Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My little girl who is about 1 and 1/2 yrs old, stopped using her right hind leg yesterday for no apparent reason. the vet took x-rays and showed them to me but everything looks fine. there was a solid mass showing in her stomach - looks like a pebble or something and the vet shrugged it off for now until her next visit. I had her in a bandage that the vet put on but as were his instructions, when her leg began to swell i removed it. what could be wrong? She just laid three clutches in the last three months and she is still eating fine - though a little less than usual but i suspect she is just depressed that she cannot hunt crickets as she normally does with much enthusiasm. Her bone density is great as well, but she does not use the leg at all and hobbles around like she only has the other three. I'm worried, help?

When was the last time she went to the bathroom? It isn't as common in older dragons but it sounds like a case of impaction possibly. The solid mass could be what is causing the blockage. This typically leads to loss of use of the rear legs. "IF" that is what it is it can be deadly to the dragon. I would be surprised if a vet would just shrug that off but something is wrong. You can try soaking in warm water. Do this several times a day for 30-60 minutes or until she takes a good dump. You can also try giving her some mineral oil through a syringe. When soaking her try keeping her in an upright position like when they stand against glass or the side of their cage. Make sure the water is deep enough to where her belly and below is submerged. I recently had an adult female that was blocked after laying eggs. I weighed her that morning to check her weight and she cleaned herself out ten minutes after I weighed her. It was an enormous pile so I decided to weigh her again. She had lost 21 g from just going to the bathroom. Very scary.

Mike
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thankyou for your reply. Yeah the impaction theory was all i had lefy but when i brought her outside today she had an enormous bowel movement that seemed normal but no rocks - on the x-ray it looked like a little pebble but i thought to myself about the whole hind leg paralysis issue when they are young and eat big crickets. i mentioned it to the vet who is very reputable around here but is a bit too easy-going for my taste and he worries me. last year i had a dragon not shedding his tail and he just sent me home with mineral oil and betadine solution saying i shouldn't worry, but two weeks later it began to bleed and broke off. again he told me that it happens and he'd be just fine. i know it bothered my dragon and caused him pain. now i'm really worried he'll tell me my girl will be fine with just three legs and that's going to take my issue with him to the next level. for now, i'm curious as to why she should be standing up in your opinion? I've noticed she has been finding any way she can to hang or sit completely vertical but the leg is beginning to swell even without the bandage now, and i noticed that a swelling or bump has formed on the inside of her limp leg right where it is attatched to body. the lump is small and the swelling in the leg and foot is not critical at the moment and subsided a bit when she was bathing in the miniature dragon pond i have in their outdoor cage where the water was fairly cool today. she has something going on with her though. the way she looked after her swim time and pooping was horrible - she turned darker than i've ever scene her and her leg looked like it was turning blue at the tips of the scales. she was all wrinkley and skinny looking even after eating a ton of veggies and waxworms, crickets, and mealworms. she is starting to shed as well so that may be contributing to her overall sad appearence. i'm getting her into the vet on monday so long as nothing necessitating a trip to the er vet develops tommorrow. i feel so bad for the little girl and she just keeps looking at me like "don't you get it? that's not what i need". Thank you for taking the time to read this