Vet Q&A-Reptile

My bearded dragon has had a swollen arm for about 2 days now. He drags it behind himself, and won't walk on it, but he can move it. He couldn't have fallen from too high, less than 10inches. His lighting was not set up right (thanks to my husband) for a couple months. Today, his arm is bigger, and at the elbow, the scales areally spread apart and I can see the skin. Could this be MBD, and with proper care will reverse itself? Or a broken bone? Infection? I don't have thousands for a vet visit :(

It could be a fracture complicated by MBD but an exam and xrays is what Reptar needs to get a definitive diagnosis. It shouldn't cost "thousands". With proper care and some environmental and diet changes, he can recover from MBD. Left untreated, he may suffer permanent damage or even loss of the limb. An experienced herp vet will have the knowledge and experience to give Reptar the best chance at a full recovery. Follow the links to search for a local herp vet. http://www.herpvetconnection.com/calif.shtml http://www.anapsid.org/vets/findingvet.html

Hi, I recently inherited my aunts turtle, I think it's an eastern box turtle. We know it's 35 years or older. It hasn't been out in the sun much at all. We noticed that the pupil in both eyes are covered with an off white substance. The turtle doesn't react to anything close to his face, only eats food when we put it close to it's mouth. Is the turtle blind?

Have Sid examined by an experienced "herp" veterinarian. The eyes may have had chronic infection resulting in a "cap" of what is basically dried pus. If this is the case, proper treatment may allow removal of the caps restoring vision. The vet can also confirm the species and provide husbandry information. You can also request a consult to shares images for confirmation and care information.

My bearded dragon was a pig because he eats every bit of his food but, today he wasn't, we will barley eat and ate one cricket he usually eats like 6 or 7, and he looks sad. What should I do?

Check tank temperature. Low temps can affect appetite and activity in reptiles. Soak him in a warm 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte for 15-20 minutes. Gently massage his abdomen front to back during the soak to stimulate defecation. He may be constipated. Offer a meal in 24 hours and monitor for lethargy or redness, swelling or discharge from the mouth, eyes or nose. If he still refuses food or develops other symptoms, have him examined by your veterinarian or an experienced herp veterinarian to diagnose illness or injury.

My male leperd gecko's genitals are swollen what do I do? I also found this in his cage.

I am sorry that iggy does not seem to be feeling well. I am unsure exactly why Iggy has a swollen genital region. Also there is no picture to show what you found in the cage. I would recommend taking Iggy to the vet to make sure nothing serious is wrong. It is possible that he could have experienced trauma or even an infection. I hope that helps and thanks for using pet coach

My boyfriend has a yellow belly slider turtle (about 3 years old). Recently we experienced hurricane Irma in which power was lost, so the heating lamp he has could not be used as we lost power. He placed his turtle outside to bask for about 10 minutes. After that time was up, his turtle (Walt) was a bit limp. He tried googling if he was overheated and found that this is common when they become dehydrated, so he put him back in his tank. He has been swimming but not eating for a week now.

Walt likely got too cold when the power went out. I'm not convinced that 10 minutes basking outside would have made him that dehydrated. He may be on his way to getting a respiratory infection. What food(s) has he tried feeding him (turtle sticks, live meal worms, sun-dried worms, shrimp?)? The other option is that when he got cold it stimulated his body to go into hibernation mode. In the wild, sliders do hibernate, but it has to be quite cold and other conditions have to met for captive turtles to successfully hibernate. When they're a bit too chilly, but not cold enough to hibernate, they become inactive and quit eating. This leads to illness, and often death. Your boyfriend needs to make sure that his husbandry is 100% spot on - water temperature, humidity, basking area, etc. If he has a UVB light it needs to be changed every 6 months even if the light is still working. It will stop producing UVB rays and then he is not getting what he needs. So I suggest changing that bulb if that has not been done in the last 6 months. Reptisun 10 is my preference. Here is a great care sheet: http://www.reptilecentre.com/info-yellow-bellied-slider-care-sheet If his husbandry is 100% correct and he tries various other things to feed him and he still isn't eating in a few days he will need to see a vet. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I have a male eastern collared lizard and he is jumping up to the light he now has a bloody nose because of this. The temperature is good

That could be caused by a trauma and possibly secondary bacterial infection. This sign could be compatible with a quite severe injury and an immediate check up is ideally required to confirm this clinical suspicion and possibly treat with antibiotics. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

I rescued a bearded dragon on Craigslist and he was deprived of appropriate food, heat, and calcium and his left leg is really big (looks swollen) and he cannot walk on it. He has a bad limp and won't move much. He is about 2 years old and he is housed with my other male dragon. I cannot take him to the vet so I need another way to take care of him.

It sounds like it could be due to MBD which is caused due to lack of calcium, unfortunately this condition might be permanent, the only treatment is calcium supplement and calcium injection but it will probably not repair the damage that is already done.

Any suggestions on takin care of my baby leopard gecko better?

Consider an exam with your veterinarian or an experienced herp vet to confirm good health. Provide the proper environment and a varied diet with calcium/vitamin supplementation. Regular handling is also recommended. You can read more about general care here: http://www.anapsid.org/leopardgek.html

hello, I am really worried about what these white specs are, I already ruled out ticks/mites knowing that Reptile mites are black in color. Could this be excess skin that got stuck around her ears or something else? she's been itching her ears a lot and like I said at the top, I am worried what it could mean. if you can help me identify the white specs, I'd sure appreciate it. Edit: I did enhance the photo for better identification purposes.

Hi there, unfortunately your photo is not attached to your question. White spots on Leopard geckos can definitely be retained shed, but can also be bacterial or fungal infection. Make sure your temperature and humidity is appropriate in the cage. A great resource is for this information is www.anapsid.org. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Pet Coach