Injured Black Soil / Pygmy Bearded Dragon

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SYNeR

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Hi all,I came home today to find my male black soil / pygmy bearded dragon is injured. He lives with a female dragon, so I don't know if they've fought (at which point it's time to separate) or what has happened. Generally, I've noticed courtship and that sort of behaviour, but no fighting. I've looked through the enclosure (and on the female dragon) for signs of blood, but can't find anything.. There's nothing really 'sharp' in the enclosure.. Just a couple of large basking sand-stone rocks (which are well wedged into place), and a branch going from the top right-hand corner (basking corner) to the bottom left hand corner (cool end), in addition to a rock cave, water dish, and food bowl.They're in a large enclosure - 4 foot with temps around 32-35 degrees generally at the warm end, however temps have dropped a little recently in line with the general climate. I also just put in a 100w mercury vapour bulb this afternoon.My main concern is that above his right foot is bleeding (or weeping blood very slowly) and he seems quite subdued when he's normally a very flighty animal. The few times he has moved around, he will just limp and drag the affected leg/foot.I've called the vet after hours, who thought it wasn't serious enough to warrant being called out (although they were more than happy to).I asked the vet about using some betadine to help clear up the affected area, and she said that would be fine..My main concern is the bleeding and risk of infection, as well as restricting his movement, although as mentioned he does seem quite subdued and just want to sit around.For now, I've just removed everything from their enclosure and cleaned it out, as well as separated the female. I've also put down paper towel, and provided fresh water as well as some greens.. I'm not sure what else I can do besides going to the chemist or supermarket and getting some betadine to treat the area.Is anyone able to advise on the ability of wrapping a bleeding sore? Or would it be not worth the hassle & is he likely to just try and rip all the dressing off?Here's a photo. Whilst it's not a very good one, if you were to see him in person, you wouldn't really notice anything extra.. All I'm able to see isslight bleeding / weeping (I'm not even sure what's considered large blood loss for such small animals), and I can't see any open wounds. It's hard to really notice anything at all given how rough their scales are.Has anyone had any similar experiences?Thanks,MarkQuagmire Injury.jpgPS: Not sure if the photo will show.. I've had issues with my account previously where my photos will show up to me, but not others.. So here's a link to the pic:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37648372/Quagmire Injury.jpgI've had a look at this site below, and wondering if it's worth going to the late-night pharmacy to pick up some gauze / dressing.. Again though, I'm not sure if it will be a hindrance and cause him to unnecessarily move his leg around and get the dressing off..First Aid For ReptilesEither way, I'll be going to the vet in the morning -- I just want to do as much as possible in the mean time.EDIT: after a bit of reading and looking around, I suspect it's Metabolic Bone disease (hence the dragon's positioning of his front foot).. But I give them vitamin and calcium supplements a bit. In addition, I use a UVB 10.0 tube. I've also just replaced the mercury vapour bulb..Anyhow, I've got an appointment with the vet this afternoon.He isn't much better this morning, but his wound has cleared up and stopped bleeding.. I bathed him in a betadine solution last night, then applied some betadine ointment.I'll be upping his calcium and vitamin D3 intake, as well as providing time out in the sun.

Update for all the lurkers out there (26/03):

Vet took an X-ray.. No fractures, and bones apparently are "well calcified". Injury is suspected to be from bite from female bearded dragon.
The vet has given him a shot of antibiotics, and is due to do so again in 2 days time.

I'm also not sure what happened to the formatting of my post :\
 
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Update (29/03):

He's still not really moving much, and has had 2 shots of antibiotics, but he's quite a bit more alert.
I fed him some woodies and he was quite interested, even making the effort to hop after some of them without
putting weight on his sore leg.

His enclosure is still practically empty, with only paper towel for substrate, a water bowl, food bowl and a hide.
Whilst there's no basking rock, at the warm end directly under the mercury vapour bulb, he's getting around 34 - 35 degrees (which he seems to enjoy).

He's due for one more shot of antibiotics.. After that, who knows :\
But, I must be patient. For now, he is definitely better than how he was.

(PS -- Weird bug.. I can't edit my original post, and this reply came up as a new post, instead of being appended to the original post).

Update (31/03):

Just got back from the vets, and they're impressed with his progress. I noticed he seems to be trying to put weight on the leg now. Previously he would just
hold the leg to his side and not use it.

He has has his 3rd and final shot of antibiotics. Back to the vet on Monday for a checkup.
 
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Update (08/04):

He's much better now. Last visit to the vet for last shot of antibiotics (4th shot) was Monday 2nd April.
He still has a bit of a limp, but is putting much more weight on the leg and is quite happily and easily able to chase crickets
around his tank.

Again, vet suspects it was a bite from the other, female dragon -- possibly even as a result of courtship (which I've noticed can be aggressive at times).
 
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