Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Good morning

I have had my water dragon Neptune to the vet three times in the last month because of lowered apetite, sluggishness, and unwillingness to climb (he actually sleeps on the floor of the viv).

The vet did a blood test after the first visit and noticed elevated uric acid levels but Neptune had just eaten. I fasted him for a week before the last visit and I just checked the blood results. His uric acid level is 19.6. The vet tech said it should be around 7.5 and I assume that this means the worst - some sort of kidney disease. We cannot feel anything in the kidneys through his skin.

My questions are for anyone who has had this happen or who knows anything about this. My vet flew to Panama to study frogs today and will not be back for ten days.

1 - Is this treatable by any means?

2 - The vet said one possibility is an endoscopy where they do a biopsy on the kidney. I do not want to put Neptune through this just to confirm a death sentence. I am not sure if the endoscopy is worth tormenting the poor guy for. Any thoughts?

3 - I am currently feedning Neptune 30 mils of carnivore care twice a day using a syringe without the needle. The idea is to get some nourishment and water into him. Does anyone know of something better?

Thanks - any help in this sad time would be appreciated.

You said..."The vet did a blood test after the first visit and noticed elevated uric acid levels"...high levels of uric acid is a symptom of gout which involves the kidneys too....your vet should know if that's what's involved.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=17&cat=1796&articleid=2496
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=17&cat=1796&articleid=3317
http://www.anapsid.org/diverskidney.html

Not sure if carnivore care is good or not in situations like this. You might want to look into the protein levels and ask your vet if s/he didn't tell you to use it. (I'm not a vet and am only mentioning this because one of the above sites says..."Any underlying dietary or environmental cause will need to be remedied. Diets such as Hill's Canine u/d, which are low in those proteins which are metabolized into uric acid, may be used in carnivorous reptiles."

Hope your dragon will be okay!