Swollen front leg and back toe

[SimonB]

Hello all!

I am wondering if anyone on here has ran into the same problems in the past. Here is what is going on:

My bluey, Zulu, has a very swollen front leg ( as seen in picture below) and one of his toes on his leg back leg is swollen and looks full of pus. He is acting fully normal, has a great appetite but definately not normal. Before i spend the big bucks and go to see a vet can you guys enlighten me on his condition?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

P.S. I have done a search on past threads but haven't found very much info.

Thanks in advance!

SimonB

[SimonB]

I forgot to mention that there is no apparent shed that is stuck around the toe or leg.

[skinks101]

There may be stuck shed on the toes so there is no blood circulation so he may end up with a toes gone. Do not panic. I am not sure about the leg. Just make sure there is no stuck shed. If there is stuck shed then soak in water for about 20 minutes.

[skinks101]

Now that you said that there is no shed stuck on him then I am not sure.

[Susann]

That leg does not look good and in my opinion needs a vet to make sure it's not broken.

Toe issues can come up from time to time and in themselves are not necessarily concerning, but use it as a warning sign that something may be off in your husbandry, humidity for example.

[Scotts1au]

There does seem to be some swelling around the base of the other toes/footpad- along with the front leg could indicate a systemic infection possibly septicemia.

[Lea]

There is definitely signs of an infection, both in the toe and the front leg, probably two unrelated issues, but you must see a vet as this could quickly become septicaemia, which can be fatal.

The foreleg could be any number of things, possibly a broken bone, but also gout springs to mind, as well as an abscess.

Please make an appointment with the vet ASAP. Big bucks, or not, it's a little life you are taking care of and they deserve the best treatment.

[splashy07]

Just thought I'd ask, is your skink housed alone? I've seen some similar injuries from fighting.

[SimonB]

Thanks for the info guys, I already made an appointment at the vets, and yes he's housed alone.

I'll let you guys know what happens

[Susann]

Please do keep us updated. And if the vet does any X-rays, please ask for copies, so you can post them We love seeing X-rays

[SimonB]

Well guys, bad news, looks like he has gout in his back toe and the vet was not sure if the front leg was gout related but there is no broken bones. Going in for blood work tomorrow to see the extent of the gout and if it's treatable.

Cross your fingers for me...

[Scincoides]

Wishing you and the skink the best. Keep us posted

[Dakota]

Wow, that is not good news. I wish a speedy recovery for your little dude. Question though, what is his diet like?

[El Lobo]

Sorry for the not so good news.

Has his diet included cat food?

[SimonB]

hey guys,

I did feed him some cat food. Its supposed to be the good stuff though and I didnt only feed him the cat food. The one I used is Almo Nature chicken with pumkins.

[Richard.C]

Did u see a specialised reptile vet?

I sometimes see this in some of mine,usually from bites or injuries and the swelling is attributed to infection,they dont get liquid pus,it forms globules in side and needs to be removed

Good luck with your skink,looks very healthy otherwise so if if fact gout can be corrected and live out a happy life still

[El Lobo]

hey guys,

I did feed him some cat food. Its supposed to be the good stuff though and I didnt only feed him the cat food. The one I used is Almo Nature chicken with pumkins.

I asked about cat food because it has added taurine. Gout is caused by a build up of uric acid crystals in the synovial fluid of the joints, taurine is implicated in these inflammations of the bursae.

[SimonB]

Hey all,

Blood test results are in and it seems we caught it early enough that the gout is on localized in the joints. We started the treatments to break down the Uric acid and the vet said everything should be ok! Thank god!

The vet suggested that the likely cause of this is dehydration... I figured that my water bowl would provide enough humidity but it clearly didn't. I live in Calgary, Alberta which is a pretty dry climate.

I will keep updates coming as the recovery progresses

[Dood]

Dehydration can be from not getting enough liquids and not just due to low humidity

Do you feed dry dog/cat food?