Need help; gecko has slightly swollen elbow

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Emmalou

New member
I just have a question about my leopard gecko. I was giving her a good look today and it looks like one of her elbows is slightly swollen. It’s nothing drastic, just looks a bit bigger. I was wondering if you knew what might cause this. I’m hoping it’s not early signs of MBD But, she walks on it fine, although it looks like she has a bit of a limp. Anyway, my viv has a cool side (about 73-75 degrees) and a warm side (90-92 degrees), two hides, one on each side and plenty of space with felt bedding. I recently removed her calcium lid from her tank because she attacks it and gets it everywhere, could this be the problem? She’s been eating great, I feed her gutloaded crickets because she has trouble digesting mealworms and waxworms make her very ill (I almost lost her because of them! :( ) and she defecates regularly and everything’s all good in that department. All in all, I would just like to hear your thoughts and any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

Emma
 
Eichen

Eichen

New member
Leo's need that calcium dish because they know when their bodies require additional nutrients. Even if you never see him/her use it, they will if they need to. So I would put that back and let him play in it... Gives him a chance to lick the good vitamins off himself after he makes a mess! :)

But I doubt it's MBD since you sound like you're taking great care of him, but other more experienced members would know better than I would.
Any chance he feel off of anything in the habitat, like a hide or rock and hit his elbow? I hit my shin on a table or two now and again myself. But it heals, no big deal.
 
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Emmalou

New member
Thanks for your response :)

She is known for falling into stuff. I rarely handle her, but recently I took her out to show off and she jumped out of my hands when I was returning her to her viv. It wasn’t a tremendous drop, but enough to scare me, probably 8-10 in.. Do you think it’s broken??? I tried helping her move it today and she didn’t seem to be in any discomfort at all. Hmm.
 
Eichen

Eichen

New member
Post a pic so the breeders and experienced handlers can see his condition. It's worth a thousand words in this type of situation.

But please keep his little calcium dish with powder in it for him! Mine makes a mess with it too, but it's easy to wipe up since it clumps together if you use a damp cloth or paper towel.

EDIT: Also, if he's like my little dude, he'll play in it and drag the powder into his water dish. I don't add any supplements to the water, but when he does it I'm sure that's an additional resource of calcium intake for him. With all of the calcium they get just from "making a mess", I don't think our guys will ever be in danger of getting MBD. LOL
 
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Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
A picture will help us see better what you're describing. It sounds like it could be swelling due to a stuck shed band. Although I see this more often in crested geckos. It still could however be the case. If she's walking around in it alright and doesn't seem too stressed over the area I wouldn't start to get too worried. However, if you see it swell more and she become lethargic or refuses food over the next few days, I would take her in to see a vet.
I still would like to see a picture of the elbow to see if it's something as easy as a stuck shed band. That's something that you could easily fix at home.
 
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Emmalou

New member
Here are two photos. The first is of the swollen arm and the second is used to compare.
 

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Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
Look carefully over the arm. Do you see anything on the outside that would cause swelling? A bruise, scrape, stuck shed? I would take the little one to the vet just in case. The pictures are rather small and I can't see if there's a stuck shed band on the arm.
Is she eating and still active?
 
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Emmalou

New member
There is no stuck shed. Like I said, she may have hit it or landed on it wrong because she jumped out of my hands. It seems a bit red, maybe it’s just bruised. There is no stuck shed. That was one of the first things I looked for.

I put her calcium back in her tank yesterday, and yes it has D3.

She’s active when food comes around, other than that she sleeps a lot, but that’s nothing new. She moves around fine and doesn’t seem to be in pain when I touch her swollen arm.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Emmalou said:
There is no stuck shed. Like I said, she may have hit it or landed on it wrong because she jumped out of my hands. It seems a bit red, maybe it’s just bruised. There is no stuck shed. That was one of the first things I looked for.

I put her calcium back in her tank yesterday, and yes it has D3.

