Help! What is happening to my ackie?

[u/Lumpy_Ad_9348]

A bit of history

Dusty is an ackie I rescued from severe neglect earlier this year. He wasn't properly fed, to the point at 2 years old he hadn't had gone through puberty, and lost most of his fingers. Although I am admittedly not the best, I have been doing my hardest to help him, but factors beyond my control ( such as the landlord refusing to fix the insulation in the house) have been making his care difficult. He went through constipation for a while and has been having issues with shedding where he won't completely shed, and more recently this showed up on one of his nubs ( he didn't have a finger there when I got him)

I know some people might think I am neglecting him myself, but I wanted advice on how to help him. As a PhD student I don't get paid much, but I took measures like getting him more basking bulbs for proper heating, lots of rough substrate, basalt stones so he can rub against them and shed, a hygrometer/thermometer with substrate probe to monitor the conditions of his enclosure and I even water the substrate every two days to give him the best conditions for shedding, but I feel like I am still doing something wrong

Edit: I'm also moving out of this place to help my lizards feel better. I'm doing all I can.

Edit 2: he hates soaks, but for the last two days I have been soaking him as much as he will let me without getting too stressed. He is pooping as a result at least.

Edit 3: I had to remove the heating bulb he had for nights ( used mainly during winter ) because of the timer I bought him to give him closer to 12 hours a day of " daylight". It is back on, but unfortunately this house is so screwed up the outlets can't even take the load. I am moving this week, but I still want to help him.

Edit 4: I have literally even got the oil of the relic of a saint to anoint him. I have tried EVERYTHING under the sun.

[u/2_222_2]

Hey friend, to me this looks like gout. I am taking into account that the toes are gone because of previous neglect, but you can’t out-stump a bad diet, or poor husbandry. Ackies are prone to gout, and common causes are overfeeding of foods high in uric acid (usually dubias and egg/other carnivore foods) and chronic dehydration.

With that being said, gout will require medication and regular exotic vet visits to reduce/possibly eliminate. Your budget just may not allow for the care that this animal needs at the moment. I’d recommend watching the YouTuber Scales13 and his video on gout for more info. Best of luck.

[u/Lumpy_Ad_9348 → u/2_222_2]

He eats mainly crickets, as dubias are illegal here in Canada, and has an egg once a week, a pinky every once in a while. His main food are crickets

[u/Jaded_Monitor_3653 → u/Lumpy_Ad_9348]

I don't keep ackies, but it's usually good advice to cycle through multiple feeder insects to diversify the diet.

[u/Sufficient_Energy_32]

You could get a deep heat emitter for nighttime heat. I’m assuming you have the little green timer with the dial and 2 plugs, you can plug the light into the daytime and the emitter into the night time one so they aren’t going at the same time.

Ackies need a lot of humidity, so you should set up a humid hide will help with shedding. I use a large plastic planter turned upside down with the bottom cut out and a hole in the side for an entrance, then I put a shallow terracotta dish on top of it. Fill the dish with water and it keeps the inside humid for a few days at a time. You’ll want a fairly deep substrate underneath it all so they can burrow.

Excuse the dirty dish, I promise we clean it, it just gets green wild fast with the UVB lights over it

[u/TankTatics]

Make sure he has the substrate in his enclosure that is deep enough for him to burrow. Ackies get a lot of their required humidity from burrowing and being underground. If your ackie’s enclosure is properly set up they should be underground for a large portion of their life. Mine sleeps underground and has an entire tunnel system. They will naturally shed themselves with no issues if this is properly set up.

[u/Lumpy_Ad_9348 → u/TankTatics]

Because he lost his fingers, he doesn't dig. I have a lot of substrate and he won't use it

[u/Spice-Mice]

Check for gout, and make sure you have a proper multivitamin with PREFORMED vitamin A, NOT beta carotene!

Herptivite, for example does not work well, as it does not have preformed vitamin a. Repashy calcium plus is ideal because it has preformed vitamin a, which is usable by reptiles more readily.

Vitamin A deficiency is a common, silent killer and issue in monitors, leopard geckos, etc. and can cause shedding issues, activity level issues, eye/vision issues, etc.

[u/Lumpy_Ad_9348 → u/Spice-Mice]

I gut load his food with fulkers cricket diet for vitamins, but I'll take a look at that