Puffy/Swollen Leg?

[EricBTS]

Hi guys,

I just recently noticed my BTS to have a rather puffy front leg. He doesn't struggle to walk on it or anything, but it looks quite abnormal and he never had it before.

Here is a picture (sorry for blurriness) first image is his good leg, second is the puffy one.


I have booked a vet appointment to be safe, but I figured I'd ask here if any of you have seen anything like this before.

Thoughts?

[Richard.C]

cant see the pic clearly,but has it got any unshed skin in the area,looks like 2 different colors in the pic

retained shed can cut circulation causing the swelling,but could be other reasons to,so good to get vet checked as well

[EricBTS]

He just finished a shed but the leg looks clean. There doesn't seem to be any remaining skin. Pictures aren't the best but they look about the same colour.

[Richard.C]

ok,his foot looks puffy to,did u check in the skin fold where foot meets leg,sometimes its hard to see,also it may have been from a shed before the latest one,but usually the new shed would have difficulties coming off if there was stuck shed there from previous shed,so could be something else entirely

is he housed alone,could also be an injury,or an abcess forming inside,be interesting to know what it is,main thing is u have found it early,so hopefully rectifiable,if u go to vet can u let us know the prognosis

[EricBTS]

He is sleeping now so I can't check too much without bugging him! But he is housed alone, yes. I will have to take a closer look tomorrow.

[Fatal_S]

You're right, something is definitely up. Vet is a great plan, good job. Let us know how it goes.

[skeetersmom]

Not sure how it is with retiles (never had the situation myself) but I know with mammals if there is an infection, the site feels warm.

Is it the same with reptiles?

[Kbell31]

You are doing the right thing by taking your skink to the vet asap, good job! Let us know how it turns out.

[EricBTS]

Checked his leg closer today, it's not excess shed that's for sure. He didn't seem bothered by me touching it at all so let's hope I'm still early catching this.

Vet trip is tomorrow morning so I will have to update on it after that. I wasn't going to procrastinate on it, I don't know what I'd do if his health was at risk. Thanks for the assistance everyone. I will fill you all in tomorrow (and maybe take better pictures)

[Richard.C]

thanks mate,good luck,will be interesting to know what it is

[EricBTS]

Well I got back from the vet, at first he thought it might be an infection so he tried to draw out pus but only got blood. Normal blood too, so it seemed okay.

So basically, it may be swollen from a fall of some sort, hemotoma, or a cyst. There was no proof of any of those though, they were just guesses. As far as he is concerned, right now it is nothing so I just have to keep an eye on it.

Odd I guess, hopefully it will return to its normal size with time.

[Gail]

Did he do a blood test to rule out gout?

[Spindown]

would gout show up in only one leg? (i have no experience with gout, seriously curious!)

[Gail]

It does in bearded dragons, not sure about other reptiles though.

[El Lobo]

Although gout can affect soft tissue and organs it is most likely to be initially noticed as swelling in the synovial fluid of the joints. I am a little surprised the vet didn't run a blood test as he had already drawn some blood. A serum BUN (blood-urea-nitrogen) together with creatinine and uric acid levels tests should indicate abnormalities likely to cause gout. As the BTS doesn't seem to object to having his leg handled it may be less likely gout is the culprit as it is an extremely painful condition.

Has he been fed much canned cat food?

[critterguy]

I had something similar happen to a female Northern I had with me on loan. Both of her arms swelled(one much more than the other), and she had difficulty bending them at the elbows, preferring to keep them rigid. We had various theories(injury during breeding? food allergy?). We were quite concerned but the condition ended up going away within a few days.

[EricBTS]

Apologies for the late reply.

He did do a blood test and it looked completely normal. Not really sure what it is. Just keeping an eye on him for now.

[4rQ]

I believe I have the same sort of issue you have faced, how did it turn out? is there any unmentionned treatment you also applied?