used rubber gloves filled with water and put them under them to make it soft for him.
Mesnik
New Member
Those are good ideas, Jamie! So far he is been very okay, to my surprise. Not hyper or anything. Maybe he thinks he is on vacation...
I ended up putting his other back leg on a splinter. It looks MUCH better.
He is now sleeping and I just took a peek... his back legs look how they are supposed to and his back feet are also looking anatomically good.
Tomorrow is another day!!
Good night.
r.
I ended up putting his other back leg on a splinter. It looks MUCH better.
He is now sleeping and I just took a peek... his back legs look how they are supposed to and his back feet are also looking anatomically good.
Tomorrow is another day!!
Good night.
r.
Mesnik
New Member
Thanks Teresa. When I posted that the morning I picked him up and he was all limpy and I almost fainted, I was NOT kidding!
I had to sit down as I got light-headed and seeing silver!!!!!
I will post more pictures as he is looking pretty good in comparison!!
Thanks for checking back!
I had to sit down as I got light-headed and seeing silver!!!!!
I will post more pictures as he is looking pretty good in comparison!!
Thanks for checking back!
Fred
New Member
Just checking in to see how our guy is doing! Glad to read all is going well! U are doing a gre at job and he is lucky to have an owner who cares so much!! I hope that vet Jamm hooks u up with isn't too too far- sounds a little more experienced than the one u currently have- would be nice to get that vets imput on ur situation/treatment options. Thanks for keeping us informed!! Your both in our thoughts!!
Mesnik
New Member
Well, Fred, I still have to go back to my current one as now I they have the results for the blood work. I don't want to loose all the time and money spent so far.
So here is the info on the blood work results...Just got the phone call!
1) Calcium levels are actually normal (10)
2) Phosphorus levels are way too high (31)
3) Kidneys are not working properly and if I understood correctly they don't know if he was born with a genetic problem or if it was acquired.
4) White blood count is high showing signs of infection. They don't know if there is any other infection other than the kidneys.
So it seems like I did okay with my Ca husbandry. I hope that is a correct assumption.
Now, I am going to pick up 3 new meds and I am to cut back on the liquid Ca to once a day instead of twice.
Today I removed the towel I had added yesterday. He didn't seem to care for it too much after all as he had hard time moving around. So this morning, after shower, drinking and meds, I put him back along with 5 crickets and quickly they were all gone.
I will post a pic of the new bandage when I get home. The other paper tape I used before is NOT good. Sticks to his skin. This other bandage is nice and firm and only sticks to itself.
I hope he recovers from this. So it seems that instead of only performing fecal testing, blood work should be done at lest once, perhaps when they turn 1 year old?
Who knows...
Well, stay tuned for more.
Izzy thanks all of you for your support so far!!!
So here is the info on the blood work results...Just got the phone call!
1) Calcium levels are actually normal (10)
2) Phosphorus levels are way too high (31)
3) Kidneys are not working properly and if I understood correctly they don't know if he was born with a genetic problem or if it was acquired.
4) White blood count is high showing signs of infection. They don't know if there is any other infection other than the kidneys.
So it seems like I did okay with my Ca husbandry. I hope that is a correct assumption.
Now, I am going to pick up 3 new meds and I am to cut back on the liquid Ca to once a day instead of twice.
Today I removed the towel I had added yesterday. He didn't seem to care for it too much after all as he had hard time moving around. So this morning, after shower, drinking and meds, I put him back along with 5 crickets and quickly they were all gone.
I will post a pic of the new bandage when I get home. The other paper tape I used before is NOT good. Sticks to his skin. This other bandage is nice and firm and only sticks to itself.
I hope he recovers from this. So it seems that instead of only performing fecal testing, blood work should be done at lest once, perhaps when they turn 1 year old?
Who knows...
Well, stay tuned for more.
Izzy thanks all of you for your support so far!!!
zelink14
Member
I just joined the forums today, and I've been going around reading a bunch of the posts.
Great job with taking care of Izzy. MBD has been one of my biggest worries when I had a bearded dragon, and now that I have a veiled. I didn't realize it could literally sneak up on someone like this! D: I hope things work out. The fact that he's so lively is definitely a good sign.
I'll keep watching this thread. Good luck with the new meds!
Great job with taking care of Izzy. MBD has been one of my biggest worries when I had a bearded dragon, and now that I have a veiled. I didn't realize it could literally sneak up on someone like this! D: I hope things work out. The fact that he's so lively is definitely a good sign.
I'll keep watching this thread. Good luck with the new meds!
