physio for a lizard?

[Marion]

My new frilly is doing extremely well. I am giving all my adult babies a regular dose of reptaid - this is day 4 of 10 days - and they all seem much healthier and more lively. I have had the frilly for a week now and she is eating quite well and has even put on a bit of weight. She was very small compared to my male and she was also stuck in a tiny cage, She had branches to climb on but no space at all to run around. She seemed to have spent her whole life clinging to a branch with no other exercise.

I noticed yesterday that her hind legs seemed to be weaker than they should be. I put her on my bed and she launched herself onto my shoulder but her hind legs are definitely not completely normal. The don't seem to "point" the right way even though she can use them well enough to get around. I am convinced that this is because of her previously cramped conditions. I have moved her into a huge cage where she can run and also have dip in the pool if she wants too. She spent a couple of hours soaking in the water yesterday with a very happy expression on her face. Poor thing - has never had so much room to run in before.

I am also hoping that the extra space will encourage her to walk around on the ground a bit and exercise her legs more than they have been. I am also handling her a lot and gently massaging her hind legs and doing some gentle stretch exercises with her. I am hoping this will improve her hind quarters a bit.

Does anyone have any other tips I can try? She is not deformed or paralysed, just weak in the hind legs. Otherwise she is pretty lively, especially now she has some space. She's definitely not sick either, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Bushviper]

The best way would be to hold the front of her body out of a bath of very luke warm water and let her just paddle her back legs. She must not be allowed to stress into thinking she might drown.

You can also toss live food around in the room for her to chase. I have seen this done with Varanus and they eagerly chase down meal worms or beetles that you throw just out of their reach.

This will take quite a while so dont overdo the exercise in the beginning.

[Marion]

Thanks so much - never even thought about the swimming thing. She gets into the water by herself and just soaks - she never had the opportunity before. I let her climb up me as well and she doesn't mind being handled at all. I am definitely going to let her paddle while I hold her up. I know water therapy works because my mom broke her hip as a child which caused her one leg to be shorter than the other. She swam every day and has never walked with a limp. Now it's Annabelle's turn!!

Thanks for the tip.