She’s active when food comes around, other than that she sleeps a lot, but that’s nothing new. She moves around fine and doesn’t seem to be in pain when I touch her swollen arm.
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I had a bad feeling you were going to tell me it had D3 in it. Please take it out. Only leave plain calcium in the enclosure. This could be why she is having problems digesting certain foods. Too much D3 can also cause kidney failure, gout and eventually death. I am hoping the swelling is from the leap and not gout. However, Only a vet can diagnose it.
 
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Yoshi'smom

Yoshi'smom

New member
The calcium that is provided in the tank should be without D3. The calcium you dust with should have D3. It's easy for Leos to overdose on D3.
I would keep a close eye on it for a day or two and just let her be. If it gets worse then I would really look for a vet.
 
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Emmalou

New member
I’ll schedule an appointment to be safe. Thanks for your help. Her calcium with D3 has NOT been in the tank for a good month now. But I’m hoping it’s not gout either and if it is something serious I hope I caught it in time.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Emmalou said:
I’ll schedule an appointment to be safe. Thanks for your help. Her calcium with D3 has NOT been in the tank for a good month now. But I’m hoping it’s not gout either and if it is something serious I hope I caught it in time.
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I think that will be best. Sorry I had to throw that at you, but I have seen this happen often and as much as I hate to worry someone based on only possible suspicions, I rather mention it so that it can be caught early. Keep us posted:)
 
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Emmalou

New member
Do any of you know what a broken bone would look like in a gecko? I have a strong feeling that is what’s wrong. My leo is eating fine, even hunting. She’s drinking and acting normal. It’s just her leg. You can tell it’s hurting her, but it’s not limp, she puts weight on it. I just would like to see if anyone knows what a broken limb looks like, it would be greatly appreciated. I am in the process of scheduling an appointment with my vet.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Emmalou said:
Do any of you know what a broken bone would look like in a gecko? I have a strong feeling that is what’s wrong. My leo is eating fine, even hunting. She’s drinking and acting normal. It’s just her leg. You can tell it’s hurting her, but it’s not limp, she puts weight on it. I just would like to see if anyone knows what a broken limb looks like, it would be greatly appreciated. I am in the process of scheduling an appointment with my vet.
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Although I have seen it personally, it is impossible for anyone to look at a picture and diagnose. Even a vet has to do radiographs in order to know for sure. There is other conditions that show the same signs, redness and swelling.
 
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Emmalou

New member
You would think that with some sort of infection my leo would be acting much differently. Can you tell me what other possibilities I can look into? I’m almost 90% sure it’s not MBD. Her leg is not spongy or flexible, and does not bend when she walks on it.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Emmalou said:
You would think that with some sort of infection my leo would be acting much differently. Can you tell me what other possibilities I can look into? I’m almost 90% sure it’s not MBD. Her leg is not spongy or flexible, and does not bend when she walks on it.
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If you noticed the swelling right the fall, chances are it's related to the fall.
Is there a reason you suspect otherwise? Can you give more details? Diet? Calcium brand? How often? Temps? Age? It just helps narrow things down.
 
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Emmalou

New member
My guess is she’s about 6 months old. Her diet has remained the same, gutloaded crickets. Calcium brand is the Fluker’s D3. However, that’s been the only kind she’s ever had and she’s NEVER had any problems. I’ve never dusted her crickets until a few weeks ago, the calcium has always been in a lid in her tank until she spilled it EVERYWHERE. So I just took it out, that was probably a month ago? Temps on the cool side 72-75, the warm 90-93ish. 2 hides one on both sides. Her last shed was last week, nothing abnormal. My guess is she’s hurt it either from the fall, or getting stuck behind one of her hides or while trying to catch a cricket. Also, she doesn’t usually shed all her skin on her toes, so I use a Q-tip with warm water to remove the leftover skin. One thing that did happen, I was trying to remove skin on her toes and she jerked away, maybe a toe got caught on the Q-tip and dislocated something? It looks as if her leg from elbow to hand is swollen. there is redness in the hand and she favors it a lot, but still puts her weight on it. It’s really not much bigger than the other arm, maybe double the size? I just don’t want to lose her. I already almost lost her once :-( I’m going to try and get her to a vet on Wednesday. Fingers are crossed that everything will be okay.
 
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