possibly broken back leg...

[Funkstaa]

I did a big clean of the pygmy dragons viv tonight and put new sand in etc I noticed one not walking quite right, with closer inspection his back left leg bends downward between his hip and knee I have put him in a small empty tank turned all the lights out so he goes to sleep is there anything else I can do till I get him to the vet in the morning?...
Before anyone has a go I have called the vet but because I'm in a rural area the vet only comes out for what they consider emergencies I'm frustrated they think this isn't serious and they said they will have to co consult with another vet as they don't know much about reptiles grr

 

[Funkstaa]

any one?...I've never had anything like this happen so am I doing the right thing?

 

[Sigman21]

mate im so sorry to hear about the situation i will firstly say i dont know much about lizards but in terms of a common sense approach u've done everything u possibly can in this situation. i wish u all the best with your vet consult tomorro and keep us posted.

cheers dean

 

[gyppygip]

hey, i work at a vet and agree with the reply above, you have done everything you can, limit the amount the lizard is moving around, keep it in a dark environment to keep it calm and ensure it is nice and warm. Reptiles and most animals are incredibly hardly creatures and the chances of the leg healing on its own without intervention are quite high although it would most likely heal disfigured, otherwise your vet might recommend amputation, really up to you what you decide to do but for the time being you have done everything you can. The fact your vet doesn't think it is an emergency is probably quite correct, it is not a life threatening condition and at this point in time veterinary intervention might be too stressful, try and get some sleep and let us know what the vet says tomm

 

[Funkstaa]

thanks for the reassurance : ) I can't sleep just sitting on the laptop keeping an eye on him, put water dish in to see if he wanted a drink and he just sat in it I'm not sure if it's taking the pressure off the leg...will leave him be while I sit here and take it out when I finally get some sleep...doubt it lol...

 

[Funkstaa]

Also forgot to add while I was sorting out the small tank I had him on the couch with hubby watching him and he is still really active and uses the limb but it's like a limp...the way it's bent I'm pretty sure it's broken but would that mean he couldn't use it at all if that were the case?

 

[gyppygip]

hard to say really, from the bend you describe it sounds like it is broken, a soft tissue injury would cause swelling but not the leg to be bent, most animals/reptiles seem to feel pain differently to humans, whilst a human would be crying in pain an animal/lizard will get on with things and act as though nothing is wrong. It comes down to wild instincts, in the wild an animal cannot sit around crying in pain otherwise it will be picked off by a predator very quickly. Ive seen some brutal injuries in animals and they still manage to act normal, whether or not they are in the same amount of pain that we would feel is something to be argued but i would imagine you are probably more stressed out right now then he is

 

[gyppygip]

if you can upload a photo without stressing him out too much i might be able to give you some more accurate advice. Generally a rule of thumb is if its broken they wont weight bear at all but as i said the bend sounds suspicious of a break

 

[Funkstaa]

It doesn't show too well but I didn't want to move him too much - can't find my camera charger so had to use my phone but you can kind of see how the left leg upper limb is sagging (totally agree with what you said about them just getting on with things he seems fine apart from dragging the leg...and yeah I'm definately more stressed than him he just wants to chill in his water dish

 

[IgotFrogs]

ummmm just a thought do you have a uvb light over them if so what % is it?

 

[gyppygip]

hard to tell from the pic but it doesnt look broken, looks like it is thinner then the right leg though, could be a calcium deficiency or vitamin b deficiency if no uvb light can cause weak bones, depends on how old it is could be bone cancer but im lost for ideas, photo doesnt look like a broken leg though. Let me know what the vet says, sorry i couldnt be more help

 

[pythrulz]

cant offer any advice but hope everything turns out ok

 

[Funkstaa]

yes definately have a uv light,the basking has a branch that they all use and it goes right up to the roof with the light ontop of the viv - I did consider the calcium deficiency but when he stands it bends more, I was taking the weight off for him in the pic...He's only 1- 1 1/2 yrs now so hopefully not bone cancer or ne thing too major...
They have a pretty good diet and have calcium spray on fruit and veg mix, but they have just come out of brumation so haven't eaten for a couple of months, he has eaten since so I'm not worried with his appetite...just the leg I wish I could make it all better, a kiss works for my kids but that's not going to cut it here lol

 

[IgotFrogs]

how old is the globe in the UVB lamp ?... and what % is it?

 

[Funkstaa]

I tag all my globes with dates for this reason lol it's only 4 months old - it's an exo terra 5.0

 

[Funkstaa]

Ok so the soonest they could fit flash in was 10.15 so I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs watching my poor little guy, but starting to worry as to what or how much/little the vet can help...Hubby isn't into herps and lacks knowledge but told me they would amputate it ...surely he's pulling my leg!
What is it they can do to mend a broken bone, I've been googling and saw a beardy with a cast on it's arm - very cute : p
but what are the options, they won't have to put him down will they...I understand he is prob in pain but there's got to be some thing they can do isn't there?

 

[Sigman21]

amputation isn't a joke and is actually more common then what people think lol my girlfriend has a cat with three legs and he's actually cuter because of it lol.

and they wont put him down providing your willing to pay to fix it if u know what i mean and if worst comes to worst they'll probaly amputate the leg and he'll live happily ever after

in saying i am far from a vet but i wish u all the best keep us posted

cheers dean

 

[Funkstaa]

Just got back from the vet - before I went I looked up a reptile specialist vet in sydney and asked if they had any troubles if we could call on them and co consult, they were more than happy to...So got him there ( have never seen so many shocked people when I walked in with my little dragon lol talk about 101 questions) any way she asked the usual q's then said hold on I'll get my book - before she got her book I did hint about the reptile vet in sydney and she fobbed it off...She then said she had never seen a dragon in person before while pulling on the limb seperating the bone, then states the obvious that it was broken.
She has told me to cut a straw to size and use 3m micropaw tape and splint it and keep him housed in the small viv for the next 6 months, I'm worried if I do it wrong the bone won't heal properly and I will cause more damage, and told her that but she said I would do a better job than her - I called the vet from syd just to double check if that's what they would do, they did agree but said to splint the whole leg not just the upper leg.
I have to take it off in a week to check how it's healing and most likely repeat the process...Poor little bugger, would love to know how it happened : (

 

[Funkstaa]

got a better shot of his leg before we put it in the splint - After I put it on he was flicking it around frustrated with it I'm sure so I have loosely taped it to his tail to imobilise it more - from the pic have I done it right?

 

[IgotFrogs]

its a 5.0 .... beardies should be under a 10.0 .... that might very well be the reason there