Bad news -- Darling
Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:48 pm
About 1 to 1 1/2 weeks ago, I was holding Darling on my chest with one hand while I opened her tank with the other. She crawled up to my shoulder and started crawling down my back. I didn't manage to catch her and she fell to the floor. Carpeted, but thin.
She seemed fine and continued to eat, sleep, and walk well. Then several days ago, I noticed a lump on her back. My first thought was that it looked sort of like the MBD pictures I have seen. I didn't see how she could have that though as she gets the same care as Harley did and he is fine. Plus, she's less than two months old......I think it takes longer for that to develop.
Then, about 1 1/2 days after the lump developed, (now the 12th), she stopped using her back legs as much. By the 13th, she stopped using them completely. I got an emergency visit to the reptile vet Tuesday morning. X-rays were taken and Darling was diagnosed with a broken back. I asked the vet....'You definitely think it was broken and you definitely think it would be from the fall?' Since there were no other incidents, she said yes on both counts.
Our hope is that the swelling is because of spinal cord swelling as opposed to the bump being vertebrae related. If in fact it is the spinal cord, then the steroid prescription I got should take the swelling down. However, according to the vet, she will never be 100% the same. I will need to watch for belly abrasions since she will likely always drag a little. The hopeful signs that this may be the case are that the lump developed many days after the fall and that she can still feel pain in her feet. (The vet squeezed them) The bad sign is that the vet thinks the x-ray shows a bony lump as opposed to a soft-tissue lump. Bony would indicate the vertebrae and soft tissue would indicate the spinal cord, of course. Again, what we want is spinal cord swelling to be the cause of the lump.
Below is a whole body shot:
Below is the medication she is getting daily: (No, I don't store it there)
Below is a close-up of her back:
She seemed fine and continued to eat, sleep, and walk well. Then several days ago, I noticed a lump on her back. My first thought was that it looked sort of like the MBD pictures I have seen. I didn't see how she could have that though as she gets the same care as Harley did and he is fine. Plus, she's less than two months old......I think it takes longer for that to develop.
Then, about 1 1/2 days after the lump developed, (now the 12th), she stopped using her back legs as much. By the 13th, she stopped using them completely. I got an emergency visit to the reptile vet Tuesday morning. X-rays were taken and Darling was diagnosed with a broken back. I asked the vet....'You definitely think it was broken and you definitely think it would be from the fall?' Since there were no other incidents, she said yes on both counts.
Our hope is that the swelling is because of spinal cord swelling as opposed to the bump being vertebrae related. If in fact it is the spinal cord, then the steroid prescription I got should take the swelling down. However, according to the vet, she will never be 100% the same. I will need to watch for belly abrasions since she will likely always drag a little. The hopeful signs that this may be the case are that the lump developed many days after the fall and that she can still feel pain in her feet. (The vet squeezed them) The bad sign is that the vet thinks the x-ray shows a bony lump as opposed to a soft-tissue lump. Bony would indicate the vertebrae and soft tissue would indicate the spinal cord, of course. Again, what we want is spinal cord swelling to be the cause of the lump.
Below is a whole body shot:
Below is the medication she is getting daily: (No, I don't store it there)
Below is a close-up of her back:
that's soooo sad!! i hope she gets better soon!! 
f.C
Rollie has his moments, the one time out of 10 when suddenly he's not afraid of high places and it scares the crud out of me.