Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone. I recently got in a female egyptian uromastyx who somehow damaged her left front leg. I'm not sure if it was in shipment or if something happened before or what but she could not walk on it when I received her. It has been REALLY swollen for a week and a half and she barely walks on it. I have taken her to the vet twice. The first time she got an antiinflamatory injection and the second she received x-rays (which came back negative...no fracture) and an oral anti inflamatory. The antiinflamatory stuff does not seem to be working at all. Her arm is so swollen it's hard to the touch. I really do not know what to do and my vet does not seem to know what it is after getting the x-rays back. Has anyone had any experience with swollen limbs in their reptiles? If so what was the diagnosis? How long did it last? I feel so bad for her and the whole situation is hard with christmas coming around and funds dwindling (she was not cheap and the vet bills have already added on $180). If anyone can offer any advice I would be incredibly thankful. Hope everyone elses animals are doing better than Pebbles :~(.

Peter

There are a couple of differentials for swollen limbs in reptiles. Swelling in the long bones (like the humerus as shown in your Pebbles)can be associated with nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (also known as metabolic bone disease (MBD)), articular or periarticular gout, pseudogout, or septic arthritis (caused by age or trauma).
Did your vet do xrays? MBD would be characterized by a general loss in bone density. I am less suspicious of MBD due to her generally good appearance. Articular and periarticular gout and psuedogout are both seen in Uromastyx. Gout, on the other hand, would be higher on my differential list. Gout is caused by inflammation in the kidneys and results in uric acid crystal being deposited in the joints. Articular and periarticular gout result in uric acid crystals. Pseudogout is results in calcium crystals being deposited in the joints. The crystals in pseudogout are radioopaque and show up on xrays, but the uric acid crystals do not. In the xrays you would look for lytic (less dense, meaning the bone is being destroyed) lesions around the joints. Bloodwork is a little harder to interpret in reptiles. Even though the kidneys are compromised the classic markers are not reliable indicators. You may or may not see anincrease in uri acid. The diffinative diagnosis of gout can be made by taking a joint tap and a biopsy of the affected tissue. The joint tap of a gout patient will show monosodium urate crystals and the biopsy will show the same crystals. A positive in either test either indicates gout.
Sorry to go on and on, but if you have any other questions feel free to email me. Sorry about Pebbles
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Stacey

I forgot to ask what antiinflammatory did your vet give? Is she on any antibiotics?
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Stacey

Stacey,

Thank you! Very informative. She was given ketoprofen (which I guess is just an analgesic?) first and is now on metacam orally. My vet and I did not talk much about the possibility of gout but, after reading up on it (another person on the uromastyx forum suggested this as well) it seems like the most likely possibility. Uromastyx are supposed to be primarily vegetarian and are often fed way too much insect protein which could be a factor. I will call the people I bought her from. I also noticed, when her arm was not completely swollen, that she did have somewhat of a hard spot about where her tricep would be. Maybe a crystelline deposit? Her arm was not as swollen when I first received her which is what makes me still feel the possibility of soft tissue damage during shipping is still an option. The swelling is fairly uniform throughout her arm also...even down to her hand. I'm worried because it has not gotten better and now I see what looks like blood underneath the scales near her wrist...almost like a red bruise...kind of hard to explain. She does put some pressure on it and seems to move it through the shoulder joint only. Here's another picture. Thank you so much for your help!

Peter

Gout was one of the things that came to mind with swollen joints like that. The other was just an injury maybe right before getting ready too or during shipping. I'm glad somebody with more medical background was here to give you a hand cause I could not explain it like that, only could suggest it as I have no experiance personally dealing with it. You might want to contact CheriS at reptilerooms.com cause she knows quite a bit about the treatments, and how it is detected in reptiles. She does have a sandfire dragon that is on a certain med Can't think of the name off the top she gives daily for the gout and it is helping a lot in keeping the dragons joints normal and moving. Good Luck with the uro, he/she sure looks nice and healthy (body weight) other then the left arm/joint trouble.
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Mystical Dragons webshots pictures
Mystical-Dragons Website

There are three drugs used most commonly to treat gout. Probenecid is used to increase the excretion of uric acid, Sulfinpyrazone also increase uric acid excretion and colchcine which decreases the uptake of uric acid. But, you would need a diagnosis of gout first ,because it could be trauma too. You will need to increase the temp. on her (higher than normal) to increase her metabolic rate while trying to heal. Iwould be concerned about secondary osteomyletis if it is trauma and there is that much swelling. I haven't had any experience with ketoprofen and metacam in reptiles, I am going to research that and get bac to you. I have always used flunixin meglumine (trade name Banamine) as an antiinflammatory in these guys.
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Stacey

Hi! I am fairly new here but haven't seen you but for the past week or so. Are you studying to be a vet or do you just study this stuff in your spare time? Just curious. You seem to be very knowledgeable in the medical area.

Robert

Robert,

I am very new to the forum. I found it by accident when researching beardie breeders and everyone seemed so nice and knowledgable that I thought I'd hang around. I am a registered veterinary technician and I "specialize" in exotics. I say specialize in quotes beacause their is no true specialization at this point I am trying to get one started but there are very few of us. I have spent a great deal of time and money researching this type of information and the practice I work at sees a lot of herps. My doctor is excellent!! (Dr. Kenton Taylor, Mountain View CA, shameless plug sorry) I find the medicine of reptiles and small mammals fascinating. I am currently working on my masters in microbiology working with the reptilian and avian renal parasite hexamita. So renal pathology is one of my passions ( I know HUGE geek!) I currently teach high school biology as well. Nice to meet you!!
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Stacey

Ha!! We like your kind of "Geekiness" here..lol
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TheClassyLizard