Edna and her eyes

[KrakenQueen]

Took Edna to a different vet today.
Turns out, the swollen leg was basically encasing pus; prior to my obtaining her she ended up with skin tightening around her foot, cutting into the skin, causing an infection. The vet sliced it open, squeezed out the pus (and then bloody pus). She's on antibiotics and twice daily leg baths.

She's also getting a poo culture done, we'll find out what parasites she has tomorrow.

 

[Chipkali]

Thanks for the updates. I've been following Edna's story and I'm glad to hear you're finding some answers and Edna is improving. Keep up the good work!

 

[Kellyr]

You're a good gecko mommy =)

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

Nice work!

 

[KrakenQueen]

On another note, I FINALLY got the last piece of stuck shed out of Edna's eye. It's been hiding in the recesses since I cleaned out her eyes the first time. It was a pretty big, nasty looking piece of skin. YUCK.

Her arm isn't nearly as horrible looking as it was pre-expressing of the pus. Her foot is still swollen, but, hopefully that will change soon with antibiotics and foot bathing + peroxide to keep the wound open and aerated. I know she's stressed, but, so am I.

I'm trying to keep her hydrated, I can't imagine that this feels good at all.

 

[BGalloway]

Its great to hear Edna's still improving. Thank you for posting updates on her condition. Her foot probably feels a lot better now that its healing and not full of pus. You're taking really good care of her .

 

[BrilliantEraser]

Good to hear that you figured out what was causing the swollen leg. That certainly had me worried!

 

[KrakenQueen]

I'm a bit frustrated. Although Edna's leg is looking better, it's still fairly swollen- however not to the same extent. The arm isn't much of my concern, the paw is. Like the arm, the hand has pus in it. I can't remove it myself as I would VERY likely throw up and I'm not sure it would be a wise idea for me to do it myself anyway. So when her next appointment is due in a week, I'll have the vet lance her paw.

Another concern of mine is that her right knee is larger than the left and her front right paw has a small pustule forming inside at the knuckle of a finger. She tried eating the other day and again regurgitated everything. I'm assuming its from a mixture of handling stress and medication stress.

 

[BrilliantEraser]

I would say that you shouldn't worry too much about the leg being swollen. Even though the pus has been removed, there is still an infection in place. Not to mention, the leg has to heal itself up after being cut open! Also, regurgitation of food could definitely be due to medication stress. Consult with your vet again as soon as possible, though.

As for the infected area thing, I'll tell you a story of my own so that you feel a little better, haha! I developed an abscess (localized pocket of infection) in my earlobe a few weeks after getting my ears pierced. No idea what caused it, but one day it became quite swollen and hard, and was so painful! It felt like it was throbbing. When I removed the earring to clean the area, the abscess burst, releasing a lot of built up pus and blood. Now, it looked like a gunshot wound to my ear, but it felt so much better afterwards! It was still inflamed for another two days or so, but it didn't hurt much at all. I'm suspecting that it is much the same as with Edna's leg.

 

[KrakenQueen]

Edna Update:
I moved Edna from the ten gallon into a smaller tupperware bin to make cleaning and feeding easier. She has a humid hide, paper towel sub (replaced daily), and a water dish (large lid).

The leg swelling has dropped dramatically and after doing a small lance and expression of her foot, the foot itself is looking better as well. My only concerns are that the bottom of her foot also has the pus pockets, plus, a rear foot is showing similar signs of pus pockets on the bottom. What has me baffled is WHY this is happening. There's nothing in her ten gallon that could have caused it, the heat hasn't gone over 102 from the uth. The only thing I can muster as an assumption at this point is from observation she has a bad habit of REALLY chewing/biting herself when shedding. Has anyone else had this happen? Or, would it be obscenely far fetched to assume it's not pus at all (obviously on her next visit for check-up I will have the vet do a test to make sure)?

Due to her regurgitation of solid foods, she's been on the slurry formula and has even developed some sideboobs which took me for a spin last night. She's been taking in 1mL twice daily (is this enough, should she have more?). But, I have a question about the slurry formula and I'm not sure about the debates between D3 and non:
I used...
Rep-cal phosphorus-free Calcium with Vit. D3 ( 4.4-4.6% ; 22,000-23,000 mg )
Rep-cal Herptivite with Beta Carotine Multivitamin ( 2.2% ; 11,000 mg phosphorus )

My curiosity is whether I should have used Miner-All (O) instead since it lacks the D3 or should I be concerned about it right now since she's being rehabbed? I don't want to overdo it with the D3, but I am unsure whether I should be worried. Your thoughts?

She weighs somewhere around 56 grams, I only have a postage scale which weighs in ounces and could be off by any number. I'm aiming for a higher weight x_x I can already see a difference in her weight and activity from last week. She did shed yesterday with my assistance, 100%, so she wouldn't eat the shed and regurgitate it and the slurry.

