[Geckoholic]

Let me start off by saying I had this exact problem with a taenicauda about 3 months ago. The gecko showed signs of a swollen joint on the front leg. She was brought to the vet and it was thought that she was suffering from septicemia, a bacterial infection (very possibly pseudomonas), and was given a total of 7 daily injections of baytril. The vet believed that a very small cut on the toe of that same leg (only really noticeable with the aid of a magnifying glass) was what started the infection. After 7 days there had been absolutely no decrease in swelling so the animal was brought back to be re-examined. I was then given a different antibiotic to be injected every other day (don’t remember what this was off the top of my head). After 2 additional weeks no progress was seen and there was now swelling at the joint in both font legs and one rear. Needless to say the animal ended up dying.

I am now seeing the exact say problem in one of my wheeleri. I do not want to see a repeat of the above incident. What is causing this swelling and how do I fix it. Any help will be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

[Ari]

Hi

Just curious is it actually a joint swelling or is it fluid build up, i.e. fluid retention? Are the stools typical?

Cheers

[Geckoholic]

Stools appear normal, in fact everything seems absolutely normal besides the obvious swelling. It is probably fluid build up but it is only seen at the joint.

Steve

[Ken Bartenfeld]

I have no clue. Where is Dan?

[Marlies]

I have an baby R. ciliatus that seems to have the same problem. The animal is feeding, can still climb the wall and seems to do OK, besides the swollen leg. I have no clue at all what the problem might be, but I'm going to follow this topic with great intrest!

[oli]

I wish you all the best with your beautiful wheeleri. Someone with knowledge please help........

[Palex134]

I had that happen with a ciliatus a while back, sadly, it did not make it. good luck.

[peterc]

Hi - an interesting problem you have there...some additional history may be useful, so how old is the wheeleri, was it sudden onset, is there lameness associated with the swelling, is it painful on palpation ( be gentle ),is it firm, was a PM performed on the last lizard...if so findings,any difficulties shedding...??????? Without detailed history and clinical examination +/- approp. tests I can only guess at the problem but from past experience the most likely cause of the problem would be one of the following osteomyelitis (bone infection),septic arthritis (joint infection), abscess, fracture with subsequent callus formation, or gout (common frillies and beardies..I haven't had a case in geckos). My approach would be a detailed radiograph using mammo. film and after reviewing that would consider performing a fine needle aspirate of afffected area and see what that yielded diagnostically. I assume wheeleri OS are expensive so could justify spending some money on vet workup to accurately Dx problem. Hope this is of some help Dr Peter Cameron. Hi to Dr Danny Brown...hope to meet you some time and chew the fat with you.

[Geckoholic]

Thanks for the help Dr. Cameron. I will try to answer your questions as best I can...

The wheeleri is approximately 6 months old and the swelling appeared quickly. In fact, it now appears that one of the rear joints is starting to swell slightly (which is the same pattern seen in the taenicauda). The leg seems to be fully functional at this point but the animal doesn't seem to want to put a ton of weight it. The swollen area feels pretty hard, but it is hard to tell with such a small animal. There have been no shedding problems and the gecko is still feeding.

If it helps, here is how I care for gecko: 1 inch of sand/clay substrate, shoebox size enclosure with a partially screened top. 3 plastic saucers turned upside down, which serve as hide boxes. A corner of the enclosure is very lightly misted once a night and a heavier misting is done on half the enclosure once a week. I do not keep a moist hide with them as I do my levis. Half of the enclosure sits on a heat cable warming up the warm spot to the high 80's while keeping the cool section in the 70's. The wheeleri is fed exclusively crickets, which have been gutload (which does not contain animal protein) and dusted with calcium and vitamins (1 part repcal with D3, 1 part repcal without D3, and 1 part herpivite).

Let me know if there are any other questions that you would like answered.

Thanks,
Steve

[Ari]

Good points there Peter. Actually have you found that shedding problems is the first visual sign of more severe underlining problems?

I had an adult female Pilbarensis ( 1 yr old ) she went into preshed, but stayed like this for 2-3 weeks, which concerned me, finally after taking her to the vet it seems she had past shed build up on one of her tiny toes which caused the toe to drop off and thus caused an infection - the leg showed signs of swelling and a antibiotic was administered orally but did no good. Poor thing passed away. This indicates to me that maybe when reptiles have major problems shedding that there is an underlining problem - I guess similar to cats in away, "wont clean its self if its ill?"