Hey-

PHEve's response is right on.
Your Uro is in a world of hurt. Most definitely a case of poor husbandry, and your concern of reversibility is valid.
I would venture a guess that without veterinary medical help, you will lose you uro.
Just a layman's guess on the prognosis, and I hate to be a doomsayer, but my feeling is that you have to get immediate attention for her, then hopefully you can counteract what three years of poor care has done to harm her.

The cricket only diet, would lead one to believe gout as a standout problem. The lack of any real substance to her tail and swollen leg are definitely indicative of a bigger problem. Romaine and carrots are not a huge factor in poor health and I would argue have been much better for her than the cricket only approach.

She could have MBD, or a systemic infection caused by a suppressed immune system, or a host of other problems, not excluding parasitic infections.

what area are you in? Maybe somebody near you from this forum can give you some area specific guidance for vet care?
Since money is tight...you can always try to walk in a vets office to see if they will take on the case?

Your other problem will be to get qualified vet care for your uro. No slight to vets everywhere, but it is not an easy task to find vets who know uros, regardless of the final bill.

here is an approx idea what a vet bill is for a uro:

Animal exam: 45
Exotic surcharge: 25
Fecal assesment(parasite check): 15-20
Subcutaneous injections: 25
Lab fees: 60-135(blood analysis)

Condition specific medicines:
40-?

You get an idea of how much and what will be billed.
This is just a rough idea. It adds up quickly.
I don't mean to scare you, just trying to give you an idea of cost and why. They're going to have to do the diagnostic work up before they can treat her.

You've got a mountain to climb to help her. So far you've done the best thing for her - You've taken initiative to improve her care.
In doing so however, you have taken the responsibility to now do what's right.
Don't delay.
Sorry to get on a soapbox, stories like this upset me.

Ed



>>I just adopted a Mali Uromastyx who is 3 years old (female).
>>
>>She seems very unhealthy. First biggest problem is her foot. It's swelled up really bad. The owner I got her from says her original owner only fed her crickets for her whole life and says that her foot has been swelled for as long as she can remember.
>>And the owner I just got her from only had her for 3 months and they fed her Romaine Lettuce and carrots.
>>
>>She also looks a little under weight. If you look under her tail you can see the bone. And feel her ribs on her sides. I'm not sure if this is normal or not. Also she has a bad shed on her back.
>>I gave her a warm bath and it helped.
>>
>>I'm going to make sure I give her the best care I can. But I'm wondering if the damage is irreversible?
>>And if she has an infection in her foot, can it spread to the rest of her body and kill her?
>>
>>I know my best option is to take her to the vet, but I don't have the money right now and I don't even know how much it would cost.
>>
>>What are my options? What could the swelling of the foot be?
>>
>>Any opinions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I'm really worried about her.
>>
>>
>>Image

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