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I'm using it to treat a gout case right now. It's been a couple of weeks and I'm just wondering what results anyone's achieved using Allopurinol... whether it just stops the swolling from getting worse or actually makes it go down eventually.

If you've used any other meds. to treat gout successfully, please let me know also. Thanks.

We have used this for almost two years off and on for one bearded dragons along with another med. We got him from Sandfire Ranch at the Daytona show when he was about 2-3 months old. Within a month we started noticing his back toes were swollen in the joint area and a really excellent vet was able to diagnose him early and start treatment. At the time they did not think he would live to see his first birthday and this month he turned 2 and is doing really well.

Bear in mind, this is all experimental. There is no known studies on reptiles in control groups with these drugs, especially bearded dragons. Many reptiles will stop eating and become anorexic on the meds but larger reptiles like bearded dragons and monitor seem to tolerate it better. It may become a balancing act of what is the lowest dose you can give him that still is effective, but does not create eating problems.

Were started using Allopurinol 20 mg/ml - 3mg once a day and Probenecid 250 mg once a day. Since then we have cut back the allopurinol to 15 mg and now only use it when there appears to be a flair up. His diet is fairly normal except ALL higher oxalates foods are totally eliminated and this is another way to help control flair up, along with keeping him stress free.

His liver emzynes are fairly good and his blood panels with Uric acid levels are within range most the time. The only visual sign you can see now is a swelling in the large toes on his back feet, that is still about the same as within a month of his diagnoses. Seems like it took the meds that long to really start working. Xrays do show deposits, but no spurs into the joints. The only side effect that he has is very runny poo and it's very acic smelling, but then, that also tells us it is working and he is elimination the Uric acids.

He eats really well, actually one of our best eaters, as long as he has his crickets and worms in a purple bowl (long story). We don't know if he will live a normal lifetime..... no one knows for sure what that is anyway. He is beautiful with fantastic markings, but we will never breed him. He is very calm unless taken outside, then he panics easily, he perfers staying in this enclosure or laying on the bed in my room. I call him my little old man as that is what toes look like.

Really no way to be sure how he got this, the vet thinks it is genetic, but it can also be a defect in him from birth or perhaps something that happened to him prior to us getting him, such as lack of fluids or proper heat for a period of time,diet or even stress can contribute to it. Our vet tells us most cases they see in reptiles are related to lack of hydration/extreme heat at some point and since he was so young and bought at a show in Florida in the summer....he had to have been brought from across the country a few days earlier and show enviroments for several days is not the best, so that is a possibility also.

I will not let him be biopsied, as even if there were indicators of liver or kidney damage, there is nothing to change it, so we enjoy the time we have with him. Hope yours does as well
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