Temperatures:
Low range: 73/75
High range: 92/95
I read somewhere that in rehabbing geckos/lizards which are being given antibiotics that it's wise to keep the temperature range in most of the cage to be in the 90's as it helps boost the immune system, could someone clarify this for me? The uth is currently taking up 90% of the cage to keep the temps even but still give her a cool spot.

Rather than just plain water, i've been giving her pedialite/water mixed in her water lid to keep her active. How long can I do this for and how long (if at all) would this be considered detrimental?

--
Edit:
I feel so ignorantly oblivious I'm practically mad at myself. Both my rep-cals are WAY expired! 2006 and 2008! We'll be picking up new supplements tonight. If that's why things are so off the wall with her, I'm going to feel so awful.

 

[KrakenQueen]

Oh dear.

Alright, so after a little researching I'm now even more concerned:

After looking at Edna again during her evening bath I noticed there's another white area under her chest. Just like the white that was in her arm, just like the white that was in her foot (and in her feet).

There are a few thoughts coming to mind, hypervitaminosis, renal hyperparathyroidism, or gout (as considered before).

I read that with hypervitaminosis, calcium will build up in muscle tissues as well as around joints. This may happen with an overload of D3- All I've had is D3 Calcium.

"In renal hyperparathyroidism due to severe nephritis the calcium metabolism may be severely disturbed. Calcium deposits can be observed in muscles, and can be differentiated from urated deposits by their elongated appearance, coinciding with bundles of muscles."

Gout, because I came across this post:
http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=53486&

Here are pictures of a leopard gecko with gout. Note the whitish nodules around and over the carpal joints.

The second above gout image is exactly what Edna's leg looked like before we lanced and removed the 'pus'...


At this point I am completely lost here. She goes back next week since our funds this week are limited and our last visit cost almost $200.

 

[PetVet]

I just wanted to wish you and Edna the very best of luck. She is VERY lucky to have found such an amazing owner as you!

 

[Eric1969]

That poor thing, after all you have done, which is wonderful, it is still having so many problems.
I know we never want to hear or consider this, but when is it time to help the poor thing out of its misery, and call it a day....? sorry, just my opinion, I do not like to see animals suffer, went thru it with many dogs in my day.

 

[KrakenQueen]

Thanks PetVet, I am trying my best.

Eric: Until we are absolutely certain what the issue is, I have no interest in having her euth'd. However, it comes down to her being unwell and in pain and unable to recover, then yes, she will be euth'd. Right now, it is not under consideration.


I have a slurry question that I am hoping someone may be able to answer:
Is it entirely possible that while the other owner had her, and while he fed her, that she was getting TOO much Calcium and D3?

Would it be possible if, when I remake her slurry tonight, for me to leave out the Calcium + D3 entirely, or just switch her over to plain Calcium without D3?

Or should I make a half and half, one batch of slurry without Calcium + D3, the other with?

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Eric1969]

Thanks PetVet, I am trying my best.

Eric: Until we are absolutely certain what the issue is, I have no interest in having her euth'd. However, it comes down to her being unwell and in pain and unable to recover, then yes, she will be euth'd. Right now, it is not under consideration.


I have a slurry question that I am hoping someone may be able to answer:
Is it entirely possible that while the other owner had her, and while he fed her, that she was getting TOO much Calcium and D3?

Would it be possible if, when I remake her slurry tonight, for me to leave out the Calcium + D3 entirely, or just switch her over to plain Calcium without D3?

Or should I make a half and half, one batch of slurry without Calcium + D3, the other with?

Any thoughts on this?

I understand, and you are doing a great job.... I am just a sucker for animals and hate to see them hurt. Keep up the good work, shes a lucky girl. We just took ours to the vet tonite, he has an infection in his mouth and some kind of blockage , they took an xray... He was not eating for a week. They gave me a supplement to feed him with a vial for now...

 

[KrakenQueen]

Edna's gone.

I'd appreciate if this thread could be locked.

 

[Eric1969]

Edna's gone.

I'd appreciate if this thread could be locked.

Sorry for the loss

 

[BrilliantEraser]

Oh god, I am so so sorry for your loss. I know you did absolutely everything possible for her.

 

[KrakenQueen]

Thank you for the condolences, it just didn't help that today is our 4 year wedding anniversary and the last month has been nothing but one bad thing after another :/

Edna passed away this morning. The last few days she became extremely lethargic, took no interest in food or water, and refused the drops of food on her nose. She wouldn't struggle when handled, wouldn't open her eyes- I assumed it was time.

However, rather than letting this situation pass without curiosity, I did a necropsy. I will post the photos tomorrow, but as a warning they are very graphic. Since I'm not a vet, I can't label everything and only some of you here seem to know more about gecko anatomy- I'll leave thoughts and decisions up to you. But, as it stands, I believe it was indeed gout or at least hypercalcemia (?) judging by the finds.

Thank you all for your help.