I had Sumo out today on my belly while watching some shows on the comp and noticed his long back toe was crooked. I touched it a bit and it seems broken.. He is acting normally and has eaten food like normal the past few days, so I don't have any idea when it could have happened or how. He is trashing around the terrarium pretty good this time a year so I guess he injured himself I'm calling a vet tomorrow first thing to get him checked out as soon as possible. But I'd like some advice or shared experiences from you guys if you can. What will happen if left untreated? Can the vet "fix" it or will it be like this/fall off? Im really nervous and worried.. here are some pics. he doesnt seem to be in any pain at the moment. thanks for any help or advice.
Poor Sumo! I'm sure he'll have to get an x-ray so the vet can see how old of a break it is. It may have already started healing on its own, in which case he'd probably just have an oddly bent toe for the rest of his life. If it's a more recent injury, the vet may be able to tape it in a more natural position so it regrows properly. The vet may give Sumo some pain or anti-inflammatory meds depending on how bad it is, but if Sumo's still eating and walking around as usual, meds may not even be necessary. I know you're probably worried sick about it, but you've done the right thing by scheduling a vet appointment, and it sounds like Sumo will be perfectly fine. Of course, keep us updated on how he's doing. But like I said, this is probably more distressing for you than it is for him. (That's how it was for me when Loki had an ear infection, lol. While I was an absolute wreck, he could not have been more oblivious to his problems.)
Thanks Cammy... I hope my vet accept reptiles, I think they do though, but I've never had to go there before. And I hope I can catch a ride with someone, its pretty close to me but its still pretty chilly out so I don't think I can carry him all the way without him freezing his little reptile butt off. Its 11 pm here now so its a pain having to wait until the morning! But like you said, he's sleeping like a pig right now and doesn't seem to be bothered at the moment.. you calmed me a bit though, thanks. Of course I'll keep you guys updated!
In case your vet doesnt except reptiles a good site to find a local herp vet is herpvetconnection.com Although it will make you feel better... i'm not too sure what the vet will be able to do for you... it doesnt look swollen and he can put pressure on it so i dont think its very necessary to go... they sadly wont be able to put a splint on it and even if they reset it, it wont stay set because he cant keep on a splint. For humans a doc just says to tape it to the toe next to it to immobilize it. Unfortunately my experience with broken toes in animals is that the vets only course of action is to snip it off. For example, with hunting dogs their dew-claw is clipped so it wont get caught while they're going through the brush.
I live in Sweden so herpvetconnection.com can't help me with that.. I know some reptile vets in sweden though but there is only like 3 in the entire country and its quite a journey to get there. But the one thats a couple of blocks away from here is a "small animals vet" so they SHOULD accept lizards. Im trying to get through to them on the phone right now but the line is busy I'm also afraid that they won't be able to do much. like you said, he doesnt seem to be in any pain, its not swollen and he is acting normally so maybe they will tell me to come in if his condition gets worse. I fell sorry for sumo though, I bet he liked his little toe..
The clinic didn't accept reptiles and she gave me the number to a reptile-vet here in my city. But he only accepted calls between 7-9 a.m so I will have to wait until tomorrow morning.. Sumo still seems fine, he just lunged himself at a cricket that walked by and he is basking
Oh goodness, I forgot you were in Sweden! Sorry! I think giving the vet a call is a good idea but I don't think he'll be able to save the toe. Like I said earlier, the vets course of action is usually to snip it and put a stitch in and make sure the cut heals properly, unfortunately that's about all they can do. Good luck!
I got a hold of the reptile vet and I got an appointment tomorrow evening. The vet seems good which makes me glad. It sounded on him like he is going to try to snap it back in place and tape it, but on the other hand he hasn't seen the injury yet and today its at least 3 days old. Its a good thing its pretty late tomorrow because when I get home with him its sleepy time for him, so the foot will get a chance to rest after the appointment!
hope he's doing well! in my place there rarely are any vets for herps, so if that happens, i guess most of herpers here will just sit and wait or look for the treatment in google and treat them themselves.
He is fine lol... I'm sort of embarrassed, according to the vet (who is VERY experienced and apparently has worked in swedens biggest tropicarium a couple of miles from here for like.. forever) the toe wasn't broken, only a bit crooked. It would have been swelling if it was broken. He just pulled it a little and it basically jumped all the way back to its original place. He was worried though that it could be a b1-vitamin deficiency that can have affect on the joints, so he got a shot with b1-vitamin. If his joints look better the morning due to the shot its most likely b1-deficiency. Worst case scenario its some sort of nerv-damage-thingy but thats not likely since he doesnt have any other symptoms. I'm glad its not as bad as i thought, pretty tomato-faced since I came walking in to the vet with a sleeping beardie, teary-eyed and with a shaking voice claiming he broke is toe. He must have thought I was crazy lol... Well, I guess I just love him TOO much He got loads of complements from the others in the waiting room and the vet-nurses. they all asked a lot of questions and wanted to pet him. That makes me glad, since people usually make eww-faces and avoids anything that has to do with reptiles! conclusion: stop. worrying. so. much.
Haha! Great to hear that Sumo is just fine = ) Just out of curiosity, do you ever feed salad items that had been frozen?
No, I did a bit when he was younger but I always preferred fresh veggies and salads. I red up a bit on b1-deficiency, I guess your mind is wandering towards hypothiaminosis? I hope that is not the case with Sumo, but I dont know why he would have that in that case. He has always had a good varied diet..
Oh and btw the vet was awesome and didn't even charge me for the visit and the shot. He just asked me to donate 100 kr (about 10$) to the clinic that is a part of that tropicarium/zoo I mentioned
Wow that's awesome!!! I'm so glad everything turned out ok And you definitely can never love your animals enough
His toe still looks crooked, which means it probably isn't vitamin b1-defiency, because then the toe would "go back to normal" with the injection. So I guess he just has a case of the crooked-toe!
