I thought I'd put this out there for someone to find in the future if they encounter the same problem. It seemed dreadful, but had a simple solution that took me weeks to figure out. One of our older girls gradually stopped walking. When she was sitting and standing, she would seem to start to fall over and jerk like we would if we thought we were about to misstep off a curb or stair. I thought it must be neurological. She was eating, drinking, droppings were normal. No bumblefoot. Leg not broken/dislocated. Laid an egg every so often (4 years old). One day I was on the ground trying to entice her to walk to me to get a treat and I realized that her toenails were WAY overgrown. Clipping them helped the balance issue and she stopped falling over/jerking, but she still walked very slow with small steps and acting as if it was painful. Finally realized that the scales on the front of her ankles were huge. Picked her up and picked at one and it popped right off. Over the next few days, I popped them off all the way up her legs. It didn't hurt her at all. And, she started walking again. It took a few weeks of leading her around the yard with treats but she was soon walking, running, scratching like normal.
Another girl started walking around with her tail down a few months ago, slowly taking little steps. My first thought was egg peritonitis, but when I isolated her I found that she was laying eggs regularly. Like the other, everything else was normal. But, with the experience of the other, I checked her legs. She had some big scales, which I removed, but it didn't help. I let things go for awhile, but recently decided I needed to solve the problem. I soaked her legs and then focused on her ankles, as that seemed to be the trouble spot again. This time the problem was on the backs of the ankles. There was a thick layer of old scales and dead skin(?). She actually fell asleep while I was picking it all off, so I assume it felt good. She is now standing up straighter and walking more normally, but she is still weak. Now that the weather is better, I'm getting her out for "rehab" several times a day.
Another girl started walking around with her tail down a few months ago, slowly taking little steps. My first thought was egg peritonitis, but when I isolated her I found that she was laying eggs regularly. Like the other, everything else was normal. But, with the experience of the other, I checked her legs. She had some big scales, which I removed, but it didn't help. I let things go for awhile, but recently decided I needed to solve the problem. I soaked her legs and then focused on her ankles, as that seemed to be the trouble spot again. This time the problem was on the backs of the ankles. There was a thick layer of old scales and dead skin(?). She actually fell asleep while I was picking it all off, so I assume it felt good. She is now standing up straighter and walking more normally, but she is still weak. Now that the weather is better, I'm getting her out for "rehab" several times a day.
