Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi eve if you read this this is guy the kid who emails you all the time
My lizard has a lopsided toe that is either broken or dislocated. is this something i should worry about? is there something i can do about it? little guy seems ok.

Nice to have you here. It's kind of slow but should pick up soon As far as your dude with the broken toe, I don't really know that there is anything you can do except let it heal on it's own.

I have a youngster that hatched with a crooked toe kind of curls. Anyway maybe someone else would like to chime in here, if they know of anything else to do.

I think as long as he's okay and not limping/lame in anyway , leave it be .

Hope you stick around
-----
PHEve / Eve

oh thanks i was expecting you to reply to that email i sent you but this works. yeah hes his normal self. although new topic:

He (name is steve) is looking kinda skinny. he wont eat crickets and he is only eating super worms. have i seriouly messed up his diet? how do i correct it? i dont want him to starve so i give him a super worm but thats it. What worked for me before is i just wouldnt feed him and he eventually accepted crickets. but now hes not eating crix again. im guessing ill just restrict his diet. anyone have an opinion on this?
oh and if anyone has an opinion the messed up toe that would be great. hes doing good and is really active. hes just become piky and likes chomping super worms.

It sounds that his broken/dislocated toe is bothering him. This probably explains why he's unwilling to eat fast moving crickets, and prefers to eat the more slow, sluggish grub like the meal worms. Just a suggestion, try making a small spinter by using one of his good finger next to it with a small strip(s)of sticky or non-sticky gauze tape. I highly suggest that you get the regular gauze, and glue a strip of it with a special first aid glue. You can get it at Petco (I know,I know), but it's kinda expensive. However, I've seen a cheaper version at RiteAid. An aplication of this glue should last days if not more. I try this method with a collared who's tail skin, yes skin/scale membrane partially detached... I know strange. I took him to the "reptile vet" and the guy didn't know anything about collareds. He wanted to lop off part of his tail. I said, hell no! So, I suggested the method mention here... He was mezmarized, and said it was a good idea. I practically treated my collared and friggin got charged for it. Anyway... monitor his toe for signs of infection or complications. If you see it's getting worse then only then take him to the vet (a reptile/native lizard experienced) as a last resort. They're probally going medicate him or recommend chopping his toe. They probably lose limbs in the wild. However, if you feel his not doing good then by all means take him to a vet as soon as you can.

hey thanks for the advice, and ive been checking the toe every day. what would infection look like.( im geussing swelling and discoloration) and im not seeing that. In terms of not chacing after fast crickets, hes not at all sluggish. hes still quite the little acrobat. running and digging in the corners and jumping all around. so his activity is normal except he won't take crickets. So your advice is to make a slint with another finger. I thought of doing this but those little fingers are so small. I'll try it, and see how it goes. thanks again for the advice. Should I continue to feed the slow moving grubs until he feels better? will this effect his diet ? will i have problems getting him back on to his staple diet of crickets?

Yes, keep a look out for any signs of swelling and deformities and treat it your able to, or take him to a qualified vet.
Keep feeding him those mealworms if that's what he's accepting now. However, I believe they're too high in protein and fat, and contain small amounts of toxicity which may prove bad if that's all he eats. Offer him other foods, like b. dubias, my collareds go crazy over them, and continue offering him dusted gut-loaded crickets. Instead of trying to ween him out of mealworms, you should try to supplement his diet with other foods and vitamins.
Just a suggestion, try chilling the crickets before offering them to him. Maybe he likes easy pray.

hey just an update on the toe it seems to be fine. he ate a cricket like a week ago. still partial to grubs. i found a moth in my basement he ate that( we have moth problem we cant explain) but stevie is a good solution to it. so thats it. this all grub diet worries me because of the chitin in the exo skeletons but not sure what to do.